Anastasia Iliankova gave an interview to Gimnastika, the magazine of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation.
Q: People say that the first medal at a major competition is special.
A: That’s true. During the medal ceremony, when the anthem started playing, I had tears in my eyes. It was the first time even though I’ve stood on the medal podium as a winner before. At night, I got almost no sleep. I would fall asleep for half an hour and then wake up again, I couldn’t calm down: I’m a European champion! Is it really happening to me? And the next day, I was practically euphoric.
Q: Did you have a feeling on the eve of the European Championships – “my time is coming”?
A: No, I was definitely not preparing myself for the victory or for a specific place. I never think like that. I understand that I don’t yet have such a huge margin over other competitors. Three weeks before Sczcecin, at a World Cup in Baku, I lost to the first place by only 0.133. Liu Jiaqi and I had the same difficulty – 6.1, but she did her routine cleaners and won. This can happen in any competition. In Szczecin, after the first day, I actually got very upset because in the qualification, I had decided to play it safe and at the end, I broke one connection and made another mistake on the dismount.
Q: But then you relieved the stress and calmed down…
A: Yes, and I was in a different mood in the final. In the qualification, when I first saw my scores, I thought the judges were a bit stingy. But then, when I watched the video, I saw what I did and agreed with the score. It was my own fault. So, in the final, the main goal was not to wind myself up with all these “You have to, you have to” but do the routine like I usually do it in training. That is, calmly, with a clear mind. That’s what I was thinking about.
Q: You have one of the most difficult routines on this event, right?
A: What I do, only two or three other girls are doing right now in the world. But I need to get way ahead of everyone.
Q: Tell me, how did you make the national team and how did you start gymnastics?
A: I grew up in Leninsk-Kuznetski, I trained at the famous gymnastics center headed by Aleksandr Zimmerman. I feel like a gold medal at Euros is in memory of this amazing person. He did so much for gymnastics in Russia and for our school where so many great athletes grew up. He always supported me, helped me, and believe in me. As far as I remember, I’ve always been sure I would compete at the Olympic Games. Otherwise, why would I be going to the gym? Although, when I was a kid, I had no idea the national team was a thing. I thought it was possible to go just like that – from our gym to the Olympics. At 12, I won the all-around at the Olympic Hopes competition in Penza. After that, the junior national team coach Olga Bulgakova invited me to Round Lake.
Q: You were probably incredibly happy.
A: I was happy, yes. I thought: how cool, I’m closer to my dream now. I wasn’t going just to go to the Olympics, I dreamed – and I’m still dreaming – of winning gold. But on my way to Moscow, I was extremely worried. I was a bit scared. For some time, I would enter the gym and my legs would start shaking: there was Masha Paseka, Aliya Mustafina, Vika Komova… Such a level! We’re friends now, the age difference doesn’t bother anyone. Both Masha and Aliya never behave in an arrogant manner, never pulled rank on any of the young girls. But back then I thought the girls were almost gods, I couldn’t have even thought that one day I would compete on the same team as them.
Q: Was the training on the national team different from what you had expected? Did you call your mom and say: “I want to go home!”?
A: I have a goal. I’m moving towards it. It was hard and I had injuries. But I put everything aside. I understand that I have to work very hard for it.
Q: Where did this character quality come from?
A: I don’t know. Everyone in my family has always loved sports. My mom used to be a gymnast, my dad was a skier. Perhaps, it’s from them. First, they brought my older sister to the gym and I was mostly jumping on a trampoline while she was training. Then my sister quit gymnastics, now she cheers on me. She was actually the first person who congratulated me on my win in Szczecin. I think my character, this dedication comes from my mom. I’ve always had some sort of an internal setting: if you start doing something, do it well and if you do it, you have to understand why you’re doing it and to achieve what you dreamed of. I use this approach in everything, even little things. For example, when I’m doing some chores, cleaning my room, I can’t do ten things at once. I won’t start something new until I finish the previous thing.
Q: What do you do in your spare time?
A: I read sometimes. But mostly I’m learning languages – English and Japanese.
Q: An unusual choice.
A: Do you mean Japanese? That’s not accidental. I like doramas – you know, the TV shows about teenagers, they show life, school, relationships and a search for oneself. So, that’s started with the tv shows. I liked the actors, I got interested in Japanese culture, nature… In the future, I want to become a translator working with Japanese. I understand that it’s a difficult language, that it won’t be easy, but I really want it.
Q: Not surprising, with such a character. What motivates you on the competition floor?
A: I was about seven or eight years old when I first saw Mustafina compete. I fell in love with her right away. I remember how I was nervous for Aliya when she competed at the London Olympics. She’s still a kind of a gymnastics idol for me. You can learn a lot from her.
Q: How did you become good on bars?
A: You’d be surprised: it used to be my weakest event, I couldn’t do it at all. But when I made the national team, I started learning new elements and connections in a smarter way, I upgraded each year and it happened. Of course, many people helped me. I have two coaches – Sergey Kiselyov and Anna Kiselyova – but only Sergey Vasilyevich goes to Round Lake with me. Then, I also worked with Sergey Andrianov, then Konstantin Pluzhnikov joined us. It was the whole team. I think one of the secrets of my bars is that I’, very strong naturally, I have a very muscular upper body. All my strength is in my arms, you can say. I also like the feeling of hanging from the bars when the whole body becomes like a string… And the most joy I feel is when I’m in good shape and do a routine without much effort. Your body is so obedient and you’re practically flying from bar to bar like a feather. Sometimes, I would do some difficult transition and get goosebumps. And then I get even more adrenaline and it’s even easier to do the transitions.
Q: Would you want to construct your own routine?
A: I’m trying to do it but mostly I do what my coach and the specialists tell me. They suggest something, I try it. If I can’t do it, we throw it out. If I can do it – I try to perfect each element. That’s my task.
Q: The last season was not the most successful for you. How did you deal with it?
A: Yes, there were a lot of unsuccessful competitions and then the back injury. I think I learned how to deal with failure. When I was recovering from my back injury, I read special literature, stories of overcoming obstacles in sports and life. In the end, I didn’t just learn to live with my issues, I accepted them. First, I accepted them, and then let them go. You only have one life, you have to live in the moment, to be happy with what happens here and now. I started thinking more positively. Before, I would obsess over every single fall, every mistake and think: why you go out to compete, do everything you did in training and fall? I couldn’t find an answer, went to the apparatus again and made a mistake again. Then I realized that I should come out to compete doubting myself like that. Doubts are unnecessary for athletes. Now I try not to think about bad things, I cleared my head of them.
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
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