“A jump that lasts a lifetime…”
Sport is work, and sport at the Olympic level is daily, extremely hard work, requiring full dedication physically, emotionally, and mentally. “…The competitions were very tough, but very happy for me. I have been working toward this for a long time, and finally my moment arrived. Everything today was my work,” says Olga after what seemed like the recent Olympic final. Time flies, and in an interview with “VK,” London Olympic Games Champion Olga Rypakova shares her impressions of the recent World Championship, changes in the lives of athletes in the region, and, of course, her plans for the next Olympics, where she will defend her champion title. – Olya, how did you come into sports? – You could say I have been involved in sports since birth, as I was born into a sporting family. My father, who is also my coach, took me to the stadium from early childhood. At the age of 8, I was enrolled in an athletics group. My first coach was Tatyana Anatolyevna Nazarova, and later my father became my coach. – Do you remember your first competition? How was it? – My first and most memorable competition was the Kazakhstan Championship when I was 12. I was two years younger than my competitors, yet I won in two events – long jump and 60 m hurdles. That’s probably when I first felt the true taste of victory. – Your first major achievements were in heptathlon, how did you switch to triple jump? – In 2007, at the Spartakiad of the Peoples of Kazakhstan, the regional head coach Tamara Ivanovna Buchatskaya asked me to compete in the triple jump for the region. To everyone’s surprise, competing in this event for the first time, I achieved the World Championship standard by jumping 14.07 m. At the Asian Championship, I also competed in triple jump and won with 14.69 m. After that, my coach and I decided to focus on this event. – Do you think if you had stayed in heptathlon, your career would have been as successful? – I don’t think so. I realized I was not physically suited for heptathlon. My strong events were high jump and long jump. Naturally, I didn’t have high speed or enough throwing strength. I do not regret practicing heptathlon; it gave me a great foundation for success in triple jump. – Congratulations on your latest World Championship medal, this time bronze. Was it frustrating to miss silver by 1 cm? – Thank you. Not at all. I am happy with this result because these are my first high results after returning from maternity leave. I am very happy to be back in shape. – What emotions did you feel after the World Championship? – I regained my confidence as an athlete and a strong desire to delight my fans by showing high results. – The World Championship and the Olympics are the largest competitions. How was the London Olympics different from the Beijing World Championship? – Mindset. I went to London to win, while at the World Championship, it was important for me to feel the spirit of competition and show a respectable result. I believe I succeeded. – How do you prepare mentally for a major start? – For me, the main thing is to start in a good mood. I always prepare to fight until the last attempt and focus on technically correct execution of the jump. – Olympic gold must have been your dream, and it came true! What are your next plans? Maybe a world record attempt? – Breaking the 20-year-old world record is my dream. But for now, the main goal is preparing for the Rio Olympics and defending my Olympic title if possible. – You are a mother of two children. Your elder daughter Nastya is already trying athletics quite successfully; is it her own choice? – We encouraged her decision because athletics develops the child comprehensively, and whether she pursues athletics professionally in the future, time will tell. It will ultimately be her choice. – Will your son Kirill continue the family tradition? – Kirill is 2 years old and very active. When I take him to training, he jumps and runs with joy, but only time will tell if he dedicates himself to sports. For me, the main thing is that my children develop physically, spiritually, culturally, and emotionally. – In 2014, an important event occurred – the opening of the arena named after you. Could you tell more? – It was a joyful event for all athletes of East Kazakhstan Region. It was a dream of several generations in athletics. Now we have all the conditions for training, and we don’t have to go away for camps in the off-season. This is a huge contribution to the future of athletics. Some work is still unfinished. I am very grateful to KazZinc for financial support, thanks to which our athletics center construction will finally be completed. – What events pleased you this year? – This year, our Athletics Center hosted Kazakhstan Championships for all age categories. A Kazakhstan record was set in the men’s 400 m at the senior Championship. Many athletes achieved high results thanks to the arena meeting international standards. The number of children wanting to do athletics continues to grow, which is very pleasing. – What advice would you give young athletes taking their first steps, and young coaches? – Always be confident in victory, set goals, achieve them with perseverance, strength of spirit, and skill! Always stay fit and healthy, as it is very important for an athlete! Thank you for the interview, once again congratulations on the bronze at the Beijing World Championship! We look forward to seeing you at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and of course, we wish a repeat of the London final! Source: “Vestnik Kompanii” newspaperPhoto: Personal archive of the Rypakova family