Russian track and field athlete Alexander Kostin In a conversation with , he stressed that Russian athletes are the strongest in the world, and also said to whom he dedicated the gold medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
Kostin won gold in the 1500m (T13 category), with a result of 3 minutes and 44.43 seconds.
– Your tactic is to ride to the finish line. But aren’t you afraid that you won’t be able to reach your opponent?
— You know, about 100 meters before the finish, when you see your opponents, you subconsciously feel what their pace is and what yours is. And approximately how long you should keep your distance. Yes, it comes from the subconscious, it develops in training, when you have done it thousands of times, running with friends.
Of course, everyone’s speed capabilities are different. But a hundred meters is enough to get an idea of your opponents. Now, after 40-50 meters, I realized that I was catching up with the leaders and could overtake them. I had these powers.
—And when you come out of the crowd, you never know who’s going to push you?
– Yes, there is such a risk. I was last, the pace was high. I went away for two laps. And then he started to come out. About 300 meters in front of me there was an American. He ran between the first and second (lanes). I had to go through the first one on the inside. It was a bit hard.
— You came in at the beginning with the motivational inscription “I will take the gold”. Do you like books on motivation?
– There is such a thing. Among them, the book “The Return of the Champions” remained memorable. It tells how people who faced different problems overcame themselves and achieved high results. I love films and everything connected with them.
— Healthy Russians have not participated in international athletics competitions since 2015. How significant is your victory in this regard?
— Yes, now very few of our athletes travel abroad. And when this happens, we want to show the best results. So that Russians know that, despite these circumstances, we remain the strongest in the world at different distances. In many sports, we do not have our own athletes and there are restrictions. But this encourages us to show results more effectively and efficiently in order to partially compensate for these losses. I would like to win more gold and silver medals, for each member of our team to receive several awards.
— To whom is this gold dedicated?
— My son, he is two and a half years old today. Little birthday. I will leave him this medal as a souvenir, for the future. I think the family watched the show on . They screamed and encouraged me, like during the 5000m final. I know everyone is incredibly happy for me. Their dreams and mine have come true.
– And now, walk around Paris?
– Of course, I will walk and relax. I just want to walk and see the city. Visit the Eiffel Tower. After all, it is such a popular place, “Kostin told .
The Paralympic Games in the French capital will end on September 8.
Watch live performances of Russian athletes at the Paralympic Games on Match! family channels, as well as on matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.
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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.
