Maksimova on eating disorders in athletes: “I am for healthy eating and psychological work”

The Russian mixed duo’s production coach, Gana Maksimova, said she always advocates a healthy approach to nutrition for synchronized swimmers, who sometimes have to fight for optimum weight in their athletic careers.

A former member of the mixed duo, five-time world champion Darina Valitova, in an interview with YouTube channel Peretrem, said that she had suffered from an eating disorder for a long time in her sports career.

– As far as I know, in synchronized swimming, many athletes suffer from this – this is unambiguous. In Darina’s case, I didn’t know because she came to see me in a mixed uniformed pair and left a year later in exactly the same uniform. I am that trainer, I think many will confirm, who rarely says anything to athletes about weight. Somehow it turned out that all my athletes are aware and independently and responsibly monitor their weight,” Maksimova told .

– In the case of Maya Gurbanberdieva, for whom being overweight is also a problem that she periodically faces, I rather helped her to overcome this problem. I’ve been approached by other trainers more than once with the question “why isn’t she losing weight” when she was, say, not in perfect shape. However, I am in favor of a person coming to this in a healthy way and not going on a diet that kills them. Personally, when I competed, I never had weight problems, my parents gave me such genes that I didn’t encounter that in sport, I ate what I wanted. And when I see the girls are on a diet, I feel sorry for them, she added.

– So, if Darina had asked me at that time, I would have advised the same – to achieve this through healthy eating, through competent psychological work. Since I did not know, that is, there were no such conversations with me, I could not advise him anything.

At one point, I even told Maya that as long as we have time before the competition, she must psychologically let go in order to relieve her body of the pressure to which she has accustomed her body. And then try to find a good nutritional option, even if at some point she gains weight. I even accepted an increase of 3 to 5 kg, just so that she could find the best solution to her problem.

In general, I am always for the fact that athletes do not hurt themselves, and do not become paralyzed, including psychologically. Life does not end with sports, and then it is very difficult to get rid of such problems.

As far as I know, Darina coped with the problem and followed the path of a competent psychological approach and healthy eating, which I am very happy about, ”emphasized the coach.