Sergei Naidin is having quite a rocky ride at the Youth Olympics: he’s competing with an injury (thankfully, the officials let Naidin back in), his coach mistakenly withdrew him from the floor and pommel horse finals, then the coaches didn’t submit an inquiry when his D score on floor was calculated incorrectly. He still won three medals already (with more finals to come) and he’s immensely enjoying the experience.
Naidin talked about competing in the all-around final where he placed second after Takeru Kitazono to TeamRussia.
A: I’m very happy with my performance and my coach also said: good job, you did everything. We understand that considering the level of competitors, it’s a very dear medal.
Q: What advantages does the Japanese gymnast have?
A: He has an amazing body type. For his age, he’s very small and very mobile. His amplitude is small, his weight and height are ideal for executing the routines perfectly. I grew up lately, my weight and height changed. My back and shoulders hurt. But I’ll still be striving for the best. I need to have my back and shoulders healed first and then I’ll move forward.
Q: The did not step away from Kitazono, he practically held his hand during the routines.
A: This is the Asian school of gymnastics. They behave differently. For example. during the routines, the coach stands near the gymnast, claps loudly, expresses his emotions. We don’t do that.
Q: On what events you made mistakes?
A: At first, there was pommel horse… I got nervous, unfortunately. I hoped to get the highest score on pommel horse because it’s my favorite event. But after the dismount, I got such a positive reactive from the crowd that all the nerves went away. I immensely enjoyed the performance. Everything went smoothly.
Q: Have you experienced anything new at the Youth Olympics?
A: Exactly. I’ve never competed in front of such a huge crowd, with such support. The European Championships was held in, let’s say, a more calm environment. But here it was something exceptional. You’re working on parallel bars and fell that the whole arena is holding their breath. And everything exhales together. The lights, the crowd, everything is amazing. It’s a show, in a good way. I’m overwhelmed with joy.
Q: What are your fellow gymnasts back home saying about the games?
A: Everyone noticed that the Games are happening, everyone’s watching. It’s really well covered in Russia. Nikita Nagornyy wrote to me before the competition: come one, go, we’re all cheering for you. I watched swimming the day before – how our guys are swimming and winning the medal after the medal. Generally, there are a lot of medals given away in swimming. You can say that I was inspired by the swimmers.
Q: Are people in your home city, Novosibirsk, not sleeping at night in order to watch?
A: Why – they are sleeping. They just wake up at 4 or 5 am and look for the stream. They already promised to arrange the warmest welcome for me – like for the winner. Everyone’s missing me.
Photo: FIG
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