Igor Radivilov is well known for his rings and vault and has won multiple medals at various competitions on these events. he came to Basel as the reigning European champion on vault and the bronze medalist on rings but the lack of international competitions between the two Euros led to nerves and mistakes on both events. On rings, he qualified in fifth and finished sixth in the final. On vault, he qualified in last but in the final, he upgraded the first vault to Ri Se Gwang II and performed it quite well, which allowed him to make up for the large step on the landing on the second vault. He won gold, his sixth European medal on the event and the second gold. He talked to MatchTV about competing during the pandemic and how the break during the lockdown was quite hard for him to recover from.
Q: You have a gold medal for vault even though the qualification didn’t go well and you qualified to the final in the last place. What happened there?
A: Unfortunately, the lack of competitions affected the qualification, honestly. I was very nervous and wasn’t quite able to do what we’ve worked on. But I managed to get myself together by the final even though I made mistakes there as well. There’s time until the Olympics to polish the routines in order to show the maximum there.
Q: Were the mistakes in the final on the landing?
A: Yes, I could’ve done the second vault better, and the fist one as well.
Q: Everyone is lacking competitions. Did you not have any since the last Euros in Mersin?
A: I didn’t and I’ll say again that it’s much harder to do just one or two events than the all-around. You go out there and you need experience, all the pieces must fit together, but the lack of competition leads to mistakes. Practices are one thing but competitions are a different thing. So, I hope that World Cups in May won’t be canceled and we’ll use them to prepare for the Olympic Games.
Q: The coronavirus interrupted training for many people, training centers were closed, gyms were closed as well, some people got sick. How was your training process affected?
A: At first, it was a difficult situation with training. Then, after a month-long break, we started training once a day and recovering slowly. I put a lot of effort in order to recovery the physical shape and the coordinator. I hope this won’t happen again because I’m not 19 anymore and at 28, recovering is hard. It’s pain, nerves, and so on. But we’re already getting to a good level of physical and mental preparation and will keep moving forward.
Q: Rings and vault are among the most injury-prone events in men’s gymnastics. Rings are a power event and cause shoulder injuries, while on vault, you can get injured on the landing. How much has your career affected your body by the age of 28?
A: I had injuries, both my shoulders and legs, but we started working a bit differently now, we change the methods and for now, thank God, everything’s fine. Judging by today, everything’s going as it’s supposed to.
Q: Traditionally, Oleg Verniaiev has been the leader in the all-around for Ukraine. He’s skipping this competition but 17-year-old Illia Kovtun won bronze at his debut senior Euros. Were you surprised by his success?
A: They’ve been doing a colossal amount of work, and I think this medal is deserved. He was very well prepared in the all-around. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to win another Olympic spot for the country but he won a medal at a prestigious senior event, it’s quite respectable.
Q: Illia said in one of the interviews that he has two idols in gymnastics – Oleg and you. Do you feel like he’s trying to follow your example in some things?
A: He’s a bit of closed-off person, but he’s very modest and hard-working. If he will need my help, I’m always there and I think that together we’ll be able to create a good team for the Olympics.
Q: Did the gold medal you’re wearing now make up for your eighth place in the qualification on vault and fifth place on rings? Did you get closure?
A: Yes, I think so, there’s peace in my heart.
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