“I invest in training, travel and emotions.” Egorova – about neutral status and income

European Championship medalist Anna Yegorova in October, she obtained neutral status and is preparing to return to major international competitions. spoke with Anna about her immediate plans, the coaching change and the sponsorship situation in Russian sport.

—Why are you in California?

— I flew to visit friends on vacation. I arrived with the intention of retiring and decided to stay and live for a few months. I even wanted to take a break for the short course season, but it so happened that I found a good coach, a good club – I will swim for him. I’ve been training here for three weeks now.

– What kind of club is it, who is the coach?

— Alfa Aquatics, young athletes swim here. Coach: Scott Hubbard. He works more with sprints, but that only does good for me. I’ve never trained in a sprint group before, only holding distances. I need to improve my sprinting skills and I think this will benefit me.

— Does this mean a gradual progression up to 200 m?

– I really want this. I want to tighten this distance, make it the main one. I will swim 400 m, move away 1500 m. I also want to try swimming 200m butterfly, I swam it in Kaliningrad, I really liked it, and now I’m training too.

— When did you decide to obtain neutral status?

— This idea has existed for a long time, I made my first application before the World Championships in Doha, but I withdrew it along the way. Then the Russian Olympic Committee declared that people with neutral status would not be able to participate in the Friendship Games. But the promised “Friendship Games” ultimately did not take place. I decided to apply for neutral status and participate in the World Cup and World Championships. I can no longer follow the Cup stages, but the World Championships in Budapest are very real.

We haven’t participated in major competitions for three years. Why not? I want to swim big in international competitions.

— Where will you swim before the World Championships?

— I will not participate in the French Championships in Montpellier because I will not have time to prepare, but I will start the club competitions in mid-November in Paris.

— Will you come to the Russian Championship?

— No, this time I won’t come, but maybe I will play in the Salnikov Cup. Flying is expensive and now we have to prepare for the World Cup.

— What was the reaction to your neutral status?

“I haven’t received a single negative response, everyone says: ‘Well done for participating in international competitions.’

“But now many are wondering why this wasn’t done before the Olympics.

“We couldn’t get it then, but now we can.” Everyone was afraid to receive him so as not to miss the “Friendship Games”. They were not executed.

— Was his goal to make money from these startups?

– Certainly. We haven’t made any money in three years. That’s why we watched the Friendship Games. The question of making money is important. The Olympic Committee was clear: (Stanislav) Pozdnyakov said that those who go to the Olympics will not participate in the Friendship Games. Naturally, everyone was afraid of it.

— I saw a video in which you say how much you spend on training.

— It was an interview about how much I earn. I said about 300-400 thousand. And I received a lot of negativity from swimmers – where did I get such a salary? But I didn’t say anywhere that this was my salary as an athlete. I have my own investments, I have an apartment. And I said I was spending money on my training. I am a person who lives for today. I invest money in myself, in my training, in travel, in new emotions.

— You once left for France. For what?

– It was the only way out. I understood: if I don’t leave, I will end my career. It was just beginning and they were already pushing me aside. And my parents and I decided to take this step: go to one of the best coaches in the world. And I proved that it was then too early to write me off.

I had an incredible experience. Philippe Luca gave me in seven years what I have now.

– But then you broke up.

– That doesn’t change the fact that he was my best coach and, I think, will remain so. Anything can happen, an athlete leaves a coach, there is some kind of discord, but again: this does not take away from the fact that thanks to his work with him I achieved everything that I have in the sport.

—How did you train with Luke? They say he is very strict.

“For seven years we found an approach to each other and maintained a balance. I knew what it was for, I went to look at the medals and he found the right words. He’s a difficult person, but the best coach! And he’s a very good motivator. He knows how to find the words before the start that will give you a boost before the race. It worked for me too. And it works with Nastya Kirpichnikova, who, after an unsuccessful 400m, won a medal at the Olympics.

— I saw that you gave a master class in Kaliningrad. What else do you do?

— I write workouts for those who swim. If they invite you to master classes, I give them. Sometimes I work as a personal trainer. But for now I don’t see myself swimming after finishing my professional career.

– What do you see yourself in?

— In the media, in blogs, I might want to become a sports model. But the most important thing is that I want to have a happy family.

— Did they write to you after aired to tell you that no one was inviting you to the restaurant?

— To be honest, they still write to me today. But so far no suitable candidate has been found. I’m looking.

– Everyone will now look for you in applications.

– No, I’m not, I prefer to meet people offline. In the United States, by the way, it’s difficult – no one here is in the mood for a serious relationship.

— You are second only to Yulia Efimova in terms of subscribers on social networks. Did they do anything specifically for this – advertising where possible, something else?

– No, I just posted what I liked. The subscribers came by themselves, I do what I feel, it probably resonates with someone, since people subscribe.

Now that I’ve signed a contract with a brand, I’d like more online and offline ad integrations, but so far there are few serious offerings.

— Is it a shame that, even before the sanctions, advertisers paid little attention to Russian sports?

“We haven’t developed that at all.” I have repeatedly tried to find sponsors, but, most likely, they will simply invest in a blogger, but not in an athlete. And this is understandable, they have a larger audience, which we cannot bring together, because our sport is not very developed. Vicious circle. In Europe, it is prestigious to send advertising to athletes. An athlete has more priority than a blogger.

— Yulia Efimova said that when she addressed sponsors, she heard: investing in sports is like throwing money down the toilet.

“And I’ve heard something like that before.” Alas and ah, such is the situation. But I don’t get discouraged, it’s never about me.

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