The personal trainer of Russian gymnasts Dina and Arina Averin, Vera Shatalina, turned to a psychologist after the referee scandal at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. Shatalina told about it last fall – two months after the Olympics ended.
publishes these confessions for the first time – exactly one year after these events.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Dina Averina went through all four types of all-around without errors visible to the naked eye, but took second place. Israeli Lina Ashram won with a loss in the ribbon exercise. Dina’s sister – Arina Averina – also made a big mistake in the tape and did not get on the podium, remaining in fourth place. For the first time since 1996, a Russian gymnast did not win the all-around at the Olympics.
– Have you managed to mentally distance yourself from what is happening?
– Well, I’m an adult, I control myself, because my students are watching me. I try… But, to be honest, not very good. Because, willy-nilly, you somehow come back “over there”. When one is unjustly offended – and I believe this is exactly what happened – it becomes unpleasant.
– What helped you to relax and regain your senses?
— My family and my friends who gave me a helping hand morally and physically. They tried to drag me out of the house. Then a psychologist worked with me, who explained to me that it was not my fault and not the consequence of any of my bad actions. It happens, unfortunately.
– When we agreed to an interview, you said that you could choose any place, except for the base in Novogorsk.
– It’s just hard … It’s hard to come back, unfortunately. Although I have a lot of good things related to Novogorsk. Thanks to this base and personally to the director, who saved Irina Alexandrovna and me, the best conditions were created for us. There are many kind and good people who comfort us there. And you don’t really want to go back, because you have to go back to where you started. It’s hard, of course. I now live in the present. The day has passed – and thank God, let’s see what happens next.
In the fall of 2021, Shatalina stopped taking the Averins to competitions. Instead, personal trainer duties for gymnasts are performed by Olympic champion Yulia Barsukova.
Source : MatchTV
