Nikita Nagornyy didn’t have very successful Worlds – he didn’t qualify to any event finals and then took the 10th place in AA after falling twice from the high bar. However, he has very difficult routines and can challenge for medals both in AA and EFs when he hits.
Nagornyy talked to the media about the issues he had with the high bar during the AA final:
“Of course, it’s my fault, since I was the one who competed. But I competed after the Colombian gymnast who uses the 35 tension setting. I work at 12, some guys work at 15, and this is already too rigid, but 35 is just something else. We needed a lot of time to get back to the tension level that I work at. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to do it during the warm-up so I wasn’t able to warm up, and when I went to do my routine, the bar was made too “soft” – that’s why I fell and lost the medals chances, however upsetting it sounds.”
According to him, before the Worlds, he didn’t quite believe that he’s capable of winning an AA medal, but this final showed him it’s within his reach:
“I’m happy that I could give a fight. Many told me that I’m capable of fighting for an all-around medal. I believed it, but only a little. Today, though, I realized I have good chances. David today was… It’s very sad that he made such a mistake. He could be the all-around champion. We haven’t won any Worlds AA medals for so many years since Yuri Ryazanov. I don’t know why. Today we had a chance to win two medals.
During the qualifications, Nagornyy fell on vault and hurt his back, but he doesn’t think it affected his performance in the final:
“I have [back] issues, but this is a competition and I have to go out and compete. It doesn’t matter whether my back, or leg, or arm hurts. I have to go out and do it.”
Valeriy Alfosov, the head coach of the MAG team, noted that Nagornyy’s performance in the final was better than in qualifications:
“I’m pleased with Nikita Nagornyy’s performance in the final. It’s worth noting that today he looked considerably better than in qualifications. Apparently, he’s already passed a difficult period of acclimatization. Yes, he did not manage well on the high bar, where he made two technical mistakes, I have to admit that. He is in the prime of his life, and we have the right to expect a good result from him”
Photo: Russian Federation of Artistic Gymnastics
