Most of the Russian national team gymnasts arrived at Round Lake on Sunday and were tested for coronavirus on Monday. They were isolated in their rooms while waiting for results but, according to Valentina Rodionenko, all gymnasts tested negative and started training today:
“We got the test results. 35 people, all the athletes, are fine, the results were negative. This afternoon they will be allowed in the gym, the first practice is today. The only issue is with the choreographer. She was one of the last people taking the tests and [the doctors] have some questions for her. She will take the test again and for now, she’s isolated in her room.”
Rodionenko also talked to the Russian Olympic Committee about the return to Round Lake after a two-month break.
Q: In what physical shape the athletes are now, after the isolation?
A: Physically, the gymnasts are fine. Now it’s important to recover the ability to feel the apparatus, we have time for that. We won’t speed up the preparation, there’s a risk of injury, after all. In order to perform the most difficult elements and combinations, it is important to get into the regular schedule. Even while staying in their rooms, the gymnasts are still conditioning and stretching. Everything is going as usual, the work doesn’t stop. It was important for us that girls and boys who are prone to gain weight wouldn’t bring extra weight from home. Thanks to their professional attitudes, we avoided that. The gymnasts did a very good job. They know what they want and this really helps us.
Q: How much time will the athletes need in order to gain their peak shape back?
A: I think that they will start not just doing their routines but performing them really well no earlier than September or October. Of course, they’ll try single elements or some combinations even now but in order to get to the level that we, the coaching team, require, they will have to work a lot.
Q: Do you already know where the first post-quarantine competition will take place?
A: The Russian Cup is supposed to take place in November. It is possible that the European Championships will also happen. The management of the UEG plans on holding this competition but they haven’t announced the dates or the host country [for the WAG Championships] yet. The most realistic option seems to be Baku, According to Farid Gaibov, the UEG’s president, he asked Baku’s government to allow to hold this competition there. He hasn’t gotten a response yet but he hopes for a positive one. After all, the situation with the epidemic in Baku is relatively fine. It’s dangerous to guess but we’re not losing hope. We really need competitions, preferably international ones.
Q: In what mood did the team arrive to the camp?
A: In a very good one. You can see that they missed each other. I want to note that Ivan Stretovich and David Belyavskiy will join us later, they were training in Novosibirsk during the quarantine, it’s allowed there. They will fly to Moscow on the next flight – at 6 am on May 29th they will be at Round Lake. We will also be joined by Sergei Naidin who will fly from Barnaul and Denis Anliazin from Penza. Artur Dalaloyan was allowed to skip this camp by the coaching team – he will be recovering from an old injury until the beginning of June. Regarding the women’s team, all the athletes except for Lilia Akhaimova are currently at Round Lake.
Q: Will Ivan Stretovich and David Belyavskiy have to enter the mandatory two-week quarantine?
A: It’s a nightmare to get them from the airport. We will have to meet them and bring tons of documents and permits with us so that our gymnasts won’t be taken to a two-week quarantine. Then we’ll take them to the training center where they’ll take the coronavirus test almost right away.
Q: How many gymnasts will be at the camp?
A: There will be 50 people: all the top gymnasts among men and women, our hopes for the Tokyo Olympics. We have 2.5 teams for the Olympic team for both men and women.
Q: You spent the last days before the quarantine in Novogorsk. Why did you choose Round Lake now?
A: The issue is that there is no artistic gymnastics gym in Novogorsk. When our Round Lake closed because of the coronavirus, we decided to solve the problem by moving to Novogorsk in order to stay in shape – there is fitness gym equipment there. In two days that we spent there, we managed to adapt the equipemnt to our needs but there is no other gym like the one at Round Lake not just in Russia but in whole Europe! It’s the best artistic gymnastics training center.
Q: What safety precautions will be taken during practices?
A: We were given a condition – no more than 20 people at one practice. There are three artistic gymnastics gyms at Round Lake – two for women and a big one for men. They are quite far away from each other, so we won’t have problems following the requirements of the Ministry of Sports and the center’s management. Round Lake will be on lockdown until June 21st. Neither we nor the supporting staff are allowed to leave the territory. This is done in order to avoid contact with the rest of the world. Two floors were given to the gymnasts in the Vostochnaya hotel – the second one for the girls and the third one for the guys. This way, crossing paths with athletes from other sports, if they will also arrive at Round Lake, is almost impossible. The Ministry of Sports did a lot of work and thought of all the details. We have to follow the rules thoroughly and everything will be fine!
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