"Yes, I am a seasoned Russian girl."
Last weekend, Angelina Melnikova led the Enchantress team to the finals of the Gymnastics Premier League. The girls won these competitions against their rivals from Besties dry with a score of 14:0. Angelina herself did not perform, which, as it turned out later, turned out to be even more difficult than going on stage. After the final, the Olympic champion and three-time world champion told Izvestia and Sport-Express about her role as captain, recalled the details of the brilliantly concluded World Cup in Jakarta and shared her plans for the next seasons.
"If a mentor is nervous, his student is nervous too"
"You're the captain of the Enchantress team here. How do you feel in this role?
— Being a captain is very exciting, and I had thoughts that, of course, it would be easier to go out and do my job myself. When you're a coach or captain of a team, there's nothing you can do except find words of support. This is the maximum. That's why it was a little difficult.
— Now do you understand what the coaches are experiencing?
— For me, these are heroes who have character and self-control. You have to be born a coach, because you have to endure everything. And most importantly, the excitement is transmitted to the athlete: if the mentor is nervous, his student is nervous. Therefore, it is very important to have self-control. And I'm probably not ready for this role yet.
— Is it better to be an athlete?
— 100%. Being an athlete is easier, let's put it this way.
"I've never worn green"
— We talked with athlete Melnikova the previous time at the Russian Championship. You successfully performed there in a green swimsuit, which you had not previously mentioned in your wardrobe plans for the World Cup, but in the end you took it and won the all-around in it. Is he happy now?
— I've never worn green, I didn't expect it to look so amazing both in the arena and on the screen. I thought that I should definitely take this swimsuit to the World Championships, so I sent it to FIG for approval. I didn't know until the end what I was going to do in the all-around final, and I decided when I woke up on the morning of the final. I just wanted to be in a good mood.
— I told you at the Russian Championship that you look more serious in it and this can affect your rivals. Did you feel this seriousness when you looked in the mirror?
— I felt the brightness. In principle, I like to be bright, and I try to make my makeup bright. So yes, I think there is some power in colors.
— Is green a happy color now?
— Definitely, especially considering how many tenths I won in the all-around at the World Championships from the second place.
"I tried not to go outside"
— How was the flight to the World Cup in Indonesia?
— I was mentally preparing for a long journey. In general, the flight went well, we checked in in advance so that the boys would sit in front and everyone could stretch their legs on the back of the chair in front of them. It was an amazing idea, the coaches suggested it. The adaptation also went well, the only thing is that I don't really like hot and humid climates, so I tried not to go outside.
— In 2019, in Doha, at the World Athletics Championships, there was a feeling that being constantly in the heat, then under the air conditioner, you can catch a cold.
— I like air conditioning, I like coolness, and I think I have some kind of immunity to such things. A cool climate is better for me than a hot one. It seems that there have never been any problems due to the contrasting temperature change from heat to cold.
— Russian gymnast!
- yes. A seasoned Russian girl.
— Some teams (definitely Romanian) complained of food poisoning due to the spicy cuisine in Indonesia. Denisa Golgota said she lost 2 kg of weight. How did you get along with the food in Jakarta?
— The coaches warned us in advance that we need to be careful with food. But we had an amazing hotel, and I ate pretty bland food. There really was a lot of specific, spicy food. But the girls and I ate according to the standard — soup, chicken, fish, we didn't try anything exotic.
"The carpet is clogged with magnesia, and rotation is difficult"
— You have a serious (by gymnastic standards) age and experience gap with the other girls on the team. Did the young girls consult with you on any practical issues?
- yes. They asked me about my first World Cup and my emotions. I told them. She also told me where to go, where not to go, and what to expect. I think they did a good job, the performances were decent. Our team was noted, especially after testing on shells. They said we looked good, considering the three and a half years of isolation. Of course, Russian gymnastics has not lost its level. So next year, I hope everything will be fine.
— The Taishan shells that were used at the World Cup were new to many. The athletes did not know this company, they had not worked for them before. Are you having similar problems?
— I competed on these shells in 2018 at the World Championships in Doha. That's where I was really surprised at how tough they are. But now we arrived prepared, because the national team's coaches had previously placed an American table on the base jump, similar in rigidity to the Taishan.
— There were complaints that the carpet was tight in terms of rotations.
— Yes, it's true, I can definitely say that, because the carpet has a very dense and high pile. Because of this, the foot really didn't turn on the free. Moreover, she was fine in the training room, but not very well in the competition hall. Because he's being hammered with magnesia, and the boys are also performing on the same carpet as the girls. Magnesia is all around, and rotations are difficult. I know that many people complained about the rotations.
"I thought: "What if it's an undeserved victory?"
— You mentioned the tenth points that you managed to snatch in the all-around final. Immediately after the victory, discussions began about your freedom: how many legs were behind the line (one, two, none). On social media, especially in English, they went through all the options. Did these discussions touch you, make you worry?
— Of course, I read everything and at first I was worried about my spade, because they gave me a 0.1 discount, and on the video from a certain angle it seems that I stepped with two feet. But there is an amazing video on the Internet where I do this "Screw Blanche" and put one foot on the toe, and then I move it and hit exactly the border of the carpet. Of course, I did it unconsciously, it happened by accident, but it looked just brilliant.
After the video, I calmed down, because when the hype started, I thought: "What if this is an undeserved victory?" There were unpleasant feelings inside. But when I watched the video, I just exhaled. I think the experience also worked: you start to squeeze away from the edge of the carpet, realize that you are already somewhere close to the line, and in every way you begin to try to move away from it. That's why it turned out that way.
— You have been a gymnast in Russia for a long time, and they expect good results and victories from you. But now your main rivals from other countries have realized that Melnikova has not disappeared, has not collapsed, has not lost motivation, that Angelina is fine. They'll start calculating your base, watching what you're doing, and getting ready. How will you prepare?
— I also need to get complicated, and there is a place. I really wanted to jump "Chang" at the World All-around Championships, but coach Konstantin Sergeyevich Pluzhnikov and I chose the reliable option — "Yurchenko two screws". Although I had a great desire to jump "Chang", Konstantin Sergeyevich said cool words: "It would probably be an unjustified risk now." And we abandoned this idea. But yes, I would really like to move "Cheng" to the all-around in the future. Yes, and there is something to complicate on the free. Most likely, I will simplify the log from which I have been falling very often lately from a bunch of "Rondat-blanche".
— At the World Championships, there was a whole drama with the Chang jump for at least two gymnasts due to reliance on one arm. The American woman only imagined it, she touched the table with the fingers of her other hand, but the German still got a point for a one-foot position. Tell me, as the person who makes this leap: is the risk of such a mistake really so high, is it possible to come to the table with one hand?
— To be honest, I didn't even know there was such a discount. And when I saw the technique of their jump, I, as an athlete, began to scroll in my head exactly how they jump. It seemed that they were doing it through one side, through one arm. I thought: my shoulder already hurts sometimes when I even slightly fall on one support, but here the girls are generally through one arm. But then I realized exactly how they jump. This is the technique that we use on freestyle "Screw-blanche", that is, an almost unsupported position, they fly completely and make two "Blanches" with two screws. We have never learned such a technique, I jump the classic "Chang".
— Simplify the log, "Chang" in the all-around… What about freestyle and uneven bars? You already have a good all-around base in the latter.
— She's in the all-around, yes. I can't say that winning a medal in the uneven bars final is normal for the all-around. I'll keep it, that's the maximum, there's nothing more to add.
"And the free ones?"
— I can add a tenth, maybe two.
"Forget that I'm a gymnast"
— How do you like Kaylia Nemur on the uneven bars live?
— It's absolutely gorgeous!
— You've seen other new girls. Did a strong generation come after Paris?
— I just watched the Junior World Championship, and I was more impressed with it. The younger generation, which is entering the adult stage next year, is quite strong. But those who are performing now are not so much, because at the moment there is a generational change. The young people have no experience yet, the "oldies" are already kind of leaving, in general, something incomprehensible is happening now. Plus, this World Cup was still a bit simpler, because everyone decided to take a break after the Olympic Games.
— But the next World Cup will not be so easy. And then they're going to be even harder and harder because Los Angeles is on the horizon. With the existing set of injuries, problems, and years of fatigue from the gymnastic routine, how do you see this period for yourself?
— I see my way to Los Angeles. But with a more competent approach. I need to devote a lot of time and attention to my health, because this is my main resource, which sometimes suffers due to age and gymnasts in general. I always tell the coaches that the most important thing for me is that nothing hurts, then I can go out and do anything. The main thing is that nothing hurts. In general, speaking about the path to the Olympics, I see it as a specific, individual, tailored work plan with special attention to health. Not only physically, but also psychologically.
— There is such a phrase: in the elite, victory is already determined not by who trains, but by who recovers.
— Yes, it's true. By the age of 25, I also realized that I needed to devote about the same amount of time to recovery as I did to training.
— What is your current recovery phase? Have you taken a break and will you start preparing for the season later? I was told that you have a training camp starting on December 5th.
— We have a training camp going on, I'm still in light mode — I'm training just to keep fit, nothing more. I will start actively training sometime in the middle of January. It's been quiet for now, because it was a very difficult period, full of competitions. I'm probably mentally tired of all this pressure and tension. And now I need to exhale, rest, and take my mind off gymnastics. Forget that I'm a gymnast.
Next year will actually be very difficult. We have the European Championship in Croatia, then the World Cup. The second half of the year will be a shock.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
