Zlata Osokina, 16, to compete as AIN in forthcoming World Cup

Interview with coach Marina Styazhkina from https://www.fontanka.ru/2025/03/10/75203060/

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16-year-old Zlata Osokina from Gatchina was among 12 Russian gymnasts admitted to international competitions. What does this mean for the athlete, why do coaches not monitor their charges' social networks, and is it really possible to raise a national team-level gymnast in Russia without investing a ruble? Fontanka's sports department spoke with Zlata's coach Marina Styazhkina about this and more.

— How did you receive the news about Zlata receiving neutral status?

— We were very happy, because she is now in the main team preparing for the World Cup stage, which will begin on April 8 in Croatia, and then straight to Qatar, for the next stage.

— How is the procedure for obtaining neutral status going now?

— In December, we signed the papers, filled out the questionnaires, then they were checked for two months. My application is still under consideration, I also submitted it. We have not received any answers yet: neither yes nor no.

— What questions are in the questionnaire?

— There were no provocative questions. They asked us to write links to all social networks and messengers where we are present. The Ukrainian side is checking. Those who were refused, they found some photos on social networks or something else.

— Alexey Usachev was denied for a like on social media.

— Yes, yes, St. George ribbons, all that. But honestly, I didn’t clean anything, the photos remained, this is my life. That’s how it is for now. Of the girls, only Vika Listunova was denied, but Angelina Melnikova (2020 Tokyo Olympic champion. — Ed.) was allowed, she is also going to the World Cup. These will be our first international starts after 2022.

— Was Zlata advised to check what she posted?

— Everyone was advised, but I don’t think any of the children actually removed anything.

— Do you monitor what your charges post on social networks, just to be on the safe side?

— Honestly, no. It's their personal life, they understand the responsibility themselves. But we are all patriots of our country, and I don't think anyone deleted anything.

— Is there anything about the flag and anthem in the documents?

— Yes, neutral status means no flag, no anthem, nothing at all. Of course, it's a shame, but they are small, the children are 16 years old. First, the pandemic started, and then they missed the 2022 World Championships, which they were supposed to go to as a youth team.

— It's easier for you now, given the position of the Minister of Sports and the head of the Russian Olympic Committee. But just recently there were disputes about whether it was okay to go without a flag.

— I think that sport is sport. Children work from morning to night. Everyone knows who is going to the Olympics, they will prove that Russia is the strongest. My position: athletes cannot be blamed. Our swimmers went to the World Championships in December and proved it. The only thing is that there are worries about how the judges, coaches, and other athletes will behave. I don't know if there will be provocations. It's a little worrying, everyone is thinking about it. In 2022, we went to the World Cup stage, the provocations were very strong. Let's see how the referee corps reacts.

— Where are you training now? In the region?

— Yes, we came home to Gatchina for a week, and on Sunday we leave again.

— How do you rate Zlata's readiness?

— We hope for medals, and not only for Zlata, but for the other girls as well. There are good chances. She is an all-rounder, but now she is going to compete in the vault and floor exercises together with Angelina Melnikova. Two people are allowed on each apparatus.

— In which event does Zlata have a better chance?

— I can't say. About the same. We'll see.

— And how did Zlata herself take it? Is she nervous?

— Of course she is nervous. This is the first international competition in her life. We missed a year, except for Belarus, we only went there. She also got injured in May, had a knee operation, and lost half a year.

— Did you get injured at some competitions?

— No, it's Koenig's disease, it can happen at any time, maybe from stress, with growth, maybe from birth. She got sick at night, her knee swelled in the morning, they did an MRI and sent her straight to surgery.

— How did Zlata come to train with you?

— At first, her older cousin, born in 2000, trained with me, and Zlata was born in 2008. She was brought in at the age of 6. I immediately saw that she was a promising girl. We started performing, and she quickly got into the national team, from the very junior team.

— Who was luckier — you with her or her with you?

— I think equally. I already had children in the national team, Masha Dunaeva, born in 1995. And when Zlata showed up, I even told my husband right away that I would not be home again. My husband said: "Okay, fine."

— When a national team-level athlete appears, do you disappear from home?

- Of course. It's constant packing, traveling. Three weeks packing, three weeks at home. And sometimes you don't show up at home for a month. It's good that there are phones and WhatsApp now.

— Do your children do sports?

— The eldest does not, but the youngest, Nikita, born in 2012, is a football player for Leningradets.

— The leading gymnastics centers in Russia are well known, but we haven’t heard much about the school in Gatchina before. How long has it been since you started to improve?

— I am an international master of sports, and it so happened that I stayed at the Gatchina school. A year ago, they built a new gym for us, before that, the conditions were terrible. We trained in gyms that were not suitable for serious training. We didn’t even have a normal carpet, or normal equipment. The gym was really small. If you imagine that a gymnastics carpet is 12 by 12 meters, then our gym was only 14 by 20. Now a new gym has been built under the national project “Sport is the Norm of Life”, and a lot of children come. We hope that someone else will show up. We have been trying to achieve this for a very long time, and now we are finally training in a specialized gym.

— What can you tell us about your sporting achievements?

— I am an international master of sports, I was the 1992 Russian champion in the absolute championship. But I don’t really like to talk about myself.

— Okay, then let’s talk a little more about Zlata. What is she like? Stubborn? Can she be capricious?

— She loves to perform, but she can also be a “bull” during training. But she is hardworking, she understands that without work nothing will work. Of course, anything can happen, sometimes we argue. Now she is already an adult, she is almost 17 years old, we try to communicate as equals. I understand her, because it is very difficult to work otherwise. Sometimes you need to give in, sometimes talk, explain why one way or another. She played a lot for the youth team, never let anyone down.

— When it becomes clear that a child is talented and promising, is it difficult to keep them in Gatchina?

— Well, I don’t know what they offered her personally, but there was talk that she could transfer to St. Petersburg. But we have a school here, we compete for the region and do not do parallel tests. We are patriots of our country, our region and our Gatchina.

— How expensive is it for parents to raise a gymnast?

— No, our gymnastics is free. If the girls want, they can buy their own leotards for training. But for competitions, the school buys leotards. Sometimes, of course, if we want to go to the south for training, we can come to an agreement with the parents, but this is very rare. Usually, the region pays for everything.

— So it is quite possible to bring a child from the very beginning to the level of the Russian national team without financial expenses?

— Yes, all competitions according to a single calendar plan are paid for by the region and our school. We don’t have a situation where you have to pay for something out of your own pocket. There is no such thing in gymnastics.

— Will Zlata go to the World Cup at her own expense, as a neutral athlete?

— No, that’s not the case now. As before, the national team pays for everything. Perhaps last year someone paid themselves when the athletes went to the Olympics. But now we don’t officially pay anything.

— Are you already keeping the 2028 Olympics in mind?

— Of course. We hope, we dream, we prepare. This is the main dream of life for any athlete. The main thing is health. Interviewed by Artem Kuzmin, Fontanka.ru