Yana Zaikina shares her emotions from competing in the Cup of the Strongest final

Yana Zaikina from Volgograd shared her emotions from competing in the Cup of the Strongest final:

"I’m very glad that, overall, things went quite well today, with the exception of the clubs, where I had a loss. But that’s okay; it’s something I can work on, and I think everything will be even better during the master-level program. After the European Championships, there was such a heavy sense of responsibility, the feeling that I simply couldn’t afford a poor performance — and that affected how I performed. But eventually, I managed to let that go. I tried to focus solely on my own routine, on how to execute it well and make sure I didn’t let my coaches down. Alina Maratovna was in touch with us the whole time, offering guidance and encouragement via video call. That’s incredibly valuable and highly motivating. And when she arrived today, it was as if I’d caught a second wind, it made me want to perform even better. I already had a good cry today. It was just so painful to realize that this was the very last time I’d be performing these programs. I really didn’t want to let them go. So, I made sure to go out there today and give it my absolute all, doing risks at every turn."

The gymnast thanked everyone who helped her:

"I want to say a huge thank you to Evgeniya Mikhailovna and Olga Dmitrievna for supporting me so much during this phase. I am incredibly grateful to them, they’ve truly become like second mothers to me. I love them so much! Thank you for everything you do for me; it’s so valuable and absolutely wonderful. And, of course, a big thank you to Alina Maratovna, who came to support us and walked us out onto the floor. That was such a fantastic, atmospheric moment. I also want to thank the entire Academy staff for everything they do for us."

Yana also spoke about the support of the fans and the gift from them:

"A huge thank you as well to the fans who threw me posters and stuffed toys. I truly cherish these, and I keep them in my room. At this competition, I was even given a painting, it shows me in mid-air, performing with the clubs! I’m definitely going to hang it up in my room. Thank you all so much!"

At the competition, Yana won gold medals in the hoop and ball finals, and silver medals in the all-around, as well as in the clubs and ribbon finals. She also became the champion based on the results of all stages.

Yana is a European champion and a silver medalist of the Russian Championships. Her coaches are Evgeniya Eliseeva and Olga Minigalina, and her choreographer is Elena Egorova. The gymnast is a member of the Russian National team and lives and trains at the Alina Kabaeva Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy.