«Changing the flag is stupidity, our ban is absurd»: Dalaloyan — about Paris and the future

A little less than a year and a half is left before the Paris Olympics, but the status of Russian athletes has not yet been determined. In a conversation with a Sport correspondent, the champion of the 2020 Games, gymnast Artur Dalaloyan admitted that he was tired of the topic of admission to competitions, explained why he remains in sports, and also said whether he was ready to become a deputy after completing his career.

br>– Artur, the championship of Russia has just ended. And it didn't go the way you wanted it to. How would you rate the start of the season?

— Everything goes on as usual, quite a good preparation turned out before the championship of Russia. Almost already managed to get rid of health problems, with the same corns and other common problems. The physical condition is now good, we roll more.

— Exhausting training at the base «Ozero Krugloye» — and every time all over again. To you as an Olympic champion and a gymnast who has won everything, why do you need it? How do you explain this to yourself?

— I can’t say that now the training camp is exhausting for me. Now I try to work more for pleasure, work more on something new, and everything new is always interesting. I can’t say that I’m exhausting myself as much as possible, although there is only a year before the Olympic Games, and we still believe that we are working to go there. I try to hold back my horses, hold back my strength and work more for the interest of my work and for the future.

— You were the first to talk about the Olympics. Although the situation with admission/non-admission to the Games is already pretty tired of everyone. It affects psychologically, but first of all I try to put it all out of my head. I understand that this is my job, that I set an example for the younger generation, and many young athletes look up to us. Of course, you must not lower your nose, not show some kind of slack. All things, all problems are always solved, so we work and do our job.

– Do we need to go to Paris under a neutral flag?

— Of course, it's tired, especially when it's all unreasonable. Many countries, even being under martial law, still came to the World and European Championships with a flag, without any specific sanctions, and performed. I do not understand this point, why they are constantly trying to deprive us of the flag and the anthem. This, of course, is tired, this is complete absurdity, but all the same, the decision should be made by the leadership — the Ministry of Sports, our federations. Athletes just have to do their job, which is to enter the arena and win. right now?- First of all, my love for sports keeps me (smiles). It has always been, I love what I do, I like my sport, because gymnastics is an amazing sport, diverse. And first of all, I do it because I love to do it. It is important for me to set an example, to inspire other people to sport, to infect with this.

— Do I understand correctly that the issue of changing sports citizenship is irrelevant and uninteresting for you?

– My whole history in sports is about the daily overcoming of oneself. I am not tired of overcoming myself, working on myself, this is the most important task both in sports and in life. Yes, of course, now I very often think about and imagine those moments when I had to work with this and overcome it … Indeed, it was difficult, and in some fractions of a second the thought slipped through that it was impossible. But it happened, and I had an understanding that everything impossible is possible. The most important thing is to work, put all your soul and all your strength into it, and everything will work out.

– If you have to relive it again for the sake of Paris 2024, will you do it?
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