Nikita Nagornyy gave this interview to RT in the end of May, when the team has just arrived to Round Lake for the first training camp since the start of the quarantine in April. At the time, there were strict isolation measures in place and Nagornyy talks about them in the interview. Currently, the measures have somewhat relaxed – both at Round Lake and in Moscow – and gymnasts were able to leave the center for a short break between two camps at the end of June. However, they are still not allowed to leave the center on weekends until the end of the current camp.
Q: What emotions are you experiencing coming back to Round Lake?
A: Only positive emotions, although it’s bugging me a bit that we’re in isolation. We’re completely locked down, there won’t be any movement [in or out]. It’s not clear when when the lockdown will be over or when the camp will end. We came in without knowing how long we will spend here. Of course, the training opportunities we have now are incomparable with wanting to go home from time to time. The camp has started, so we hope that some competitions will take place this year as well.
Q: Which of you teammates have your already seen?
A: For now, there are only five of us, it’s not the whole team. Artur Dalaloyan isn’t here, for example.
Q: What did the moving in look like?
A: We were all called on the same day and invited to the camp. Those who could drive here came right away. The rest are supposed to fly in. When we moved in, we took coronavirus tests and went into quarantine for three days, everyone had to stay in their own rooms. We could only go to the gym after getting negative results.
Q: Did you celebrate coming back?
A: Only by having a good practice.
Q: Were you nervous when you were tested?
A: No, because during the qurantine, my wife and I were periodically tested. We were also checked a week before coming back to the center and everything was fine.
Q: How would you assess your current shape?
A: Of course, it’s not the best but it’s not as bad as I thought.
Q: Do you still have all the skills or lost some during this time?
A: It’s pointless to talk about it now. I need to at least get into my previous physical shape, return the coordination, and then we can talk. I can’t dive into it now and do difficult elements. I have to spend a week or two on the basics and then see how I’ll feel. Otherwise, I could get injured.
Q: Have you ever had such breaks in training before?
A: No, never.
Q: Do you have any idea what’s next, what do you need to prepare for?
A: Everyone’s in the same situation now. We need to create an action plan that will be helpful in the future – for example, at the Olympics in 2021. We can learn new elements, work on the technique, polish the execution. Gymnastics is the kind of sport in which you can come up with all sorts of things depending on what’s ahead. For now, there’s nothing ahead of us, so for a month or two, we will just work on getting back in shape.
Q: Have you had time to learn something new during the lockdown?
A: I started playing keyboard. Because my guitar string broke and I couldn’t buy a new one. So, my wife got me a keyboard and I’m now learning how to play. I also started editing videos for my YouTube channel. Before, I had a team of guys who did it but now I’m doing it all by myself. You could say I got my second win and the lockdown was somehow useful.
Q: Have you composed something?
A: Of course not, I’ve only been doing it for a week. This is in the past, when I used to be a rapper. I still have some tracks dedicated to my wife. We were still in the courtship phase and I wanted to do something creative. If you dig on social networks, you can find like five songs.
Q: You posted many videos of various challenges. Which one was the hardest?
A: It was my latest video where I did a standing double back on a mattress. It was just hard to dare it. I even posted a full video of my attempts because it turned out to be the hardest trick.
Q: Were you bored during the lock down while killing the time?
A: We weren’t killing it, we tried to prolong it. About two weeks in, we started noticing how fast time passes. That’s what always happens when things are good. At the camp, I look back and it seems like those two months lasted only a week.
Q: In one of your vlogs, Daria showed that she’s not happy about you playing video games…
A: She is possessive, I have to always be with her. But I think it would be not normal if she didn’t say anything like it. I understand full well that it’s a hobby for me and not a job like for professionals streamers and gamers. As a kid, I trained and played CS:Go and other games during my spare time. During training camps, when we had a good online connection, we spent all of our spare time playing online games. But we didn’t play until 5 am, it was all reasonable. When you have a family, you can’t just play any time in you regular life. Now, with more spare time, I downloaded CS:Go again and my wife and I agreed that I can play a game or two a day. Of course, Dasha doesn’t like it very much, she had to find something to do, but she finds something fast.
Q: You and other gymnasts plan on competing at CS:Go Sport Stars Tournament. What do you think about your chances?
A: I can’t say we’re professionals. For me, I used to play much better around three or four years ago. In order to get back in that shape, I would have to practice every day for a month or two. I don’t have such an opportunity now, especially since the internet connection at the center is slow. I got some skills back at home. We need to figure something out regarding the internet because we don’t have a cable here. But we’ll do everything we can in order to participate. We’ll take a day to play together because there are many new maps now and then we’ll see what our chances are. Although, two of the guys will only arrive on 31st of May, after the competition’s start. It’s a challenge, but we’re athletes and have to take it on.
Q: Daria admitted she used to play CS:Go as well. Perhaps, she could help your team?
A: If you compare her to the easiest bots, that’s more or less how she plays. That is, she knows how to run and shoot.
