Sergei Starkin - for the Rio Olympics we will upgrade several routines

Aliya Mustafina and Sergei Starkin - courtesy of the RGF

 The Russian Olympic Committee's Information Service has just released this interview with the coach of European Games champion, Aliya Mustafina.

- How do you work with Aliya Mustafina?

- We just get on. We had predicted her victory here, knowing that Aliya is not only the undisputed leader of the national team, but also the main favourite in European gymnastics. Today, we are right, and very happy.

- Not everything turned out the way Aliya would like.  Are there no plans to increase the complexity of her programmes?

- Yes, for the Olympic Games in Rio, we plan to upgrade vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. In addition, we want to improve the quality of performance. At this competition we have developed new routines on the uneven bars and the floor exercise. This is a big step forward.

- Mustafina wobbled a little on the beam, perhaps the most difficult gymnastic apparatus. How can you avoid this?  After all, the level of her rivals in Rio will be fundamentally different.

- It can not be prevented 100 percent - artists are just real people, like everyone else.  I can not say that this is some kind of fault. You just have to work long and hard to refine performance in training that then becomes habit in competition.

- Prior to the start of the individual all-around everyone predicted: "Mustafina will be the first." Is this a pressure that the athlete carries on a subconscious level?

- She is very stable psyche, she loves to compete!  In her eyes there is no fear, no doubt, therefore, forecasts and expectations don't really amount to pressure.

- What do you feel during the performances of your gymnasts? What do you think?

- I'm always very excited, and sometimes I think that my nerves will never recover!  

The interviewer says that at the beginning of the interview Starkin was very laconic - but by the end he finished his interview with a sincere smile.