Angelina Melnikova gave a long interview to RSport.
Q: Are you able to recover after Tokyo?
A: I can’t manage to rest. Later, maybe… During the New Year’s vacation, perhaps. [laughs] Because now I plan on trying to prepare for the World Championships. I don’t know how it’ll go. I managed to get some rest from training but not rest in general because of such a busy schedule.
Q: Is your busy media schedule now work for your brand or using the chance to make gymnastics talked about more?
A: I am definitely using this chance because when will it happen again? Especially since we spent 1.5 years under the lockdown at the training center. I’m trying to make up now for everything I missed during that time.
Q: Do you believe that it will be possible to keep the hype around artistic gymnastics going until the next Olympics?
A: Definitely not. Usually, there’s a peak after the Olympic Games and it fades later. New events happen, competitions in other sports. And constant hype isn’t needed. We’re athletes, our job is, for the most part, to train and compete and not run around to interviews and shoots. It seems that I also gained in popularity, but I don’t even know what to think of it because that was not my main goal. As a bonus, it’s incredibly nice. I’m very surprised. Even during Rio-2016, few people knew what artistic gymnastics is, but now many can name our apparatuses, for example. Making the sport more popular is more important than my own popularity because I want more kids to do gymnastics, to have more choices. For now, still, few kids do artistic gymnastics compared to, for example, America. There’s a huge influx of kids [in the US] and there’s always a certain percentage of really talented ones. I’d like it to be similar here.
Q: Do I understand it correctly that you will resume training, see how it goes, and then make decisions regarding your career future?
A: Yes. But I don’t know if I’ll manage to prepare for the World Championships. There’s still the seven-day-long quarantine in our rooms without training before meeting the president in September.* I’ll have a month until the competition after that, it’s very little time. If I’ll manage [to prepare in time], fine, but if not, I won’t take risks.
Q: But even if you won’t be able to go to the World Championships, will the decision about continuing your career still be up in the air? After all, a Worlds gold is the most obvious achievement that you don’t yet have.
A: I would like to stay until Paris, of course, but it’ll depend on my frame of mind, which is really important to me. And on my health, which is even more important. Gymnastics is the kind of sport where you can be at the top one day and the next day you get injured, out for half a year, and can’t go to any competitions. It’s always hard to deal with, so I can’t make predictions. I always want to take the most from the sport but I don’t have any specific goals. It’s hard to set them, since anything can happen. You can get really upset when you’ve been going towards something for a long time but it didn’t work out because of some external factor. But if we’re talking about what I want, then I would want to become a World champion, it’s really cool. Especially since I would then have all the titles [European, World, and Olympic gold].
Q: Regarding your health, an issue with your vision is public. Are there any other issues that haven’t been fixed yet?
A: I actually better do another eye surgery because I’m myopic. I want to correct my vision because I’m fed up with wearing lenses. It also affects the training when they moving after falls. Otherwise, I’m fine for now, I don’t have any serious injuries.
Q: Psychologically, after you’ve an Olympic gold, will it be easier to purely enjoy the sport, the practices?
A: There’s rarely pure enjoyment at practices. [laughs] There is a feeling of closure. When you become and Olympic champion, you get the highest possible award. You start feeling like you’ve done everyone you could.
Q: Which of the congratulatory messages after the Olympics was the most memorable?
A: I was extremely surprised, I jumped with joy and my eyes widened, when Aleksandr Petrov [Russian actor] wrote to me that he and his whole family rooted for me and are congratulating me. I was absolutely shocked. I guess this message was the coolest. But generally I don’t read direct messages because there is a crazy amount of messages there.
Q: Do you have to set boundaries on social media?
A: Definitely. People nowadays started allowing themselves a lot. Sometimes I read comments in some public people’s accounts and people go over the top – they attack people, insult them. For me, this is wrong, you can’t do that. I never want to give any reasons for negativity, there’s enough of that already in our sports. For examples, something isn’t working out in training and you get annoyed and angry every time. If we will also pay attention to what someone says on social media and who’s trying to get some hype for something, you could die.
Q: We are talking two weeks after your return from Tokyo. Do you have dreams about the Olympics, do you feel nostalgic?
A: Nothing like that, especially since in the interviews, you keep telling about it and constantly relive all these moments. I can even say that I don’t miss the Olympic Games. [laughs] It was nice but it’s all over.It’s a different stage of my life now and new goals.
Q: Can you talk about your impressions from the Tokyo Games using three words or associations?
A: Willpower. Olympic spirit because that was what helped my mood, inspiration, and focus. And, I suppose, pride for my country. When you become an Olympic champion, there is a huge amount of pride for Russia in your soul.
Q: Were you able to feel the atmosphere of the Games in the village? Because there were contradictory reports due to the pandemic restrictions.
A: Yes, 100%. The girls and I were very happy that these Olympic Games even happened. There were some issues with the accommodations but we ignored them. We were just happy that Japan hosted this competition. I don’t think another country would’ve been able to do a better job now.
Q: Your team now has even more shared experiences. Are you friends, teammates, or just colleagues?
A: We have quite friendly relationships on the team but the age differences are felt a lot. There are girls four years younger than me, it can be hard to communicate sometimes but, overall, everything’s fine. Lilya and I are the oldest on the team and stick together, and the younger girls are with each other. But we still hang out, we all lived together in Tokyo and got along well. Coaches usually joke that we are old ladies compared to the young ones who are 15-16 years old. At our age, many retire from gymnastics. So, the coaches joke, “Give up your seats for the old ladies!”
Q: At the same time, the coaches on our team are quite old. Do you manage to have rapport with them besides work matters?
A: Of course. We generally have good relationships with the coaches, I’d even say friendly. This allows to reach goals, it gives us support in training; that is, it feels like a personal relationship.
Q: What attitudes from foreign athletes did you encounter at the Olympics? Some people mentioned Russia in the context of doping or doubts that our athletes were clean.
A: I don’t recall feeling like that. In the world of gymnastics, great mutual respect prevails… There used to be moments before, when the US team, apparently, didn’t say hello, but it’s all completely gone now. Every athlete knows what others have gone though and American girls support us as well. There’s nothing about doping. Outside of gymnastics, you can feel something sometimes, but it’s normal for elite sports. Still, there aren’t any explicit talks about us, especially since our judging is ok, everyone’s in the right places.
Q: But, in this context, there was again a big story around Simone Biles and her withdrawal from several competitions. Did you get into the discussions that the medicine she’s allowed to take was prohibited in Tokyo?
A: There’s no specific information here, so we can’t talk about it. She withdrew because of a well-known problem of gymnasts. We call it the twisties when you lose air awareness. I had this issue too, like everyone else did as kids, I think. You want to do a full twist, but do two and can’t understand where you are. It’s very dangerous because we do difficult elements. It’s the biggest possible fear in gymnastics, so Simone made the right decision. Only time cures it.
Q: Is it upsetting that the most discussed stories are often those with scandalous undertones?
A: People are always interested in things that are mostly negative. There’s so much to discuss! If something’s positive – let’s say, someone won a gold medal – you say they did a good job, congratulate them, be happy for them. But negative things need to be discussed with one person, then with another. It’s endless, so I’m not upset.
Q: Was this year’s birthday the most memorable one?
A: I guess so. When I learned that we were flying to Tokyo on July 18th, I was very upset. I knew full well how my birthday was going to go – just on the plane. We departed at night and arrived at 4 pm local time. We got to the village only at 9 pm. I thought, “Welll, the birthday went just great”. I got really upset but then I reflected on everything and realized that it was the best birthday gift possible. Flying to the Olympic Games is very cool and memorable even though I slept through the whole flight.
Q: Did you regret leaving Tokyo too fast?
A: No, I really wanted to get home as fast as possible. When you’re not home, and you’re under such pressure, emotionally exhausted after the competition, you want to go back to your family and friends and even just lie down in your own bed. The girls and I even joked after the team final, “Well, let’s go home? After all, we have a gold, no need to keep competing.”
Q: Which other sports were the most memorable?
A: I was very impressed by women’s volleyball. I couldn’t train because they kept scoring every 3-4 seconds! I got really drawn into it and started rooting for the team. I was happy every time they scored and upset every time the other team scored. This sport ended up very emotional for me, I even got distracted from my training.
Q: In the overall medal count, the Russian team placed fifth. Technically, it’s the lowest place which caused arguments. Don’t you think that our people pay too much attention to the overall medal count? Sometimes it’s accompanied by aggressive and even war-like rhetoric which places athletes and their stories in the background.
A: It’s hard for me to contemplate on it since I haven’t even seen these discussions. I think that the fifth place is a decent result. You always want more but in any case, everyone prepared their 100%, they tried hard and gave their all. It’s always upsetting if someone addresses something bad towards athletes. Some people don’t fully understand how much we invest in the sport, how much we give to it. For me, staying at the locked-down training center for 1.5 years became the stumbling block. It was horrible, a complete hell. You’re stuck under the lockdown and you can’t even go to the store like a normal person. Even hygiene supplies had to be ordered online and delivered. We didn’t see other people, we went to the same dining hall, ate the same food. Even at practices, we did the same thing. It wasn’t normal. When I visited the city afterwards, I even stared at the cars passing by. I thought, “God, they’re moving!” We couldn’t drive cars at the training center. You could really go wild there. I started feeling apathetic, I lived from practice to practice, I didn’t want to do anything. I was forcing myself to study Italian and English which really helped. But it still could lead to one’s complete degradation. An athlete has a special character, willpower, fortitude, and leadership qualities that help to survive difficult times and endure even unbearable situations. I think not a single regular person would have been able to go through what athletes go through since childhood. That’s what needs to be focused on.
Q: Was this the most difficult time in your career mentally?
A: For me, yes. I’m normally a very interested and involved person, I always have enough energy – even now, when every day is fully booked. But at the training center, I knew I was losing my ability to stay active. I would come to my room from practice, open Instagram, and just get sucked into it. I got lazy big time, I felt horrible, because I wasn’t myself. I wanted to cry, I wanted it to be over as soon as possible. When I forced myself to do something, it helped.
Q: It sounds like…
A: It sounds like prison!
Q: Was it that hard?
A: Of course. Even our packages had to be given to us through the fence. Everything was 100% strict, but everyone knew that there were certain rules we had to observe. It was truly for the athletes’ own good, because in the end, the Russian team had almost no issues with Covid. We are all extremely grateful for that because we wouldn’t really want to keep training and then catch the coronavirus and go home. That was something I was most afraid of because the dream of my whole life was at stake.
Q: Compared to this, some big gestures and adventures are even more notable. What was the craziest thing you’ve done in your life?
A: What are the options?.. If something physical, then I have enough sense and I understand that I could get injured. Even when I learned how to snowboard, I was really worried because of my knee issues. There wasn’t any craziness in my life. The risks, generally, were in the sport. Especially when you almost hit the bar and know that were it just one more millimeter, you would’ve ended up losing your teeth. In such situations, you realize that there are enough adventures in your life.
Q: What are you thinking about the post-retirement life?
A: I want to make up for all the knowledge I missed in my studies. Also dancing, drawing, any other areas. I’ve been in the gym for 15 years doing the sport even though there are so many interesting things in the world. So, after retirement, I’ll dedicate myself to my wishes. I want to not give my all to something again but live for myself, gain knowledge for some new field. After all, I don’t really know anything but gymnastics.
Q: What are the differences between Angelina Melnikova at her first Olympics in Rio and now, both inside and outside the sport?
A: There are a lot. I’ve always loved improving myself. During Rio, I was a 16-year-old girl but I was already reading mature and heavy books. Yes, I was still a kid, but with big prospects. If we’re talking about the gymnastics part, at the time, my coach prepared me by planning 100% of my training, he told me what to do, what to warm up, and so on. The results fully came from the coach’s work. I came to Tokyo as an adult professional athlete because I have many competitions and life experiences behind my back. The preparation process was fully deliberate on my part. The coaches helped me more with advice and support but in terms of my preparation, I decided for myself what and when to do. So, it was two different people in Rio and in Tokyo. If we’re talking about general development, the big leap was from 18 to 19. Everything changed inside, including life attitudes, principles, my approach to the sport. In about a year, I turned from a teenager into an adult. All the knowledge accumulated before that came together with a bang. I pour everything that can be learned into myself and I like it.
Q: Are you also a fighter in life like you are on the competition floor or more vulnerable?
A: Perhaps, in the sport, I’m a bit bolder and tougher on myself. On the competition floor, I can get angry with myself sometimes, even lose my temper, but not in regular life. I love myself, I can take pity on myself, but still, many things are left over from the sport. For example, I can’t lie in bed for a long time even on weekends. I always think, “I have to get up!”. All these “have to” come from the sport and stick with you, no matter what you do. I like it because I don’t like lazy people, even though I like be lazy sometimes… Everything in moderation, though!
Q: What can make you angry or reduce you to tears in regular life?
A: I just hate when people don’t do their job. I hate slow people, it makes me angry every time. For example, I come to get some documents or to the bank, and it’s just… I start getting so angry that sometimes I go over the top and start talking quite aggressively. I guess, it’s the only way. But sometimes, when I get angry with someone and lose my temper, I then feel uneasy, I feel uncomfortable. Such situations are hard for me because I have no patience. It’s hard for me to sit and wait, when I don’t understand what’s taking so long, since the job takes three seconds. I can’t even watch it.
Q: And going into another direction, what can move you to tears?
A: Anything. I’m quite a vulnerable person, I can easily cry while watching a movie. People always tell me I’m very kind. I also like kids and I feel very sorry when a kid falls, I want to comfort them.
Q: Did people ever use your kindness and openness?
A: Of course. After the Olympic Games, for example. It’s funny – you become and Olympic champion and you find yourself having lots of friends right away, everyone invites you somewhere. A person you’ve never talked to writes to you that you need to meet. It’s just ridiculous.
Q: You are also the most beautiful gymnast in the world, as media have been saying for a while. Are you fed up with it or does it feel nice every time?
A: It’s so cool! Although, what are the criteria? [laughs]
*Despite the fact that Russia largely downplayed the dangers of COVID-19 and imposed few preventative measures, Vladimir Putin requires anyone who comes in contact with him to quarantine. Previously, there were mandatory two-week quarantines and now it’s been reduced to a week. Putin traditionally meets with Olympic medalists after the Olympics in Kremlin, when they are also awarded cars.
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
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