“I love Tolstoy and history.” Belonogoff – on leaving the UK, mononucleosis and the path to gold in the Czech Republic

Tatyana Belonogoff has already changed her sporting citizenship from British to Russian for several years, but she only won her first national champion title this week.

We chatted with her about studying to become a historian, working in groups with Evgenia Chikunova, and recovering from mononucleosis.

— When did you start training with Vitta Vladimirovna Novozhilova?

— From November 2021. Before that, she trained with Irina Germanovna Vyatchanina. I discussed my transition with Vitta Vladimirovna, she first refused, then a week later she agreed. ISL was there, went there and already started working with it in December. But in 2022 I was sick. I can’t say this season was bad for me. I swam well at the Russian Championships, but there were difficulties in the training process, as I was constantly ill.

— Have you already recovered from these health problems?

– Yes, I had mononucleosis.

— I came across this story during conversations with athletes. It is said that it is generally impossible to perform charging in this state.

— This manifests itself differently in everyone. I constantly had a sore throat, a temperature of about 39. At one point I visited a sports doctor and he told me to take tests for special indicators. It turned out I had mononucleosis. There is only one way to deal with it: let the body recover, reduce stress. Vitta Vladimirovna is very understanding in this regard and allowed me to train according to the state of my body at that time.

After the Russian Championships, I started training, more or less normally, but with each increase in load my temperature rose again. Terrible weakness, I couldn’t work during training. Then I went to the doctor through the FMBA and they recommended that I go on vacation – I missed the Russian Cup and Spartakiad. From the end of June to September, my body needed this restoration.

“Psychologically, it’s probably not easy: you feel like you can’t handle the load, but you don’t know why.

– It’s true. I didn’t understand at all what was happening, why I was constantly sick. Therefore, when the positive result for mononucleosis came, it was to some extent a relief, since I finally knew the reason.

— Vitta Novozhilova is very lively and serious, she always makes sure, even in the mixed zone, that we don’t overdo it with the air conditioning. And from what I understand from conversations with Zhenya Chikunova, for all her rigor, is she very concerned about the health of athletes?

— Vitta Vladimirovna is very caring. She is ready to do anything for us. He wants everything to go well for us. Always makes sure we eat well and the air conditioner doesn’t blow. He literally takes care of everything, it’s true.

— I never understood why you joined the Russian national team. I’m not talking about political history. Simply, being a breaststroke swimmer, joining the Russian national team is a risky business. It would only be more difficult if one of the spin players wanted to join our team. So the simplest question is why?

— I wanted to compete for Russia. Even when I was competing for Great Britain, I supported Russian athletes. There was a dissonance. I have always been drawn here.

– So it is the dictate of the soul?

– Yes. But I also changed positions before Zhenya Chikunova reached this level. There were Yulia Efimova and breaststroke swimmers who were lower than the level that Zhenya is showing now. Although, in principle, I did not try to calculate anything and go where it would be easier to get into the national team. I wanted to compete for Russia, to be here, to compete under the Russian flag. I didn’t think about the rest.

—Did you complete your studies in the UK?

– No.

– How do you deal with this? How many times have you spent the night at Istanbul airport?

— Of course, it’s difficult with flights. In Istanbul, I spent one night at the airport. Now I understand how much easier it is to get there; I’m going through Serbia. Thank goodness it’s possible to make it happen. I try to look for the positive in everything.

— Where does your family live now?

– In Moscow. My mother, grandmother and grandfather were born in Moscow.

— Are you in the United Kingdom? How did it happen ?

— Dad was offered a job, he and my mother moved and I was born there.

— I was a little surprised by your story about the selection criteria for the Great Britain team… that they weren’t that clear and you didn’t like it.

— In Russia, our selection is objective. For example, in 2019, I won prizes in short courses, and they immediately told me: “She will be able to go to Europe”, even though the change in sports citizenship has not yet been officially confirmed. It was a shock for me. In the UK, even if you win prizes, it means absolutely nothing. Then they choose anyway. And their standards are much higher than those of World Aquatics.

— Ours were also higher.

“But, as you understand, their standards are faster than the country’s records.” I was told that last year, so few people completed them, they got softer. This year, the standards are lower, but only 30 people are accepted onto the team. I have a bad attitude towards the British Swimming Federation, maybe there are some good points there, but when I swam there I didn’t notice them.

—What are you preparing now?

— The next start will be the Russian Cup final in Yekaterinburg. I’m not going to Banja Luka, I wasn’t invited. In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk too. Plus, I have school.

– What are you studying to become?

– For a historian.

— How will you apply this knowledge?

– I don’t really understand yet. I really want to come back to Russia. I don’t know what I will do here with such training, maybe I will do a second higher education degree. I really like the story. I like to read a lot about this subject and watch documentaries.

— And the historical series? Which one is your favorite?

— “Catherine II” with Marina Alexandrova. Of course he’s not very honest, but I like him. I’m really passionate about history. I study a lot more. I love Tolstoy, I love his descriptions of large-scale scenes, his discussions of war.

— You are now training with Zhenya Chikunova. What are your impressions?

— I am joining the team upon my return from the United Kingdom. It’s great to train with Zhenya. She is funny. Sometimes I look at how it floats and admire it. This can be unpleasant when we swim in certain sets and she is a hull forward. You think: “I don’t know how to swim”… I completely understand that we have different levels.

— What do you do in your free time, given that you have such a workload?

— Apart from training and studies? I sleep. I also like to cook. But it’s more of an everyday thing: you have to eat something.

– Why did you cut your hair?

— Cut the ends. Then I liked this length. Maybe when I’m done swimming and everything is no longer covered in chlorine, I’ll let my hair grow.

— Synchronized swimmers say they spend a lot of money on treatment because of bleach.

“It happened to me the same way when I dyed my hair blonde.” You walk around with a nice color for a week, then they turn yellow. Even though I bought masks, special shampoos and oil, bleach kills everything. I dyed it black, my hair became healthier and everything was fine. And expenses have decreased.