Zabelin: It’s a pleasure to work with Nikita

Anatoly Zabelin is Nikita Nagornyy’s personal coach. In an interview to R-Sport, he talked about working with Nagornyy, training during the pandemic, and preparing for the Olympics.

A: I’m happy with everything. We had very few competitions this year and we had to skip the Russian Championships – Nikita had strep throat and we decided there was no reason to make him compete. Considering all the problems, I’m really happy with the results. Although I hoped that he would have been able to fight for a medal on vault on the last day of the competition. After all, these vaults allowed him to win gold at the World Championships in Stuttgart.

Q: In one of the interviews, Nikita said that at some point, he changed his attitude and thanks to that, he made the Rio Olympics and won silver as a part of the team. As a coach, did you notice that turning point?

A: I would say that Nikita just became more grown up. And that’s why his head got to the right place. And after getting to the Games, he just felt a responsibility – to himself and to the country. He’s quite a responsible person. It shows, first of all, in his attitude to training. It’s a pleasure to work with Nikita.

Q: Which of you first had the idea to do the triple pike on floor that was named after Nagornyy at the European Championships?

A: It was Nikita’s idea.

Q: Weren’t you afraid of such enthusiasm on the part of your athlete?

A: No, I was happy. A triple tuck – if you remember, this element was done by Valeri Liukin back in his time – always has a potential for deductions, and quite large ones.

Q: Why?

A: On that element, gymnasts usually spread their knees too wide which is punished by the judges. Plus, it’s hard to land precisely from a tuck, especially with so many flips. And a triple pike is an element that ends up being much cleaner in all aspects.

Q: But it’s physically harder, right?

A: I wouldn’t say so. But there’s a certain mental barrier. In order to do a triple pike, you have to have character. Not every gymnasts will risk flipping over their heads three times on a hard floor. Even the triple back was done by very few people after Liukin – that’s over the last 30 years.

Q: Do you plan on showing this element at the Tokyo Olympics?

A: It’s still up in the air. We’ll see. We have two more months of work, so I can’t and don’t want to make predictions.

Q: Do I understand correctly that adding such a difficult element can break the routine completely at the early stages?

A: Sure, how else? Of course, it breaks the routine. It’s just there aren’t universal rules for this situation. Every element requires its own time to become consistent. That’s why I said I don’t want to make predictions. We’ll keep working and keep thinking.

Q: Are you able to to get information about what’s going on in other countries despite the isolation imposed on coaches and athletes by the pandemic?

A: Generally, we’re quite well informed. There are national championships, it’s easy to find videos online. Plus, our [ex-Soviet] specialists work in many countries. We keep in touch, call each other.

Q: How important were the results of the European Championships on the world level?

A: I can’t answer that. In order to make such comparisons, it would be nice for athletes to be able to compete at the same competition. We were deprived of such an opportunity.

Q: Can you say what are the most ambitious goals for Nagornyy for the Tokyo Olympics?

A: It’s a difficult question. For example, in Basel, we didn’t expect a medal on rings at all. But Nikita completely unexpectedly finished second on this event. On the last day, we wanted a medal on vault but ended up without one. And without a medal on bars either even though Nikita won this event at the 2019 European Championships. But, honestly, I wasn’t too upset by this – I understand that he was just very tired after competing for four days in a row. He’s just not yet in the state that would allow him to show his maximum.

Q: What do you like most about Nikita’s personality?

A: I like talking to him. He grasps information well and analyzes it correctly. He’s good with people, kind, honest, and never rude.

Q: And what do you not like?

A: We quarrel sometimes for various reasons, like family members. But is that a reason to say that someone has a bad personality? I’m not always easygoing either.

Q: You’re from the generation of coaches who thought that if an athlete plans on achieving great results, only training should be on their mind. Nagornyy has a completely different mindset. He is an active vlogger, he’s developing his business, he participates in multiple events. Are you opposed to it?

A: No. At first, I was a bit nervous, I won’t deny it. But for some time, I’ve been seeing clearly that the first place on Nikita’s long list is taken by the Olympics. And the rest comes after it. Nikita takes a very good approach towards his life. I’m talking both about the time he spends in the gym and the time outside of training. This guy knows what he lives for. Moreover, there’s very comfortable work atmosphere on the team right now. There are no reasons for stress or anxiety.

Q: Does the forced isolation at Round Lake stress you out?

A: It cases certain issues. In the past, people from Moscow could go home after practice but now the very thought that you can’t leave the center’s territory really stresses out both the athletes and the coaches. But it’s going to be a bit easier at the next camp, actually. First, the general vaccination is scheduled. Second, those who have a high level of antibodies, like me, will be allowed to leave and enter the center unrestricted.

Q: So, you had the coronavirus?

A: It’s a mystery. I had no symptoms, I felt great, but one of the tests was positive. The later tests were negative but the antibodies appeared somehow.

Q: If you were offered to go to an uninhabited island with your gymnast and could take only one gymnastics apparatus, what would you choose?

A: One? Out of six? That’s pointless. In that case, I’d leave all the apparatuses at home, name myself Robinson Crusoe and Nikita would be Friday…

Photo: Elena Mikhaylova, Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation

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