March 7, 2019
Listen to the head coach
Natalya Ivanova, head coach of the country's national team in sail, shared her plans for the upcoming season with the ROC Information Service. We decided to introduce you to this interview.
Representatives of the Russian national sailing team are completing pre-season training. Already in late March, an international regatta for the prize of Princess Sofia will be held on Palma de Mallorca, which for the coaching staff will be an indicator of the athletes' readiness to continue the struggle for the Olympic licenses.
“Following the start in Mallorca, yachtsmen will be determined who will perform at the 2019 European Championships and test competitions, which will be held from August 15 to 22 in the Olympic water area near Enoshima Island, about 100 kilometers from Tokyo,” the Russian national team head coach told the OCR Information Service on sailing Natalia Ivanova.
– In Rio de Janeiro, the Russians were represented in five disciplines of sailing. How many Olympic licenses do you expect now?
– As at the Games-2016, we plan to select in five classes of ships. The federation relies on disciplines in which our athletes can count on medals. To go to Tokyo just for the sake of the fact of participation in the Games is too expensive pleasure in our sport.
– What starts will be key for the Russians in the pre-Olympic season?
– In 2019, most of the remaining Olympic licenses will be raffled off. Immediately before the Games-2020, there will be several more qualifying regattas, but I don’t want to postpone the decision to the last minute.
The fight for trips to the Olympic Games will unfold at the May European Championship in the Finn class, which will be held from 10 to 18 May in Athens, the World Championships in the Laser and Laser Radial classes in the Japanese city of Sakaimintai, as well as in the 470 class at Enoshima (Japan) from 2 to 9 August. The World Forum in classes 49, 49 FX, Nakra 17 in December of the year in New Zealand will also qualify. As for men's windsurfing, the licenses will be drawn in September in the Italian Torbole.
– At last year’s world championship in Århus, Stephanie Elfutina won a license in the class RS: X (windsurfing). Who will follow her example?
– I really hope that Sergey Komissarov and other representatives of the Laser class will join the Olympic race. The guys train a lot, progress and have every chance to go to Tokyo.
– What can you say about the fair sex?
– Girls last season were not the best way. The chances that someone other than Stefania Elfutina will be able to pass the Olympic selection is not so much. However, if they keep the mood with which they are training now, the dream of the Olympics can become a reality.
– What are the chances of the crew Pavel Sozykin / Denis Gribanov to qualify for their second Olympic Games?
– At the World Championships in Danish Aarhus, Pavel and Denis were not very close to solving the problem. Unfortunately, the race of yachts in class 470 took place with almost no wind. Performances in such conditions can not yet be called "skate."
By the way, a month after the competition in Denmark, Sozykin and Gribanov took the sixth place in the regatta held in the Olympic waters. The guys beat many strong rivals there, including winners of the 2018 World Cup.
– What is the reason for such a spread of results?
– The problem is that in Russia Pavel Sozykin and Denis Gribanov, in fact, have no one to train with. It is extremely difficult to work out the acceleration of the boat into a problem for this crew a weak wind alone. The rest of the 470th crews are significantly inferior to them in the classroom, and it is not possible to organize regular sparring abroad: as the Olympic Games approach, the foreign teams more and more close from each other.
It is good that this year Sozykin and Gribanov were able to practice in Miami with a group of foreign yachtsmen and participate in two international regattas. They may not go on their boat, but this experience will help them in the fight for trips to Tokyo.
– What is the shape of the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Stephanie Elfutina for the pre-Olympic season?
– Last season, Stephanie experienced a recession caused by health problems. Now the reason for which she could not fully train, identified and eliminated, and really want to believe that the black bar was left behind. A few days ago, Elfutina returned from Spanish Cadiz, where she held her first training camp in six months. According to sportswoman mentor Viktor Ayvazian, Stefa is quickly gaining form.
The European Championship in the class RS: X will be held in early April, so the athlete has few chances to approach him in the best shape. Her main task for the pre-Olympic season is to prepare well for the World Cup, which will be held from September 22 to September 28 in the Italian Torbole.
– How do you assess the Olympic medal prospects Elfutina?
– It’s too early to talk about this. The World Cup in Takapuna (New Zealand) in February 2020 will be an indicator of the athletes' readiness for the Olympic Games.
– How will Stephanie’s preparation for the main four-year start be structured?
– In recent years she has been training mainly with men. Such a struggle allows Elfutina to progress. On the eve of the main season starts, we plan to organize for our leader a number of sparring with strong foreign athletes, with whom Stefani has a good relationship.
– How much for four years has increased competition in women's windsurfing?
– If earlier at international competitions there were about 60 girls, now their number has increased to 80. However, the same ten are fighting for medals as in 2016. I can only note the progress of the Chinese women. They have greatly gained in skill.
– Are there plans for an adaptation camp on Enoshima? A similar experience in front of Rio de Janeiro was quite effective.
– We were among the first to apply for participation in the ROC program “Adaptation”. Gathering at the venue of the Olympic regatta will allow to solve issues of acclimatization, study the Olympic water area and the wind rose, try the wave. Planning the final stage of preparation for the Olympic Games without such work is impossible.
By the way, for the second year we have been working closely with the ROC Innovation Center and, as the head coach, I can say that thanks to this, our athletes were able to significantly improve their performance.
Savva Timofeev, ROC Information Service
262 March 7, 2019 # 8836
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