In the beginning of 2020, the Tokyo Olympics weren’t really on Aleksandr Kartsev’s radar. He only turned 18 last year and, although eligible for Tokyo, didn’t think he was quite at the level to compete with team veterans. A postponement of the games, injuries to several top Russian gymnasts, and an overall improvement in his gymnastics got him to Tokyo, albeit as an individual gymnast. He’s not likely to make any finals but this experience will probably help him to become a medal contender in three years in Paris.
Kartsev fell off high bar and said this fall was a result of his desire to do his best:
“I don’t even know how to explain it… I was really flustered by the mistake on high bar. It was a technical mistake, I guess, but I didn’t do it in my head. That is, I wanted to do great on high bar because before, I often got too close to the bar and that led to a lot of deductions. It was the first subdivision, the judging was a bit harsh, and I wanted to do everything great, that was my mistake. The first three releases were quite good, with a lot of amplitude, but then I wanted to do even better, and I think that was my mistake.”
“My floor and pommel horse were ok. I think the judging was a bit harsh but the mistakes were forgivable. But the mistake on high bar was unforgivable because I really wanted to make the final on this event. When I fell, I felt somewhat confused, unexplainable feelings overall. I even came to the floor area after the rest of the team, I couldn’t shake it off. The Olympics is the biggest competition of my life for now, it’s incomparable to anything. I’m upset about high bar, I had a chance to make the final on it.”
Nikita Nagorny said the team’s been very supportive of Kartsev:
“Of course, we supported Sasha after his fall from high bar. It’s his first time at the Olympics, he showed more than he could. Sometimes, there are breakdowns and falls, it’s all emotions. At my first Games, I made the same mistake twice on high bar. He’s doing a great job.”
Kartsev did all-around in the qualification but finished behind his teammates Nagorny, Dalaloyan, and Belyavskiy with 82.299.
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
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