Aleksandr Kartsev emerged this year as a likely candidate for the Russian Olympic team and the European Championships was his big test. He finished third in the all-around and potentially earned another Olympic spot for Russia (they will definitely get the 6th spot but it might come from Poliashov’s performance at Apparatus World Cups, depending on what happens at Doha WC). However, because his teammates placed 1 and 2 in the all-around qualification, he wasn’t able to get into the final and did not qualify to any of the event finals. In an interview to MatchTV he said that if not for the mistake on high bar, he believes would have been able to make the all-around final over Belyavskiy.
Q: You came here as the reigning Russian AA champion. Did it add pressure, did you feel it?
A: I didn’t really feel anything like that. I had one task – to do everything as I was supposed to. Even now, when I’m third in the all-around [qualification], I don’t feel that, not at all. I was only nervous about the possibility of not doing everything I prepared.
Q: Did you do everything?
A: Well… I made a mistake on pommel horse but it was the second event, this happens. It’s upsetting but nothing crucial. But on high bar, honestly, I just couldn’t do the necessary element mentally.
Q: What happened exactly?
A: I connected two releases really well. Here, in Basel, the element on which I made a mistake wasn’t quite working out and in the warm-up today, I flew too far off on it. I wasn’t able to handle it mentally, I thought – I’ll do it earlier in order to get a good cross grip. I did it, got to the bar earlier and the momentum turned me. The release has a turn but I did the release and turned only after touching the bar. That doesn’t count and I lost 0.8 with this mistake. That is, if I did it as I was supposed to, my score would have been 14.3. I wasn’t physically tired, I managed to work till the end. I just couldn’t do it mentally. I needed to take a risk, I got 84.731 and lost to David Belyavskiy by 0.667. This is the price of this mistake, I could’ve gotten in to the all-around and high bar finals.
Q: But there is an extra Olympic spot for the team.
A: Yes, my goal was to compete without falls and earn an Olympic spot. I did it for the country. So, I’ve achieved the goal set for me. The rest should be able to happen next time.
Q: On the other hand, you did well on rings, the event that’s usually troublesome for you, you got a score over 14 points.
A: You know, this is my small victory today, yes. It’s the first time I’ve gotten such a score at a big competition. Perhaps, I got it before at regional competitions but it doesn’t count. But to get 14 points on rings at Euros – I got inspired, it’s just amazing. I’m too tall for rings, you have to be smaller, like Eleftherios Petrounias, 1.60 meters. But I’m an all-arounder, I’m tall, rings are hard for me.
Photo: Elena Mikhaylova, Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
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