“There is a desire to jump, and that is the only thing that matters now” – Lasitskene on plans for next year

Olympic high jump champion Maria Lasitskene said the off-season vacation had been long because a restart was important to her, and also spoke about her plans for 2024.

— This time, my offseason turned out to be important. Probably for the first time in my sports career, I rested for more than two months. Although vacations usually last half as long. But a restart, both physical and psychological, was important for me.

The vacation turned out to be versatile. My husband and I spent time at sea with our parents and traveled extensively together. I think that in these few months I set a record for the number of kilometers covered, so in the end I did not remain without physical activity. Towards the end of October, I started preparation for general physiotherapy under the supervision of rehabilitation specialist Igor Stepanov. And since November 1, I have already been doing general physical preparation according to the plans of Gennady Garikovich (Gabrilyan). The working process goes smoothly and that is the most important thing. We will begin technical training in December.

The plans for 2024 are pretty standard: show decent results. There is a desire to jump, and that’s the only thing that matters now. In winter, we traditionally hold bright competitions in Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and, of course, the “Battle of the Sexes” in Moscow. That’s why I just want to please the fans who will come to our competitions,” Lasitskene said, according to the press service of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF).

Lasitskene is an Olympic champion (2020), as well as a three-time world champion (2015, 2017, 2019).