Yahor Sharamkou of Belarus unexpectedly ended up in the center of drama during the vault final at the 2019 European Championships. He did two clean vaults and was put in third place at the end of the final. However, Andrey Medvedev’s score was then raised after an inquiry and Sharamkou finished just outside of medals due to lower difficulty.
Sharamkou then continued to European Games Test Event where he won gold on vault and bronze on pommels. This weekend he is competing at the Koper World Cup in preparation for appearing at the European Games in front of the home crowd. Sharamkou is one of the few current gymnasts who does a triple back on floor and in Koper, he will compete in floor and vault finals.
The gymnast talked to SB.by about his plans for the season and life outside gymnastics.
As many other gymnasts, he was brought to the gym because his parents couldn’t handle his energy:
“I had a choice between trampoline and artistic gymnastics. In the end, I decided on the last one – it also required jumping but there were more events. Of course, in the beginning, everything seemed easy, for me it was a game and a way to release the energy, But with time, I started thinking about quitting: many things weren’t working out, I felt like I was alone against the world. But the coaches talked me through it, helped me and, finally, persuaded me to stay, to keep fighting. Now, I’ve grown up a bit and know for sure: if a person wants something, you won’t be able to break him.”
In addition to training, Sharamkou is currently studying coaching at the university and trying to get his driving license:
“Recently, I added a driving school to all the things I do. Although, because of the competitions, I missed the exam and now need to catch up. But that’s fine because training is the most important thing.”
“After the European Championships, I didn’t have enough time to rest and didn’t yet get in decent shape. I’ll be working on my mistakes now, I’ll fix the ending of the floor routine, will work on sticking the landings. It was hard to qualify to the European Games, so I can’t allow myself to let the country down. I hope that luck and skill will help me to make the final and win.”
He expects to get very nervous competing in front of the home crowd but tries to mitigate the nervousness with jokes:
“I’m always in a good mood, ready to joke – it helps to release the stress. But I can’t allow myself to be laid-back, I’m always under pressure at competitions.”
At the same time, he thinks that the support of the fans at home will help:
“You get more adrenaline, it becomes easier to do your routine. I think the home arena will help during the Games, but, generally, I don’t care where to compete. The important thing is my work and not the decorations. By the way, to give credit where it’s due, our arena is very well prepared. Although, there are some minor issues. For example, at the European Championships, there are big speakers and you can hear the names of the athletes that are supposed to compete next. But we don’t have such equipment and the coaches have to keep track of who’s competing. Otherwise, everything’s great, I was especially happy with the new apparatuses.”
Sharamkou hopes, if he wins at the European Games, to dedicate his victory to everyone who helped him: his parents, his coaches and the fans. And then his has a big plan:
“After leaving the medal podium, I’ll stuff myself with crepes with jam”.
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