"You see the flag and realize the whole country is behind you." Mariia Borisova talks about her performance at the European Championships

After performing in the all-around final at the first European Championships with the anthem and flag, Mariia Borisova from St. Petersburg shared her emotions:

"On the first day, I was anxious about performing. I was worried and there were mistakes because of this. On the second day, I kind of let go of myself not in terms of concentration, but I let go in terms of stress. These are the first international competitions for me under my flag, my anthem. We have patches everywhere. That is, it cannot be conveyed in words, because it charges very much inside, such inner patriotism. You see the flag and you understand that the whole country is behind you. You now represent the whole country, your homeland. And it inspires me a lot and gives me strength in difficult moments, when it already seems that, well, I can't do it anymore."

She shared her impressions of the fans' support:

"When I went to the gym, I was shocked, to be honest. On the second day, there are all the stands on the right side, and in the center, and a little on the left and at the top. I was shocked, and even when I was leaving, I also turned a little to the stands to the side of the audience. I was very pleased. Everyone is also charged, everyone supports, shouts ‘Russia!’ before coming out, and this also helps to get together."

The gymnast thanked everyone who participated in her training:

"I would like to thank my coach Irina Nikolaevna Gusarova for the difficult training that we, of course, went through together. It was hard, but we did it, and after the first day we also rallied together. And then the performances were better. I want to thank Alina Maratovna, of course. Alina Maratovna was in touch with us here, and during the preparation she was with us at the Academy, prompted, watched all our programs and improved them. I would also like to thank choreographer Ekaterina Medorovna and Irina Borisovna, the director of all my programs. Thanks to all the fans, supporters. Thank you for your support!"

In Varna, Masha placed sixth in the all-around.