Dalaloyan: I’d love to earn as much as football players

Artur Dalaloyan continues enjoying the attention of the Russian media after his medal haul in Doha.

He talked to “Nashe Radio” about the world of artistic gymnastics and his daily routine.

Q: Did you get anything special for becoming the first Russian World AA champion in so many years? Perhaps, a meeting with the president?

A: There was no meeting with the president, but he sent a telegram congratulating me. It was a great honor for me, I was very happy. The telegram arrived during the competition when we had two more days, event finals. It really motivated me. Vladimir Vladimirovich, send us telegrams more often!

Q: Why do all our athletes love and praise the president? Did Vladimir Putin do a lot for you?

A: The sport is the face of the country. Regarding the president, he’s in charge of everything, including the Ministry of Sports. This establishment works really well and I can’t complain, we have great training conditions, we are fed really well at the training center. Of course, we don’t earn as much as the football players even though we’d love to.

Q: And why don’t you, by the way? You could be paid as much as the football players for the all-around competition. Yesterday, we calculated Messi’s salary, it was 250 million ruble a month. I can’t say that football is interesting to watch and gymnastics isn’t. But how can we bring more people to watch gymnastics?

A: People don’t go to [gymnastics] competitions because you need to think in order to understand what an athlete does on each apparatus. You need to read a lot, to watch videos, in order to know gymnastics.

Q: Do you have a personalized diet? Who tells you what you can and can’t eat?

A: I don’t have a personal dietician. I plan my own diet and decide what to eat and drink. I follow a specific diet before the competitions. I avoid any drinks that contain sugar, I stop eating sweets completely. For lunch, I usually eat boiled buckwheat with meat or chicken, something lean. I listen to my body, I know what causes me to gain weight, what causes my fingers to swell, and so on…

Q: And do you limit your food in your daily life?

A: In my daily life, I’m a regular person.

Q: Do you keep your weight in check and is there some limit in terms of weight that gymnasts shouldn’t cross?

A: It’s all individual. I’m predisposed to gaining weight from extra food or sweet drinks. I have a competition weight – 61-61.5 kg, and I also have my normal weight – 63-64 kg. I get back in shape in time for competitions, I lose the extra weight three weeks beforehand. We train three times a day, so the weight loss is fast.

Q: Many men believe that you can do all the positions in bed with the female gymnasts. And what can the male gymnasts do in bed?

A: I’m not trying to do any pirouettes but I’m quite energetic!

Q: You probably sprain your ligaments all the time. How do you recover from injuries and how do you prevent them?

A: We have really great medics and technologies at the training center, we get treatments after each practice because, after such a training load, everything always hurts. It’s normal for a professional athlete. And regarding what recreational athletes should do, this question will be better answered by a sports doctor.

Q: You are 22 years old now. Is this a normal age for sports, for gymnastics, or is it too old?

A: It’s not too young or too old, it’s the golden standard in a gymnast’s career.

Q: When do gymnasts end their careers and retire?

A: It depends on how successful their career was. Some become coaches, some get a career in PR.

Q: How is it to be the best gymnast in the world?

A: It’s unusual. But I’ve thought about it, I’ve strived towards it. It’s the most prestigious medal in artistic gymnastics. I took it calmly because I gave my maximum effort to it and everything worked out.

Q: Were there any situations when the competitors treated you badly? Like, put something into your clothes or set you up somehow?

A: The world or artistic gymnastics is very friendly. We have great relationships with the guys from other countries, there’s no trashy behavior. I don’t know why is that but this has always been the case, it doesn’t depend on the political situation.

Q: Who are our biggest rivals?

A: In the team competition, we took the second place at the 2018 Worlds. The Chinese became the first. Naturally, they’re light and wiry and that’s why they have better endurance and can hold handstands better. I didn’t hear what the coaches were saying to them, how they were motivating them, but I know that after competitions they are rewarded well.

Q: How does your day usually go?

A: We wake up at 7 am and half an hour later we already have to line up in the gym. We do conditioning for an hour in order to condition all the muscles well. After that, we eat breakfast and rest a bit and then at 11:00 we have the second practice for 2.5 hours. There, we are working on difficulty and elements, the combinations and the full routines. Then we have lunch and rest again. At 17:00, the third practice starts that lasts 2.5 hours. There, we continue working on everything we didn’t have time for during the second practice. The lights are out at 11 pm.

Q: And what about personal life? Or just normal life? Do you have vacations? Can you go on vacation with your girlfriend, for example?

A: This routine is only during the training camps which last three weeks out of each month. We only go on vacation after the big competitions are over. When the main competitions of the year are over – yes, you can rest for a couple of weeks. I declined an invitation to the December’s training camp this year.

Q: The listeners are asking: are you a happy person?

A: More than. I have a girlfriend, I’m healthy, all my loved ones are alive. I have life goals and difficulties but they can be overcome.

Q: Do the gymnasts get some sort of mental preparation?

A: You are the best psychologist for yourself. I don’t really believe in psychologists. We don’t have anyone working with us like that at the training center, even though there were talks about it. I prepare myself.

Q: Is your girlfriend a gymnast, too? How did you two meet?

A: No, she used to do ballroom dancing but she’s retired already. My friend invited me to a gym opening and I met her there.

Q: What advice can you give to the parents who want to sign their children up for artistic gymnastics? What age is the best, should they enter the competitive program right away or a recreational program first?

A: The best age to start is 6 or 7 years old. At that age, you can already see the child’s natural talent, which is either present or not. If there’s no much talent but the kid really wants to do gymnastics, they can do it recreationally.

Q: In team sports, there is a lot of corruption when parents pay the coaches in order to ensure that their child will be put into the lineup. Does this happen in gymnastics as well?

A: In gymnastics, the parents can pay the coach to get individual lessons but there’s no corruption.

Q: Where do you keep your medals?

A: Most of them are at my mom’s apartment. At my place, I only keep the most cherished or the most recent medals. I haven’t even unpacked the medals I brought from the World Championships yet.

 

Photo: Nashe Radio

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