Russia, Moscow/ Trend corr. R.Agayev / The Russian National Rhythmic Gymnastics team confidently won both in group and individual performances in the Beijing Olympic Games.
Irina Viner, the chief coach of the Russian National Rhythmic Gymnastics team and a consultant of the Azerbaijani National team, decided to celebrate her jubilee after the Olympic Games. On the eve of this event, she gave an interview to Trend correspondent.
Question: What is your estimation of performances of Russia in the Beijing Olympic Games?
Answer: It is difficult for me to speak about it, because I am the coach of the team. I know that we have had some shortages on the first day. However, on the second day after qualification stages our gymnasts, especially the Olympic Champion Yevgeniya Kanayeva did their best and deservedly won medals of the Olympic Games both in group and individual performances at a main stage.
Question: Did Zhenya Kanayeva's irreproachable performance, whose points were considerably more than her rivals, surprise you?
Answer: No, it was not a surprise for me, because Kanayeva passed all tournaments without important mistakes and gained victory in 2007. Therefore, she was a Champion of Russia and first of all, she was qualified for the Beijing Olympic Games.
Kanayeva ranked the first leaving her rivals not so far behind- with three points in the European Championship held one and a half month before the Beijing Olympic Games.
Question: What prospects does Kanayeva have?
Answer: I think that, she will stay in sports for a long time. May God make her healthy every time and everything will be in order in her life. I think she looks like Alina Kabayeva, who was engaged in gymnastics for a long time.
Question: As a consultant of the Azerbaijani National team, what could you tell us about prospects, which the Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnastics has.
Answer: I heartily supported the Azerbaijani team in group performances, because the Azerbaijani girls participated in the Olympic Games for the first time. It so happened that the girls performed well and irreproachably made all combinations within limits of their ability.
They did not have the most difficult elements in their performances and here I mean elements of the body. However, they performed very well and irreproachably. Therefore, I consider opportunity to perform in a final and rank the seventh amongst the best eight gymnast and team of the world places as a huge achievement because of their correct performances.
They were beginners in the Olympic Games and contested with strong teams. Firstly, they defeated the Spanish team at the qualification stage, who was an Olympic Champion several years ago, and then the Ukrainian team, and ranked seventh in a final. It is a great victory.
Two gymnasts amongst 12 strong gymnasts in the Olympic Games - they are from Azerbaijan, as well and two is a maximum number. I think that this is the third result for Azerbaijan on prize winning places after Russia and Belarus, because even Godunko, the second number of Ukraine, follows Garayeva. Moreover, the Azerbaijani National team on group performances leaves behind the Ukrainian team.
It is a worthy result for your country, because the leadership of the Azerbaijani Gymnastics Federation and the President of the Federation Mehriban Aliyeva, as well as the leadership of the country put much effort and attention into it. They gave opportunity to gymnasts to participate in training, in all championships, all World Cups and all Grand Prix tournaments. As a result, the Azerbaijani gymnasts passed too serious qualification tournaments and too important preparations, which enabled them to perform successfully.
Question: You are a specialist, who can practically manage everything and achieve many best results. At present, which success do you consider the most valuable, when you turn to your past?
Answer: Firstly, I consider gold Olympic medals, which our girls gained both at group performances and individual performances in the Olympic Games for the third time, as the most important success. Surely, our great success is that the first 12 gymnasts, participating in the Olympic Games, and seven gymnasts of the first 12 numbers passed trainings in Russia.
Question: Which new tasks do you put for yourself in near future?
Answer: Firstly, I want to spread gymnastics more and all over the world. I think that the gymnastics was spread in the territory of Europe, whilst it is necessary to popularize this kind of sport in Asia, Africa, the Latin America and the United States. We will, surely, try to answer with agreement to requests of the countries so that their gymnasts and coaches could pass training in Russia, as so far it has been.
Secondly, to form a new program for a new season, because they will assume other aspects than it was in 2008. Risky elements appeared and they are positively assessed. Generally, these programs need to be re-formed in order to make them more rhythmic, risky and stable.
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