"I would like to become an Olympic champion like Alina Kabaeva!" Sofia Vorobyova, Eva Kononova and Alesya Naifonova speak about the meeting with Alina Kabaeva and workouts at the Academy

Sofia Vorobyova from Moscow, Eva Kononova from the Tyumen Region and Alesya Naifonova from North Ossetia — Alania dream of becoming students of the Academy. Alina Kabaeva assessed their abilities at the second stage of the Cup of the Strongest and the girls were given the opportunity to stay and train. 

Sofia Vorobyova told how training sessions are held at the Academy:

"I like it very much at the Academy, there is a very kind, good atmosphere here, all the girls help each other. Everything is very well arranged for training here, that is, everything is done for convenience. I made friends with many girls. Well, in general, I get along well with everyone. There are two training sessions here, and usually we had one training session. For every athlete, this will be, of course, an added bonus, that there are so many training sessions. Of course, yes, it can be difficult, but still, the result will be very good."

Sofia also noted that she was inspired by the meeting with Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva:

"I imagined her as very kind, but when I saw her in real life, she turned out to be even kinder, even sweeter. She is very beautiful. I was inspired."

Eva Kononova recalled how her parents reacted to her departure to the Academy:

"Of course, it was sad, but my parents want me to advance in sports. They were also very happy."

Eva also shared her impressions of the meeting with the Olympic champion:

"I imagined Alina Maratovna as kind and good. When I came here, she was just incredibly kind. She told me comments, praised me. She would tell me to show some elements, I would show them. She would say, ‘Well done!’ Or she would give me comments, give a lot of advice. I listen to them, try to correct. Alina Maratovna told me to do a lot of drawings in the ribbon before taking risks, so that the ribbon doesn't fall flat."

And Alesya Naifonova recalled her first visit to the Academy and named her main dream: 

"My friends from Vladikavkaz showed me a telegram channel, I subscribed, started watching, I found it very interesting. In 2023, I was here at the Alina festival. I liked it very much. I would like to become an Olympic champion like Alina Maratovna."