“At some point I realized I didn’t want it anymore. » Rumyantsev announced his retirement and is now coaching in China.

The medalist of the World Speed ​​Skating Championships Alexander Rumyantsev gave for the first time after the Beijing Olympics a long interview in which he officially announced his retirement, talked about how he experienced the lack of place in the team race for medals and his new role as coach of the Chinese national team.

— Sasha, after the Olympic Games, apart from your departure for China, I had no news from you. How are you doing?

— I work, I am working, but in a different role.

— You have finished your career, you do not plan to run?

— I graduated in May. I wrote a letter to RUSADA, ADAMS and ISU stating that I was officially ending my sports career. I’ve been putting off this moment for a long time. I was invited to train in Russia with a team, but I already realized that for some reason I wouldn’t make the team. I started training in China, I planned to come to the Russian championships, but I got injured during cycling training, some problems arose regarding this, and at some point I realized that’s all, I don’t want it anymore.

Moreover, this whole situation in which we can only organize the Russian Cups and Championships does not interest me. I want to believe that the Russian team will return to the international arena in the near future, but so far there are few prospects.

— Ruslan Zakharov said that Russian competitions do not evoke emotions. Is it the same story for you?

– Let’s be honest, yes. As an older athlete, I would no longer wait for the Russian national team to be admitted to international competitions.

Therefore, after falling in training, I spoke to the team leaders here. I saw that there is no long distance coach as such. I started writing programs, I started training with the guys, they gave me a group of young athletes with results from 7 minutes 5 seconds to “A”, and now they, already working on my program, improved their personal results, broke Chinese records for 5000 and 10,000 meters and in all-around.

— Are you one of those athletes who always said to yourself: I will never be a coach?

“I did not deny myself such a possibility. Plus, everything was gathered here. And now I work with the Chinese national team, I am part of the technical staff.

— Do you coach a men’s team?

— Last year there was a men’s team for long distances, now there is no such division, we all work together, we have a big team.

However, after the Olympics, something broke in me as an athlete, that’s all. I trained, but I stopped enjoying it all.

— They didn’t offer to change your citizenship?

– They offered, but it’s not my story, that’s all. I probably decided a long time ago that I wouldn’t do that.

“After the Olympics, something broke inside.” After or during?

— February 15, 2022.

— Literally the only time in my memory you didn’t compete in mixed doubles.

“I went to the dressing room and went to see the guys who, as reserves, lived in the hotel. He asked me to buy a ticket for the next flight.

– Is it painful yet? So many years chasing this dream.

– Of course, I walked away, but sometimes it comes back (Rumyantsev did not start a single race in the team race at the 2022 Games, which earned the team silver. – Rating from ). It was hard. It was a shame not for me, but for my family. They were very worried.

It’s just that the whole training process during the Olympic season for me came down to the team race. In May, I spoke with the coach and suggested that I focus on preparation for 10 km – at the World Championships I had a personal medal, but preparation for the “ten” and the team race is really different. I understood that I could qualify for the Olympics over this distance. But they told me the team needed me. During all the preparation, I ended up doing five or six dozen jobs, and I ran I don’t know how many team races.

I did my best in the “ten”, the result was good, but not enough for a medal. Again, if I had the same 5th place in the top ten, if I had done all the summer preparatory work on 10 km, there would be nothing to complain about. But then I was preparing for another discipline, and in the end, I didn’t get a medal here either and I didn’t start the team race. It is on the conscience of those who then made the decision. I believe that at the right moment, the decision should be made by the coach, not the person five thousand miles away. It’s my point of view.

— Did you then speak with Viktor Alexandrovich Sivkov?

– No.

– Did the guys support you?

— Many people supported me and thanks to my region, many leaders knew my situation. All my friends, the entire skating fraternity supported me… Everyone knew how I worked in this team created for long distances. Viktor Alexandrovich gathered everyone by region and I was part of this team. We worked, the results began to appear, I added, Danka (Semerikov) grew up, Ruslan Zakharov joined us, grew up, then Seryoga Trofimov began to train with us, Egor Yunin came, we we have all reached a certain level.

I am truly grateful to have been a part of this team, grateful for the results we achieved. We worked very well. But unfortunately people make mistakes. I think at that moment the wrong decision was made for me.

— And now you are Dani Semerikov’s coach in China?

— He has coaches in the region, but here, yes, I help him. He trains with the guys.

— Many coaches went to work in China and quickly returned. Did you get the hang of it?

— Little by little, yes. But here everything is different. The team literally practices all the time. The conditions are good, the facilities are good. This is an interesting new experience for me, it seems to be the same field of activity, but looking at it from a different perspective.

“Is there any chance that one day you’ll change your mind and come back?”

– No that’s all. It’s burned. Broken. And now I don’t want to. I watch from the sidelines how the guys train and I feel sorry for them. I understand how painful it is, how difficult it is for them to get up after a nap. And for me… I’m fine!