David Belyavski : 'We can beat the British gymnasts'

David Belyavski during the All Around final at last month's European Championships.  Courtesy RGF

Last week, Natalia Kalugina interviewed European All Around Champion David Belyavski and his coach, Valeri Lomaev, on Radio Moscow Echo.  The gymnast is back in training after a short post-European Championships break, working hard in preparation for July's Universiade at a national training camp in the German Olympic centre. He talks about upgrades to his routines (including a triple twisting Yurchenko second vault), his team and his rivals. Lupita here provides a summary of the key points :

Valeri Lomaev: Training is going well. All the gymnasts are training well.

David Belyavski:  We will fight. I have gained experience.

Natalia Kalugina: I am happy for your medal on parallel bars. They require schooling.

DB: It was unexpected for me.  Some of the best parallel bars specialists used to come from amongst the Russians.

NK: We used to be the best (for example, Nikolai Kryukov [ed: Kryukov was 1999 World All Around champion and won medals on parallel bars at European level in 2007 and 2008]).   These days we are happy with a bronze medal.   David has one of the best routines.   We have to find better execution.

DB:  The all around is the most important for me.   I have to develop  my D scores.   This is more important for the team.  We can upgrade the routines.

NK: How do you overcome fear?

VL: Through training.  

This year is more complicated for us than the year before the Olympics. The Universiade is important for the Federation, for Russia.

NK: The team is very young.

VL: We have to keep the team.  Now, we have reserves.

NK: I was asked to invite David to my programme [ed: assume she is referring to the Federation].   We have a question from a listener: On which apparatus can you win medals? Parallel bars, of course ...

DB:  Floor, Pommel Horse.  Next, I am going to bring back a second vault.

NK: These events require different skills…

DB: They are all indispensable for the all around performance.

NK: Do you want to compete at the Universiade?

DB: I really want to.  I want to prove that what I achieved at the European Championships was not by chance.

NK: It’s the first time in 20 years that the Universiade has been considered the most important competition. The best gymnasts seldom compete there.

 

David with coach Valeri Lomaev

DB: I don’t know what the level is at the Universiade.

VL: The Universiade will allow David to prove again he is a first-class gymnast.

NK: Is it easier to train for big starts by competing at the World Cup?

VL: We don’t have much experience. Time will tell.

DB: We’ll train in Germany until the end of May.  At the German Olympic centre.  (I think Hambuechen was not very well prepared for the European Championships.) There’s a good atmosphere in our team.  We were all members of the Junior team.

NK: Belyavsky and Ignatyev are good all around gymnasts. Does the team need more all-arounders?

DB: Of course.  Kuksenkov is a very good gymnast. We have competed together and so far he has always beaten  me. We’ll see what happens.  He didn’t train for the European Championships.

Concerning Verniaiev, I only read his statement where he said that he learned on the Internet that he had approached Russia wanting to join the team :-)

VL: We are upgrading the routines little by little. We then stabilize the routines for four-five months.

DB: I didn’t choose gymnastics. Gymnastics chose me. There was a school near home.

VL: He came when he was 14, he was very smart. His High Bar was weak in 2005. He proved he was willing to work.

DB: The Olympics gave me experience.  My D scores were not enough to fight for medals though.

NK: Why are we behind the other teams (gymnasts?)?

DB: I also have my own element on Parallel Bars. Other gymnasts are also trying to catch us.

NK: We have often said that we lack difficult elements.

VL: We have to follow a certain pace, we cannot run risks.

DB: The Korean Olympic champion is clean. I can’t say the same about the other Koreans.

At the Olympics I went out of bounds on floor (in answer to a question).

I had a cold before the European Championships. My victory was unexpected.

VL: During the warm up, he agreed not to perform his new elements.

DB: I don’t have an idol in gymnastics. We have to fear the Japanese, the Chinese. From the Ukraine, Stepko, Verniaiev. They are my age. Verniaiev’s D score is higher than Uchimura’s.

You become more confident with time.  All the members on the team are young.

VL: [About the new Code of Points] It’s always difficult. We need good execution.

DB: At the European Championships I was very nervous before Pommel Horse.

VL: He is confident, this is a feature of his character. According to my experience, I didn’t want to force his preparation. I wanted to polish all the elements.

DB: We agree on the elements we want to try.

VL: I help him technically.

NK: A young team went to the Olympics.

DB: Everything went well.

DB: I have to learn new elements on Parallel Bars, Rings and High Bar.  I still don’t feel I am leader.  My second Vault will be a triple twisting Yurchenko.  Matvey Petrov can fight for medals on Pommel Horse.

We can beat the British gymnasts.