Olympic champion Yulia Stupak in an interview with Sport before the start of the Yugra ski marathon, organized by the bank » Otkrytie», told who the realization of her dreams and goals in the international arena depends on, whether she misses foreign business trips, confessed her love for Russian cuisine and explained why our fans are the best in the world.
strong>- Is this the most amazing and unusual season in your career?
— I think it was the easiest season when I just did what I want since December . In terms of results, it’s difficult, but I have an opinion that after the Olympics, you need to exhale as much as possible. with the expectation of having fun in winter?
— Summer was held in working mode, it was good, but due to some moments a little blurry on my part.
>— Are we talking about diseases or motivation to a greater extent?
— Thank God, no, there were no diseases. It seems to me that this is a combination of many nuances. Snowball. These factors did not allow to implement the training process one hundred percent.
— You said that after the Olympic season you need to exhale. Is the difficulty of this season more in the psychology or the physical component?One hundred percent is psychology. When I talk about psychology, about the head, about the mood in an interview, it seems to me that people think that my roof has gone crazy. This needs to be explained in more detail. You just overwork in the Olympic season, interrupt communication with family and friends. In my case, I had to come home less often, so as not to get sick, not to pick up a sore. Sometimes she took her family to Europe. It's just that there is an overvoltage every day.
— Sergey Ustyugov admitted in an interview that he was very worried about the moment when his grandparents died, but he did not could be at home.
— I think he talked more about his entire career, and not about the Olympic season. We really have a whole life on suitcases.
— Did the fact that this season took place inside Russia facilitate logistics? Did you manage to spend more time with your family?
— Russia is so big that it is sometimes easier to get to Europe than to get home.
— Do you miss business trips abroad? Again, Ustyugov said that he missed Italy very much.
I also love Italy very much. I think many have already understood this (laughs). It's a cool camp there, but I miss the atmosphere more.
— Just when I'm there in general. Both during racing and out of competition. I really love that state of relaxation.
Dolomites have the best views in the world?
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— In general, for me the best country is my country. Be it the views, be it the food. I know that a lot of people love Italian food, but our cuisine just makes my ears turn. Teeth cramps from how much I love it all. I love our nature. My husband and I are huge fans of her. But at the same time, I cannot limit my horizons to one country. It is clear that Russia is always in the first place, but I want to see other places. In principle, nature is one and everywhere is beautiful in its own way. The same goes for the cuisine, which speaks more about the preferences of the people, what flavor they have. The same is true for people. I can not say that we are better, it is worse there. Everywhere there are good and not so good people.
—Where else would you like to go?
— Madly want to see Paris. It's very primitive. I traveled a lot around Europe at the World Cup, but I could not escape to Paris. I also really want to visit Lake Baikal here, on the Shantar Islands, it is relatively close to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It's very beautiful there. While we somehow made a decision in the family that we need to get to know our country more.
— If we return to the sports topic, are there any problems with skis and their supplies now?
— It seems to me that there are no such problems at the level of the main team, but there are problems at the regional level. Moreover, the prospects for a deficit are not just visible, but it already exists. If I have a contract with Rossignol, then I don't need skis. They send me everything. Thank you so much for not leaving us. If, for example, I want to buy Nike sneakers for myself conditionally, I will have to get confused so that my legs are safe in the summer.
— But everything is solved?
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— I think yes. Although the regions, again, everything is not so simple. A lactate machine can only be bought in Europe, and the regions also need it. There, the younger generation, which is interested in this, is a necessary thing. Some simulators can also be obtained only abroad.
— This season there were a lot of fans at the stages of the Russian Cup and at the starts of the national championship. Did it surprise you?- My first start was Malinovka. Insanely nice! We run with the whole crowd, but only «Julia, Julia» is shouted on both sides. I'm going, I think, God, I'll talk to all the fans who come up to me, I'll take a picture with everyone, I'll give an autograph. Let them be a million people. I am ready to give them my energy, because they give me theirs. For me, the quality of the exchange is important, I want to share energy on good vibrations.
— Do the fans generally behave adequately?— Very cool fans, very warm. Sometimes it comes to tears, I'm still such a sentimental person. People come up to me and say that they influenced me, they take my hand. Some grannies come up, hold my hand and say: “You know, Yulechka, I have been following you for ten years now, I like you so much, you are so positive, so filled.” We look into each other's eyes, and I understand that the person is as open to me as possible. This is a great rarity.
Is this the specificity of our country?“I have never seen such openness anywhere else. Only in Russia.
Is the ski infrastructure in the country now at a decent level?
— I think that there is room for improvement, let's be frank. I train in Yekaterinburg. When I come to my place in Syktyvkar, it is clear that this is a cool complex where skiers and biathletes train purposefully. They are investing in it, people are rooting for this business. It's a great pleasure to be there. Living conditions and training are very important. Everything is perfectly prepared there, and they treat you like a native person.
Or, again, Yekaterinburg, where I come between training camps. The roller track is in a very deplorable state, it is almost not monitored. Even now, in order to train before the Yugra marathon, my husband went after work and swept the track himself so that we could ride. Someone says that the worse our conditions are, the better we run. Yes, we can at least train on poop and do our job, but it's cool when you have great conditions. They push you to be even better. strong
— There are many of them. Firstly, I do not have an Olympic gold medal in individual races, I do not have world championship gold either in individual or in relay. I did not win the overall World Cup, nor the Small nor the Big Crystal Globe. I didn't win the Tour de Ski. There are a lot of options. But whether they are implemented or not, it depends on one person.