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Pre-premiere screening of the documentary film “Roman Kostomarov: Twice Born” was held at the exhibition-forum “Russia” «at VDNKh. For the first time, the athlete and his family spoke so openly about their pain, the worst moment of the disease and the difficult adaptation to a new life. Sports tells why you should go to the cinema.
«Endlessly warmed with hope»
Black and white footage slowly begins to appear on the screen. Animals appear, carrying the viewer along with them as they run. Darkness. The sounds of medical instruments and the tense faces of doctors. Darkness. Birds circling in the sky, having experienced boundless freedom. Darkness. Life and death are mixed together. Kostomarov appears on stage.
None of the spectators yet understands what will happen now. Perhaps he will give a welcoming speech or express words of gratitude to his family and friends. The silence continues.
Suddenly, the first sounds of a familiar melody are heard throughout the entire hall. The novel begins to read the first lines:
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Night and silence, given forever.
It's raining, or maybe snow is falling.
It doesn't matter. Warmed by endless hope
I see a city in the distance that doesn’t exist.
By the time of the chorus, tears are welling up in everyone’s eyes. Before the audience stood a man who had conquered death.
«On January 10 he died»
In numerology, the number 10 is often interpreted as completion, the end point, at the same time being the beginning.
January 10, 2023 was the beginning of a new life for Kostomarov. On this day, the first rumors began that the athlete was in intensive care; the reasons were not specified for a long time. Then no one could have imagined how dramatically his life would turn upside down.
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“I remember how the next morning after Roman’s hospitalization, my friend called me and said: “Roma is in intensive care.” It was a shock. Yes, my throat could have hurt, but that was all. No one expected such a development of events, it was a blow for everyone «No one believed that this was happening. It felt like all my health came together and gave up in one moment,» said Kostomarov’s friend, choreographer Maxim Stavisky, about his first emotions after the terrible news.
But Roman’s family still had to endure the blow. Every hour more and more terrifying rumors appeared, all experts were afraid to make any predictions.
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«Roma just flew down. If the normal indicators are 15, he has 300, 0 leukocytes. There is no body. On the 10th he simply died… Not a single doctor gave a chance, not one. One percent, God willing, survives. Probably his strong training heart, desire to fight… On the second day they told us that we had stopped the dive,” Kostomarov’s wife Oksana Domnina recalls in the film about the alarming moment of uncertainty.
From that moment on, more troubles came in Kostomarov’s family more difficult days of acceptance and recovery. The relatives cried, but did not give up and continued to support each other.
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“I knew what love was. But what true love was — I only understood in the situation I found myself in. I wouldn’t have coped if I didn’t have a wife. I have a mother, but I felt that she was an adult and very I'm very worried about what's happening to me. I'm afraid that if she were next to me, and not my wife, then I would rather lose my mother than myself. I'm happy that I have such a wife, and thanks to her, sooner “That’s all, I survived,” Kostomarov admitted to journalists.
“What a wonderful world”
Poignant interviews with people worried about Roman’s life do not become the basis of the film. The directors rather wanted to show the story of the strongest man overcoming it. As Kostomarov himself joked, “the way of the bullfighter.” There were really a lot of jokes in the film, because humor is what saves Kostomarov in many ways now.
But sometimes there are only more jokes talk about his grief. “A friend says, I now have so many advantages: free parking, no need for manicures or pedicures! Tough guy!”
Kostomarov’s little daughter Anastasia calls these jokes “sad” and, like a policeman in a good mood, writes fines for them.
Yes, Kostomarov could not let go of this situation and is unlikely to ever be able to, but most importantly — he didn’t give up. His life is simply different, filled with a completely different meaning.
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«Roman has a big and important role — to show by example that there are no insurmountable barriers for a person. I am grateful to him for the fact that he carries this important burden so courageously, I would even say, philanthropically,” said the legendary Professor Alexei Mishin.
At the beginning of the film, Kostomarov was asked the question: “If now, in the spring of 2024, If you would go out on the ice, what music would you choose for your number? What a wonderful world.»
The world remained as wonderful for Kostomarov as it was before the terrible illness. Few things could be more inspiring than this recognition.