Artur Dalaloyan finished European Championships as the most decorated gymnast on the Russian team with three golds and a bronze. He talked to TeamRussia.pro about the results of the competition.
Q: A year ago, in Cluj, you became the European champion on vault and took the second place in the all-around final. Later you admitted that you didn’t expect such results. What did you expect this time?
A: I’ll say frankly that this time I expected to compete successfully because I was much more ready and I felt more confident. In addition, I competed in three event finals and not just on vault. I expected good results on floor and vault. But I made a mistake on floor and only got the bronze medal. Then I tried to compensate for that on parallel bars and gave my all for the victory.
Q: Looks like vault is your best and favorite event.
A: I like all the events. I pay a lot of attention to each event at practices.
Q: But the pommel horse let you down in the past. You didn’t win the all-around in Cluj because of it and fell down to the 4th place in the all-around at the 2017 Russian Cup because of it.
A: Yeah, that happened. Pommel horse is indeed not the easiest event for me.
Q: Although at this year’s Russian Cup, you won the all-around. Will successfully competing in the all-around be one of your goals at this year’s World Championships?
A: Absolutely. I’ll be improving my pommel horse routine now in order to feel completely confident in the all-around final.
Q: And what can you say about the high bar on which the Russian gymnasts competed unsuccessfully in Glasgow?
A: I’m not worried about the high bar, I’m not falling behind on this event. I took second place on it at the Russian Cup. I was supposed to compete on it in Glasgow as well but there were new apparatuses there with a slippery surface to which magnesium didn’t stick at all. That’s why there were so many falls?
Q: How did this happen?
A: We were explained that at the factory, the bars were sprayed with some special solution so that they were even shiny. They thought that this would be useful to the athletes but it turned out that the magnesium wasn’t sticking to it at all.
Q: So, this event ended up being sort of a lottery during the competition?
A: Exactly. And I didn’t want to participate in it. I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t let the team down. Although I was very well prepared on the high bar and I think that in a normal situation, I’d even win a medal on it.
Q: Do you now regret that you didn’t take the risk?
A: No. I just drew a conclusion for myself that I need to be prepared for such situations. This won’t happen again at Worlds.
Q: Why did you compete unsuccessfully at the last year’s World Championships in Montreal? Was it because you peaked earlier?
A: First, I was left training only floor and vault. I’m used to training the all-around. The preparation was difficult without the distraction of other events. Second, when we came to Canada, I got injured in the training gym. I had to compete with a broken foot.
Q: Is this possible? You had to tumble, after all!
A: I managed because of the adrenaline. The competitive spirit trumps pain but it doesn’t ensure good results.
Q: In general, did you like Glasgow?
A: I believe the competition was at a very high level. I think the organization was at the level of World Championships. There were a lot of spectators at the arena. Especially during the finals – both the team final and the event finals. You could see that people like and respect artistic gymnastics in Great Britain. I can’t complain about anything. Everything was very cool. The weather wasn’t nice but that a usual situation in Britain.
Q: On the main page of the official website of the Glasgow European Championships, you’re the one pictured with the Cup for the victory in the countries competition.
A: The thing is that we, the gymnasts, competed on the last day of the European Championships. After the end, we were told about Russian victory in the all-medal competition and were told that we’re supposed to receive the Cup because of that. The ceremony was at the central square in Glasgow where they put up a stage. Almost the whole city was there. We were joined by the divers and Kirill Belyaev who won silver in the open water swimming. And I was given the trophy as the athlete who won the most medals among those present.
Q: You’re active on social media. Have you posted the photo with the trophy already?
A: Only as a story on Instagram. I’m only planning to start posting the photos from the European Championships.
Q: On your Instagram, I saw a post before the Russian Cup that you’re flying to Chelyabinsk while there’s a break between the World Cup games. Were you joking or you were closely following the football competition?
A: I’m not a huge fan but the whole team was watching the World Cup taking place in our country. We were studying the competition situation and, of course, we were cheering for the Russian team. It’s a pity I never managed to attend a game in person. At the time we had three practices a day.
Q: The preparation for the World Championships is starting soon, right?
A: We’re arriving at Round Lake on Monday. The competition in Qatar is important because the first team spots for the Tokyo Olympic Games will be won there. The top three teams will win those spots. The rest will have to fight for the spots next year.
Q: Well, Russia will get the spot sooner or later.
A: Yes, it’s only a question of time. But it’s more beneficial to get it this year. In that case, the next season will work as a preparation [for the Olympics], we’ll be able to upgrade our routines and try them at competitions. Otherwise, it will be too risky.
Q: Do you have any personal goals for the competition in Qatar?
A: We only have one goal now – to qualify as a team. The personal is less important now.
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
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