Denis Ablyazin : you cannot complain or be lenient on yourself : interview translated by Lupita

Denis Ablyazin looks set to earn a medal or two in today and tomorrow's event finals at the Russian Cup in Penza, if not in the Olympics which begin in about six weeks' time.  Here, Lupita translates an interview with Denis from the VTB website. 

Time’s up, hurry!

Denis Ablyazin: You cannot complain nor be lenient on yourself.

Denis Ablyazin on floor at this week's Russian Cup, held in his hometown, Penza

It seems that Denis Ablyazin became ‘Master of Sport, International Class’ not too long ago. He was the first from the Penza region to reach this level.  I remember that I told him, jokingly:  “Denis, you have fulfilled your goal, you can be proud”.   Ablyazin shrugged: “No, I cannot be proud of something special, I haven’t won a medal at the European or World Championships, or at the Olympics. When I reach that, I’ll be able to feel proud of myself”.   After the European Championships held in May in Montpellier, which were a test for the selection of the team for the Olympics, Denis Ablyazin won his ticket to London 2012.   We write about the preparation of the Russian Olympians in the framework of the project “VTB team”.

In Montpellier Denis won two bronze medals. Although this is the gymnast’s first important success in such a relevant event, he was cross. Although the bronze medal in the rings was totally unexpected for his rivals, everyone knows that Denis is strong in floor and vault.   His routines are more complex and his execution is excellent.  Yet in his better events, Denis faced difficulties. In vault the judges ‘intervened’; in floor he made a mistake.  He seemed to be tired of the pressure of the championships.

-         Denis, you performed so confidently that one had the impression that you have a new self-esteem and that you understood that you are capable of anything… Or was it just an impression from the audience, did you not really feel something like that?

-    No, it was not an impression from outside; I’ve become much more confident. The reason is simple: I have worked on everything. During the last season I had a flash of inspiration: everything my coach and I had been working on was starting to come to fruition. People use to say: practice makes perfect. With me practicing perfection gave way to perfection. The European Championships were the third competition where I tested myself and my routines. And those competitions came one after the other. I performed these routines in December at the Voronin Cup, in April at the Russian Championships and now at the European Championships.

-     In autumn you stated: “we have to fight against the excess of emotion.” During the competition, there’s so much adrenalin that you cannot always manage your energy.

-     Now I’m starting to understand what competition experience means. It’s impossible to replace it. But everything is simple: I work on a program; I get more and more confident. When the competition started in Montpellier, I knew I was going to give it everything. Because David Belyavski fell, Anton Golotsutskov landed out of the landing zone. I thought: I hope I won’t miss anything. I would have been calm if they had not missed, I had to add points to make up for them, and perform my vault as well as I’m able to do. I always feel concerned for the team.

Ablyazin and coach Sergei Starkin.  Courtesy of the RGF

-    You can feel proud. Coach Starkin knows you very well and, moreover, he feels confident about your future. He often says that he cannot reproach you for anything.

-     I have nothing against him. I’ve an excellent coach. Sergei Valerevich is young, he knows how to address us young gymnasts. Sometimes it’s difficult to find a good understanding with coaches if they are 70 and you’re 16. He couldn’t understand your jokes. Starkin explains the mistakes in a simple way. He can support me, jump under an apparatus if I fall suddenly, for instance, from the high bar. I cannot say that I don’t reproach myself. There’re different situations. In Montpellier on floor I was nervous all the time before the fifth tumble run. Often I have time to decide if I have enough time or not. I turned around and didn’t see where the clock was. All was not well. I heard someone from the audience shouting: Time’s run out, hurry!

-    Can you tell what your physical strength is? Gymnastics is a very demanding sport. Moreover, coaches say that the elements are so difficult today that if you don’t train for three days, it’s awful.

    I always do the workload that the coach gives me. Even if he increases it, I can be proud of doing it, even if it’s heavy. I always know where I failed. Yes, we have to work a lot. From the start it was difficult to train. I was not born flexible. This is why I couldn’t turn easily on the pommel horse, on the parallel bars …  All of them turned out to be tough. For instance, all the gymnasts achieved the programme in six months; I learned it in a year.

-     But now Anton Golotsutskov says that you were plunged in a cauldron of magic potion!

-     I was always aware that things wouldn’t come easily, but now I know that it won’t be easy in the future.  But I’ll carry on, I’ll fight until the end. Gymnastics is my field. When I started, I did BMX for two years and gymnastics, and then I chose gymnastics. And, by the way, Anton helps me a lot and I also help in a certain way…, I think.

Ablyazin - flight and extension. 

-     Meaning?

-     If you think that somebody is snapping at your heels, you have to run, I’m not a specialist in one event, I’m an all-arounder. But this is useful for both of us. I know that he looks at me. Even if the apparatus we excel at are the same. We can both help the team.

Denis, did you perform in Montpellier in this peak

form? It’s obvious that two months before the

Olympics your form cannot be at its peak.

-     Of course, it’s not our peak form, it’s more or less 80%. We are not yet at the level of the World Championships. I should reach mine after the Russian Cup, a week before leaving for London.

-     Did you feel scared when you saw the British gymnasts’ performance?

-    The truth? The English didn’t frighten us. We made three big mistakes. Otherwise we’d have won. The positive aspect of the European Championships is that we mantained second place. But this was not the Olympic team. There are the Americans, the Chinese, and the Japanese. When you compete together, it’s easier to go out there. You did well? Great! You fell? Not to worry. You know that the team will always support you. Davai, davai. Go, go! My friends and I didn’t discuss the situation in Montpellier. We realized our mistakes and understood that we have to correct them. 

-     It’s perhaps a stupid question, but what do you expect from the Olympics? Still, your answer will illustrate the level of your ambitions.

-    Yes, I would like to become an Olympic champion. I’m not in gymnastics to earn a living. I like to practice the sport. I can work for a long time without resting. My coach says that my strength is that I recover very quickly. We can rest. Or at the Olympics? Would you go to the gym and say: I can’t? I know that you cannot complain nor be lenient on yourself.