“I have turned this page.” Chupkov officially announced his retirement

World champion and record holder Anton Chupkov had already hinted at the Tokyo Games that he was unlikely to stay in the sport for long, but to this day he has not announced the end of a career that can rightly be considered successful thanks to her results in the 200m breaststroke. He has a medal at the Rio Games and there were world records. At the age of 27, Chupkov left the sport.

— Anton, you haven’t been in the media space for a long time. What were you doing?

— Shared experience, animated master classes. During the summer I went to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and organized training camps for local children. Recently I was in Blagoveshchensk, conducting master classes in the Amur region and training local children.

— Do you like such events?

— Of course, it’s interesting to share your experience, especially since the guys are really interested, try their best, try hard and want to learn a lot of useful things. For example, in terms of technology.

— So you are aiming for more practical things, and not “visualizing your objective”?

“When you start communicating with them, showing them something, telling them something, they inspire themselves and start training better. Then the coaches write: “The guys performed at the competition, say hello and try to work in a completely different way during training. So there is positive feedback.

— Do you think their generation is different from yours?

“I can only say that we did not have much experience in participating in such master classes.” I took part in the Alexander Popov Cup twice, his master classes were there, Evgeny Korotyshkin, Andrey Grechin, Vladislav Kulikov came to us. I remember everything. But this only happened twice. There are four hundred participants and such an event takes place in an hour.

— Have you watched the Olympic Games?

– Only results.

— What do you think of the sensational story of the 100 meter breaststroke?

– Famous in a bad way, if I understand correctly.

— I’m just happy for Martinenghi, of course, but the result is not the same.

— I agree, I’m also happy for Nicolo. He missed this victory, he was at the top for a long time, among the leaders, medalist of the Games in relay. But the seconds of the finale really raised eyebrows. Qin, who was head and shoulders above everyone else in the Olympic cycle, failed as well. So yes, there was reason to be surprised.

— Zhenya Somov was floating there, did you communicate?

– No, but we met during competitions, at the Russian Championship.

— He broke your Russian record, but it wasn’t counted. Have you noticed this?

– Of course, even if you don’t notice it yourself, someone will still tell you about it. I saw that he had swum faster than the record and saw that my result was officially valid now. There is practically nothing to add here.

— So let’s talk about the 200 meter breaststroke at the Olympic Games. Léon Marchand and his superpower to win gold over such difficult distances.

– And two of them in one hour. Honestly, I thought Qin would win the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke. Second on my list of favorites was the Australian Stubblety-Cook. But Léon Marchand debunked all the stereotypes: two or two hundred in one evening with phenomenal results! Proved that anything is possible.

—Was it painful to watch all that? Did it elicit an emotional response?

“I haven’t had any emotions about it for a long time, I’ve already let it all go.” It was purely a sporting interest, seeing the results and that’s it.

— When was the last time emotions could lead to the desire to continue? At the Russian Championships in the Masters category, for example, you swam well. Did you want to come back?

– Yes, I swam pretty well in long water in April without much preparation and I said to myself: “give me six months and I can get my results back”. The result was 1.02.0. Without any special load or preparation.

– But if a thought came to you, why did you push it aside?

— I’m already looking for something else. The subject of great professional sport has already passed, I have turned this page. Without any remorse. I know what I want to do and I’m going in that direction.

– “To this”, what is it for? And how far is it from sport?

— We are far from professional sport, let’s say.

— It sounded “without remorse.” But is an athlete still missing Olympic gold?

– Of course, everyone wants to reach all the heights. But I think I’ve had a good career, I’ve had victories, I’ve won world championships, I’ve broken world records. Being upset that I finished my career without an Olympic gold medal, I don’t have one. I am happy and proud to have traveled such a path.

— Did you decide to leave after Tokyo or because of the suspension? Or is it “two in one”?

— I thought about leaving after Tokyo, and I even said in the mixed zone that it might be one of my last departures. In fact, that’s what happened. It was one of my last international starts. I trained, I swam, I played, but I felt the end of my career was near. This is not due to failure in Tokyo or exclusion from the international scene.

—At one point, I had the impression that you were getting sadder and sadder. Was it living this same consciousness?

– Yes, I already understood that I didn’t want to do that.

— Have you worked?

— I wouldn’t say “worked”; my health and strength would allow me to continue swimming and show good results. Tired of this? I can’t say that either. I just wanted something else. The period of my life associated with professional sports was coming to an end. That’s what it was all about.

— Some take a break in such a situation, others go to train in the United States. Are there such options?

-Leave? For this, I am very attached to my environment, to family life. There was no question of moving. And I took a break after Tokyo, a short one. I rested well and realized that I had strength. He even performed well afterwards, winning the Russian Cup with almost the same result as the World Cup winner. But the desire to end it remained.

— Do you have your own school?

— I am one of the leaders. When all this was being organized, he was one of the faces of the project.

— Moscow athletes complain about the lack of swimming pools. Do you consider the situation critical?

– It depends on which way you look at it. Many sports and leisure centers are under construction, some swimming pools are being renovated and my own swimming pool “Formula Water” will soon open after reconstruction.

— But there are no major competitions in Moscow.

– And it’s sad. We cannot organize big tournaments in the capital. But we have the best swimming facilities in Kazan – the Palace of Aquatic Sports, and I see nothing wrong with the championship and the final of the Russian Cup being held there. It is clear that I want to see the Russian Championship again in Moscow. We have a lot of young people training here; they would have more opportunities to see the strongest athletes compete.

— Are you training?

— No, I just give master classes. There have already been many swimming pools in my life, and even today there are not many fewer. I think I can start working as a coach at any time, but I don’t want to stay away yet.

— Is it difficult to see that the guys are not playing at international level? What do critics take away from the Olympic Games?

– Everyone has their own mind, everyone has a coach, loved ones. I don’t see the point in being upset that someone made this or that decision. If a person decides this way, then this is the most correct thing for him.

—And your decision to end your career is like leaving professional sport, but staying in swimming?

– I will be happy if I remain the right person. I have a lot of experience in the entertainment industry, as well as the training process. I have always had good relations with the federation. If someone needs help, some kind of support, I will try to provide it as much as my strengths and activities allow.

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