Olympic short track speed skating champion Semyon Elistratov This week he will open his next season and will do so at the Russian Cup in his native Ufa. And Semyon, like the entire Russian short track team, will wait until the end of September for a possible decision of the ISU Council on admission to international competitions. We talked with Elistratov about the main topics.
— Semyon, a traditional pre-season question. How did you spend your summer?
– Amazing! Well done. We did everything we wanted and more in the training process.
— Where did you train?
— We were in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan. I went to a training camp in a warm place, rode a bike and spent the rest of the summer in Ufa.
— Kyrgyzstan is now a popular tourist destination!
— We go in May, it is not yet the tourist season. In addition, we train further, in the mountains, at an altitude of 1,800 m. There are no cars there in May. And it is convenient for cycling training – on the one hand, we are at a height, on the other, in this very place, it is flat. This is what you need for cycling training in May. In May, it is too early to go uphill, it is rather a retraction training, the body prepares for the loads that await us in August.
— Does your body remind you of how old you are?
– Good question. As I joke when talking to guys, now I can’t eat nails and then go to training the next day and produce the necessary power. Now I approach everything more professionally. I watch my diet and nutrition very carefully; the pranks I could indulge in when I was younger, I can’t afford now.
But for my 34th birthday, I feel good. Professional sports prove that it is possible to win at the Olympics even as an adult. The main thing in preparation is not to deceive yourself. Vaughn Djokovic won the Olympics at 37, and tennis is a very difficult sport!
— So you watched the Olympics?
– Look! I was rooting for our girls (Mirra Andreeva and Diana Schneider), they were great to win silver. Beauties! When Djokovic won, I rejoiced with him. I was terribly worried about Korovashkov and Petrov when they finished fourth. And then Petrov became fourth. In fact, damn it! We finished fourth in the relay in Beijing. It’s just terrible when you lose a little. I can imagine how the guys felt. At the Paralympics, I followed the athletes who represented Bashkiria. I also follow my sport – I watch the World Cups, World and European Championships. It’s not like we are suspended from international competitions, and I don’t watch. I watch! It’s clear that I don’t have time to watch everything, I follow it point by point.
— What do you expect from the ISU Council in September?
— To be honest, I miss international competitions. I would like to participate in international competitions. We are waiting, hoping for something, because time is running out for juniors.
— When do you have to return to international competitions to qualify for the Games?
“We have to start performing in the coming season in order to have more chances in the Olympic season.” But in any case, we are working to be fully prepared to return to international competitions. We have nothing that can relax us at any given moment. We are working flat out. And I tell the youngsters that they have to work as if the Olympic Games were tomorrow. We have a good team now.
For my part, I can personally say that I am doing everything possible to be as prepared as possible for international competitions in preparation for the Olympic Games. I understand perfectly well that not everything in this situation will depend on me, but I am doing what I can. And I am doing my best in training! I want to be honest with myself.
— This summer there was a lot of discussion about the possibility of playing in neutral status. How do you respond to that yourself?
— This is a difficult question. A difficult topic. Many factors can affect this. I can’t answer anything unequivocally. I am an experienced athlete, I have all the possible awards. Short track speed skating and Russian sports have given me a lot, I want to give something back. For me, at the moment, the Olympics are about giving something back to my sport. In my opinion, if you go there, you have to show the result, you have to cover the performance, you have to make children see and know that you always have to go all the way. And again, many factors can influence this.
— You and Emina Malagic opened a Telegram channel about short track speed skating. What kind of blogger are you: lazy or active?
– I try! This is the most important thing. After a heavy load, like any athlete, sometimes you just want to lie down, but I know how important it is to talk about your sport. You need to make funny and serious videos too, do something interesting. We have introduced a weekly column “Five Questions”, which is answered by athletes and staff. But you also need to come to the conclusion that you need to do it. And we must not forget what activity is your main activity – for me, the main activity is sport, training and performances. Taking photos and giving interviews after the start is also part of the job; in the rest of the media activities, which certainly should be, you need to be able to maintain a balance. As a mature athlete, I think I don’t do too much. We have a lot of ideas, we are currently preparing a big issue on equipment so that children and coaches in the regions can see what equipment they should buy. This is important.
— I remember Svetlana Romashina talking about how at one time she had difficulty registering “circles” and participating in TikTok activities. Is there such a thing?
– Yes, I won’t hide it, it’s true. I’m a child of the 90s, and it seems to me that most of us are a little stuck in this regard. So Svetlana is not alone in this. But again, we try!
— The first stage of the Russian Cup will be held in Ufa. Do you think that you will soon start attracting full houses at the competitions?
— There were a lot of people at the last competition in March. I think the days when the stands were sold out are not far away. I also try to draw attention to this. There is not as much advertising as we would like, but there is progress. By the way, after the “Titans” I am recognized more on the street than after the Olympics! They come and say: “You know, Semyon, I supported you at the Titans.” And I add that I also do short track and I invite you to competitions in Ufa.
— What was the most difficult thing about the show “Titans” on TNT?
– Anything that involves hands. There, you have to hold on to ropes or something. And my legs are my main tool!
– Hands are usually behind the back!
– Yes! In general, I went crazy. There is no other way to say it. Everything was a shock to me. All the tests are real!
— What do you think happens in such shows?
— I thought it was mostly a “decree”! I didn’t think it was so real! I’m very happy to have reached the final and met a lot of people. We generally chat, we stay in touch, everyone invites each other to certain events. I’m happy that I managed to combine this with the preparation for the season, and one doesn’t overlap the other.
— Andrei Ivanovich (Maksimov, coach) weren’t you afraid of getting injured?
– Special thanks to him. He told me from the beginning that I would reach the final. How he felt. At the end, there were also running and shuttle running tests, it literally saved me. We didn’t know in advance what the tests would be, then we went out and they said: shuttle. Everyone said: damn, this must be hard. And I thought: it’s not for nothing that I ran shuttles in training!
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Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
