MOSCOW, 16 May. High jumper representing Cyprus, Elena Kulichenko, told Sport24 about the peculiarities of life in the USA. The athlete was born in Russia, last year she decided to change her citizenship and entered an American university in Georgia.
" I’ve never been, it was a novelty for me: all the people are very friendly, very supportive, many acquaintances immediately appeared. There is no such thing in Russia, for some reason you feel pressure, stress, it is much calmer here. We all want to seem perfect, there are a lot of haters, but here there is no condemnation at all. Russia is a novelty for them, but no hate at all. Here people love to have fun. In Russia, most likely, on the weekend people will stay at home and watch TV, but here it is customary to have fun, go somewhere, support — sports in general are very popular here", the athlete noted.
The athlete shared the features of the university sports in the USA.
"Compared to Russia, this is a completely different level, the results are simply something unreal. <…> Each time at the stadium, in addition to coaches (of which there are a huge number), there are always two doctors, one massage therapist … The team has a nutritionist, a mental health person, and two more people separately who monitor the studies of athletes — and this is all only for athletics . In Russia, the university is separate, sports are separate. And here <…> if you are accepted to the university, you get education, training and a scholarship", added the jumper.