Three St. Petersburg women entered the top ten best athletes in Russia in 2023

DRESS CODE CHAMPION

The World Rapid and Blitz Championships, which take place at the end of the calendar year, are firmly established in the chess calendar. In 2023, the tournament was hosted by Samarkand. Russian chess players participated in the competitions in a neutral status, but, as noted in a conversation with a journalist from MK in St. Petersburg, who became the world champion in rapid Anastasia Bodnaruk, everyone is already used to this. When you play games with limited time control, you generally focus completely on what is happening on the board.

At chess tournaments, doping control is now as serious as at athletics or figure skating competitions. After the first day of play (there were two in total), the grandmaster from St. Petersburg was taken away by doping officers, and had to spend three hours in their company. Anastasia was never able to rest and tune in for the decisive games.

And at the tournament in Samarkand there was a very serious dress code. Anna-Maja Kazoryan, representing the Netherlands, was even fined for coming to the gaming hall “in too athletic shoes.” In regards to Bodnaruk, who came to the first round in black classic sneakers, they limited themselves to a warning. After this, the St. Petersburg woman was forced to urgently go up to her room and change her shoes. She will now carry the shoes in which Anastasia became the world champion to all competitions.

Bodnaruk began playing chess at the age of three at the insistence of her father.

“It’s difficult to say what arguments he gave, — the world champion told the MK in St. Petersburg journalist. — My father taught me to play early, and my first successes came quickly. This was probably the main factor.”

As a child, Nastya combined chess and rhythmic gymnastics.

“For some reason, journalists really like to remind me of Kabaeva’s failed career“, the world chess champion joked in a conversation with a journalist from MK in St. Petersburg. — I remember with pleasure practicing this wonderful sport and, when I have time, I watch rhythmic gymnastics competitions. I really like the Averina sisters, and even earlier I admired Evgenia Kanaeva. Moreover, they all studied at the same university as me.”

Chess Department at the University. There is no Lesgaft, but Bodnaruk did not want to leave her hometown for Moscow, where there is such a specialization. I entered the checkers department as the sport closest to chess.

“There weren’t that many courses dedicated directly to checkers,” Bodnaruk shared her memories of her studies. — Of course, I haven’t learned to play checkers at a master level, although I can solve some problems.”

Despite winning the World Rapid Championship, the St. Petersburg chess player is not going to specialize in tournaments with shortened time controls. And there are not so many of them held in the world. Bodnaruk has not yet managed to get into the tournament of contenders for the title of world champion in classical chess, but the title of world champion in rapid chess is worthy of the “Silver Hind.” Muscovite Valentina Gunina, who won the blitz tournament in Samarkand, was also awarded this award.

THE CHAMPION WHO CHANGED ROCK AND ROLL

At 20 years old Lilia Khuzina became the world champion in taekwondo in the weight category up to 62 kg. Korean martial arts, which includes not only sports fights, but also a philosophy and a code of rules that must be followed, entered the Olympic program in 1988. The games were then held in Seoul, and the IOC decided to please the organizers.

At the last Olympics in Tokyo, the Russian team was represented in taekwondo by four athletes – and all of them returned home with medals, including two gold ones. Mikhail Artamonov, representing our city, won bronze. In training, he is now actively sparring with Khuzina.

Taekwondo is one of the few disciplines in which Russians are allowed to participate in international competitions. True, our masters learned that it would be possible to take part in the World Championships in Baku literally a week before the start. As well as about the many restrictions on the part of the international federation.

In the stands it was not even possible to support your teammates by chanting “Russia! Russia!”. I had to shout: “Come on! Let’s!” Not only the Russian tricolor and uniforms in its colors were banned, but for some reason even pink manicure for participants from our team. This did not prevent the debutant from becoming the second world champion in the history of Russian taekwondo. In six fights, Khuzina won six confident victories.

Growing up in a sports family, the girl dreamed of a sports career from early childhood. Only her parents first sent her to the acrobatic rock and roll section. It was a cool activity, but Lilia didn’t like it. She wanted to go into boxing, but her mother, who works as a physical education teacher, dissuaded her. She said that they could break a nose in the ring, and the school where she works has an excellent taekwondo section. This is how the path to the highest step of the World Championship podium began.

Now Russian taekwondo masters are seeking to obtain Olympic licenses to perform in Paris. The restrictions associated with a neutral status do not frighten them. I even wonder if pink manicure will be allowed in the capital of France, Khuzina?

CHAMPION AHEAD OF TIME

For several years now Evgenia Chikunova considered a rising star of Russian swimming. But she’s not even 20 yet! Zhenya’s parents wanted her to develop harmoniously. We tried many sections and clubs and settled on swimming. Success came quickly. In 2019, a 16-year-old breaststroke swimmer from St. Petersburg at a distance of 200 meters at the Russian Championship was ahead of her titled rivals – Olympic medalist Yulia Efimova and Maria Temnikova, who changed her British citizenship to Russian for a greater chance of getting into the national team for international competitions.

Chikunova won the right to represent Russia at the World Championships, but her coach Vitta Novozhilova did not subject the young athlete to such a test associated with serious psychological pressure. The breaststroker from St. Petersburg went to the youth championship, where she showed herself well. At the Russian pre-Olympic championship, Evgenia won tickets to Tokyo at distances of 100 and 200 meters, but performed unsuccessfully in Japan. She took the most offensive fourth place for an athlete, stopping one step away from the podium.

In 2023, a real breakthrough occurred in Chikunova’s career. At the Russian Championships in Kazan, she finished with a new world record in the 200 meters, surpassing the achievement of Tatyana Schoonmaker from South Africa. There were fears that World Aquatics would not approve this record, as well as Kliment Kolesnikov’s achievement in the 50-meter backstroke, due to the fact that Russian swimmers were suspended from international competitions. Records set at national competitions are recorded only according to the rules, subject to all requirements for pool equipment and doping control. There were no problems with this in Kazan. The records of Chikunova and Kolesnikov were approved.

The main international start for Evgenia last year was the BRICS Games. According to established tradition, they are accepted by the country that presides over this international association. Moreover, the organizers can draw up a program and set age requirements for participants. Those who were under 20 years old competed in South Africa, and Chikunova was the most titled athlete in the Russian team.

The St. Petersburg breaststroker finished the season on a high note, having received the “Silver Shark” prize at the traditional Vladimir Salnikov Cup held in our city. At this tournament, four-time Olympic champion Salnikov, who now heads the All-Russian Swimming Federation, told reporters that under the conditions proposed by the IOC and World Aquatics, Russian swimmers would not participate in the 2024 Olympics. Even applications for participation in the qualifying competitions in a neutral status were not submitted. Although Chikunova said in an interview that she dreams of competing at the Olympics, a worthy replacement for her and other Russian swimmers will be the summer BRICS Games in Kazan and the World Friendship Games, which will be held in September. The swimmers’ tournament will be hosted by Yekaterinburg.