BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 2. Excellent conditions have been created for athletes in the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, a legendary athlete of our time, a gymnast from Uzbekistan, told Trend.
Recall that today the representative of Uzbekistan Oksana Chusovitina won the "gold" of the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in the vault.
"In Baku, the conditions are the best of all that were at the previous stages. Everything here is designed so that the athletes perform and don’t think about anything else. That's why I love coming to Baku. The competitions went well for me, even better than I thought. Everything is great in Baku - I feel almost at home, because here the atmosphere and people are as kind and sympathetic as in Uzbekistan. Moreover, the weather is favorable - it always cheers you up," she said.
Along with winning the gold medal for the vault exercise, Oksana Chusovitina was also awarded the FIG Cup in individual events following the results of the three best results shown at four World Cups.
"It's always nice to receive awards, I was awarded the FIG Cup for the vault. I confess I didn't know that the awards would take place in Baku - such pleasant surprises make me happy," she said.
Despite the fact that the competitions in Baku became the fourth stage of the World Cup, according to Oksana Chusovitina, she did not feel tired at all.
I didn’t feel tired, on the contrary, I was just gaining my physical form. In January, she was sick and slowly, from stage to stage, she gained strength. After performing at the Cup in Baku, I again believed in myself, realized that there are strengths and we must strive only forward. So no fatigue, on the contrary, an influx of adrenaline,” said the legendary athlete.
Oksana Chusovitina also commented on the change in the rules in artistic gymnastics, which came into force with the new Olympic cycle.
"If we talk about the new rules, they didn’t affect my program in the vault, as for other apparatuses, it’s easier somewhere, harder somewhere ... For me, all the rules are convenient, the main thing is to have the desire to train and move forward", she noted.
Oksana Chusovitina said that no tournaments are planned for April, but competitions are coming up in the coming months.
"April will be a "unloading" month, and in late May - early June, the Asian Championship is planned, which will be held in Doha. And my main starts are the Asian Games in September," the athlete said.
The legendary gymnast also shared her opinion on the level of training of representatives of the Azerbaijani women's gymnastics team.
"Those girls, whose performances I saw, grew up a lot and added complexity, step by step I see progress in Azerbaijani gymnasts. I wish them great luck, the main thing is that there are no injuries, then everything will be fine," she stressed.
Oksana Chusovitina came to Azerbaijan not only for competitions, but also for training camps, and, according to her, she would gladly repeat this experience.
"The training camp should be discussed with the management, but I, in turn, would be happy to come to Baku again. I like it here - it's warm in summer, there is a sea, you can combine business with pleasure, train and relax mentally", - she added.
It should be noted that from March 31 to April 3, another prestigious competition is being held at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku - the FIG World Cup in men's and women's gymnastics. 145 gymnasts from 34 countries of the world participate in the competition.
