David Belyavskiy spent past three months isolating at home with his wife and daughter. However, at the end of May, he came back to Round Lake for the first training camp since the outbreak. Because he had to fly to Moscow from Novosibirsk, he had to undergo a long quarantine in his room at the training center and take two COVID-19 tests before he was cleared to train with the rest of the team. Belyavskiy gave an interview to Sportbox during the quarantine.
Q: How much time do we have for this interview?
A: We can easily keep talking for a few more days.
Q: What do you mean?
A: I am currently quarantined in my room at Round Lake. I’m glad you called because it’s hard to keep busy. It’s good that I can do this to pass the time.
Q: Is it that bad?
A: I can’t even go into the hallway. Packaged food and drinks are delivered to the room. Until recently, the Counter Strike tournament was distracting me. Special equipment was brought to the training center for us. The guys and I are still playing sometimes. There isn’t much else to do. You talk to your family online and exercise, to do at least something.
Q: Athletes have been complaining that they can’t train properly in their apartments, not even talking about the 20 meters of space at Round Lake…
A: It’s all true. I bought the necessary training equipment for my apartment, so I could stay in shape. Here, I only have grippers.
Q: Did you expect such treatment?
A: We were warned in advance that we would have to stay in our rooms for some time without contact with the outside world. But I didn’t think it would take so long. The plan was to get tested on the day of our arrival and, if everything was fine, to stay isolated for a week tops. Unfortunately, the first tests were only taken three days after our arrival, on June 3rd. The results should be ready by now and since no one’s saying anything, they’re probably fine. On Monday, June 8th, they will conduct the second test. I hope it will be the last one. As a result, we’ll have to be isolated for at least 10 days.
Q: That’s horrible!
A: You can’t describe our situation better. We’re already going crazy because we have nothing to do but there are still at least a few more days of quarantine. Our families aren’t here. Our friends are kind of here but we can’t see them. There is no balcony. I have to open the door and the window simultaneously in order to air the room somehow. I have a neighbor across the hall, we sometimes talk to each other half-legally, while standing in our doorways. We’re observing the social distancing rules.
Q: Can you describe your daily routine?
A: I wake up around 9 in the morning, that’s when the breakfast is brought. Then I do nothing. The lunch is brought around 13:00. Then I do nothing again. Then the dinner is brought around 19:00. I do nothing again and go to sleep.
Q: Perhaps, many will be jealous of you now?
A: I can imagine that for some, such life is a paradise or at least a vacation. No responsibilities, you don’t even need to cook. But I need to use my energy somehow, I really miss training.
Q: My grandpa who is past 90 now compared the quarantine to a prison sentence. Do you agree with him?
A: It’s similar, only we can’t receive packages. For instance, if I run out of toothpaste, no one will bring me more. I had to stock up in advance. It’s good that we were warned about that.
Q: Aren’t you gaining weight?
A: No. I’ve never had weight issues, I can eat burgers and desserts. I’m not much of an eater anyway. For example, I don’t finish the food that I’m given at the training center.
Q: Do your teammates also have no weight issues?
A: I’ll tell on Nikita Nagornyy, I hope he doesn’t get offended. Nikita gained three kilos. And I doubt it’s muscle mass. Unlike me, Nikita finishes everything on the plate. I’m sure it’s not much of a problem for him, he’ll get to his optimal weight fast during the camp.
Q: Do you drink alcohol sometimes?
A: Not before competitions, of course. But during normal times, I don’t see anything bad in a glass of wine or beer. In Europe, gymnasts can drink that much without any guilt. Here, the attitudes towards athletes drinking alcohol are a bit different, we have to take it into account. The question is when and how much you’re drinking.
Q: Can you tell a bit more about when you can drink? For example, would you be able to drink a glass of wine or beer tomorrow?
A: I would be, even though I don’t drink during camps. It’s ok after competitions, on vacation.
Q: Was it better for you while you were self-isolated at home?
A: My family followed all the regional government’s requirements. We did not go outside for a month and a half, we ordered groceries online. It was hard without fresh air, but, generally, we were able to find what to do. Not like now. I had a great time with my daughter. She didn’t want to let me go to Moscow. She got used to me being around all the time. Perhaps, she thought I was leaving for two months again, like it happens before competitions. My wife says that she seems to have calmed down a bit now, but still asks about me every day. If I could train normally, I’d gladly stay at home. It’s hard without the constant training load, without moving like the body is used to. You want to jump, to do saltos and twists, to have fun working on apparatuses.
Q: Some athletes finally understood what regular life is. Are you among them?
A: I had several long breaks in training in my career. I lived a regular life, as you say, for three months and more at a time. So, family life is not new to me. I like it no less than the life of an athlete. Although, you always miss the gym.
Q: You started being active on social networks during the lockdown. Was it because you had nothing to do or something else?
A: At first, it was really interesting to participate and do live training sessions. If I had an idea for a post, I tried to bring it to life. But after a few active days, I lost the motivation, constantly posting something got boring. Now, I try to keep the account alive when I can. But I don’t want to come up with something special for it.
Q: Among other things, you mastered TikTok.
A: It’s unreal how it sucks you in. It started the usual way. My wife kept watching some videos. I would make fun of her, tell her – why are you wasting time on this stuff. Then I decided to have a look at what could be so interesting there. I watched new videos, then decided to record something. It ended up ok and I made another video. And it went on from there. For me, it’s just fun. I’m not trying to be a popular blogger.
Q: How did it happen that you posted a video from a gym during the quarantine?
A: My wife’s parents have a house in Novosibirsk. We left Yekaterinburg and went there. Since the situation in Siberia wasn’t as bad as in Moscow or St Petersburg, national team members were allowed to come to the gym for short periods of time.
Q: What is the situation in Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk now?
A: It’s calm in the Ural region for now. But, unfortunately, the number of infected people is growing. It used to be 100 newly diagnosed people a day but it’s 300 now. It’s still a bit better in Novosibirsk, There were very few sick people, although there’s growth now as well. Unfortunately, in neither of the cities people observe safety rules. I was shocked when I saw a pharmacist at a pharmacy working without a mask or gloves. It’s a weird situation.
Q: Are you afraid of the virus?
A: Now – no. When the outbreak happened in China, I thought it would stay there. I remember how, before going to Rio, we were warned about Brazilian mosquitos that were carrying an incurable infection. But no one even discussed this topic in Brazil. I thought that this time, media again were making a bigger deal out of it. Turns out I was wrong. At first, I panicked a bit – what to do next? But I got back to my senses fast.
Q: Did your income suffer during the pandemic?
A: No.
Q: But what about your athletic apparel line?
A: The production has been stopped. But we don’t have any expenses either. Our clothes are made to order. If there are buyers, the production line works, if there aren’t – we don’t lose anything. We’re breaking even.
Q: Will we see anything new?
A: We already have sketches of shorts, t-shirts, and warmup suits. Unfortunately, we can’t yet start the production because of the pandemic. I want to do something in collaboration with Ivan Stretovich. Perhaps, we’ll jointly produce hats and t-shirts.
Q: Why weren’t you among the athletes who were locked down at the training center in April?
A: We started the training camp. When the decision about closing training centers was made, the federation’s management reached an agreement that we would live in Novogorsk and train at Round Lake. It wasn’t great logistically, of course, but what could we do. With the coaches’ permission, athletes could choose where they wanted to stay during the quarantine. I decided that I’d rather be with my family since it wasn’t clear then for how long we’d have to be locked down. It seems that no one was offended that I didn’t support the team.
Q: Do you think you made the right decision?
A: Absolutely. First, unfortunately, Sergei Naidin and Andrei Rodionenko tested positive for the coronavirus and I could have gotten infected too. Second, if the tests had been negative, we would have not been allowed to leave the training center. So, the quarantine would have continued for at least three months. I was afraid of this scenario and I was right. At the end, I didn’t lose much and I’ll easily get in shape in time for competitions.
Q: The Russian Championships were postponed until November, the European Championships will take place in December. Why did you come to the training camp so early?
A: On one hand, our sport continues all year round. We always have to stay in shape and work on skills. When there are no competitions at regular times, gymnasts train for three weeks and rest for a week. The whole year goes like that and there are also pre-competition camps. I really want to go back to the regular schedule. On the other hand, the current camp will last until June 21st and the next one starts the very next day and will last for four weeks. So, we will spend a month and a half training at the center. It’s quite a lot. I hope that the restrictions will be lifted and we will at least be able to go to the stores. What I’m getting at is that, perhaps, it was possible to start the camp a bit later. In my opinion, there’s no point in such radical quarantine measures. As I understand, Moscow is supposed to be fully open by July 1st. That is, people will be able to move around freely and meet others. Why couldn’t we wait until those happy times and come to the center without tests and harsh restrictions?
Q: The European Championships were moved to December. Will your body have to adapt?
A: My body has already adapted and is going crazy without training. It knows that something’s wrong. When the training process is going smoothly, it doesn’t matter that much what time of the year competitions are. At least, that’s what I think now. We’ll see in the fall and winter what my body thinks then.
Q: How much time do you need to get back in shape?
A: At first, my joints, wrists, and elbows will hurt because they have grown unused to training. In about a week and half since the start of training, I’ll be able to do all the elements. Only endurance will still be a problem. That can be solved in a month or two tops.
Q: What new safety measures have to be observed during training now?
A: Gymnasts from Moscow who came to the center before us and only did one test are already training. They have to walk to the gym in gloves and masks. There is a sanitizer at the gym, you have to use it before touching the equipment. No one forces us to train in gloves and masks, that’s not possible.
Q: Have you tried?
A: When it was still not clear whether the Tokyo Olympics would be postponed, but there were already infected people in Russia and doctors recommended wearing masks, the coaches decided to try wearing masks while training. We suffered for a couple of days and realized that it was impossible to go on like that. You can’t do difficult elements in a mask because it gets in your eyes, nose, mouth, it bothers you. And gloves can cause you to slip off the equipment and get injured.
Q: There’s a tradition to tell stories during the quarantine. What story comes to your mind first?
A: Nothing can compare to the emotions you have during the Olympics. There have been two Olympics in my career so far. In both cases, I cried at the end. Only after London, those were bitter tears after losing as a team. But in Rio, everyone cried out of happiness when we finished second. If we’re comparing the moods, tears of happiness are a stronger emotion.
Q: Is it bad that the Olympics were postponed for another year?
A: For me, the Olympics are like a holiday for a kid who has been waiting for it the whole year. Imagine the disappointment, when the most significant event in your life is postponed or canceled. I felt something similar when I learned it would be postponed. Now I’m ok with this situation. I’m not planning to retire, so, a year isn’t such a long time. I don’t think that the main competitors will change in that time. On one hand, winning team gold at the World Championships gave us more confidence. On the other hand, we have always been confident and in a year, our rivals are unlikely to forget who they lost to.
Q: Can you say that the past season was the peak of your career since you finally won a World gold medal?
A: I will still call 2016 when I won two Olympic medals my best year. Since then, my routines basically didn’t change. They’re still competitive. Regarding the gold medal at the last World Championships, much of the credit goes to younger guys who are getting better and better every year. The year before, we were second, and now we’re first.
Q: Are Dalaloyan and Nagornyy stronger than you?
A: Obviously, their routines are more difficult. Due to the specifics of my body, I don’t have enough power to do elements at their level. They gain a lot on rings. I always look at myself objectively from the outside. The process of changing generations is inevitable. I was first put on a senior team at 18, when I could still compete as a junior. Now, it’s the turn of these guys to take someone’s places. I don’t feel uncomfortable because of it, I just do my job.
Q: The guys really look like bodybuilders. Are guys like that the future of gymnastics?
A: Dalaloyan and Nagornyy are all-around World champions. The results are arguments in favor of their body type, biceps, and abs.
Q: Have you tried to gain muscle mass?
A: I have, maybe three times. I worked a lot on rings. Each time, because of the high training load, I got pinched nerves in my neck and couldn’t do anything afterwards. That’s just how my body is and I have to accept it.
Q: Nagornyy shows all sorts of ticks in his YouTube videos. Of course, to regular viewers, it looks unbelievable. And how does it look to elite gymnasts?
A: Some things he does are out of this world even for gymnasts. For example, a standing double back. It’s really cool. I don’t advise anyone trying to repeat this trick. I would definitely not do that…
Q: Recently, a US coach Maggie Haney was banned from coaching for 8 years for abusing athletes. She yelled at and threatened gymnasts. She also forced them to compete with injuries. What did you think about the news?
A: Honestly, I haven’t read about it. I don’t know the details but the punishment is quite harsh. For example, talking about injuries, everyone has them and it’s not a reason to withdraw from a competition. If you have broken arms or legs, then, of course, you just won’t be able to do anything. But people train and compete with minor injuries, considering it routine. I don’t really understand – what does it mean “coach forced an athlete”? Could she throw the girl out of the club or the national team? Not likely. There’s always a choice.
Q: What was the worst injury you competed with?
A: I broke a finger during the parallel bars final at the European Games in Minsk. I only learned about it three weeks later.
Q: Didn’t you feel the pain?
A: Perhaps, adrenaline helped. Of course, during the competition I knew something happened but I kept competing. The next morning, the finger hurt more. I thought it was sprained or dislocated. It happens often and it’s usually over in a few days. But pain wouldn’t stop for a week, then another. I thought something was wrong. We did an x-ray and the finger turned out to be broken. In gymnastics, if your feet hurt, you train using your hands, and if your hands hurt, you train using your feet.
Q: What if your head aches?
A: Does this part of the body even participate in training? No one cares about your headaches. You’re healthy. I don’t know if it’s right or wrong but that’s the world of artistic gymnastics and everyone lives with it.
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