Artur Dalaloyan gave an interview to Match TV in which he talked about the results of the European Championships. Dalaloyan won gold medals in the team final, on vault and parallel bars and a bronze on floor, finishing the competition as the most decorated gymnast on the Russian team.
Q: What happened on floor, why didn’t you get your fourth gold medal there?
A: I can’t say that something went wrong. I gave the maximum effort but perhaps my nerves played a role. I made a small mistake on the second tumbling pass but I managed to stay on my feet, I didn’t sit on my ass, please note this, I fought till the end. And a bronze medal is also good.
Q: What did you expect from this competition?
A: Well, I can tell that I expected to win medals in any case but the main goal was the team gold. Dmitri Lankin and I were newcomers on the team, we never competed on a team at such a big competition. Our main goal was to try the team out, to feel it, to get used to each other and to do well enough for the gold. We did enough for the gold. There were mistakes, of course.
Q: I think you’re being a bit modest, you surely had individual goals as well.
A: Of course I did, but I guess they’re not the priority because this year it’s possible to win a qualifying spot to the Olympic Games at the World Championships and we would want to earn it.
I feel much more confident now, I feel like a piece of this team, I feel like we can achieve even more. And I think I won, I earned my place [on the team] and now it’s important that I keep proving it.
Q: Lately, the Russian men’s team is being seen through the prism of your rivalry with David Belyavskiy, but you’re more often taking on the leading role.
A: Well, perhaps, David is hiding a bit because he’s more experienced. And he knows that the main achievements and the main goals are still ahead of us – the World Championships and the Olympic Games. I think he’ll show himself there.
Q: Can you say that the European Championships was a preparation stage for Tokyo or it’s too early?
A: Absolutely, this competition tells us about which team will be put together closer to Tokyo. Right now the fight for the place on the Olympic team is going on and you need to show yourself so that they [the coaches] would be confident in you there and would know what to expect of you.
Photo: UEG
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