High-diving champion Leyla Salyamova wrote prophetic poems before her death

The details of the death of Russian high diving champion Leyla Salyamova in a car accident in Karelia together with a friend, where she came to snowboard, have been revealed. As it became known to MK, the day before her death, the famous athlete talked with her coach Igor Semashko. She was full of hope for the future and was in a great mood.

Sergey Sarkisyan, Communications Director of Russia Diving, shared his last interview with Leyla with us. In it, the girl asked to publish her poems, which seem to predict her fate.

The tragedy occurred on January 12 at 13:30 at km 163 of the Sortavala highway in the Lahdenpohsky district of Karelia. Mitsubishi and Volkswagen cars collided. Both cars were practically blown apart as they collided head-on. Leyla Salyamova was in the first car, and her friend was driving. They died on the spot. The driver and passenger of the second foreign car were hospitalized with serious injuries.

Igor Semashko trained Leyla for a long time after she switched to high diving (diving from extreme heights). He still cannot accept the death of his beloved student and ward:

“What can I say, a terrible tragedy,” Igor Semashko told MK. – It’s hard to talk about it. Quite young, 23 years old, budding big in sports. And since there is no person… Leila is the 2021 Russian high diving champion and the silver medalist of the national championship in synchronized high diving in 2015. She was the first Russian high diver to qualify for the women’s tournament for the World Championships.

In August 2022, she took part in the stage held in Serbia. After August, she left for the Emirates for several months.

Leila was a very active, energetic, pleasant girl, but a little “reckless”: she wanted to know, see, feel everything, she was not afraid of anything, no difficulties. And in high diving, there are only such people, there can be no others! The last time I talked to her was the day before yesterday, via WhatsApp. She said that she was going to Karelia to go snowboarding. I wasn’t even surprised. Layla dreamed of many things. But her main dream was to perform at the World Championships in Japan in July of this year – only, however, they don’t let us go there.

We talked to her very positively, she was always in a good mood, we talked about sports, about jumping. Layla said that everything was fine with her. Here she is not…”

The last person to interview Leyla Salyamova was Sergey Sarkisyan, Communications Director of the Russian Diving Federation. With a heavy heart, he recalls this conversation with her, which took place in December.

“We talked about travel, about sports. After the last competition in Serbia, which took place in August 2022, Leyla took and left for the Emirates. She told me that she went there with $40 in her pocket. I found a job, everything seemed to work out, even starred in commercials. Met a lot of people, studied the language. She said that she adapts very easily to new places.

Leila was very bright, always active! She told me what she did there, that she also worked in the show of divers (there are jumpers who have ended their sports career or who have something wrong with their careers and work in a circus show). She always talks about everything with great joy and enthusiasm. Leila also admitted to me that thanks to the efforts of her coach Igor Semashko, she achieves everything. She said that she had not seen people who lead athletes with such burning eyes for a long time, and only thanks to him she was still in sports. My interview ended with Layla asking to publish her poems because, as she said: “I put my soul into them.” Here is one of them:

I’m starting to feel it

My life is my cinema.

And I want to drown in serenity,

Let the hardships be all the same to me.

I know that I can create

And I can lower the negative to the bottom.

If you don’t know how to love,

It also won’t matter.

And whether it be delight or despondency,

Without bargaining, I will accept everything that is given to me.

I will live without a drop of regret.

I’m friends with boredom, I know, then it won’t matter.

Fall in love, don’t take your eyes off her

Everyone’s life is full of black and white.

Live, live, my friend, now

After all, then it won’t matter.

Sergey Sargsyan also confirmed to MK that the athlete went to Karelia to snowboard:

“She arrived from the Emirates recently, somewhere in November. First, she trained in Kazan, then in her native Saratov, where she lived with her parents and just a day ago came to Karelia. All of us, friends, colleagues, the federation, will help with organizing the athlete’s funeral. Most likely, she will be buried in her homeland, in Saratov, but this is not yet certain.”