Yana Zaikina spoke about her preparation for the Hopes of Russia tournament and her new ribbon routine

Yana Zaikina, bronze medalist at the Hopes of Russia tournament from Volgograd, shared her impressions of the competition.

"I think everything went pretty well. I was able to perform three events cleanly, calmly, and beautifully. Well, the ribbon was a bit off.  After my unsuccessful ribbon performance, I was a little upset, but I remembered all the people who root for me, who believe in me. Alina Maratovna, my beloved fans, I adore them so much for always encouraging me, writing kind and sincere words. I’m so grateful to them for that. I tried to make the routines beautiful and confident for them, and for Alina Maratovna and Evgeniya Mikhailovna," Yana said.

She explained why she likes the new ribbon program the most.

"It’s very beautiful music, Warrior and the Dragon, that Moana sings. It's very gentle and powerful at the same time, and I really liked it. I asked the coach to put it together for the ribbon routine," she said.

The gymnast shared how she prepared for the tournament and what advice Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva gave her.

"Alina Maratovna joined us via video during the last practices, and she gave me some feedback. For example, in clubs, she told me to be more artistic. She checked all my risks and changed the routines slightly.  A big thank you also to Evgeniya Eliseeva for joining us and coaching us via video call while she was at a recovery camp.A big thank you, of course, to Alina Maratovna, Evgeniya Eliseeva, choreographer Elena Egorova, and everyone involved in these performances," the gymnast said.

Yana's coach is Evgeniya Eliseeva, and her choreographer is Elena Egorova.