2000 Sydney Olympic champion, world champion, and three-time European champion Yulia Barsukova is the next focus in our series of exclusive interviews that we recorded at the Sky Grace Cup International Tournament and Beijing Top Open 2025.
In an interview, she spoke:
- On the transition from figure skating to rhythmic gymnastics
- Yulia Barsukova's favorite figure skaters
- When did sport transform from a childhood hobby into a life's work?
- On her first significant medals
- First European Championships in Budapest in 1999
- "I prepare the same way, go through control training. And then everyone leaves, but I stay"
- What was the preparation for the Sydney Olympics like?
- The night before the 2000 Olympic Final
- "I just had to perform well"
- Emotions after winning the Olympics
- The "Dying Swan" and unique gymnasts' elements
- "You need to leave with grace. Undefeated"
- A gymnast in figure skating
- How did Yulia Barsukova decide to become a coach?
- On working with Dina and Arina Averina, Anastasia Guzenkova, and Anna Popova
- What can athletes teach a coach?
- What's the secret of an Olympic champion?