The winner of the stage of the World Series of synchronized swimming, world champion among juniors Tatyana Gaidai talks about her work under the leadership of Tatyana Danchenko, her first steps in sports and her motivation in conditions of isolation from international competitions.
— I started joining the national team in 2015, passing the selections every year. We swam in reserve, watched the older girls – those who were in the group. In January we were moved up to the junior and youth teams. And it was like that until 2021. Then I was selected for the national team and now I swim for the first team.
—At that moment, did you want to give up everything?
“I had no desire to finish, because I understood that my age had come, that I could join the team, and now I have to push myself even more.
— Was this selection the most difficult?
— When selecting, there are always different tasks, so each of them is difficult in its own way. I prepared this selection for 1.5 months. Tatiana Evgenievna Danchenko coached me, I was ready for the exercises and everything was not too difficult.
— When did you discover synchronized swimming?
— I’ve been doing it since I was 8 years old. Before that, there was dancing, badminton, aerobics. Nothing to do with water. I arrived in the synchronized swimming section, but I didn’t know how to swim. I was kicked out of the first training session and told not to come back.
They just didn’t tell the coach that I couldn’t swim and immediately sent me into a deep bath.
– How was everything resolved?
“My parents agreed that I should go to the junior group, practice waist-deep in the pool, and they trained me to swim there.
— Was the data outstanding? Or have they been developed over the years?
—Not particularly remarkable, but we could work with it.
— When did Tatiana Danchenko appear in your life?
— In the 5th grade, the question arose whether it was necessary to continue synchronized swimming at the professional level. I decided I wanted to do this and was involved in Trud’s selection process. Elena Vyacheslavovna Voronova saw me. So I went to see her first. Then I ended up with Tatiana Evgenievna.
—Are you training with her now?
— I work with Tatiana Evgenievna Danchenko and Elena Vyacheslavovna Voronova. We work with our coaches before the season starts. Plus, if you suddenly need to work on something, they always help you: they know all my moves, all my mistakes.
— Did you immediately contact her?
— The difficulty was not in the transition to this one, but in the transition to really serious loads. Before that, I trained 3-4 times a week for 1.5 hours. And here I had to train instead of school and six times more. Many times I thought about quitting, because it’s really, really hard.
—Didn’t the parents protest because school took second place?
“Unlike me, they immediately understood how serious everything was.” So they treated my study situation with understanding, hired tutors and agreed with the teachers that I could take something from the first lesson or on weekends. I continued to study, but according to an individual plan.
— Don’t you regret that synchronized swimming took center stage and overshadowed your studies?
– No, I love what I do, no one forces me. There are no parents who kick me out for training.
— Did you have the chance to be part of the team before Tokyo?
– I think not. I had to develop the ability to stand in groups, because before that I worked more on individual programs.
— Have the new rules stuck in your mind? Are they less annoying now?
“They won’t bother us any less, but we work with what we have. » It just took time to adapt.
— What kind of soloist were you?
— Mostly lyrical, only the last programs were more or less dynamic.
— What are your personal top 3 programs for Russian synchronized swimmers?
— “Prayer” from the Rio Olympic Games. Natasha Ishchenko’s solo on “Swan Lake”. And probably their duet “Dolls” with Svetlana Romashina. Plus the combined program of the Polovtsian dance team.
— Now that there are no more international competitions, don’t worry that the general public will not know your work and your performances. And before, as they said, they remembered once every four years, but now…
— We are rather worried that our sport, in principle, is stagnating in the world in terms of development, public relations and attention.
— You study sports management. What will it take to change this situation in your sport?
— We need to add more sections in the regions, otherwise it’s mainly Moscow and St. Petersburg. Shows and Christmas trees should also be held not only in St. Petersburg and Moscow, but also in other cities, as Maria Kiseleva is doing this season.
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.
