David Belyavskiy talked to KP about his Olympic experience after landing in Russia.
Q: Is the gold medal from Tokyo the most precious medal for you now?
A: We’ll try to earn more [gold medals] but for now, this one is the most precious, of course.
Q: Russia hadn’t won an Olympic team gold for 25 years…
A: Everything worked out for us. We assembled a good team and competed well. And here’s the result.
Q: Were you motivated by the polls showing that 97% of Russian population don’t know who went to the Olympics?
A: No. Do you think it affects us in any way? Or our training? It’s a coincidence but I don’t think it’s related. Will people learn about us now? I hope that more people will. We will only be happy if that happens.
Q: What are you plans for the nearest future?
A: No plans. I’ll rest and recover and then think what’s next.
Q: What was the hardest competition for you at the Games?
A: The team final was the hardest of course. We had to do 18 routines and make as few mistakes as possible. Well, we managed it.
Q: How can one prepare for it mentally? Do you have any rituals that help?
A: It’s hard. Everyone has their own difficulties and rituals. Everyone prepares in their own way. I don’t even remember what I did. I definitely went through routines in my mind, thought about how to do everything better, worked on putting myself in the right mindset. I won’t talk about all the nuances of my preparation, of course. It’s something personal for every athlete.
Q: What were you thinking when you had the medal around your neck?
A: Even before that, we realized that we placed first. I was happy at that moment, of course.
Belyavskiy also said that he plans to rest for a couple of months:
“Now, after the emotions calmed down and the stress from the Olympics is over, I can finally think about rest. Talking about major plans, I hope that I’ll be able to get to the Paris Olympics in 2024. The team and I will try. But it’s only dreams for now. We’ll rest and get our strength back now. For two months, there are no competitions scheduled, only rest.”
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
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