Jessica Gadirova’s three medals at the European Championsips are making the news in Azerbaijan – the country where her parents are from. Haqqin.az talked to Jessica, her twin sister Jennifer (missing the competition due to an injury), and their father Natig Gadirov about gymnastics and their Azeri heritage.
Jessica Gadirova said on winning AA and vault medals (the interview was conducted before the floor final): “It’s incredible. I’ve always dreamt of winning a medal at the European Championships but I’ve never thought I’d be able to do it at my first Euros. I’ve worked really hard. Now I believe in myself more than ever.”
Jennifer Gadirova joined: “I’m very proud of my sister. She went to Euros and showed everyone how amazing she is. Congratulations to our coaches and to everyone who’s been supporting us!”
Gadirov revealed that the twins are actually dual Irish-British nationals because they were born in Ireland. He said he and the girls’ mother are both Azerbaijani but have been living in the UK for a long time: “In 2001, we moved to London. And in 2004, we moved to Dublin for a few months for work. As a result, the girls now have both Irish and British citizenships. And I’m a citizen of Azerbaijan.”
Even though Gadirov often visits Baku and his parents and other relatives live there, the twins haven’t had a chance to visit yet due to their busy schedules. Jessica Gadirova said she hopes to visit soon: “Dad planned to take us to Baku several times but it never worked out. We want to come for a visit this summer. We’ll see if it works out. Although there are plenty of international competitions taking place in Baku, including artistic gymnastics, and we can come as competitors.”
The sisters started artistic gymnastics at six years old. Gadirov says they tried other sports as well but gymnastics became their favorite: “Since then, for 10 years, they’ve been doing gymnastics and, thank God, without any serious injuries so far. Artistic gymnastics is a tough and injury-prone sport but Jennifer and Jessica are fighters. They like various challenges, and not just in the sport but in studies as well. Of course, they are very much alike. But if we’re talking about the differences, Jennifer is introverted and Jessica is extroverted. But, in general, if you could say so, they’re the same person [laughs].”
Gadirovas’ grandmother is a doctor and they hope to follow in her steps. Their father says they are doing very well in school. When asked about whether they’d be interested in competing for Azerbaijan some day, Jennifer said: “Right now all our thoughts are about the British team and continuing our education here but anything is possible in the future”.
Even though the twins’ strongest events are vault and floor, their dad really likes uneven bars and hopes they will be able to win on this event as well: “They need to become stronger for that, they’re still in the beginning of their journey. I’m proud of my girls and it will feel very nice if the audience in Azerbaijan will know about the success of their compatriots who live far away. And it will be nice for us to feel the support of Azerbaijan”.
The interview was translated from Russian, the language it was published in. Haqqin.az is one of multiple Russian-language media in Azerbaijan. It is not clear whether the interview was conducted in Russian, Azerbaijani, English, or a combination of languages. Educated Baku residents are normally fully bilingual in Azerbaijani and Russian and many use Russian as the language of their daily communication and speak Russian to their children.
Photo from the European Championships – Elena Mikhaylova, Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
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