“It is possible to beat the Russian record. Nothing is impossible in the world! – coach of swimmer Efimova

Andrey Efimov, coach of the three-time Olympic medalist and six-time world swimming champion Yulia Efimova evaluated the athlete’s performance in the final heat of the 50-meter breaststroke at the Russian Short Course Swimming Championships in St. Petersburg.

On Tuesday, Efimova took third place at this distance, with a time of 29.95 seconds. The first was Evgenia Chikunova (29.54), the second was Belarusian athlete Alina Zmushko (29.66). The Russian record for this distance in a short course still belongs to Efimova – 29.08 seconds.

— Were you very worried when you watched your daughter’s first Russian Championship final in a long time?

“I just looked, noticing where the mistakes were so I could correct them later.”

— What did you notice in the finale? This turned out to be slower than the semi-final (29.86).

— Because Yulia slept a little too much at first, and the outing wasn’t so great. Everything else seems to be fine. But at the start and exit, she was very far behind. This translates into two years without departures. This is where small errors occur. But then everything will be fine.

— The Russian short course record belongs to Yulia. And it was installed 10 years ago in Berlin. Is it realistic to reach this figure?

– Nothing is impossible in the world! I always say that.

– There is physiology.

– Yes, but there are people who look great at 95 and who have big muscles. Beautiful and fit. You just have to want it and do it. To be honest, we are all very lazy, we do not support ourselves. And if you set a goal, why not?

“But you have to enjoy life.” It’s not just about training from morning to night.

– Accept. There’s not even anything to discuss here.

— Do you yourself, as a coach, miss the big tournaments? Look at the excitement around Yulia.

– And I am calmer, simpler.

— What were the very first training sessions after your return? Did you push Yulia into the pool?

– Never! What are you doing? I never push her. She decides everything herself. And I just help. Our training was in work mode and we were recovering slowly. And how can I get him to do something? She is already quite old. And when I was a kid, I never took her swimming. My daughter had a choice.

– Which?

– Various sports. She did acrobatics, dancing and drawing. Swimming was his choice. And dad only helped,” Efimov told .

The Russian Championship takes place from November 20 to 25 in Saint Petersburg. Watch live broadcasts of the final series on the channel, as well as on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru sites.