Melnikova gave a long interview to Metaratings in which she talked about the Tokyo Olympics, the increase in fame after that, and her decision to compete at the upcoming World Championships in Japan.
Q: You’re an Olympic champion. After some time has passed, have you already gotten used to it?
A: Yes, almost nothing changed, except for the fact that I now have a busy schedule and lots of interviews.
Q: Is there more interviews now compared to after Rio?
A: There were also a lot of interviews after Rio, because I was the youngest participant at the Olympics there, everyone used that fact. In the last five years, the media became very active, so there are more interviews now.
Q: Have you already had time to read all the congratulations from your fans? Are they still coming?
A: Some people still write to thank me for the victory. But I’ve read all the congratulatory messages already.
Q: You talked about issues with the music a few weeks before the competition. You changed half of the routine. Was it not possible to just fit the choreography to the new tempo?
A: We tried to do this, too, we wanted to find something similar that would match the old music, with the kind of tempo that would fit the choreo at least a little bit. But in the end, we weren’t able to, because there wasn’t much music to choose from, we had to do everything very fast, so both the tempo and the choreography changed, the whole second part of the routine.
Q: If we compare the two routines, which one do you like more?
A: I did the old routine at the European Championships. I like it more, to be honest. Now, before the quarantine, I trained the old routine for a few days – it was music to my ears. I feel like it’s my routine, everything in it fits together, and I missed it a lot.
[This week, Melnikova said she had to go back to her Tokyo routine because the author of the music still doesn’t want her to use it without paying $25,000]
Q: The 2020 Olympics ended up being quite unusual. First, it was postponed by a year, then there were serious restrictions in its organization. How did you feel in the spring of 2020 when you learned that the Olympics were under a cancellation threat?
A: The girls and I followed the news a lot at the time, because one competition after another was being canceled. And when the Olympics were canceled, on the very same day, I went to the head coach and said that, I guess, I needed to take a couple of weeks of vacation. What was the point of staying at the training center? It was closed down and I went home for two weeks and just rested. And then the lockdown started. In the end, my two-week vacation turned into two months.
Q: How did you train during the lockdown? Was it hard without the familiar gym?
A: It was hard mentally, because I kept thinking that days were passing, time was passing, I was losing my physical shape, I needed to go to the gym, the Olympics were in a year. I felt uncertainty regarding how I would even recover. Every day of the lockdown passed under pressure.
Q: Did you get back in shape fast?
A: I lost it fast during the lockdown. In the first week, I tried to do abs exercises, but it became hard, and I abandoned this idea. When I came back to the gym, I knew that there were no competitions ahead, so I recovered my full competition routines in a month or 1.5 months. It was easy to recover.
Q: But at the same time, did you knew that you would go to the Games for sure? Some athletes gave up on that idea.
A: Of course, I had the goal to go to my second Olympic Games.
Q: Were you relieved when the Japanese government confirmed that the competition would take place?
A: We had doubts until almost the end. There were also protesters in Tokyo who were against holding the Games. I was worried that due to the protests, the Japanese government would refuse to host the Olympics, but deep inside I believed that everything would be fine. It was hard, of course, because we were training for the Games and getting such news every day. We would walk past the tv in the gym faster in order not to hear anything.
Q: Have you seen the protesters when you were already in Japan?
A: No, everything was calm and peaceful for us.
Q: Tell me about the whole journey from Moscow to Tokyo.
A: Overall, it was a good journey, there were almost no issues. We were locked down at the training center for a month. About 10 days or a week before the flight we started doing PCR tests, we had to have three before we left. Then we got onto the bus to Sheremetyevo [Airport]. We were a bit separated from other people – for example, we had a separate check-in counter. But other than that, it was like a regular trip. When we landed in Tokyo, it got hardcore. We also had a long separate path which we had to walk in order to exit the airport. First, we were tested, we had a special app, we got a pile of papers to fill and show, there were a lot of staff who watched if we did everything correctly. It got to the point that our temperature was taken five times. Our saliva was tested and then we sat there and waited for the results. This whole path at the airport took about four hours until we exited. The good thing was that the village was about 30 minutes from the airport.
Q: And is it far from the gyms?
A: Very close. It was a seven-minute ride to the competition arena and a twelve-minute drive to the training gym. The organization was great.
Q: How were the conditions in the village? The beds have been discussed many times, but, perhaps, something else made a strong impression?
A: I liked the conditions and was impressed but it wasn’t better than in Rio. I guess, at least, because there was one bathroom for two people there and one for six people here. It was a bit uncomfortable, The beds were surprising but the mattress and the pillow were comfortable, I slept great. The living conditions overall weren’t great but we ignored it completely. We were just happy that the Games were taking place.
Q: You said that the rides to the gyms took seven and twelve minutes. Was walking forbidden?
A: I don’t know for sure if it was allowed to leave the village. Some people said it was, some said it wasn’t. But I haven’t heard that any members of our delegation walked to the gyms or even walked around Tokyo.
Q: Because fo the restrictions, you didn’t have an opportunity to walk around the city. After the end of the competition, were you not tempted at all to break the rule?
A: No, I just wanted to go home because we spent too much time there. And when you already have a medal, you want to go back sooner.
Q: When we watched the opening ceremony and then your performances and saw the empty stands, we felt goosebumps. Even though we’re supposedly used to covid restrictions already, it still looks a bit eery. How did it feel for you?
A: It’s horrible to compete without spectators because there’s no adrenaline. Spectators give such a charge of energy that you can’t get anywhere else. I just look back and remember how I used to compete in arenas full of spectators, and when I see what happens now – it wasn’t easy. But at the same time, the realization that you’re at the Olympic Games helped. It helped me to get myself together. But otherwise it was horrible, of course.
Q: How do you manage to turn your thoughts off and focus just on your routines?
A: I don’t know, we’ve been learning it since childhood. It’s like an exam when you study hard for it and then just do your thing. There’s no fear but there’s anxiety because you always want to do everything perfectly. Sometimes so perfectly that it’s impossible. But you still hope for a miracle a bit. You always just want to do your best, that’s why there’s worry – will you be able to? But in some way, it helps to get into the right mindset, to focus.
Q: How did it feel – to step on top of the medal podium but not get a chance to hear your anthem?
A: It’s sad in some sense, even a bit hurtful. It’s just that these the most coveted feelings, when you go on top of the medal podium, the anthem plays, and you know that the whole country is behind you. And this [at the Olympics] was sort of ok but you still miss the anthem. I had thoughts like “We’ve won the Olympics, our flag could’ve been here now but it’s not here”. But we still understood that everyone knew who and from where we were and we didn’t stop being Russian gymnasts and athletes just because the flag wasn’t there.
Q: Recently, figure skating Olympic champion Aleksey Yagudin said that when he competed, he did it most for himself and not for the country.
A: I can’t say that athletes have such thoughts that you’re competing for your country now. Obviously, we don’t think about it when we go out to compete. We just know that we need to do our best, it’s like a challenge for yourself. You have a routine that you have to do well. You don’t think about your country or yourself, all your thoughts are just about how to do the routine as perfectly as you would like to.
Q: In Japan, athletes were prohibited from even saying the word “Russia”. Did you feel like a hostage of this situation? Didn’t you think about Rio that had more freedom?
A: Even in interviews, we were wary of the word “Russia”. It was very unusual because sometimes you just want to use the name of your country in a 15-minute interview but you’re forbidden. We felt the restrictions on social media as well – there were specific rules. We were tied down and everything was carefully watched, which also added restrictions – here’s Covid, it’s forbidden, there’s no flag, it’s forbidden, don’t say thing, don’t go there, don’t take off your mask. We’re already busy with our work and we have to think about something else at the same time.
Q: Did foreign journalists try to provoke you to say the name of the country in interviews?
A: No, that definitely didn’t happen.
Q: Another surprise was the withdrawal of the leader of the US team Simone Biles from most of the competition. Did you talk to her? What happened to her?
A: We were in the training gym and when I asked her, she gave a short answer, “Doesn’t matter”. But I later learned what the problem was. Everyone took it fine because it’s a widespread problem, it happens often, I’ve encountered it as well. Simone made the right decision because it’s, at the very least, very dangerous. She chose her health. It’s better this way than if she would have gotten seriously injured.
Q: You said that you’ve been through something similar as well. How did you overcome it?
A: It’s just regular twisties when you lose your air awareness. Only time gets rid of it. Nothing else can help because you don’t understand where you are in the air. It’s the worst thing for an athlete because you can’t not understand and then just try and understand – it doesn’t work like that when you do elements. As I said, only time gets rid of that and, perhaps, stepping back to some basic drills for preschoolers, for example. I just wouldn’t do the element [on which I got the twisties] for two or three years.
Q: What did you feel when you brought the element back after such a long time?
A: I was happy. It was transitional element, I couldn’t do it because I, as I said, got lost. I threw it out for two years and then just decided to try it and it worked. You could say I was even happy.
Q: What is your favorite event?
A: I don’t know, beam, I guess, but since I can’t get a handle on it at all… I really like floor, but it’s a very difficult event, so I don’t like training it at all. I guess floor is the hardest. But I can’t not like it because I do well on it. If I stop liking it, then I’ll stop doing well.
Q: And why can’t you get a handle on beam? From the outside, it looks like everything is going smoothly.
A: No, I’ve always had problem on beam. For a while, I couldn’t find a good routine for myself, then I found it, then problems started again. Then the difficulty changed, some elements. It’s like a constant roller coaster on beam, that’s why I can’t do it well.
Q: Artistic gymnastics has more competition than rhythmic where Russia was always the favorite. But this year, the monopoly was broken. Have you watched the competitions of your gymnastics colleagues?
A: I watched Dina and Arina compete but didn’t see the group competition. I then saw the results, interviews, and so on online.
Q: What do you think about what happened to the girls?
A: I feel really bad for Dina and Arina but I know nothing about rhythmic gymnastics, don’t know any elements or requirements. So, I can’t say what happened with the judging there. But, if they say they were not judged fairly, then, probably, it’s true. It’s a real pity because I know how it is to work towards a medal and how much losing hurts. I just want to support them.
Q: Have you discussed [among the teammates] the situation in which first Arina and Dina Averina and then the rhythmic team ended up?
A: No, because we don’t know the rules. We only talked about how upsetting it was.
Q: You’re the team captain. Does it give you extra responsibility?
A: No, I guess, only some organizational issues. For example, we need to decide on leotards, which uniforms we take with us. The sketches are sent to me, I sent it to them [the rest of the team], and ask to tell me which ones they like, we discuss them together.
Q: Do such organizational issues take a lot of your time?
A: Yes, a lot of time before competitions because there are enough issues that need to be dealt with. I have my own things to do and then this on top of my stuff. But we solve everything quite fast and without conflicts, no one slows things down.
Q: It can be hard to work in an all-female team sometimes. How often do you have conflicts and how do you solve them?
A: We don’t have conflicts because the girls are little, they’re 16 years old. In artistic gymnastics, we are raised in a way that you can’t express your personality until you grow up.
Q: You plan to compete at the World Championships that take place in a few months in Japan. Didn’t you think of resting after such a difficult journey at the Olympics?
A: I thought about whether to take a break or go to the World Championships, but since I was invited to various shows and invitational competitions, I still need to be in shape. So, why not try it?
Q: The Olympics finished quite recently, now – the World Championships. How hard is it physically?
A: The issue is not in the physical part, but in the mental, because my body hasn’t gotten very tired, everything got fully restored during the quarantine. The problem is to get into the right mindset mentally because the Olympic Games are the peak, after which you don’t know where to go and what to do.
Q: But you always want to go to another Olympics.
A: Of course, but any smart athlete knows what they need. I know when I need to rest and when I need to work more. You need to know how to rest and work, otherwise you can drive yourself to exhaustion.
Q: Are you planning on going to the Paris Games?
A: Yes, I think so. At least, I want to, but it will depend on my health and mood.
Q: Going back to rhythmic gymnastics, the whole Israeli team including the Olympic champion Linoy Ashram withdrew from the World Championships. What do you think is the reason?
A: It’s hard to say. Perhaps, it’s connected to the scandal, or the decision to rest. It’s hard for me to say something about it because artistic and rhythmic gymnastics are two different sports. In rhythmic gymnastics, gymnasts don’t flip over their heads, for example.
Q: We know a lot about athletes’ results but almost nothing about their journeys. Tell me about yours.
A: My journey was difficult. Although, any athlete can say that. But it was really difficult because after Rio, I had to part ways with my coach, and I was without a coach for almost a year. I went off the path, was thrown off my game, and lost myself and my gymnastics for a bit, but I still tried to stay at the level of international competitions. But the very same year taught me a lot. Even though I was only 17, I made a lot of important decisions on my own. It taught me how to be a strong person. Despite all the difficulties, I managed to stay on the national team and keep competing. From 2018, a rise started, when I got another coach and, little by little, moved forward. In my career, I haven’t missed a single competition, a single World, European, or Russian championships. For me, this is a very fair path towards medals. I didn’t have a situation where I would win gold at my very first World Championships or Olympic Games. [I moved] gradually, slowly, but surely.
Q: What are generally the chances to make the national team?
A: In artistic gymnastics, there aren’t that many kids compared to rhythmic gymnastics – there’s a huge stream of people there. We have few people that can be selected, especially since kids now are naturally weaker physically. The level dropped by a lot. So, it’s not hard, kids make the national team at 12 yeas old.
Q: And to stay on the team?
A: To stay is much harder, especially when the puberty starts, [growing] height and weight. In our sport, it’s very important to watch your weight, but you gain a lot of weight during the puberty – it’s very hard. It’s a transitional issue that you need to live through.
Q: Have your encountered such problems?
A: Of course. But I was a bit lucky, my problems were not major. But I remember how hard it was, especially when you gained a bit of weight, and it’s the growth period, 16 or 17 years old, and you body barely recovers. I remember how I would wake up from a nap after the practice and was basically still asleep going to the next one. And only barely got awake during the practice. But it’s willpower and athletic character, I guess. It’s the only way to survive.
Q: Didn’t you want to quit?
A: Of course, many times. I had such thoughts, especially if there were some failures. It was hard to train when I was fed up with everything, I had such moments. I thought, “Why do I need all this?” But it’s games for your character because a few hours later it all passes, you cool off and realize that it’s your calling which you live, you just had a bad day and tomorrow, it will be all right.
Q: Who served as your main supporters at the time?
A: My parents, but even more than them, my coach, because they are always by my side.
Q: Your parents might be a bit hurt now, I think.
A: Not really, it’s the same for all athletes. You spend more time with the coach, after all, and they become like your parent.
Q: Don’t you get tired from being popular? You are probably exhausted by the fans who ask to take a few pictures in the street?
A: I get really tired. It’s hard because any person has something to hide. Even in interviews, when you talk, you still think about not saying too much and not phrasing something in a way that can be misunderstood. It’s constant stress. With pictures, it’s the same. When people ask to take a few pictures with kids, it becomes hard when you are constantly bothered. Especially, since there are different people, it can be hard to answer questions, too, because sometimes there are stupid or loaded questions. You have to be a rock to know how to endure it all. So, I really relax when I come home.
Q: Do you encounter haters?
A: Not at all, I haven’t so far.
Q: Do you often get hit on? Do you respond?
A: I generally try not to go out alone because it’s very scary. I’ve had many situations when people tried to hit on me but I say carefully reject them.
Q: Were there insistent guys who would continue trying after you said no once?
A: I guess not. Although it depends on how insistent. If [you mean someone who] asked a couple of times, then yes.
Q: Can you reveal the secret that eating at millions of fans – is your heart taken?
A: I don’t like to talk about personal life. I won’t say.
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