Russian stayer swimming leader Alexander Stepanov this year he broke Yuri Prilukov’s Russian record at a distance of 800 meters in the pool, won two gold medals in the Russian open water championship, and this week he won the 10 km Russian Cup in Suko.
The swimmer spoke about a milestone in his career and his love of long distances in an interview with .
– At first, like many others, I swam for my health. Most at this age – I was ten – do not set high goals, – says Stepanov about the beginning of his career.
What else did you do before swimming?
— I went to chess school. But swimming supplanted chess, passed to current coach Anna Anatolyevna Tulupova, and somehow it went away. His youngest son deliberately performs in open water, and when I moved he had already reached certain heights. This wave also got me covered, I swam their workouts and partially prepped for open water.
My journey to the national team started in open water.
– Were you immediately assigned to stayers?
— I don’t have enough speed to sprint. And I don’t like sprinting either. There is a lot of competition, while the small details that affect the outcome decide a lot. With us, it depends more on the will, whether you endure or give up sooner than others.
Sprint is for those born with certain data, with a sense of water. And stayers are the ones who are unlucky and they’re like, “Well, what do I do, I’m going to go stayer swimming.” But I think in all specializations they work hard, sprinters also have enough work, they work more in the gym – strong guys. You can’t be a champion and keep working hard.
– How much do you swim per day?
– 9-10 km in the morning and in the evening another 7-8. According to the accounts of other people, in France we swim more, for example.
– Would it work for you?
“I don’t really like training for open water. Swimming for three hours is exhausting. I don’t think volume is the only success factor. You can do different jobs. Smaller is better, but of better quality. In the pool, moreover, speed is more important than volume, although this should be combined on the “one and a half”. It is its complexity.
– This year you broke the record of Yuri Prilukov. Weren’t you prepared for this last year?
– It was still green. This year, I have already deliberately opted for this record. I don’t know how long the 1500m record will last, but everyone wanted to break this one (800m freestyle), but it didn’t work. Why, I do not pretend to judge.
– Were there fears in open water?
– They just said, “You’re going to swim.” And I swam. It was the championship at Haymarket. I became third in 5 km, even though nobody was counting on me. I entered the national team, selected for the European championship, but oddly enough I was upset. It was summer, I wanted to play football with my friends. So there was no idea of a career in swimming at the time. Realization came later, I started enjoying swimming.
– Are you going to the collection?
– Yes. Everything is close, you don’t need to go anywhere. You will be fed, watered and you can sleep between workouts. You don’t have to be distracted by anything. Although he also trains at home.
Do you prefer swimming pool or open water?
– Pool. Besides, I don’t really like international competitions in open water. As for me, athletes from other countries don’t seem to respect anyone, they will do anything for victory. And not just for victory – even if you swim twentieth, you have to drown everyone, swim over everyone. I understand that this is a contact sport, but such behavior goes beyond the bounds. I entered the turn a bit unsuccessfully, first, second, third, fourth swim along you … I just don’t like it.
I read that some marathon runners take martial arts classes.
– I didn’t see that. It takes a lot of energy to fight. And we still have a sport called open water swimming, not half boxing, half swimming. You have to be more human. These fights lead to broken bones, some can affect the throat, and a person begins to suffocate in the water.
– In which water do you prefer to swim – in cold or warm weather?
I don’t like swimming in the cold. It’s the only thing that can interfere with the conditions. Except for the dangerous moments – the stinging jellyfish. I also swam in these waters.
“Do you like neoprene hydraks?”
“Oh, not mine at all. Guys will now know all of this and want to swim in cold water more often.
Will you be a triathlete?
– I see how the triathlon guys train with us, it’s definitely not for me. I would just get tired of running around training in different types.
Do you have enough open water starts? In our climate, there are not many of them.
– I don’t have that: well, I haven’t spoken this month. They will say that in three months the Russian championship, I will say, ok, I will prepare calmly. I’m not thirsty for this density of starts, so confusion will settle in the preparation. I don’t like amateur starts either, it’s important for me to prove myself, to break through the result, to feel the speed.
Do you like to watch swimming?
– Very.
– 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 return to TV before the end?
– Something like that. It’s not as spectacular, it’s not like 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. They took 25km off the World Championship schedule, I didn’t swim it, it’s not mine at all, but I think that decision is wrong. The guys specialized in this distance, the same Kirill Belyaev, and now everyone tells them that the action is over.
– In this case, they refer to a low rating.
– You cannot show it, but you absolutely must not remove it from the competition program.
– 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 it on 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.
– Ok, so how do you attract a new public to swimming?
– There must be some brilliant heroes. Everyone knows Phelps. When a person writes his name so powerfully in history, everyone knows him and begins to be interested in sports as well.
– You are now enjoying a productive period in your career and you do not have an international debut. It’s a shame?
I don’t worry about what I can’t change.
– The chance to qualify for the Olympics remains.
– I try not to think about it, so as not to worry later because of unjustified hopes.
– Then the question is about the Asian Games, which are theoretically still possible for us. Do you wanna go there?
– I want, it is not discussed. We haven’t had international competitions for a long time and I want to see how I deal with all this stress. I don’t even want to think about what I’m capable of, I just want to test myself. Those who don’t understand such a desire simply haven’t lived the life of an athlete, with all its ups and downs.
Source : MatchTV

I’m John White and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. My specialty is covering sports news, which I’ve been doing for over 6 years now. During this time, I have worked as an author with Athletistic, a popular online news website focusing on sports topics.