Ilya Zakharov: “BRICS Games will be a new stage in the history of world sport”

I met the famous diver, you won’t believe it, in the library. The fact is that within the walls of the Kazan National Library the exhibition “Conquered Olympus” was opened. Exhibition of objects from the collection of Vladimir Potanin. And this happened on the eve of the start of the BRICS Games (they will be held in Kazan from June 12 to 23). And There you go Ilya Zakharov – official ambassador of the competition.

— Where are we going to do the interview? – Ilya asked.

“Let’s go with the London 2012 Olympic flame as a backdrop,” I suggested.

Having participated in nine Olympic Games, I can safely include Zakharov’s English victory in the top 5 of the most incredible events that took place before my eyes. Defeating the Chinese at the Olympic Games in diving is the same as beating the Americans in basketball, defeating the Canadian team of NHL players in hockey… Something powerful and grandiose.

“My victory over the Chinese was there”

— What feelings do you get when you see artifacts from the 2012 Olympics in London, where you won gold?

– The most trembling. When you come to an exhibition and see the 2012 Olympic flame during the opening ceremony, for example… and there is the logo of these Olympic Games. Memories come back immediately, of the way I played there, of the atmosphere… Absolutely crazy emotions, to be honest. There is euphoria and nostalgia for these Olympic Games, which became the peak of my sports career.

– On August 7, 2012, it will be 12 years since you won gold on the three-meter springboard in London (555.90), ahead of two Chinese – Qin Kai (541.75) and He Chun (524.15). How do you perceive this victory today, years later?

– First of all, it was fantastic. In terms of diving, London hosted one of the strongest Olympics. The Chinese simply seemed inaccessible. In our sport, if you remember, China won 10 medals in 2012, including six gold medals out of eight sets of medals.

— Only the American David Budaia on the 10 meter platform and you were able to defeat them.

“And my victory, you will agree, was definitely there.” It took me a long time to achieve this, I spent many years. I had a clear plan, an understanding and faith that I could do it.

Plus, I had a stronger program. Strategically, we correctly aligned the last jumps. That’s what helped me win gold.

“Kazan is the first city in the world to host competitions”

— Today, the same tennis players and judokas from the Russian team are going to the Olympic Games in Paris. But there will be no representatives from other sports, such as diving. How should we perceive this?

“This is a very difficult issue that has been discussed for a long time. We must clearly understand that this will not be a full-fledged Olympic Games. Because not all Russian athletes are worthy of competing there. Some are allowed to enter, others not, they impose certain conditions on us…

Yes, many of our strongest athletes belong to some sort of power structure. But these athletes are not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games, after placing a barrier in front of them. As a result, the best athletes in some sports will simply not participate in the Games. Of course, it will be an inferior Olympics.

On the other hand, I understand our athletes who have been seeking Olympic qualification for years and who will now go to Paris. Their work and their ardent desire to participate in these competitions cannot be devalued.

But whatever it may seem, our country is currently going through a very difficult period. Therefore, I don’t think it is entirely reasonable to go to the Olympics now. The majority of our athletes are therefore in favor of not going to Paris after all. And I agree with them more. Unfortunately, we live in such times.

— You are an ambassador for the BRICS Games in Kazan. Tell us what competition awaits us – it starts this Wednesday.

— Yes, I am the ambassador of the BRICS Games. And I’m looking forward to it. We have just finished the Russian diving championship in Kazan. And I decided to stay here these two or three days, between competitions, to explore the facilities, to walk and watch, and to prepare for the big tournament. And I’ll tell you it’s unrealistically cool here!

Kazan once again shows that this city is the first in the world in organizing and hosting competitions. The facilities are prepared as quickly as possible, even if such important events as the BRICS Games are organized.

I believe that these competitions will constitute a new stage in the history of world sport. You yourself know that representatives of more than 90 countries come to Kazan. This is a very solid performance. The tournament requires very serious preparation. The strongest athletes will perform. And it’s incredibly interesting! Either you come to the stands yourself if you are in Kazan, or you watch the broadcasts on .

“We are now in the middle of a generational change”

— For divers, the BRICS format is the main format, because here there is China, a pioneer in your sport.

— Yes, 90 percent of the strongest jumpers come from BRICS countries. The remaining 10 percent are European countries that do not participate in our competition, but oh well.

The Chinese jumpers and I will look for new formats for friendly meetings. There is an idea to organize friendly matches with them. Our federation, thanks to President Stanislav Druzhinin, finally “finished” this topic – and this year our athletes went to the Russian-Chinese training camp. This is a big achievement for us: we lived on a base in China, trained with local guys and even had a sparring meeting.

Now the selection for the BRICS Games took place at the Russian Championship. The focus is on the international tournament in Kazan, because such launches are now necessary. So that our athletes feel fit, train at an international level and compete with representatives of other countries. We have already spent too much time at Russian competitions and we really miss it.

—Are there any new faces appearing in Russian diving? Are young people growing up?

— This Russian championship was a breakthrough because, imagine, our youth pushed my old friend and partner Zhenya Kuznetsov to lose three rubles.

— I saw that Nikita Shleikher (25 years old), Alexander Cherepakhin (20 years old) and Grigory Ivanov (23 years old) won medals in the three-meter springboard.

– That’s what I’m talking about. There is no difference in the total points. But the very fact that young people have finally embarked on our dives… This hasn’t happened for a long time! Cherepakhin, a guy from St. Petersburg, just finished his junior studies and has already qualified for the BRICS Games. Understand, I am happy with the prospects of our sport, and not because Zhenya Kuznetsov lost. Finally, we have competition. And there are new faces.

Our young girls gained in synchronization on the three-meter springboard. One is older, the already famous Ulyana Klyueva (21 years old), the other is Nadezhda Trifonova, and she is actually 15 years old! A junior from St. Petersburg… But now they are among the first girls in synchronized jumping. It’s also a feeling! And they participate in world competitions.

It’s very cool that we’re making progress. I think that every year the number of interesting young athletes will only increase. We are now in the midst of a generational shift.

— Ilya Kovalchuk, 40, returned to hockey this season and played well for Spartak. At 33, you don’t want to play in the Russian Championship? Let’s return to big sport for a moment…

“Unfortunately we have a slightly different sport to go out and jump at a high level. There is a lot of preparation for each performance. Diving involves complex technique and coordination.

Of course, you can dive like a soldier or do a half-turn jump. Something as simple as ice skating. But if we’re talking about professional diving, you probably won’t see me. Unless it’s part of a show. You can prepare for it, why not?

This is how I stay in shape by going to the gym. It’s true, I’ve already removed gymnastics from my preparation. And I don’t want to get on the diving board right now. I go to the gym and try to stay in shape. Definitely a swimming pool.

But recently I had a medical examination and minor problems with my spine were discovered. Echo of a sporting career. The doctor actually told me, “You finished on time.” » That’s why I play sports now, but with caution.

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