"This is the beginning of a great journey!" Evgenia Eliseeva talks about the AEON Cup tournament

Evgenia Eliseeva, the coach of the AEON Cup all-around champion Ksenia Savinova, spoke about the path they took to the gold medal:

"We're from the small town of Gatchina, from a small club that I once opened when I was very young, 18 years old. We trained under a five-meter ceiling. And when we started showing results, the conditions were absolutely terrible, but thanks to the Academy, Ksyusha and I came here and achieved the high results we have now."

The coach also noted the importance of the tournament:

"It was really exciting to be first because no one had seen us for four years. We didn't know, we couldn't evaluate our work, so to speak. And now we've achieved it. It's very high, and I'm very grateful to the judges.  I'm very grateful to the organizers for finally inviting us to an international competition. We've missed it a lot, and we're very happy that now we'll be able to travel and compete."

In addition, Evgenia Eliseeva shared a secret, thanks to which Ksenia Savinova performed without big mistakes:

"Nothing is simple. Everything is complicated. And there are no small details, as they say. If you relax on the little things, you can make a mistake. That's why we approached everything with caution, with a cool head. And that's probably why we didn't make any major mistakes."

The specialist assessed the level of competition at the World Club Championships:

"I really enjoyed this tournament because the competition was so fierce. The girls from all over the world are very strong. Each with their own school, each with their own style. Yesterday, I sat in the stands while the masters were performing, and I just enjoyed watching everyone. It was really cool. And there were so many spectators at this competition. Such support, such an atmosphere. We really missed it, these full stands and competitions like this. I hope this is the beginning of a long journey."

All Russian gymnasts at the tournament in Tokyo are partners of the Sky Grace International Association; they competed in the neutral status.