Gymnast Paseka about her departure from Russia: “I am leaving to work under a contract”

Four-time Olympic medalist explained the decision to leave the country

Olympic medalist, world champion Maria Paseka (three silver and bronze at the Olympics in London 2012 and Rio 2016, two victories at the world championships in the vault) will go to work abroad at the end of October.

– Maria, your words about the fact that “big changes are coming”, and leaving the country “will give new thoughts, a new attitude to everything”, did not sound very clear to many.

– She herself is shocked by how those who are not among my subscribers understood my post. You can’t pull out some words without knowing what happened before. I can only say one thing: the one who signed, understood everything I was talking about correctly.

– And yet – for those who are not signed, we must now explain.

– I am leaving at the end of October to work as a coach in a friendly country, which I wrote about earlier. Before the entry into force of the contract, I would not like to say exactly where. This departure is just a desire to look at gymnastics from a slightly different angle. I want to feel what it’s like to be a coach when you’re surrounded by people and surroundings that aren’t familiar to you. In any team there are some national features of the development of the sport, there are approaches to the training process. It is interesting.

And I think it will help me after my return, because there are plans to create some kind of business in Russia related to gymnastics. That’s why I wrote that I was going for a new one, and then we’ll see what came of it when I return to my homeland.

– Today you don’t have coaching experience at all, do you?

– It already exists, but so far, of course, not so voluminous. I tried my hand at developing gymnastics. I went there specifically to understand how to work with children. And now I remember with a laugh how I said at the first lessons: what to do with you, I’m even afraid to touch you! Classes with young people are cool, fun. But still, professional sports are much more interesting to me. A colleague once asked to insure her group of athletes when she had to go to the starts as a judge. To be honest, it was hard. Because while I repeat all the movements of the gymnasts, I myself twitched when they fell … But nothing – I managed normally. And the fact that now I have the opportunity to work seriously is very good.

– The working details of coaching, apparently, will already be discussed on the spot?

– Yes, since the work has not yet begun, all the clarity on how I will work specifically, who will be in my group, what level, how many people, will come after my arrival. I’m sure I’ll be back for another one. That’s what I wanted to say. I am a patriot of the country, this is a fact, not words. While I am still at home. And I wrote to my subscribers, because I have to leave soon.