Ulyana Donskova: "Gymnastics is returning, where beauty, flexibility and jumping are important"

The 2012 Olympic champion in group exercises — about the Sky Grace tournament, new rules and broken weights.

The first international experimental tournament Sky Grace will be held in Moscow on December 16-17. The competitions are organized by the Charity Foundation of Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva and are unique in that they will be held according to unusual rules that combine those that will be introduced from 2022 and those that were in effect in the era of Alina Kabaeva in the early 2000s. The purpose of the tournament is the development and popularization of rhythmic gymnastics as an Olympic sport. The winner of the 2012 Games in the group exercise, Ulyana Donskova, told about how the new rules differ from the old ones, and about the prospects for the development of the most beautiful sport.

Kramarenko makes elements that others cannot repeat

— Ulyana, sometimes it seems that even the gymnasts themselves do not fully understand the rules by which they compete?

— I think it is! Especially now, when everything will change in the new Olympic cycle. Neither the athletes nor the coaches understand how and what will happen. But if we talk about Sky Grace, it will definitely be very interesting there! This tournament was organized by Alina Kabaeva, she has been my idol since childhood. I adore her, I can still review her performances. Everything Alina does is always great.

— One of the main stars of the tournament will be 17-year-old Russian Lala Kramarenko. What do you say about this gymnast?

— Lala is our star. She is energetic, emotional, many people love her. Lala performs very complex body elements that other gymnasts can't even repeat. They say that the new rules are just more for her. Because in the previous cycle, body ownership was evaluated to a lesser extent.

— Explain.

— The previous version of the rules did not require super-stretching and flexibility. The elements were designed for gymnasts with average data, but with excellent coordination and work with the subject. The emphasis was on the elements with the subject in order to perform them as best as possible. And now, as far as I understand, just that gymnastics is returning, where amplitude, flexibility, and beautiful jumps were important... Perhaps it will be very profitable for Kramarenko.

— And for the Averina sisters?

— Dina and Arina are really incredibly technical gymnasts in working with the subject. They have been developing this since childhood. They were already doing some incredible things that even adults didn't do. But how it will be now is still very difficult to say. No one has ever competed under the new rules, and in general, sports are unpredictable.

— In general, a gymnast during a performance can calculate how many points she gets for a particular element?

— Of course. You train the program every day and understand what kind of set you should end up with. But during the performance, something may go wrong. You may not even notice that you haven't done something. The previous version of the rules was so arranged that sometimes you really could not understand that you missed something. Although, for example, in my time it was clearly clear: if a gymnast lost an object, then that's it. You won't have any place anymore. And this is how it should be, because those who have done everything without mistakes should reach the top.

The scales were broken as a joke, they did not expect such a resonance

— You started as a personal, then began to perform in a group. Which is more difficult?

— These are very different disciplines, it is incorrect to compare. I have loved group games since I was accepted into the youth national team of Russia. Then about 300 gymnasts were selected for the team, and 15 people were taken. Of these, only five come out on the carpet.

— The competition is bigger than at MSU.

— Of course. But I fell in love with group exercises. Then there was a stage when I was transferred back to personal performances, but I just cried. Every day I came to the coach and asked to join the group. I endured for six months, overstepped myself and already wanted to leave the sport. Until I was called to the adult team in the group. I just ran to Novogorsk then!

— Why? The girls know more, they have more fans...

— That's right. Girls who reach even lower heights in an individual program will learn more than group girls. But I didn't think about it at all then. I only thought that I am a team person, I like the feeling of people nearby, but I don't like being alone. But everything is very individual here. There are, on the contrary, examples when girls-individuals do not want to join a group for anything, even realizing that they will be taken to the European or World Championships.

— What was the story when you broke the scales after winning the Olympic Games in London?

— Actually, it was a joke! We didn't expect that it would get such a resonance and everyone would talk about it. The scales were very ordinary, glass. We were regularly weighed on them and before the Olympic Games they did it three times a day. After the victory, we had super positive emotions, we took these scales and decided to break them right next to the bus. It was fun, it was exactly a moment of happiness!

— What did you eat after the Olympic victory?

— I don't remember anymore, but everyone came off, of course. Then we went on vacation with Irina Alexandrovna Viner-Usmanova, and I remember she comes to visit us, the table is full of all sorts of treats and she says: "Why don't you eat? Come on quickly, let's watch you eat!" And we just couldn't physically eat anymore!

— How much have you recovered after the Olympics?

— I scored decently. But I quickly realized that I did not like the reflection in the mirror, and began to work on myself. For four months, I probably stayed at an unacceptable weight for myself.

— How do you feel about the complaints of some foreign gymnasts about bullying by coaches and constant weigh-ins?

— Of course, I do not know the specific situation. But in general, I think that the sport of the highest achievements is impossible without strict discipline. I wouldn't have reached such heights if the coach hadn't been harsh. If I had only been patted on the head and told that "well, I gained 100 grams, it's okay," nothing would have happened. This does not happen, today you will gain 100 grams, then another 100, and so on.

— Tell us about your current career as an actress?

— The second season of the project "The Historian" is being filmed now. In the first season, I could be seen in several episodes. Plus, I starred and starred in several other interesting projects. In general, I have dreamed of being an actress since childhood. Even before I wanted to become a gymnast. And after finishing my career, it somehow happened that I went into this field. But it's still only at the very beginning. I cannot say that I am an actress, as firmly as I am an Olympic champion.

Source: Sport-Express.