Interview with Vera Kolesnikova

Vera Kolesnikova competed for the Soviet Union at the 1985 World Championships, and the next year became all around champion at the Goodwill Games, ahead of team mates Oksana Omelianchik and Elena Shushunova, who had taken the world all around title the previous year.  After retiring from competitive gymnastics she began coaching gymnastics, married a fellow Master of Sport gymnast, Alexander Komov, and had two children, Viktoria and Alexander.  One of them, Viktoria, is expected to do rather well at the upcoming London Olympics.

There is an interview with Vera at the VTB site.  It includes some gorgeous pictures of the tiny Vika, so you must go to look, even if you cannot speak Russian.  Unfortunately, the Google translate is rather rough and difficult to understand, with lots of references to the 'pope' ;-), but the key points that can be clearly understood (please note : this is far from a word for word translation) are :

• The 2010 Youth Olympic Games (where Vika won the all around) is her most memorable victory to date;
• Viktoria never really had much choice but to go into gymnastics if she chose any sport at all; as a toddler she had to accompany her mother to the gymnasium where Vera coaches, and everything happened from there
• Viktoria's talent is down to genetics.  Both of her parents were talented gymnasts.
• Viktoria likes to make pizza at home.

I have cheekily screen grabbed some of the pictures, with thanks to the Komov family - and credit to the VTB site which is becoming increasingly interesting for us gymnastics fans.  Please, do visit the link to see all the pictures.

With her brother

Vika and Vera together - I think this must be 2005 judging by the background