Svetlana Khorkina is on fire these days and after her much-discussed interview with Sports.ru she gave a short interview to Pravda-news, a local website of the Penza region where she came to the closing ceremony of the Youth Spartakiade. Artistic gymnastics is an important sport in Penza – Denis Abliazin and Aliya Mustafina represent this region, so Khorkina was asked about Mustafina and the Russian team’s chances at the upcoming Worlds. Of course, Khorkina treated it as an opportunity to talk about her favorite topic – herself.
Q: It’s the middle of the Olympic quad, everyone’s preparing for the 2020 Games in Tokyo. What do you think about the prospects of Aliya Mustafina?
A: In November, the World Championships will take place in Doha and this competition can be considered a verification for the gymnasts. I’ll go there and look at our team. And it’s important to prepare for the championships well in order to compete at a high level. You can’t come half-ready, go out there and compete lower than your level. The judges are already not spoiling us with the scores, why give them an opportunity to give lower scores because of a bad routine?
Q: Do you think having a baby can negatively affect the preparation process?
A: I also tried to come back to the sport after having a baby but this was already after three Olympics. And I realized that it was enough, I had to retire. The thing is that it’s important for me to win and not just to compete. I will always be the leader, I can’t be ordinary*.
Q: Will you be happy if Aliya will surpass your achievement and becomes a three-time Olympic champion on bars?
A: I’ll be only happy if our team will win as many gold medals as possible and rubs the rivals’ noses in it. Right now, in the women’s artistic gymnastics there are only two paths to victory – you either have to tumble powerfully, like a man, or to win because of difficult artistic elements. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to combine these two skills.
*The word she uses “ryadovaya” means both “ordinary, common” and also “the lowest ranking soldier”, so it’s kind of a word play – she can’t be ordinary and she also can’t be a regular soldier, she’s here to lead the army.
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Sounds like someone is jealous of Aliyah….and what a petty betty
Such a stupid woman!!! This type of people in politics and we know why it’s a joke!!