Lilia Akhaimova is a relatively late bloomer in Russian gymnastics – she only made the national team at the age of 18 and was never on the NT radar as a junior. That was because she started out in Vladivostok, a city with no properly equipped gyms and with no strong traditions of artistic gymnastics. As a teen, she moved to Saint Petersburg and eventually started training at the same gym as Tatiana Nabieva and Elena Eremina. Vera Kiryashova and Aleksandr Kiryashov became her personal coaches and got her to the national team, Worlds and Euros, and now to the Olympic gold medal. Aleksandr Kiryashov passed away last year.
Lilia Akhaimova wrote on Kiryashova’s page after the team final:
“The person who left everything and everyone just for me! My coach is a Hero for me! It was really hard! But we managed! I can’t hold my tears and I will be grateful to you my whole life! When I was on the medal podium, I say thank you Aleksandr Vasilyevich, he always believed in me and he was with us today! Like an angel, I felt it!”
Kiryashova said she believes it’s time for Akhaimova to retire because of health issues:
“Lilia and I haven’t talked about her post-Olympic plans yet but I think it’s time for her to end her career, after all, she’s 24 years old already and has injured feet. For the past five years, her injured ankles did not allow her to land properly. She’s been having this problem for a long time. When I took her on, she already had busted ankles. I think it’s better for her to make way for the young gymnasts. She can focus on her personal life and anything else. I think Lilia is also leaning towards retirement. It’s really hard for her to go through everything now.”
During the press conference after the team final, Akhaimova was asked whether she intends to go for Paris and said she’s does not know yet:
“I actually cannot answer this question yet. Because I’ve been doing gymnastics for 20 years, I’ve come up from the lowest level, from the Far East where there was no gym. You could say that I’ve come on top. So, I need to think about this decision.”
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
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