Diver Molchanov: “For two years without international departures, the reserve has risen to the main athletes”

European Diving Championships Ilya Molchanov said that in two years without an international arena, the closest reserve only got more starts and that increased internal competition.

Molchanov completed his performance at the Russian Championships in Yekaterinburg with gold in synchronized diving with Elizaveta Kuzina.

– How would you rate yourself for this championship?

– Yesterday I wanted to be on the podium, but I finished fourth. The first jump failed. The second didn’t work out very well either. I’m glad I got together and kept fighting until the end. It got me to 4th place, didn’t stay 11th.

Did today’s mix brighten up the picture?

– Certainly. The gold medalist is always in a good mood. It’s cool. End this championship with a gold medal.

– What’s next at the start?

– At the beginning of August, the Kremlin Cup, and then – I don’t know yet.

– You have been without international competitions for two years now. Did the alignment of forces, the quality of the jumps change during this period?

– Meanwhile, the reserve team had more competitive training. And it shows. The guys are starting to get closer to the top three, our main athletes.

– But still, the level of tension at Russian competitions is different.

– But you can start a new program or improve the old one at Russian national competitions. Moreover, many approach the Russian Championship with the same responsibility. At international competitions, the athletes are the same, they just speak a different language. If you constantly participate in international competitions, this will also be a familiar situation and the level of tension will decrease.

But not at the Olympics. It’s always different there.

– I have not been to the Olympics, it is difficult to judge. I would like to check for myself.

– The odds of betting are decreasing every day. Do you realize that?

– Our business now is to keep competing and fighting for medals in the country, and then we’ll see how it goes.

– Do you watch the European Championship? Can you compare the density of the results with yesterday’s three-ruble note?

– I can only judge from my own experience – I participated in the European Championships on the springboard meter. I can say that the competition in the Russian Championship was stronger now than in those years, Molchanov told .

Watch live broadcasts of the Russian Diving Championship from June 24 to 29 on the Match outfit TV channels, as well as on the sportbox.ru and matchtv.ru websites.