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| Angelina poses on beam during filming of a drama about the 1980 Olympics |
"I'll be rooting for the Russians": [Russian neutral athletes] Olympic champion on the Paris Games and the most important competitions of recent years
Gymnast Melnikova named Simone Biles the favorite of the Paris Olympics
Angelina is in a reflective but upbeat move here as she talks about the Olympics and more ... and on social media, she has thanked her international fans for supporting her through thick and thin! Now, read on ...
Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics Angelina Melnikova, in an interview with Gazeta.Ru, promised to root for neutral Russian athletes at the Games in Paris, named American Simone Biles the favourite of the tournament, talked about filming the Kinopoisk series “Games” about the Moscow Olympics in 1980, where she had to perform elements on the balance beam for 10 hours, and also admitted that she is looking forward to the Friendship Games in 2025.
“I am very happy that I was able to become the champion of the BRICS Games”
— At the moment, the last tournament you competed in was the BRICS Games. You won on the uneven bars and came in second on the vault. How would you rate winning gold and silver at the Games? Were you satisfied with the performance or were you expecting more?
— I am very happy that I was able to become the champion of the BRICS Games, because this is our first international tournament in the last few years. Of course, I would have liked to win a medal in the all-around, but I made a serious mistake on the floor exercises at the very beginning, so, unfortunately, I was unable to do this. Overall, the result is satisfactory for me.
— You came in third in the individual all-around, but the bronze went to the Belarusian Kira Makarevich due to the regulations — no more than two athletes from one federation could be medalists, and the first and second places were also taken by Russians.
— Yes, this is our usual regulations at international competitions. Initially, when we went to the BRICS Games, we all understood perfectly well that only two people from a country would get on the podium.
— Irina Viner said that the BRICS Games are like the Olympics for her gymnasts. Can the excitement at these competitions be compared?
— For me, the Olympic Games are incomparable to anything. I wouldn’t compare them to any other competitions – neither in terms of emotions, nor in terms of responsibility, nor in terms of preparation, moral or physical.
There weren't many participants. What was the atmosphere like at the competition?
— The atmosphere was quite competitive, especially between us, girls from Russia, because again — due to the regulations, no more than two people from each country could become prize winners.
Besides, it's always difficult to compete — especially with yourself, because we, athletes of a fairly high level, can no longer afford to go to the start unprepared or relax and show bad gymnastics. It's harder to fight against this than to compete for medals.
"I'll be rooting for the Russians at the Games"
— You said that you might not watch the Games in Paris. But if you still want to watch, which athletes will you root for? Not only in gymnastics, but in other sports as well.
— Of course, I will root for the athletes from Russia who will go to the Olympic Games under a neutral flag, because it is a great pride to represent our country on the international stage. I will be with them with all my heart. As for artistic gymnastics, I think there will be an interesting fight. I really want to see Simone Biles, who had some problems in Tokyo. I think she will take revenge now.
— Valentina Rodionenko said that Simone Biles can win four gold medals at the Olympic Games and in the future surpass Larisa Latynina, a nine-time champion of the Games. Do you think Biles is really capable of such achievements?
— Of course, for Simone it is quite possible. I think she is perfectly prepared for these Games. But this is sport, anything can happen, as we saw in Tokyo, so...
— In your opinion, who is the favorite in the artistic gymnastics competitions in the men's and women's all-around — both individual and team?
— I can't tell you about the men's all-around, because I don't really follow this area, but in the women's, of course, it's Simone, another American, for example, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Sunisa Lee. I'd like to look at Italy, at Rebeca Andrade from Brazil, I think she also prepared a good all-around. And, probably, at China.
"The BRICS Games and the Friendship Games are the most important competitions in several years"
— You said that your attitude to sports is different now than when you were preparing for the Olympics. What has changed in your lifestyle since then?
— I let myself go more. Before the Olympic Games, when I didn't have a gold medal yet, I thought about it a lot. All my thoughts were about gymnastics, about how to become better, how to achieve my dream. After Tokyo, I began to enjoy gymnastics more, I let go of myself, I began to treat failures and some not very pleasant moments in sports more freely.
— At the Russian Championships this year, you won gold in the all-around, floor exercises, balance beam and vault. How do you manage to maintain such shape and motivation, despite the changed attitude to sports?
— For me, the Russian Championships were a very, very successful start this year. Probably, it is precisely because I have more or less let myself go that I maintain motivation inside. I enjoy gymnastics, the fans support me very much, and I feel their love. I want to go out on the platform and perform.
Now, the longevity of an athlete is valued no less than titles. This is important, pleasant and helps to maintain motivation not to end a career.
— Another major international tournament is planned in Russia — the Friendship Games. Initially, it was supposed to take place in September of this year, but was postponed to 2025. Would you like to take part in it?
— I would really like to take part in this tournament, especially this year, because the BRICS Games and the Friendship Games have been such important starts for us in the last few years. Let's wait until 2025.
— How do you assess the prospects of the younger generation in artistic gymnastics?
— I really like where gymnastics is going. I like that the younger generation is more free and liberated, their eyes are shining, it is clear that they love sports and strive to move forward.
— You have your own gymnastics school in your native Voronezh. Previously, it was a charity project that you ran entirely by yourself and resolved all issues. However, now the charity project has ended, and you were planning to switch to a business model. How are things going with this?
— Things are going well, we have completely switched to commerce, and it seems to me that we are doing well. We have been working on a commercial basis for two months now. True, it is summer now, there are fewer children. I am really looking forward to September to see how dense our flow will be.
— You noted that children's sports are of little use to anyone in the regions, which is why it was difficult for you to find sponsorship when the project was charitable. Have you managed to change the attitude towards children's sports in Voronezh thanks to your school?
— I don't think so, because in order to change something, you need a lot of like-minded people. Probably not.
— Nevertheless, your contribution is noticeable.
— Of course, we organize a lot of sports events, we organize various activities. I am very proud that I am a Voronezh resident, because we have a great heritage of champions in Voronezh. I would like to contribute to our region. I think I am doing it.
"We athletes are a little quiet, downtrodden"
— You starred in the Kinopoisk series "Games" about the 1980 Olympics, and it is known that the story of your heroine echoes your personal experience. Can you tell us a little about how your heroine is similar to you?
— In that she is also a gymnast. I know the "insides" of gymnastics so well - literally since childhood, that when I was given the script, I easily imagined how it all happens in real life. We have many such stories. Various things happen in the gym. If you were not a gymnast, you will not understand what it is like to be one.
— You appear several times in the trailer for the series. What are your impressions of your appearance on screen?
— I still can't believe that all this happened to me. I am really looking forward to the release of the series, because I want to watch the whole thing. For me, it is simply something fantastic!
— Initially, you were supposed to be an actress's understudy. How did you receive the offer to play a full-fledged role in the series from director Evgeny Stychkin?
— At first, I was invited just to talk to the director, to discuss gymnastics, because the creators of the series did not fully understand the specifics of those years. Back then, there were other apparatuses — narrow bars, and now wide ones. We talked about what kind of gymnastics I could show, which apparatus would be better to choose, and after some time, I was invited to audition.
— How did the audition for the role go?
— They gave me a script, I learned my lines — that's all. They just filmed me on a phone, and I played what was written in the script.
— Was it scary to agree to work in a completely different, acting field?
— I wasn’t that scared, rather, I was excited and incredibly interested. I understood perfectly well that such a chance couldn’t be missed and was definitely worth a try. Of course, I was worried that this was a completely new field for me, that I wouldn’t succeed. Moreover, we, athletes, are a little quiet, downtrodden, unemotional, and the acting field is completely different. I was worried that I wouldn’t cope, wouldn’t play out the necessary emotions, but in the end everything turned out well.
— Did you take acting lessons? How did you prepare for the role?
— My friends told me about how auditions go, what you need to do, and so on. I felt amazing on the set, because the director helped me, the whole crew treated me very kindly. I can’t even remember a moment when it was hard for me or when I couldn’t do something. Even though I was worried, everything went well.
"Soviet gymnasts had some sky-high, very scary elements"
— Did you have to perform difficult elements during filming?
— There were practically no difficult elements, only backflips on the balance beam. By the way, on one of the filming days I spent about 10 hours on the balance beam — and all this time I was doing combinations, some elements. This was a bit difficult, because in principle we do not spend such a number of hours a day on the balance beam. In addition, this apparatus requires very strong concentration — you get tired not so much physically, but mentally.
— You said that when preparing for the role, you were most inspired by the story of Elena Mukhina.
— Lena Mukhina has a rather tragic story. When I searched for materials on the Internet about Soviet gymnastics, I most often came across her. It seems to me that she made a very big contribution to gymnastics. Just remember her element "Mukhina Loop". And she is so refined, I just liked her.
- Did you create your own routine for the film?
- Yes, I did. I watched Soviet gymnasts perform on the balance beam and based on that I created my own routine. Of course, they had some outrageous, very scary elements!
— Can you compare gymnastics elements in the 80s with modern ones?
— It is difficult, of course, to compare gymnastics that was before with what we have now. Today, gymnastics is more difficult, but the equipment is such that it helps to make it so. They used to perform crazy elements on the balance beam, but not now. Now we focus on acrobatics, and they focused on dangerous elements. I can’t imagine how they were taught!
— Evgeny Stychkin said that you are a good actress and can play the lead role in the future. Do you plan to develop in acting?
— To be honest, I would like to try.
— What kind of film would it be?
— I would trust the director - a professional who could choose a role specifically for me. It seems to me that this is more important than my desire.
"I would like to reveal the characters of champions"
— You started running your YouTube channel and filming vlogs. Does your acting experience help you in running the channel and communicating with other people on camera?
— I have practically no acting experience, so let's not tie it to it. I've always liked the camera, I actively manage social networks. For me, YouTube is something new, something more detailed and long-term. So far, I like it.
— What other formats are you planning to try on your channel?
— I just started posting vlogs. In the near future, I plan to post the second part from the BRICS Games. At the moment, probably only vlogs. But in the future, I would really like to reveal our sport - gymnastics - to show what's going on inside.
I would also like to film something about the character of an athlete. For example, some kind of blitz. It seems to me that the most interesting thing an athlete has is his character. And we are all very different.
— What guests would you like to invite to reveal the different characters of the athletes?
— Probably, to start with gymnasts: invite Aliya Mustafina, Ksenia Afanasyeva, Vika Listunova. All the champions who have made a great contribution to gymnastics, who have come a long way.
— Did you look at the blogs of other athletes when you were planning to open your channel? Nikita Nagorny, Evgenia Medvedeva?
— No, I didn’t. For me, the most important thing was to start, and the simplest format is, of course, vlogs. But Nikita, of course, makes very interesting videos, reveals artistic gymnastics.
There is also a project called “Conversations about Gymnastics” — interviews with athletes. It started with rhythmic gymnastics, and now my colleague, Olympic champion David Belyavsky, has joined it, interviewing representatives of artistic gymnastics. They have already interviewed Emin Garibov, Ksenia Afanasiefa, Nikolai Kuksenkov, Maria Paseka, and I know that the guys have filmed Aliya Mustafina. I am really looking forward to this episode!
— The European Football Championship has recently ended. Did you follow the tournament?
— I have never followed the Euro. I don’t have a favorite team yet, but maybe I will soon. We were in Turkey for a training camp when their national team reached the quarterfinals. There was a lot of noise and hubbub in our hotel, I could hear the Turks rejoicing at every goal. It was great! At some point, I even wanted them to continue their success, for this joy to continue.