During the Olympics, Artur Dalaloyan talked to TASS about his injury and how he managed to compete with it in Tokyo.
Q: Who are the people who put you back on your feet in the three months since the Achilles tear?
A: Specifically, it was Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Karpachevich. This is the doctor that did my surgery and my first week of rehabilitation was with them. It’s the Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) who also brought a whole medical center here [to Tokyo]. The whole third floor of our building is for the medical purposes, we are getting various treatments there. I was put back on my feet thanks to treatments, thanks to my dedication, thanks to the right approach from everyone.
Q: When you tore your Achilles, did you think that you could miss out on the Olympics?
A: No, I didn’t think that. I didn’t feel despair, that nothing would happen again and that it was all over. When I got injured, I wasn’t in a lot of pain or stressed out. I knew that the Achilles was torn and that it would need to be sewn together and treated. But I wasn’t in horrible despair or anything. After I got injured, my wife together with the team doctor took me to the hospital. They supported me, there was no panic. It was really important to support me at that moment. I adopted those emotions from them and started seeing it positively, I got my mind set on fighting and hard work.
Q: Were there times when you got tired from the monotony of the rehabilitation and thought that maybe you shouldn’t rush?
A: No, I didn’t think that I wouldn’t have enough strength to recover. I just didn’t understand how people start walking again after such injuries. I searched a lot for information, read it. I selected lots of exercises. Even when the leg was still in a cast and I was only allowed to move the toes, I still tried to do excersises so that the muscles wouldn’t atrophy and would recover faster. I would lie down all day long and just contract the muscle in order for it to get blood flow.
Q: Can you now help other recover after such an experience?
A: Yes. [laughs] I learned a lot about this process.
Q: Weren’t you afraid that you could land badly at the Tokyo Games and become disabled for life?
A: I understood that it was a certain risk, of course. That it puts my health in danger. But I have a rule that it’s always necessary to go till the end. If you started doing something, why not add a bit to get to 100%? There was a risk, but it’s still necessary to go till the end.
Q: Was there a moment during the team final when you felt unbearable pain?
A: After the end of my floor routine in the team final, it was already hard for me to walk. That was the moment when I thought it was over. It was the last event but I didn’t feel good. There was a loud crack in my ankle during the end of the routine. After that, my leg got swollen and was aching. That was throughout the whole night after the competition. But after a day of recovery, the swelling mostly subsided and I felt better by the time of the all-around final.
Q: When you compete with a scar on your leg and in pain and see Simone Biles just withdrawing from the competition, what are the thoughts running through your head?
A: I understand right way how different temperaments, mentalities, upbringing, and attitudes towards all that are in Russia and the US. But she’s a girl, after all, despite her incredible and difficult vaults. And, second, it’s see differently there. Especially, when the person already has a lot of Olympic gold medals. She commented on this situation now, saying that we have to protect our bodies and mental health and not do what the whole world expects of us.
Q: Your personal coach Aleksandr Kalinin wasn’t in Tokyo. Was it an issue for you?
A: We were constantly in touch, he guided me. I can’t say that the absence of my coach affected me negatively. We’re adults, after all, it’s our job. And such negative factors don’t affect our performance and our condition. Of course, it’s upsetting. He also wanted to go to the Olympics. But everything’s still ahead of him, he’s the youngest coach on the team, he has the least experience. I think that was why he wasn’t here. But his time will come.
Q: There will be World Championships in October. Are you thinking about it?
A: Right now, I’m thinking about my health, first of all, so that my foot will heal completely. I need to be completely confident in myself and my foot, so that I won’t have to restrict myself in terms of training load and tumbling. I realy miss my family and want to spend as much time with them as possible, dedicate myself to caring for the family. We’ll come back in couple of weeks and I’ll know then whether I should keep training or it’s better to rest.
Q: Does your wife watch your competitions?
A: Generally, yes. She doesn’t turn away from the TV but she watches with her eyes closed.
Q: Do your kids understand that their dad is an Olympic champion? [Dalaloyan has three children – oldest son and two daughters].
A: My older daughter fell in love with the gold Olympic medal. She saw it on the phone screen and was ready to grab it with her teeth. The youngest one is three months old, she doesn’t understand it yet. Nikusha, the middle child, doesn’t fully understand yet either. If she watches the Olympics, daddy is competing in all the competitions – doesn’t matter if it’s swimming, tennis, or something else.
Q: Can your children be proud of you already?
A: For me, this is a huge achievement and a lot of joy, I managed to achieve something in life that I’ll be able to provide a good future for my children. Something, that, perhaps, I lacked a bit in my own life.
Q: Our gymnastics team is quite young. Are you thinking about the Paris Olympics?
A: Of course! I’m thinking about Paris, it’s not that far away. I think that everything will go well there.
Q: Have you already celebrated the status of the strongest team in the world?
A: No, we haven’t yet. I only allowed myself to eat properly after the competition. I got all the junk food I wanted – Coke, pizza, and french fries. By the way, the burgers aren’t great here.
Q: How has your life changed in this new status?
A: We just need to go back to the real life – leave Tokyo and the Olympic village. Only then I’ll understand how it has changed. For now, we’re still in a different dimension.
Q: How will you avoid getting getting the fame to your head?
A: I’m not affected much by money or popularity. It’s good, it’s needed, but I’m more mature now and see it from a different point of you. Going completely off the rails because of fame is definitely not about me. I have a family, I have children whose future needs to be provided for. I don’t even think about any crazy stuff. Thankfully, my upbringing allows me to not let it get to my head.
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
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