“At the age of three, for seven months, she swam in swimsuit competitions with a duck.” Kurtseva on swimming and dreams of hard work

Yana Kurtseva won the “top ten” at the first stage of the Russian Swimming Cup in the Penza region. We spoke to her about the start of her career, moving into open water and competitions as a child.

My mother is a coach, my father is a former athlete. That’s where it all started, – says Yana “”. “I always wanted to swim more every practice. I was just testing myself. I think that’s why I was brought into open water at a more conscious age. A good test of endurance is a marathon.

Why didn’t your parents pursue their careers?

– Mom liked to coach more. Dad I think ended up because he achieved what he wanted in sports and then it was time to get into other pursuits and make some money.

Did your mother train you?

– At the very beginning, up to 11 years, in Astrakhan. When I started swimming in Volgograd, I was trained by Oleg Vasilyevich Shevchenko, he led me to long distances, I tried open water with him, I am grateful to him for all the hard work together. Since 2020 I have been training with Tatyana Vladimirovna Mankevich, and my first medal in the Russian Open Water Championship was with her. She works hard and loves to swim. All of my coaches are committed to swimming indoors and outdoors. It is important to work with such people.

What distances did you start with?

– I couldn’t stand the stayers. My favorite distance was the 200m butterfly, I won it at the Russian Championship. It’s short and you don’t have to suffer long.

– Now people who swim only 50 and 100 m butt do not agree with you.

– But I liked it! And it worked well.

– When did length appear in your priorities?

– In Volgograd, the coach offered me to swim 400 and 800 m freestyle, because I am a tough athlete.

“How did you end up in Volgograd?”

– When I trained in Astrakhan 24/7, I followed the swimming results and knew that the Russian team was training in Volgograd. The guys posted videos where they practice when they came over there for training camp. And I really wanted to train there! I also wanted to get there for the training camp – in Astrakhan at that time there was no strong fight for me.

I was taken to Volgograd when I was 11-12, then they said I could stay for another training camp. As a result, she began to play for Volgograd and live in this complex. The training was very difficult, but I enjoyed the process. Now I continue to train in the same complex that I dreamed of all my childhood.

How do dreams and reality compare?

– I went in with the thought “I want it to be hard, I want to work hard.” I understood that the result is not easy. The main difficulty was that the parents were far away, we were missing. It’s good that Astrakhan is not far away and it was possible to come and see each other.

How did open water come into your life?

They offered to try. I’m a player! I’m always interested in trying new things to test myself. I have mixed feelings about the debut. Exceptional results were expected of me, but not everything turned out in my favour. It only made the task more interesting: people think I can, but I can’t. This thought stayed with me. So I started moving in that direction.

In general, as a child, I was afraid of open water, even when swimming in the river with my parents, I began to panic, scream, climb on people who were nearby. But, apparently, with time, the impossible is possible.

When did you realize you were ready for the marathon swim?

– I was put on the Russian championship, although I did not fully realize what I got involved in. The realization came a few years later, when I learned to work correctly, to prepare for these distances. All this – only through preparation, including morality.

– “I was put on the Russian championship.” Did you know that there are such projects?

– Yes. But the first championship, which, so to speak, shone for me, I was forced to miss – I was not 14 years old then, and therefore I was not admitted. I knew it was a selection for the European championship, the world championship, that people were going to make an international departure, that they would have equipment – at that age it’s so cool! Then I realized that next year I absolutely had to try. All this motivated me. The flights, the gatherings at Krugly were something very distant, but very desirable.

– Dreams of training camp in Volgograd, training camp in Krugly. Now do you understand that all your life you dreamed of a hellish job?

– When you want something, of course, you don’t fully realize it, you go towards the light at the end of the tunnel. I really wanted all that, I wanted to train for the national team. All of this is only thanks to hard work. In my case, first in open water. Then it turned out to be selected from the pool.

You see, in principle, I did not have such a childhood when I was swimming. I have always been a swimmer. And a lot.

At the age of three, seven months, I swam competitions in Volgograd “For Sadovoy prizes” – fifty dollars in freestyle and breaststroke. Many remember me from those early days – even if I don’t remember myself. Swimming in a pink swimsuit with a duck!

Evgeny Viktorovich Sadovy approached my mother and said that it was better if she walked along the side while I was swimming, otherwise he would not allow me to speak. But everything was in order, my mother was sitting on the podium – she was sure that I would get there.

So already at that age, Volgograd, one might say, chose me.

– Does your character, your positive attitude help to cope with the load?

– I think so. Of course, there are times when it’s definitely not a laughing matter, but I try to see something positive in every situation, to find at least a more microscopic one. Like everyone, there are times when I feel sad, but that’s as useful as laughter.

What was the most difficult start of your career?

– Not on conditions, on health – the World Cup in Abu Dhabi. I wanted so badly to try my hand at fighting world leaders and, as it turned out later, I got sick with coronavirus. I finished the distance, I worked until the end, but I was very sick physically. Later, when everything became clear, I spent 12 days in solitary confinement in a hotel. I was afraid to spend the New Year there, but on December 27 I went home anyway.

– It was the last international departure before the suspension.

– Yes. Too bad we couldn’t swim better.

– How do you live with the situation without international departures? Have you learned to live with it?

Questions pop into my head from time to time. Emotionally, it’s not easy. But my job is to train and swim. It’s my business, which now I can’t refuse. And as long as there is strength, desire, I must do everything in my power. It’s good that I like swimming, I like my job, and it saves me. After all, we can’t change anything.

– What is he supporting during this period?

– The realization that there are people who are interested in your work, there are fans – although of course I don’t have many. There are those who watch my every departure and, if sad thoughts arise in my head, they find words of support. Again, media support helps because it makes our work feel necessary.

– Is there a possibility to diversify your activities? Swimming in interesting places?

– My pleasure! We were invited for the first time to X-Water in the Chelyabinsk region. It’s cool, it gives you the opportunity to meet new people. It is important that in your environment there are not only athletes. We need new acquaintances, it’s interesting to communicate with people from different regions of Russia who swim like that, for themselves.

Source : MatchTV

Related articles

Comments

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share article

Latest articles

Newsletter

Subscribe to stay updated.