“The world record in freestyle is the most brilliant swimming to date.” Russian coach Lugovkin brought Belarusian Shkurdai to the Olympics

Russian coach Nikita Lugovkin works with Anastasia Shkurdai. Both are in neutral status – now at the Olympic Games in Paris. And in this status, they have already achieved significant results. Nastya “swam” to bronze at the World Championships in Doha, in which Russian athletes did not participate. We talked with the coach about the main topics of the start of the Games.

– How are you? We hear a lot of complaints about the heat on buses and in the countryside.

— The first days were not very good, no air conditioning, nothing. It was a difficult day when it was +38. Very stuffy. Now there are fewer people on the buses, sometimes there are three or two of us on the bus, so for the moment this problem does not exist.

— Is everything okay in the village? Is there air conditioning?

— We live a little bit apart, we have our own house. Girls usually have a dark side, so they are usually good. Without air conditioning, of course, it is bad, but it does not concern us personally.

— Many people talk about slow waters, but the world record in the 100m freestyle was set yesterday. It didn’t bother anyone.

— It didn’t hurt anyone, but you always have to look at the general trend of results. So there is some kind of problem. But at the Olympics, the fight is for medals, not for results, so some are forced, others try to justify themselves in one way or another. The water may be slower, but everyone is on an equal footing. There are no questions here.

— What was your most phenomenal result at these Olympics? Marchand’s double yesterday, and even the breaststroke, in which he didn’t even get a medal at the World Championships?

— For me, it’s a world record in the 100m freestyle. Marchand is a phenomenal athlete, but everyone knew he had to win. He did it. And then the man showed a result that is hard to imagine in general. So for me it’s the most exciting swim.

— How does Nastya Shkurdai swim?

– Well, I swam well today for the morning. The goal was to reach the semi-finals with confidence. We will be listening to the evening to qualify further.

— There is no question as to why none of your former athletes have started receiving neutral status?

– No, because everyone has their own opinion. Let them do what they want. They are still young, I am sure we will see many of them in Los Angeles at the 2028 Games.

— Nastya Kirpichnikova has a medal! Have you spoken to her?

– Yes, we talked. We were happy for her. She is very happy, we have a great relationship, we communicate. She talks about her training process and how difficult these achievements are. Happy for her. A person does a terrible job, which, of course, must be rewarded. This is an endurance race. This is not a fifty-kopeck race where you can be a favorite and still finish 8th. And at 1500 m – work, work, work.

— During the race, did you have any doubts about your ability to win medals?

“The girls there, 3rd and 4th, swam in a fight, so they could have caught Nastya, but she showed it – not today.

— What does the women’s 200m backstroke competition look like now?

— There are clear leaders and a large group of those who are moving smoothly and getting solid results. Whoever succeeds tonight will advance to the final. Of course, Regan Smith and Kayleigh McKeown should win.

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