Swimmer Stepanov about those who consider the remaining distances boring: “At least, if you don’t like it, don’t watch it”

Swimming champion of Russia Alexander Stepanov believes that long distances can be interesting and that their number should not be reduced to the program of the biggest competitions.

Stepanov performs at stable distances in the pool and is the champion of Russia in open water swimming.

– How many people do you expect to watch the 1500m final at the Russian Championships?

— I think people look at the beginning and the end of this distance. Nothing really happens in the middle.

– That is, they will see how Stepanov started, then for coffee and will return to TV before the end?

– Something like that. It’s not as spectacular, it’s not like it’s mid-range, when every fifty dollars something happens that affects the balance of power.

– Do you think that during the Olympics they also look like that, with a coffee break?

– It’s hard for me to say. But at one time I was a fan of Sun Yang, I saw his 2012 swimming a hundred times – his technique is something. And this video, by the way, is one of the most viewed among other cool finals. More, it seems, than in the Finals with Michael Phelps, when he scored a touchdown against Chavic. That’s the kind of viewing stats 1500 can have!

Why am I asking. Many believe in depriving stayers of one of the distances and not obstructing the air.

How to put an understatement. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. Cleaning up on a whim is stupid. Our distances can be interesting

– A lot also depends on the commentator, it is important that he explains well what is happening in general. Especially for those who have turned on the broadcast for the first time and have reached the remaining distance.

I don’t think there is a direct relationship. And those who accidentally turned on swimming are always less than those who accidentally turned on football and cheer our own, even if they don’t know a single player. We have a smaller audience, and usually those people already have an understanding of what’s going on. My friends, who are not swimmers themselves, watch my swims and they like it,” Stepanov told .