Viktoria Listunova talked to MatchTV about her first senior season, the injury she’s recovering from, and plans for the next season.
Q: Vika, what happened to your elbow?
A: I got injured already in Tokyo, after I arrived at the Games but before the competition started. And because of that, even though it wasn’t very noticeable, I had issues on bars and vault because arms are used considerably on these events. But it’s a sport, you can’t go to the judges and tell them that something hurts and that was why you didn’t do something. And an athlete isn’t supposed to show it.
Q: How hard was it for you at the Olympics with this injury?
A: Originally, the injury wasn’t really serious and I tried not to tell anyone, I hoped that no one would know. But because of the increase in the training load during the Olympics, the inflammation got worse and the pain did as well. After coming back from the Games, we went [to the doctors] to figure out what happened right away.
Q: What was harder to do because of your elbow – bars or vault?
A: Vault. There’s a landing on your hands after the run and it felt unpleasant. Before vault, I tried to forget that I would feel pain. I’ll repeat, no one cares that you’re injured, no one will give you any allowances because of that.
Q: One of the most dramatic moments of the Olympics for you was the floor final after which you cried when you finished last. Were the mistakes related to the injury?
A: Maybe they were, but, maybe, they weren’t. First of all, it’s a huge experience even though it’s based on errors. In the finals at the Games, we competed without a warm-up on the apparatus and this format was new for me, because before the Games, I’d only competed without warmups twice in my career, both times unsuccessfully. The Olympics became the third time and also unsuccessful. Thankfully, the International Gymnastics Federation now changed the rules and allowed warmups before competing [in event finals], which makes us very happy, it will be easier for everyone.
Q: You did rhythmic gymnastics as a child – for how long? It’s just that it’s quite noticeable on floor, for example, because of your oversplits.
A: I can’t say that I did much rhythmic gymnastics. It’s not like I retired and switched to artistic gymnastics, no. I was very young and I did it because of choreography, flexibility, and stretching. And then, due to certain circumstances, I switched to artistic gymnastics.
Q: Do you watch the sport? Generally, how much an artistic gymnastics can tell about rhythmic gymnastics, learn its nuances?
A: I don’t really understand it, the rules and the technique are different. But it’s interesting to watch because, in my opinion, rhythmic gymnastics is even more popular than artistic. But I don’t compare myself to them, I do artistic gymnastics and can’t even imagine myself as a rhythmic gymnast.
Q: I’m comparing you in Basel and Tokyo and the difference in your behavior was very noticeable. It felt like three years of big competitions passed and not three months. What happened to you?
A: Everything happened as if on its own. But after the Olympics, when you bring home a gold medal, you feel more confident, of course.
Q: I was impressed by the fact that at the press conference after the team final, you, the youngest gymnast on the team, harshly responded to the journalist who asked what would have happened if Simone Biles competed.
A: Everyone expresses their opinions, of course, but yes, I think that question was inappropriate. Biles is human, too, and she had her own difficulties. And to start using the conditional… Whatever happened happened, that’s it. I don’t like to rewind back like that, I don’t want it. It’s the opposite, you have to look forward.
Q: Let’s talk about you moving forward. There are new rules, after all.
A: Yes, there’s some time now in order to start the new Olympic quad where 2022 will be the first season. The rules have changed, in some cases the difficulty was lowered, in some – the other way around. So, routines need to be changed to make them comfortable and add some elements. I want to do something new and this is the time to analyze the mistakes, consider everything, and move forward.
Q: Considering you strengths and weaknesses, on which events the new rules will affect your routines most noticeably?
A: On beam, I guess, because the way of work of the difficulty judging panel changed and now certain elements can’t be repeated. The work of the execution panel got much stricter, everything became a lot clearer on certain elements, the gray areas where an element could be credited or not were removed. It became absolutely clear now – if the element is executed properly, it’s credited, and in all the other cases – it’s not. No one will make any allowances.
Q: Will the scores become clearer now with the stricter execution judging?
A: First of all, they will be given faster. Because it happens that a gymnast competes before you and her scores takes a very long time to calculate, while you are waiting for the signal to start your routine. And yes, everything needs to be executed precisely now to avoid any doubts. I don’t think it’s bad, yes, it will become more clearer.
Q: On beam in Tokyo, you stopped the falls that plagued Russian gymnasts in the team final. Can you now tell what was going on in your had when first Angelina Melnikova and then Vladislava Urazova fell on it and you were scheduled to go third?
A: I’m sitting here now and can’t even believe that it’s been three months already, the time flew so fast. I was nervous, of course, because whether we could win depended on me. Everyone looked at me, including the Americans with whom we rotated and they were by our side, waiting if I’d give them the chance or not.
Q: Both in Tokyo and in Basel I was under the impression that vault is your weakest event.* Is that so?
A: I hope I’ll be able to upgrade on the event in the new season, especially since I already have some experience. Yes, I need to do two different vaults like Angelina who went out to compete in Tokyo with upgrades, and, of course, she did a great job. But, overall, I don’t think my vault falls behind dramatically.
Q: You have a facial expression of a killer during your run on vault. There are photos.
A: (laughs) It’s because I’m trying so hard to do a good job. I have seen such photos but during the run, I don’t even notice it. Then I look at photos in surprise – how did it happen? I was just running. But at the Olympics, of course, my vault was affected by the injury we’ve talked about earlier.
Q: After the Games, there was the meeting with Vladimir Putin. Do I understand it correctly that you stopped training for some time because of that?
A: We were quarantined for 10 days, I think, did three PCR tests and antigens tests as well. The suite at the President Hotel was big, so I stayed in shape as much as I could.
Q: Was it hard for you not to go to Worlds?
A: I hoped to recover in time for the World Championships, but, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to, even though the training process didn’t stop, I just didn’t put weight on my arm. At the moment, my elbow feels much better, the recovery is well underway. I expect to make up for the missed time and prepare for the 2022 season during which there will be European and World Championships.
Q: You’re from Moscow, do you manage to see your family now that you’re at Round Lake?
A: I wouldn’t want it to look like a complaint, but the anti-covid rules are even stricter now. The center is under a lockdown, we are tested and quarantined for one day upon arrival and only after that we can move around the center. I can only see my family through the fence, I can’t leave the center until the end of the camp.
Q: For you, this year literally started with covid. How did your illness go?
A: I got this not so nice “present” for New Year. I celebrated it with my family and then my older brother and I decided to go for a walk in the Red Square. There were a lot of people there, there was no social distancing. I cam back and already next day, I felt weak and had a runny nose. I just thought that it was a common cold, nothing especially pointed to covid. But when we came to Round Lake, I tested positive. And that was it, I went home where I stayed for a month. Then I only had one more month back at the training center to recover and prepare routines for the nationals. But it was a long time ago. I think I don’t event have any antibodies left.
Q: Are you still not vaccinated?
A: I’m still a minor.**
*Viktoria Listunova is, in fact, quite decent on vault, although she had some issues in Tokyo where her performance was affected by the elbow injury. She was the silver medalist on the event at the 2021 Russian Championships and consistently scored 14.466 at Euros on her DTY. It’s not quite clear why the journalist was under the impression Listunova’s weak on vault.
**The only COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in Russia are Russian-made and none of them is approved for use in people under 18 years old. The age-eligible Russian national team gymnasts were all vaccinated in June of 2021, but Listunova and Urazova are both still ineligible. Both had COVID-19 in the beginning of 2021.
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
