Press Conference with Athletes
The International Athletics Tournament for the prizes of Olympic Champion Olga Rypakova, which was successfully held on January 23rd in Ust-Kamenogorsk, will long be remembered by athletes, fans, and track and field enthusiasts alike. We are publishing the interview from the press conference held on the eve of the competition. The tournament guests spoke about their expectations and shared their impressions of their opponents, the arena, and the city.
Tetyana Ptashkina:
— It was very difficult, and to be honest, I am not satisfied with the result. Apparently, long flights, acclimatization, and time zone changes are tough on me. I barely slept almost every night of my stay here. This had an impact on the competition as well. The result is, of course, quite poor, but it is what it is.
— Did Irina Ektova’s withdrawal from the competition affect the course of the start in any way? — Probably not. I don’t usually follow my opponents closely; I try to focus on my own jumps. The season is just beginning, so I need to notice my own mistakes and identify what needs work, so there’s no chance to get distracted by others. 14.08 m, 13.67 m.
— Last year I was at the European Championships in Prague. They have a very good arena there. However, I want to note that in Europe, there are generally no separate buildings specifically for track and field like your arena. They usually take a hockey or basketball arena and reconstruct everything for track and field needs before the competition. So, I haven’t seen anything like this anywhere else. It’s nice that people here treat track and field so well. In Ukraine, of course, we have arenas too, but we don’t have an arena of this level back home.
Diana Agliulina:
— This arena is very comfortable, the starting blocks are excellent, and the track is very fast. If I clock 7.5 seconds here, I’ll be satisfied.
Irina Ektova:
— The upcoming Kazakhstan Championship will be a kind of control start before the Asian Championships and one of the preparation stages for the World Championships. Therefore, we will try to perform at the national level just as we should at subsequent major events. Of course, I haven’t reached my peak form yet; it’s too early to talk about that. It’s nice that Olya (Rypakova — author’s note) will be jumping at the Kazakhstan Championship, as we don’t meet her at national championships very often.
— We treated this start as a control training session to fine-tune our approach runs. We weren’t focused on a specific result at all. A girl came from Ukraine; we had met this athlete before at the World Championships.
— The organization is simply top-notch. No other competition in Kazakhstan is held quite like this one. This is the winter start that our entire team looks forward to.
Kristina Radzivanyuk:
— To be honest, the first time I ever heard of Ust-Kamenogorsk was when I received the invitation to the tournament. Previously, I knew that there was Astana in Kazakhstan and had heard of other cities, but I hadn’t had the chance to learn about your city. My impressions are very positive. The people here are friendly and helpful. The arena is excellent, and the track is very “fast.”
Participating in this tournament is a very good experience. Besides, an extra competition in the season never hurt anyone.
Hakim Ibragimov:
— I have already had the chance to compete against your athletes during various events. In 2012, I ran with the guys in Bishkek, and then in 2013, we competed at the Kosanov Memorial. I used to run the 400m, and I am aware that a very strong result of sub-47 seconds was shown here at this distance last year. For indoor arenas, that is very fast. This season is not the best one for me. I served in the army in the National Guard for a year, so right now I am just regaining my form. I have switched my focus to the 800m. The minimum goal here is to show my best result of the season. But if all goes well, I might even take a shot at my personal best of 1:53.84.
Arif Abbasov:
— We came here to set new personal bests. Our arena is not like this one… Not at all. There are only three lanes for the 400m. We don’t even run the 200m because it’s too dangerous in terms of injuries — it wrecks knees and hamstrings. I don’t know Mikhail Litvin personally, but of course, I’ve heard of him.
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Алексей Губанов
