“They probably won’t bring us back to Los Angeles 2028 either. So maybe Russiada will appear instead of the Olympics.” Interview with Ilya Zakharov

If I remember correctly, even though more than 11 years have passed – Ilya Zakharov won Olympic gold in individual diving on a three-meter springboard. Then the Russian scored 555.90 points and is ahead of two Chinese – Qin Kai (541.75) and He Chong (524.15).

At the Games held in Great Britain, 21-year-old Zakharov caused a sensation. Beating the Chinese in diving is like going to the moon. Everything was decided in the last jump: five-time world champion Qin Kai was 1.25 points ahead of Ilya, but our athlete made the best jump in the final (104.5 points). But a comrade from the Middle Kingdom failed in his attempt, scoring only 89.1 points.

I worked at these Olympics, covered these competitions. And that night, no one was wondering which athlete to base the newspaper covers on.

And now we are talking with Zakharov in Perm at the forum “Russia is a sports power”. He no longer jumps into the water, he becomes a deputy of the Saratov Regional Duma. But he still promotes his favorite sport.

From this interview with Ilya Zakharov, you will learn:

“When we one day return to the world stage, we will only become stronger.”

— “” and the Russian Diving Federation have extended their cooperation. Is it really cool that your sport gets so much media support?

— Over the past two years, a lot of good things have been done. With the arrival of our new president of the federation, Stanislav Druzhinin, absolutely everything has changed. It’s nice when my favorite sport gets so much attention.

Eventually, we started broadcasting competitions in the country – Russian championships and Cups, we show people all this. I wanted all of this, but it never happened! And now it is, and it’s a big success. After all, the paradox was that people recognized us abroad, but no one knew us at home. Today our jumpers have become more famous and we have begun to position ourselves as one of the strongest sports in Russia.

— What are the results of our jumpers?

“I won’t praise the great young people we have. But we are living in a very good period where our diving federation is focusing specifically on young people, working for the future.

Our older comrades are leaving little by little. Youth is our everything. We have promising guys – like Ruslan Ternovoy, Yulia Timoshinina… There are a lot of them, and this is noticeable at competitions. It is true that we do not participate in international tournaments…

— At the sessions of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), it is openly said that our delegations are unlikely to go to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. And a full-fledged Russian team will probably participate in the Olympics no earlier than Los Angeles 2028. Do you agree?

– All is correct. Minus Paris 2024 and Milan 2026. We are now closed to all competitions. We must accept this as fact. My personal opinion is that there is no need to beat around the bush when discussing vague prospects for the coming years. Accept the truth, no matter how bitter it may be. We probably won’t come back to Los Angeles 2028, as I think we will.

This means that we must get involved in the development of all sports in the country.

This is what is done in diving. For example, we launched new competitions called the “Young Champions League”…

— Does that mean they won’t bring us back in 2028?

– I think so. As sad as that sounds. But when we one day return to the world stage, we will only become stronger. And we must prepare for it. There is no need to pay attention to what is happening behind the hill. And there’s no need to rush into it. Russia is one of the strongest sporting powers in the world. Everyone knows this very well. We must now focus on what is happening in our country. And wonderful things are happening here – for example, the birth rate is increasing.

“All Olympic principles have been violated, the Olympic Charter has been trampled”

“But we cannot refuse the Olympics ourselves, otherwise the ROC will be disqualified for two cycles.

“Then a conditional Russiada will appear. You see what happens. All Olympic principles have been violated. The Olympic Charter has been trampled. Why was it created many years ago? Russia was one of the creators of Olympic history, but what is happening today?

In general, I look at this situation positively. Yes, we now have no international experience. But we, as a country, are open. Next year, Russia will host the Friendship Games, the BRICS Games and many different tournaments. It’s not our problem. They are abroad.

And the only thing you can worry about is that the guys won’t develop as individuals. Travel to other countries, watch other peoples, compete with them. But the sport itself will not weaken in Russia.

— The Russia-China diving match will defeat the interest of any Olympic tournament in your sport. But is it true that the Chinese are not particularly keen to organize such matches with us?

— We should have intersections at least at the BRICS Games. So, the Chinese national team will not even have the second, but the 15th team in diving, which will be quite strong. So even if the Chinese don’t bring the best athletes to our tournaments, the diving competition will still be crazy.

— Who will China bring to the Friendship Games in September 2024, one month after the Paris Olympics? Although we will have a substantial prize fund – more than 4 billion rubles.

— The Chinese think about everything several years in advance. I think at the Friendship Games they will test the second or third team – knowing that by Los Angeles 2028 they could become the first. Today, they are undergoing a generational change. The guys I also competed with have already reached a certain peak, after which we have to finish slowly. The Chinese have already had a very good career. They usually do it without problem and everything is thought of.

“No need to cry into tissues now”

— What is Ilya Zakharov doing now? What do you spend your time on?

— As for diving, I will do everything I can to develop my sport. It is the right time.

I have already completed my sports career and received an education. Yes, an incredible situation is happening now if we talk about the Olympics and sports in general. Everything focuses on Russian affairs. And now we must focus on the children. This is well understood in our federation. And we are preparing for a new spike in interest in diving.

No more crying into tissues now. No need to whine. We need to focus on what we love and our young fighters. Our children are the most important thing. This is our reserve.

— The Friendship Games will take place in Moscow and Yekaterinburg. What kind of diving pool was built there?

— Our federation became the first to organize the Russian diving championship in Yekaterinburg. The swimming pool is as cool as possible, believe me! And I played in many pools. But Yekaterinburg is the peak among the peaks. Everything is very well thought out, the best equipment. I don’t even know what to compare it to. There are simply no analogues in the world!

— Better than abroad?

– Certainly! So what are you talking about? Build a village and the Olympic Games can be held in Yekaterinburg! Items allow you to do this.

– Create three of the best diving pools in the world.

— I’m not talking about organizing competitions. Only on sports facilities. Yekaterinburg ranks first, without a doubt. Kazan is in second place. And of course, Ozero Krugloye is perfect for training camps. Or my city of Saratov, where we also have a wonderful swimming pool. The atmosphere is magnificent! I want to come there and train. And this facility is used to the maximum. We have already organized there, for example, the Russian Cup. And we will continue to use it.