Maria Paseka has announced that she is taking a break from gymnastics. She said to the media:
“I made this decision after talking to my coach. We saw that I won’t be able to make the Olympic team because it’s four all-arounders, and in individual events, my leg which I injured will prevent me [from qualifying]. When we were in Baku, I injured my ankle. So, we decided to put it on pause and come back in the next quad.”
“I’m definitely planning on coming back. I don’t want to retire because of an injury, every athlete wants to finish on a high note. And sometimes there are moments when the athlete could have done that but didn’t use them. I guess that’s what’s affecting me, the desire to leave on a high note. The way you entered on a high note, you have to finish the same.”
Maria Paseka have been trying to get back to her previous level after undergoing back surgery. She started the 2019 relatively strong, winning gold at the European Championships, but have been struggling to get her high-level vaults all year long. She ended up being an alternate at the 2019 Worlds and was not on track to qualify a nominative spot to the Tokyo Olympics through Apparatus World Cups, despite attending them. It was the Apparatus World Cup in Baku where she got injured. The competition was interrupted in the middle for the rest of the competitors, too, when the government of Azerbaijan canceled all sporting events. Earlier this week, it was announced that Paseka was not included on the Olympic training squad which likely affected her decision to take a break. Theoretically, now that the Olympics are postponed and Russia might have a chance to qualify an extra spot if the qualifying events will be held next year, Paseka could recover in time for the summer of 2021. However, other factors might be at play, because her personal coach Marina Ulyankina said Paseka wants to follow in Mustafina’s footsteps and have a baby before coming back:
“We decided to take a break, we can’t yet say for how long. She and I have been discussing it for a long time, I was for retirement but Masha persuaded me that she still has something to offer. So, we’re not saying goodbye yet.”
“One of the reasons was the coronavirus, the whole country is staying at home. And the second one was that she didn’t qualify to the Olympics. Masha wants to follow in the footsteps of her older friends and have a baby.”
Valentina Rodionenko was sceptical about Paseka’s chances of a successful comeback:
“It’s her right. She understands that it’s hard to get to the same results she used to have. Perhaps, she needs to take a break. Will she be able to come back more motivated for 2021? That would be very problematic, I’ll tell you honestly. Her rivals went far ahead, she lagged behind, she didn’t do her difficult vaults, and not because she didn’t want to, but because at the moment she gave it everything she could. Perhaps, her decision to take a break is the right one because Masha understands full well that she won’t be able to do anything this season. And then, time will tell.”
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