Russian swimming champion Pierre Zhkharev said that he feels psychologically tired, but does not want to end his career in conditions of exclusion from international competitions.
During the 2023 long course season, Zhikharev won key starts over the 100 meter butterfly distance. Russian athletes have been suspended from all competitions held under the auspices of World Aquatics.
— What do you want to get out of sport right now? Great emotions? Technical problems?
— Really, I no longer expect anything from sport. I turned 24 and it was as if I had already seen everything in this sport. I want to live differently, to experience some sort of normal life. I believe that athletes still live in another world, which exists like another planet. Tired of not being able to afford much. I want to live. A quarter of my life has already passed, it makes me sad. You do not have the time.
– It looks sad. Are you going to finish?
— I thought about it a lot, but I had just reached a high standard for myself. But it was so hard to achieve everything and still, it was so hard, I achieved everything with hard work. Difficult. Without such talents, scratching, eating away at a place to be appreciated… I don’t know yet if it’s worth the effort I’ve put in. I haven’t found a clear answer to this question yet.
There are times, there are advantages. First of all, it is the society around you, the people who are nearby. But at 24, I feel like I’m 70. I don’t want anything anymore. I want peace, tranquility.
I’m not going to finish it, but this whole international departures situation is really bothering me. I have never participated in the senior world championships. I hope that something will be implemented, that Russia will find something for us in this situation and it is doing it. Cool. I’m glad there’s an opportunity to start and show myself. It’s like that. We need to reach more significant heights and put a big point there,” Zhikharev told .
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.
