Lupita has been hard at work again, and here provides a full translation of the interview which featured in Wednesday's blog post.
'If Mustafina's health is good, I have no reason to doubt her'
- Alexander Sergueievich, did you attend the EC?
- Of course! I didnāt accompany Mustafina to the podium. I watched everything from outside.
- Mustafina said she wanted to talk to you, because you might be offended, because she was accompanied by other coaches.
- We have already talked, but not as long as we wanted, we had no time. I am old enough not to be offended. There are always misunderstandings between coach and athlete from time to time. I am no longer 30 years old, I do not need to be on the podium to prove myself.
- Of course! I didnāt accompany Mustafina to the podium. I watched everything from outside.
- Mustafina said she wanted to talk to you, because you might be offended, because she was accompanied by other coaches.
- We have already talked, but not as long as we wanted, we had no time. I am old enough not to be offended. There are always misunderstandings between coach and athlete from time to time. I am no longer 30 years old, I do not need to be on the podium to prove myself.
- How do you assess
Mustafinaās performance?
- Itās always difficult to start a new season. When the athletes start a new quad, itās much more difficult to work with them. Aliyaās gold in the AA deserves credit. In spite of everything, she was able to collect herself, to compete and to win important medals. Yet, I want her preparation to be more precise because if things have not been worked through, itās dangerous to compete, there is more risk of injuries. But Aliya is a fighter, she did everything she was able to do the second day.
- Could you explain what was not worked through in the training process?
- There were deviations in the process due to injuries or to other things. This is why I say that when we prepare for the important competitions, I would like to do more balanced and accurate work. I repeat, when something is not done thoroughly, there will be pain. I understand that Aliya loves competition, but her love for competition, her competitive skills cannot be overexploited. She has already done a lot for gymnastics. I think Mustafina should only perform when she is totally ready. We cannot lose her because of silly and sad injuries.
- Mustafina asked to be replaced on the floor final.
- It was a good thing that they took her opinion into account. You cannot make mistakes in those cases, her as well. Itās not about winning medals, itās about the risk of getting injured, and be put out of action for a long time.
- Does Mustafina have problems with her knee?
- No, she now has problems with her back. For a long time we didnāt know what the cause was.
- Does this mean that she competed at the EC not in her best form?
- This is what I mean. She couldnāt perform what she wanted because her back was hurting. We didnāt prepare as we had planned. But she loves to compete and she stated that she would compete even if she was not very fit.
- Mustafina was not very successful on beam.
- Partially, we changed her routine a little bit according to the new rules. But her back and, later, her heel prevented her from performing the routine we wanted. Her combinations were highly difficult, but we couldnāt polish everything.
- Are you going to upgrade her routines on some events?
- Upgrading her routines means to increase the D score. Itās possible to do it on every event. There are elements from the D group on floor that allow to increase the routineās D score. Of course, all gymnasts are working on that, including Aliya. She has to continue work on beam and to recover her bars. We will decide what we do on vault, because her double twisting Yurchenko is very powerful, and we will see if she is psychologically ready to perform the Amanar. This will allow her to fight for the medals in Europe and at the world level.
- Alexandr Sergueievich, how is your work with Mustafina structured? What are your duties as a personal coach?
- The personal coach is responsible for the whole programme. He is helped by the events specialists. Š¢his is how the Russian team works.
- Mustafina could not train completely for the EC. This season thereās no time for a break. She will compete at the Universiade and at the World Championships.
- What else can we do? There is no reserve to our team, there was reserve when I began my position as head coach, we prepared four gymnasts for the World Championships, and the four of them competed. Itās good that all the girls who competed at the 2012 Olympics are fit and can train even with some small injuries, compete and win. So far thereās no replacement. This is why we have to train and compete both at the Universiade and at Worlds. Itās a good thing that they decided to have Komova rest during the first half of the season. Vika is the most important gymnast to win medals for Russia, they did right not having her compete.
- How are you going to plan Mustafinaās future preparation?
- With the athletes who have competed at the Olympics, there is always a specific approach: they have experience, they are very different from those who just made the team. The main goal is to plan the training accurately, so that Aliya can compete successfully.
- When will you begin to prepare the Universiade?
- There is little time left, and there are small things to correct. Moreover, the preparation in gymnastics is multifaceted. You need constant physical condition, fitness, and to manage your weight.
- Do you plan to introduce changes in the routines for the Universiade?
- I think so. But it will depend if there are small injuries that increase with the years of gymnastics. First, Aliya has to recover her bars routine and to perform all planned elements on beam. Ideally, she should begin to train a more difficult vault. If she has no health problems, Aliya of course will improve. I have no doubts about this.
- Itās always difficult to start a new season. When the athletes start a new quad, itās much more difficult to work with them. Aliyaās gold in the AA deserves credit. In spite of everything, she was able to collect herself, to compete and to win important medals. Yet, I want her preparation to be more precise because if things have not been worked through, itās dangerous to compete, there is more risk of injuries. But Aliya is a fighter, she did everything she was able to do the second day.
- Could you explain what was not worked through in the training process?
- There were deviations in the process due to injuries or to other things. This is why I say that when we prepare for the important competitions, I would like to do more balanced and accurate work. I repeat, when something is not done thoroughly, there will be pain. I understand that Aliya loves competition, but her love for competition, her competitive skills cannot be overexploited. She has already done a lot for gymnastics. I think Mustafina should only perform when she is totally ready. We cannot lose her because of silly and sad injuries.
- Mustafina asked to be replaced on the floor final.
- It was a good thing that they took her opinion into account. You cannot make mistakes in those cases, her as well. Itās not about winning medals, itās about the risk of getting injured, and be put out of action for a long time.
- Does Mustafina have problems with her knee?
- No, she now has problems with her back. For a long time we didnāt know what the cause was.
- Does this mean that she competed at the EC not in her best form?
- This is what I mean. She couldnāt perform what she wanted because her back was hurting. We didnāt prepare as we had planned. But she loves to compete and she stated that she would compete even if she was not very fit.
- Mustafina was not very successful on beam.
- Partially, we changed her routine a little bit according to the new rules. But her back and, later, her heel prevented her from performing the routine we wanted. Her combinations were highly difficult, but we couldnāt polish everything.
- Are you going to upgrade her routines on some events?
- Upgrading her routines means to increase the D score. Itās possible to do it on every event. There are elements from the D group on floor that allow to increase the routineās D score. Of course, all gymnasts are working on that, including Aliya. She has to continue work on beam and to recover her bars. We will decide what we do on vault, because her double twisting Yurchenko is very powerful, and we will see if she is psychologically ready to perform the Amanar. This will allow her to fight for the medals in Europe and at the world level.
- Alexandr Sergueievich, how is your work with Mustafina structured? What are your duties as a personal coach?
- The personal coach is responsible for the whole programme. He is helped by the events specialists. Š¢his is how the Russian team works.
- Mustafina could not train completely for the EC. This season thereās no time for a break. She will compete at the Universiade and at the World Championships.
- What else can we do? There is no reserve to our team, there was reserve when I began my position as head coach, we prepared four gymnasts for the World Championships, and the four of them competed. Itās good that all the girls who competed at the 2012 Olympics are fit and can train even with some small injuries, compete and win. So far thereās no replacement. This is why we have to train and compete both at the Universiade and at Worlds. Itās a good thing that they decided to have Komova rest during the first half of the season. Vika is the most important gymnast to win medals for Russia, they did right not having her compete.
- How are you going to plan Mustafinaās future preparation?
- With the athletes who have competed at the Olympics, there is always a specific approach: they have experience, they are very different from those who just made the team. The main goal is to plan the training accurately, so that Aliya can compete successfully.
- When will you begin to prepare the Universiade?
- There is little time left, and there are small things to correct. Moreover, the preparation in gymnastics is multifaceted. You need constant physical condition, fitness, and to manage your weight.
- Do you plan to introduce changes in the routines for the Universiade?
- I think so. But it will depend if there are small injuries that increase with the years of gymnastics. First, Aliya has to recover her bars routine and to perform all planned elements on beam. Ideally, she should begin to train a more difficult vault. If she has no health problems, Aliya of course will improve. I have no doubts about this.
Vika is the most important gymnast to win medals for Russia, they did right not having her compete, wowww what expectations!!!!!
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