Gennady Sartynsky talked to iSport.ua about the prospects of the Ukrainian team.
Q: What was the main reason for Radivilov’s latest success?
A: It’s just that his time has come. He’s in good shape, stays this way and tries hard. You know, at first the guys keep working because of enthusiasm, but then they grow older and acquire reason, an understanding what they need to do. So, Igor grew up and this success came.
Q: Perhaps, this success will affect Oleg Verniaiev as well?
A: Everything’s affecting Oleg, he’s already missing [gymnastics]. But in case of Oleg, we don’t want for him just to come back. He needs to return to the same gold and silver medals.
Q: How is his recovery process going?
A: Right now he’s going to Israel for three weeks to do rehabilitation and judging by the information we’ll get there, we’ll go from there. The doctor will tell him what he can and can’t do. Generally, he can’t train for half a year after the surgery. Three months have passed.
Q: This year the European Championships will happen relatively late in the year (in August) and then right after it there will be the World Championships at the end of October. Is there any hope to see Oleg at the main competitions of the year?
A: I don’t know. I’m afraid to make predictions. I put him as an alternate for the team for both Euros and Worlds. We’ve talked with him and I told him “it’s time to start” and he answered: “yeah, I know your “to start”, I’ll start and everything will keep rolling”. We decided for now that he’ll start when he wants to. Theoretically, he can compete at Euros, but it’s not for him to just compete. He’s an Olympic champion and people see him differently. If you come back, you have to go back to your standings.
Q: What competitions the team will have before the European Championships in August?
A: There will be an individual competition – a World Cup in Croatia, but mostly young guys will go there to give us a chance to look at them one more time. I think we were invited as a team to an international competition in Austria in July where Switzerland and Hungary will also compete.
Q: This year our team already competed in Stuttgart where they managed to finish fifth. What do you think about this result?
A: Last year, with a stronger team, we didn’t make the final while this time we were fourth in the qualification and fifth in the final. The guys lacked stamina a bit. We did everything we planned. There are good prospects but this team needs Oleg Verniaiev and Petro Pahniuk. If they will be on the team, we can easily fight for the medals at Euros. Our team is good but it needs Oleg.
Q: How is Petro Pahniuk now who got injured?
A: Currently, he has a cast on his leg for three weeks and then we’ll see. For now, we managed to do without a surgery.
Q: Have you decided for yourself who, if they’ll be healthy, will definitely make the team?
A: Definitely, Igor Radiviov, Vladislav Hryko and Eugen Yudenkov. For now, those are the three people who will definitely be on the team. Oleg Verniaiev and Petro Pahniuk – we’ll judge by their recovery. We’ll decide all the places on the team during the work process. Likely, we’ll take to Austria the team that will compete at Euros and won’t just test our positions and try people out on events.
Q: Regarding Igor Radivilov, do you only plan for him to compete on “his” rings and vault or he can also be useful to the team on floor and high bar?
A: We’ll see. He can do four but then perform badly on his two events. We have to earn medals at Euros. And who can do it on our team? If Oleg isn’t there, then only Igor. What would be the point then to pile four events on him for the team results if he can compete on only two events and win medals there? In any case, medals are the priority. At the Olympics, what’s more important – team’s participation or the medals? A medal, whether team or individual, is valued the same. Why are we making the team our priority? Because if there’s a team then all the leaders join it, those who will fight for the individual medals, they’ll also fight for the team. And that’s the perfect scenario.
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