Evgeny Korotyshkin – exclusive interview
We present to your attention the most interesting material: an interview with the silver medalist of the Olympic Games, the multiple champion of Russia, Europe and the world in swimming Yevgeny Korotyshkin.
Our sport – rowing and canoeing – is a technically complex, cyclical sport. There are many smallest details that are important both for an athlete and for a coach, which simply need to be constantly taken into account, without forgetting about anything! Swimming is also a complex sport, with its own subtleties. Meanwhile, both swimmers and rowers have the same task: to improve and win.
Kanoesport managed to interview Yevgeny Korotyshkin, a famous swimmer who, during his sporting career, managed to assemble an impressive collection of various medals and titles. In April 2013, Eugene turned 30 years old, and during that time he became the champion of Russia 22 times, 6 times the world record holder, 8 times the European record holder. Eugene is the current world record holder at a distance of 100 m (butterfly), as well as in the combined relay – 4 by 50 m and 4 by 100 m.
The Olympic silver medalist in London kindly agreed to share his views on modern training in Russia and abroad, and also revealed several secrets of sports performance.
Interview with Yevgeny Korotyshkin
According to your professional athlete, is it critical to do large volumes in training and to work a lot? Is this fair for swimming? Or maybe in swimming there are special ways to achieve success?
We must begin to teach the body to work from an early age. It is necessary to train the heart muscle to achieve high results not only in swimming, but also in all cyclic sports. Only hard work leads us to the podium.
There is also an advantage for those people who by nature, at the subconscious level, are able to handle water. One needs to study for a long time, while others receive it as a genetic gift. The feeling of water is when you create the least resistance in the water with your body, putting brushes, shoulders and elbows so that during the stroke you catch as much water as possible, and it remains under the blades for the entire length of the stroke.
In your opinion, in order to achieve high sports results in swimming, you need to start from the very childhood or is it not necessary?
From my own experience, I can say that it is necessary to start playing sports from an early age. Not so important how. The main thing that the child began to develop physically. At the age of 14, you can drastically change the sport and achieve any peaks, as Elizabeth Trickett did: switched from athletics to swimming and won the gold at the Beijing Olympics.
Do you know any of the athletes in the rowing and canoeing team and are you aware of news related to our sport?
Unfortunately, I am not familiar with any athlete who represents this sport. But I remember that at the London Olympics, Yuri Postrigai and Alexander Dyachenko brought a gold contribution to the Russian national team, and Ivan Shtyl tried his best – won a bronze award.
Coaching in Russia and abroad
In August, a message appeared on the ITAR-TASS website that you do not see yourself as a coach in the future. According to you, methods of coaching in domestic navigation need to be adjusted. Tell me, in your opinion, what are the advantages of coaches in America or Switzerland? What could Russian colleagues learn from them?
I see that the problems are not in the method of Russian coaches, but in the approach to work and mentality: both coaches and athletes.
Americans – the legislators of world navigation. Look at them … They are happy people when they train. They come to a training session to have a good time and kick ass to each other on any tasks. After each hard task, they clap each other and give “five” for excellent work. Neighbor support is extremely important when you work at your limits.
In Switzerland, in fact, there are no top-level athletes. Locals are not very motivated by a serious approach to swimming. But our famous trainer Gennady Turetsy works there, who is now coaching Andrei Grechin. Favorable atmosphere and the right approach to training and to life provide good results.
Russian coaches can only wish patience. An American coach is simply forbidden to fall for athletes, otherwise they may be sued. Therefore, they use a more rational approach, motivating and encouraging athletes in other ways. For example, motivating them to work.
What model of trainer’s behavior do you consider the most effective? What words motivate, psychologically “disperse” professional athletes? “You are the best”? I heard that in America this phrase is very popular among trainers, they literally every day repeat it to an athlete …
