In Rio, Daria Spiridonova and her then boyfriend Nikita Nagorny got to enjoy the Olympics together. At recent international competitions, Daria Nagornaya (she formally changed her last name after retiring the sport) has to watch from home due to covid restrictions. She says it’s very hard for her to be apart but she mostly just listens to streams, since she gets too nervous:
“We were together in Rio de Janeiro. It’s really hard to be apart, I miss him very much. When I competed, I was much calmer. But when I see him compete, it’s much more nerve-wracking. When he’s competing and I’m watching it all looks terrible. I sit down, turn the volume on and don’t watch, I turn away from the TV, I just can’t watch. In the past, when I watched Nikita compete, he would fall all the time, so I stopped. I didn’t even watch the Russian Cup but thought I could have a look and he fell.”
She says Nagorny takes the pre-competition preparation extremely seriously in all aspects of his life:
“Nikita is very disciplined, he’s always put together when he prepares for competitions. He’s very strict about nutrition, he has a thing about it. Although Nikita really likes to eat – burgers, for example. I even felt sorry for him [before competitions], but he’s very strict with himself.”
She tries to support him via calls:
“We call each other. Last night, we talked for a long time. We talk about the Olympics, future life, dreams – we like to dream. I support him and he tells me about the conditions in the Olympic village, about how he’s feeling. No, he’s not complaining. He’s ready and wants to compete. He wants to do well and come home soon.”
When asked about what she would tell Nagorny right now, she replied:
“I would tell him now to do what he knows. He does it better than anyone else. I’d tell him to focus on his own performance and not to think about anything else. His family, his loved ones and the whole country – we all believe in him, we’re by his side.”
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