Tetyukhin said he could have ended his volleyball career earlier without the dream of winning Olympic gold

Olympic volleyball champion Sergei Tetiukhin On , he said he could have ended his playing career earlier if not for his dream of an Olympic gold medal.

Tetyukhin became Olympic champion in 2012 in London. In the final match, the Russian men’s team defeated Brazil 3-2.

Tetyukhin, 48, is a two-time winner of the Volleyball World Cup. He ended his career in the spring of 2018.

— I always dreamed of winning the Olympic Games. If this had happened since 1996, when I arrived at the first Olympics, then maybe she [карьера] would be shorter. It didn’t work there, then it didn’t work anymore. This is the goal that pursued me. Or maybe I was stalking her. I don’t know. Get that Olympic gold medal.

Although it would have been possible for a few more years [поиграть]. But at 42, you have to have a conscience. The time has come when your physical condition isn’t quite keeping up with your head. Therefore, as long as there is a certain level, you must complete it. Don’t go any lower. For me, this moment was very important, because there are a lot of examples when guys finish the game, but it’s already a shame to watch them.

In the team you called yourself Sergei, then they call you Sergei Yuryevich. And then you think about the fact that it’s such a threshold when it’s time to think about the end. When you find a certain motivation and a certain challenge and get pleasure from it, it is not difficult to be long-livered,” Tetyukhin said in a special report by Ekaterina Dolfin “Centenaries” on .