Komova is training all-around

Local Voronezh TV show “Marafon” did a story on Viktoria Komova’s comeback.

The video shows Vika training bars and there are short interview fragments with Komova and Elfimov, her coach.

The interview fragments are translated below, while the narrator’s speech is summarized.

The reporter says that Vika considers the day she was medically cleared to train again her second birthday. She wasn’t allowed to train at all for 8 months and only started training in February.

Komova: When they said to me, that’s it, you can train, I couldn’t believe it, because… I’m thinking: “how can that be? my back was hurting so much! So, what, I’ll come [to the gym] now and it won’t hurt?” I was constantly in doubts. Well, when they said that I could train now, I was first coming to the gym and starting to train very cautiously, checking myself. I start jumping and see “ok, seems like it doesn’t hurt, seems like it’s ok”. Then I try something else: “that feels ok, too”. Then something else: “of, this hurts a bit, I’ll have to wait with this”. I also started doing exercises to make my back stronger. So, slowly, I realized that this is it, I can forget about [the pain] and never think about it again.

The кузщкеук says that Vika has started coming to the gym with a smile.

Komova: I used to come [to the gym] and [describing how she felt while injured]: “That’s it, I can’t, I’m in pain, I won’t be able to do anything”. Now it’s completely different, my back doesn’t hurt, [I can go] forward, to the new medals.

Elfimov explains why he felt that Komova needed to come to the Round Lake only three months after getting back to the gym:

Elfimov: It’s just that, how to say this, the baby grew out of the little pants at home. The Round Lake, it has different apparatuses, different equipment making training easier… [they have] special foam pits that you can try to do new tricks into them. As you can see, here at home we don’t have conditions like that.

Komova about returning to the Round Lake: I was well met, the coaches that work there greeted me, hugged and kissed me, asked me how I was, how was my back. The girls were also glad to see me, they asked me how I was, what I was doing. They asked because they haven’t seen me in a long time, they haven’t seen me in about a year, they said: you’ve changed, grown up.

About wanting to compete: Of course, I want it, I really want to compete already, but I understand that if I start hard now… Well, first of all, I can’t do now everything that I could do before because I’m not in that physical shape yet. I haven’t trained for a long time. Second, I don’t want to rush it, so that I won’t get injured again so that I won’t pull anything or something, I want to avoid that, of course.

Komova is allowed to do practically everything, but a lot of repetitions can leave her exhausted.

Vika: So, for example, yesterday I did almost a full routine on bars, but today I can’t do even a couple of elements, because I gave it all yesterday. I came in today and everything hurts, my arms hurt, so it’s hard to pull myself together and it’s much harder to train today. So my coach is cutting me some slack today, says: “ok, that’s it, you worked well yesterday, you can rest a bit today. But tomorrow you’ll have to come in and do everything again.

The reporter says that Komova is training all 4 apparatuses equally, not just bars. She’s trying to remember her old routines, but she’s already making changes in the composition to adapt them to the new code. The plan for her is to compete all-around eventually, if her health will allow it.

Elfimov about Komova potentially competing all-around: I won’t say anything for now, I don’t know, don’t know. Of course, I’d like her to compete all-around, because she’s first of all an all-arounder. Also, the current code favors all-arounders. So, I don’t know, we’re going to try, and then, as they say, whatever the Lord gives.

The reporter says that Komova plans to return to all-around at the Voronin Cup in December, but she might do bars at the Russian Cup in August if everything goes well.

Elfimov on how the training is going right now: Well, it’s not easy, I’ll say. The important thing is that she wants it. Yes, it’s kind of hard right now, of course, but if she wants it, it’s going to be ok.

Today Komova is going back to the Round Lake again. She will be there for three weeks. The reporter doesn’t say whether Vika will go to the training camp in Spain with the team (the team leaves on 28.05).