After coming back from the World Championships, Angelina Melnikova gave an interview to Lenta.
Q: First of all, I want to congratulate you on your victory at the World Championships. The first question, though, will be about not the most pleasant situation – no channel showed this competition in Russia. Did the athletes on the team discuss it between themselves?
A: Yes, of course, there was a reaction to it – from us, the coaches, our parents, and just acquaintances. It did not feel nice. It’s like, the Olympics ended and gymnastics was everywhere. After all, we had such a blast, two historic victories. Not like we were chases by everyone but we were definitely in the center of attention. And then there are Worlds two months later and no one is interested in you. Nada. Foreign websites had streams, but Russian media were not interested at all in covering this competition.
Q: How can you explain the lack of interest from Russian channels to the sport that brought Russia so many medal at the Olympics?
A: I have no idea. The only version I’ve heard was that they didn’t manage to buy the broadcast rights in time. But, as they say, when there’s a will…
Q: At the same time, these World Championships were still talked about, although, rather negative aspects of it – due to your silver on floor. Have the emotions calmed down already?
A: Yes, it was actually quite upsetting, because everyone was talking not about the medal I won but the medal I lost. And now, instead of enjoying my victory, I ended up in some pit of negativity. From the start, I didn’t have some special feelings about it. Everyone saw what happened, we were just late submitting the inquiry. According to the rules, you get only four minutes. Perhaps, if we submitted it [in time], the result would have been different. So, I was more upset about the fact that we didn’t even try to fight for the score. I would’ve been less upset if we submitted it but the inquiry was rejected.
Q: You wrote that you won’t compete on floor without a pre-filled inquiry anymore. So, that means, you need to have a separate form for every element?
A: No, you don’t write an inquiry for every element, it’s about the difficulty score. For example, the judges gave me 5.6, but I think I did a 5.9 difficulty. You write the score you got and the score you request.
Q: You said in the past that it’s common in gymnastics to be respectful towards other athletes and support them. Where you supported by any foreign athletes after this incident?
A: I got a lot of messages. I think that any top gymnast was in a situation where something wasn’t counted, where there was a stupid loss or something else happened. Everyone understands this. But if we’re talking about specific examples… I want to say that I have a very good relationship with Mai. We talked before the award ceremony and we don’t have any issues with each other. She supported me. And before that, I supported her, when I saw that she was second. But people didn’t come up to me on the spot. After all, there were many restrictions because of Covid, we were isolated, so that we wouldn’t have contact with anyone. So, there was very little contact with others in general.
Q: Besides this specific competition, did you become friends with any rival gymnasts over the years of competing together? Can you tell us?
A: I guess, with Lieke Wevers from the Netherlands. Other than that, I often exchange messages or replies to stories on with many gymnasts on Instagram, with the French, the Italians, the British, a bit with everyone.
Q: The happiest moment of the Olympics was clearly the team gold. And what was the hardest one?
A: To get over the fall on bars. I had a good opportunity but I lost it, unfortunately. It’s just that you always… not exactly make excuses for yourself, but you know that you… For example, at the Olympics, I had 16 routines. That is, I saluted [and went out to compete] 16 times. Such an intensity is hard both physically and psychologically. After the team gold and the all-around medal, I let my guard down a bit. I wasn’t focused quite enough because I used up that focus in the days before. The most important thing was the team competition, of course, and we gave all our energy there.
Q: Can you remember some awkward moment from the Olympics? Or some funny one?
A: No, we didn’t come there to have fun. No, everything was smooth, we were only focused on work, especially with all the restrictions.
Q: If you were asked to describe your impressions from the Tokyo Olympics with one phrase, what would you say?
A: I guess, “the impossible is possible”. All these events – the Olympic gold, the World all-around title… You start believing in yourself more. I’d competed for so long before that and the US was just unbeatable! Even if we were perfect, we could not beat them. Now it’s changed. You start thinking, “How did it change?” Then you realize that time has passed and nothing lasts forever.
Q: In Rio in 2016, you were very young and much less experienced, but you came to Tokyo as the captain and leader of the team. Was there a specific moment when you understood that the bulk of the responsibility is on you and you can’t let people down? When did it happen?
A: Yes, I’ve always felt this, in Rio as well. It can’t be any other way when you compete for the team in the three-up-three-count format, that is, when three people compete and three scores are counted for the team. I was young, I was 16 years old, but I knew that I needed to go out and do everything I could in order to not let the rest of the team down. There are five people on the team – the girls, but there are also the coaches who worked with you. I took every competition very seriously, each step was fully thought through.
Q: I’m talking more of the role of the team leader mentally. How did it feel?
A: Good! Our sport is not a team sport, so it’s not quite leadership. It’s more about some organizational issues, to help with something, to explain something… Not like to get the team into the mindset or anything. I know for myself that no one can put me into the right mindset better than myself. Everyone has their own personality. For example, I don’t like being talked to at competitions, I go inside my mind. For some, their coach helps… Some need to laugh…
Q: Was your help useful in Tokyo after all?
A: Yes, there was such a moment. Before the team final, Vika [Listunova] started getting a bit nervous. We supported her and, it seems, this helped her.
Q: Gymnastics, it seems to me, is one of the most difficult sports. Do you ever feel scared during training or competitions? Can you describe the last time it happened to you?
A: Every day in training. First of all, we perform very difficult elements, and second, gymnastics is such an injury-prone sport, that we just don’t know when something will happen. So, when I do a difficult element, there are always thoughts in my head that I need to be careful. I’m constantly scared!
Q: At first sight, beam seems to be the most difficult event. And how is it for you?
A: Not at all. On the contrary, we consider beam the easiest event. Yes, gymnasts often fall off it but it’s very easy.
Q: So, what’s difficult?
A: Bars. You will never be able to get them together if you don’t train on them. I don’t know how to explain it. For example, on beam, you can just walk on it and work on your balance, you can not train [the routine] for a while, but it’ll all work out in the end. That won’t work on bars. Floor is very hard too, in terms of conditioning it’s just crazy.
Q: What is going on in your head when you’re learning new elements?
A: I haven’t done this in a very long time. Generally, in such cases, the coach is spotting you. You’re going over the technique, the first move in your head. You don’t really talk to yourself. You just try, let’s say, imagine the sensations you’re supposed to have during the element.
Q: Do you have a tradition to bring home souvenirs that aren’t related to competitions from different countries? For example, some people collect bells.
A: I’ve never had a tradition to bring something specific, mugs, cups, or whatnot. I just bring gifts from every competition, for my parents, for instance.
Q: Was there something very memorable?
A: I guess not. It’s just there were so many trips!
Q: My next question is exactly about that. Which country did you like the most and why?
A: I was very impressed by Italy. I liked their attitudes, how people live there. I also like Japan. The Japanese are so meticulous and follow the rules… This lifestyle attracts me.
Q: And which country would you like to visit? And why?
A: Now, maybe, I’d like to go to some islands. An active vacation is a definite no. I’m so tired from long flights that I just want to hole up in one place and stay there.
Q: What do you usually do on your phone?
A: Message people, look for inspiration. I spend a lot of time on Pinterest. Instagram somehow stopped being appealing lately.
Q: But you are active on Instagram even during competitions. What do the coaches think of that?
A: It’s fine, they just know that I’m an active person. We don’t have any restrictions and never had them.
Q: I’m sure you get a lot of direct messages. What was the most unusual message you ever got?
A: I guess, a marriage proposal. To be honest, lately, I stopped reading my direct messages, I might open it once every couple of days, read a couple of messages and that’s it.
Q: Were there any negative ones?
A: Actually, I’ve never seen hate towards me.
Q: From your Instagram, it’s clear you read a lot. What were the most memorable books lately?
A: Now I don’t read as much as before. The period of training for the Olympics was very hard, so I was reading something light. For example, I really liked The Little Shop of Happy-Ever-After. I read Aleksandr Polyarny’s books. Just to distract myself from gymnastics and dive into some fairytale.
Q: Is there something you really want to learn but haven’t yet been able to because you’re busy or for some other reasons?
A: I recently started drawing digitally but I don’t have enough time at all, I don’t know how. I’m trying really hard but nope. I was bored at the training center and decided to do something. I’ve always loved to draw since I was a kid, it’s in me, I’ve been drawn to it.
Q: If not gymnastics, what would you do?
A: Something creative for sure. Even in gymnastics, I stay creative. In general, I’ve always wanted to become a fashion designer.
Q: And the last question – which interview question you usually get is the most annoying?
A: About money. After the Olympics, journalist would ask, for instance, on what I’ll spend my prize money or something like that. That annoys me. I think this question is not entirely appropriate.
