You announced that you "unofficially" retired from athletics. How do you rate it? What achievements are you most proud of? To what extent did you realize your full potential? Were there any career moves you regret?
I haven't yet mentally accepted the fact that my career is over. I understand that my chances are slim due to the personal sanctions imposed on me and my personal schedule. I work three jobs, and sometimes I don't have time to train, let alone take care of my personal needs. I have a lot of responsibility for projects and the team. I'll likely make my official retirement announcement next year, but I still want to compete somewhere, to "shake off the old days."
I regret that my professional career ended so early and abruptly. I still have, as we say in sports, "something left in me." In many ways, I could have pushed a little harder, been more disciplined in my training, found a new approach... For example, the Youth Olympic Games were my first major international competition. I won three gold medals, a silver, and a bronze. I went up to the horizontal bar—my last apparatus. I was tired, but physically capable of completing the routine. I looked at my coach, asking what my instructions were. He replied, "Just do what you can." But I fell and gave up. I won the most medals at the Youth Olympic Games. Afterward, I was invited to try out for the Russian senior team, but I still felt like I hadn't done all I could.
That high bar performance was a lesson for me; I never gave up again, I gave it my all. But I made mistakes in my preparation. I arrived at the Tokyo Olympics with a kidney stone. I was the favorite in the all-around, and the odds on my victory were minimal. But my physical condition was far from optimal: my temperature rose, and I was about to pass a kidney stone. I even applied an ice pack to my forehead to get through security. It was the coronavirus pandemic, with strict testing. I passed two checkpoints with a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) due to the ice, and they even stopped me several times and re-measured me.
I didn't do very well on the first two events. My coach even said it was better to withdraw than to continue with the same attitude and performance. But he managed to motivate me, saying, "Show everyone what a true Cossack you are!" I did the next three events perfectly. I reached the high bar and made a mistake I'd never made before – I touched the floor with my hand. The Chinese athlete I competed with also made a mistake. But the judges gave him a higher score than me. My third competitor, a Japanese athlete, performed perfectly and won. I regret not finishing third, but that I prepared poorly and allowed the stone to appear. I was lucky it didn't bother me during the team competition; I only went in afterward. I left the competition the day before the end. The only remaining apparatus was the high bar, which isn't my strongest. But I performed well and unexpectedly took third place.
As an active athlete, you became Vice President of the Russian Gymnastics Federation. What is your area of responsibility? What do you want to improve in Russian gymnastics?
The main goal is to make Russian gymnastics the best in the world not only in terms of results but also in terms of conditions for athletes. We have achieved this in high-performance sports. There are certain problems at lower levels. During the Soviet era, 65,000 students participated in gymnastics at Burevestnik alone. Now, there are about a thousand. A student festival is being held at Sirius, a very high-quality start. But there's no mass participation. The priority is high-performance sports, seeking unique and talented individuals. The programs for sport categories are complex, which means most gymnasts face challenges on their path to becoming a Master of Sport.
David Belyavskiy started gymnastics at the age of eight and became an Olympic champion. Many preschools don't accept children that age, saying it's too late. Sometimes tall parents bring their child, and the coach immediately rejects them, saying they'll grow up too tall and aren't suited for our sport. My father and grandfather are both about 180 cm tall, but my grandmother, who was short, brought me to the gym, and I was accepted into the group. If my grandfather had brought me, this wouldn't have happened. There are so many prejudices and labels. We build walls that children can't break through. It's important to find a balance between making artistic gymnastics accessible to children and ensuring their systematic development without compromising the quality of training for athletes who will aspire to achieve high results in high-performance sports.
My main goal is to create conditions for gymnastics at all levels. There are tall kids who achieve success. My good friend, Israeli gymnast Alexander Shatilov, is 182 cm tall and a world championship medalist. The main thing is desire. If a child or adult wants to do gymnastics, we must create the conditions for this. There are corporate competitions in various sports, and gymnastics can be one of them.
At the Russian Gymnastics Federation, the development of sports is handled by directorates. The Artistic Gymnastics Directorate is headed by Alexander Klochkov, a former member of the Russian national team. In some areas, I believe it's crucial to have people who have had a long career in professional sports and understand all the issues from the inside.
We recently created committees for specific areas that focus on improving working conditions for current and future specialists in all areas. For example, the judges' committee: to travel to competitions, you have to leave your work in the region. Until recently, judges received a small salary per day. What motivates them, especially young people, to become judges? At the initiative of the federation and the committee's work, we have already increased judges' salaries sixfold this year.
We created a coaches' commission, including representatives from the regions. They made proposals that will generally make it easier to meet the standards for adult ranks. A commission of athletes, headed by David Belyavsky, was formed. It addresses specific issues that concern athletes, even outside of sports. We organize master classes across the country; this year alone, we've held over 30 such events. It's a joy for children, and an opportunity for athletes to earn extra money.
We're building a vertical structure that provides a clear understanding of the specific level at which a given problem should be addressed. If it's not successful at one level, we move on to the next. Authorized representatives of the federation are being appointed in the regions. Everything is clear and transparent, not through connections or other means.
Once a month, we hold a meeting of the Artistic Gymnastics Committee, which includes representatives from all federal districts of our country, where we raise and resolve issues that aren't resolved at the regional level.
Tell us about the idea of creating the Gymnastics Premier League. What competitions did you use as a model?
Thanks to the Gymnastics Premier League, many athletes who had been called up to the national team but had already retired have returned to artistic gymnastics. They were no longer competitive at the national team level, and the Premier League motivated them. Last year, we banned current members of the Russian national team from participating and still managed to attract around 200 gymnasts. The Premier League requires team organizers to find sponsors themselves, financially motivate athletes and coaches, and cover travel expenses to competitions. Everyone keeps saying there's no money, but teams have emerged. Team organizers have shown interest in the project – they're seeking funding, telling sponsors about a live broadcast on Match TV, the final at CSKA Arena…
We want to create educational modules to train sports managers specifically in artistic gymnastics. We're collaborating with the Higher School of Economics and MGIMO on this.
We plan to develop sports managers who will take up leadership positions in regional federations. In some ways, this is a beggar's job: you constantly have to find money—for organizing events, for athletes' travel. The main goal is to develop the region. The Vladimir Region is a good example. Vitaly Ivanchuk, director of the N. G. Tolkachev Sports School of Olympic Reserve, was president of the regional gymnastics federation, but due to a conflict of interest, he decided to leave his post and focus on the sports school, the strongest in Russia.
The Gymnastics Premier League is a long-awaited format in our country. Our goal is to ensure that the project gains increasing status and attracts funding to the regions. We are creating a calendar reminiscent of Russian championships in team sports, with competitions every weekend. We plan to scale the project, organizing competitions in various divisions: Premier League, First League, Student League... We have reformed the judging system, converting the previously complex system of thousandths of a point into points. Now viewers can immediately see who is leading and how many points are needed to catch up...
Is the Gymnastics Premier League a purely Russian project?
We have foreign players. Over 20 applications from athletes from other countries, and teams are actively taking advantage of the opportunity to strengthen their teams. However, we have a limit: no more than one athlete from the Russian national team and one foreigner per club.
We now have a women's league. Renowned gymnasts have become team captains: Vladislava Urazova, Victoria Komova, Maria Paseka, Daria Spiridonova (Nagornaya), Angelina Melnikova, Liliya Akhaimova...
Which of the innovations tested in the Premier League would you like to see at official tournaments? What can be done to make gymnastics competitions more engaging for fans?
In terms of hosting official competitions included in the calendar, we can only improve what we have, adding show elements. But we must be careful; the priority is high-performance sport. The organizational level of the Russian Championships and the World Championships is approximately equal. Emin Garibov is the head of the Marketing Department at the Russian Gymnastics Federation; he's done a lot to make this happen.
Do you think it's possible to create a gymnastics show featuring famous people from other sports or even professions? Is a gymnastics "Ice Age" feasible?
A vault show match is planned for the Gymnastics Premier League finals. Ten media personalities from outside the gymnastics world will compete. An attractive prize fund is planned. A month before the finals, people will begin focused training. Three performance scores will be given: for the actual gymnastics, for the costume, and for artistic performance.
The reality show format is really cool. We'll be developing it. We're thinking of showing a video of Soviet gymnasts' routines on the screen and inviting viewers to imitate them. Typically, there are people in the audience who have done gymnastics. I think this has potential.
As President of the All-Russian Phygital Sports Federation, you joined a working group on the joint development of sports disciplines in a phygital format by Russian sports federations. Which traditional sports do you see the greatest potential for phygital development?
Sports with a digital component can be converted to a phygital format. Squash, for example, is one example. We developed a phygital squash program with the Russian Squash Federation. We are also developing similar programs with the federations of football, basketball, hockey, boxing, and other disciplines. At the "Russia – a Sports Power" forum, together with Ekaterina Leshchinskaya and the "Healthy Fatherland" organization, we are organizing the "Victory Cup. Volga" festival. Specifically, it will feature adaptive phygital cycling. Participants will work on a stationary bike, reclining and spinning it with their arms, while on a virtual reality screen, they will ride along a cycling track and compete against each other on the track. The program also includes phygital squash and phygital boxing, phygital racing, phygital basketball and phygital pentathlon, and the combined discipline of tactical shooting. These competitions are part of the rehabilitation program for fighters. Paralympic sports emerged after World War II, when many people with various injuries returned to civilian life. Today, phygital sports are a good way to rehabilitate people with disabilities.
You were one of the founders of the "Community of Champions." What are the goals and objectives of this organization? Who can become a member of the "Community of Champions"? Do you invite athletes yourself, or do athletes apply?
The idea came about when I noticed a lack of communication between representatives of different sports. People met once a year at official or celebratory events. Meanwhile, each champion has their own resources and experience. By uniting these people, much can be achieved. Together with Ekaterina Leshchinskaya, head of the "Healthy Fatherland" Movement, we developed a concept and are currently working on implementing it.
Award-winning athletes are accustomed to the fact that their country provides them with so much. And this attitude persists after their careers end. When faced with reality, they begin to understand that without resources, achieving anything is difficult. Sometimes psychological problems arise. To facilitate socialization, we're creating a community. Mentors within it are people who have succeeded in achieving their potential after their careers.
Two-time Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling champion Roman Vlasov, Olympic cross-country skiing champion Alexander Legkov, seven-time Olympic synchronized swimming champion Svetlana Romashina, and Olympic track and field champion Yuri Borzakovskiy.
We hold business breakfasts, roundtable discussions, and participate in sporting and business events. We signed an agreement with Trudovye Rezervy (Labor Reserves). We will compete in their volleyball league and other competitions.
As Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Russian Children and Youth Movement "Movement of the First," you oversee the sports program. How is it developing? What are your plans?
The "Challenge of the First" project is aimed at developing school sports. They played tag and jump rope... I wondered, "Are these really the kinds of sports that will lead a child to sports?" I realized that wasn't quite right. I set the goal of increasing key performance indicators. Fortunately, there are opportunities to collaborate with sports federations. I contacted the Russian Football Union (RFU), basketball, track and field, and rugby federations. I proposed including these disciplines in the project and holding school competitions in them. In a short time, we drafted regulations and had them approved by the Ministry of Sport. Krasnoyarsk hosted the finals of the competitions in the compulsory disciplines and additional sports. We also organized competitions for children with disabilities, with over 5,000 participants from across the country, 200 of whom came to Krasnoyarsk.
We plan to open primary sports departments in municipalities. It would be great if coaches and renowned athletes visited schools, held master classes, and encouraged sports participation. The "Movement of the First" awards grants for sporting events in the regions on a competitive basis. This year, we had four additional sports, and we plan to increase this number to ten, holding regional competitions and a final. We are considering Sirius as a venue. This could be similar to the Youth Olympic Games. Students who compete in their respective competitions will have the opportunity to see others compete and attend educational events. It's a full-fledged week-long sports festival.
The "Physical Education Guru" project plans to hold regional competitions for specialized teachers in the GTO format. We subsequently plan to organize a "battle of the titans" among the winners.
What do you find most interesting? What activities bring you the most joy?
I want to stay who I am now. I'm a perfectionist. Perhaps it's because I try to please everyone. I want everything I do to be better. I want to work for the greater good.
Profile / Nikita Nagorny
Born February 12, 1997 in Rostov-on-Don
Olympic champion (2020, team event), silver medalist (2016, team event), and two-time bronze medalist (2020, all-around, high bar)
Three-time world champion (2019)
Eight-time European champion (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021)
Vice President of the Russian Gymnastics Federation
Initiator of the creation of the Gymnastics Premier League
President of the All-Russian Phygital Sports Federation
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