Yevgeniya Kuznetsova: "Titanics" Emerge on Round Lake in Spring Sovetskiy Sport, April 1998 Conducted by Olga Alekseyeva Translated by Vladimir Gurov

The room at gymnastics sports camp "Ozero Krugloye" (Round Lake) where Yevgeniya Kuznetsova lives was not suitable for an interview: another vice champion Yelena Dolgopolova was sleeping after a visit to the dentist. All-around World championship bronze medallist Yelena Produnova kindly helped out by inviting us to her "apartment."

-- Zhenya [short for Yevgeniya], the European Championships are in St. Petersburg this year, how are you preparing?

Of course, I would like to get to the Europeans, especially because the event will be in my home city, but I lack stability lately. I was sick for too long this winter and only now am starting to get back into shape.

-- Were you born in St. Petersburg?

No. I was born in a suburb named Tsarskoye Selo [Czar Village], or, as it was called previously, Pushkino. My parents are not involved with sports at all. My mom, Mariya Panteleyevna, is an accountant and my dad, Pyotr Vasil'yevich, is an engineer. They are divorced at present and my sister and I visit one or the other.

-- And what does your sister do?

Lena is five years older than I am. This year she graduates from Lesgaft Institute of Physical Culture [in St. Petersburg] and will be an artistic gymnastics coach. Actually, thanks to her I got into gym. My mom took her to practices at the Pushkino sports school and brought me with her so I would not have to stay home alone. That was how I got into gymnastics practically from infancy.

-- Who did you train with first?

Vera Iosifovna Kiryashova worked with me first. Later I moved to the group coached by her husband, Aleksandr Vasil'yevich.

-- How did they meet you at Krugloye at the beginning?

My appearance was not sensational. Moreover, I had serious problems with extra weight then.

-- Really? You are so skinny!

I was not skinny then. I worried less about my program than my extra kilos. We were weighed three to four times a day. God forbid if you were a gram heavier!

-- When was your first serious competition?

I think it was in 1994 in England at Olympic Youth Days. Then I was first in the team competition, all-around, vault, and bars. Later our team won junior European Championships. After that there was World Championships in Sabae where we failed everything that was possible. Actually, everybody was falling there but we became the "champions" of that "event".

-- And than there was the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. What were your impressions after the Olympics?

I was the youngest on the team. I turned sixteen only on December 18, 1996. The first thing they usually asked me if I was afraid. The day before the tournament they brought us to the gym to try the apparatus. The coaches warned us right away that the way we performed our routines right there would be how we were judged later. And how many spectators were at those practices! I remember mounting on beam and it all wobbled under me. The knees shook, the arms would not obey… But later, after the competition had begun, the fear disappeared, as if I were not performing in America, but in my own St. Petersburg. Everything was good at the Olympics, only the spectators did not support us. They did not applaud to anybody at all besides their own gymnasts.

-- What kept you from winning the team competition at 1997 Worlds in Lausanne?

I do not think we could have beaten the Romanians. Actually, I overheard how the coaches discussed the advantages and limitations of the teams they saw at practice. They all agreed that the Romanian team was prepared to the championships better than anybody else. Their acrobatics on floor were stronger and the girls simply performed neater.

-- Does it happen often that you change a combination during a routine if you realize you may miss it?

If I feel that I am not ready to perform an exercise, I try to think in advance how and with what I can substitute the element. To improvise during the routine is someting I think only Sveta Khorkina can do. Usually, I always know about my weak spots and try to improve them.

-- Does it happen the other way? Can you fall on an easy element?

That happens also. For example, during several competitions in a row I performed all the combinations and jumps on beam flawlessly. Still, later I may suddenly fall on a simple 360 degree turn that any junior can do with her eyes closed.

-- What is that original element you perform at the end of your bars routine?

My coach Aleksandr Vasil'yevich likes to invent something unusual. He once told me that in order to compete against Khorkina I must have my own key element. So I learned this combination - two circles with my legs split and the dismount - two straight saltos (layouts) also with split legs. Tat'yana Groshkova once did the similar two straight saltos on floor.

-- What do you usually do in free time?

I did not learn to spend my free time usefully yet. If honestly, I simply want to go to the seaside, rest on a beach under sun. About two years ago we performed an exhibition in Italy and then spent a few days by the sea. That was like paradise!

-- What is your favorite book, movie? What music do you like?

"Titanic!" - shouted out Lena Produnova sitting quietly until this moment.

-- What a wonderful movie, and Leonardo DiCaprio is so lovely!

Yevgeniya Kuznetsova: -- She [Produnova] goes crazy after this guy. You should have seen her when she watched "Titanic" - she cried two hours after! Our Round Lake almost turned into a sea. And now she listens all day to the song from the movie. Actually, I like much better the song by Whitney Houston from "The Bodyguard". I like movies starring Silvester Stallone, Jean-Claud Van Damme, and Kevin Costner.

-- Even so Zhenya, have you seen "Titanic"?

No. When they told me how it ended I decided not to watch it to stay in better mood.

-- I guess you don't read the books with sad endings either?

I never look at the end of a book and if any of the girls tells me what it is about I close my ears immediately.

-- What are you reading now? A love story, perhaps?

That time has already passed. There are only disappointments from all those love stories.

-- Why?

Lena Produnova: Because it never happens to us.

Yevgeniya Kuznetsova: As I get older, the more realistic books attract me - where the plot at least somewhat resembles real life. Now, actually, I read detective stories. It happens to us once in a while - the entire team reads the same book. So now we have a "detectivomania".

-- I see you have a variety of makeup on your desk. Do you use it often?

Rarely at the Round Lake. Before the practice it does not make sense, after [practice] there is no strength left. In general, we keep makeup for parties and competitions. Moreover, earlier Leonid Yakovlevich [Arkayev] made us put makeup on at tournaments. "Why don't you have any makeup on? Quickly, bring some mascara and blush!"

-- Zhenya, you study at Lesgaft Academy. What are you going to be - a coach or choreographer?

To be honest, none of them. I do not want my future job to be connected with gymnastics. Actually, at times I am afraid that sometimes I will have to leave the competitive sport. But oh well… Recently I spent a few months at home and quickly got used to the "normal" lifestyle. Afterall, we are just like anybody else.

-- Do other girls visit you? Like Dina Kochetkova, Lena Grosheva, Oksana Lyapina, Roza Galiyeva?

Yes, quite often. I know that Lena Grosheva is getting ready for the Aerobics World Championships. By the way, she lives in St. Petersburg, in the dormitory, and trains at the [Lesgaft] Academy gym. One day I was just exiting the institute and than saw the familiar face and shouted to her "Lena-a-a!" I did not expect to see her in my home city. Dina Kochetkova and Oksana Lyapina also study with us.

Lena Produnova: Maybe I should join you too?

-- What is it? Have you all decided to move to St. Petersburg? Do you want to eventually turn it into a new gymnastics mecca?

Why not?