Tamara Yerofieyeva, first-year stu dent in the Sports Department of the National Physical Culture University of Ukraine, is in for busy days. The bronze medal winner in the exercise with the rope in the world championship in modern rhythmic gymnastics is preparing for the first serious exam period in her life, the Sydney Olympics. Where does this frail and almost airy creature derive the strength for this truly titanic labor? The Day ’s correspondent caught Tamara training in the gymnasium of the famous Deriuhinas’ School.
“Do you have to do the full amount of work on weekends, too?”
“Of course I do. I do choreography from eight a.m., then, if everything goes smoothly, I train until about six p.m. with short intervals.”
“And if not smoothly?”
“The intervals are shorter.”
“As I see it you are putting the final touches on your new Olympic program?”
“Yes, this is a very hard period, both in physical and mental terms. You call to question every movement and every figure: will the audiences and judges accept it like this? And there is almost no time left to perfect it: soon I will show this program at the pre- Olympic week competitions in Australia and then, in March, at the Deriuhinas’ Cup. Of course, compared to previous compositions, the new one is going to be more emotional and complex. Ms. Deriuhina and I have included more original throws in the ball exercise and laid emphasis on the expressiveness and smoothness of lines in the hoop and the ribbon. We’ve left unchanged only the performance with the rope, which brought me the silver at the world championship in Japan.”
“It is known that Ukraine will be represented at the 2000 Olympics by two gymnasts. It is no secret there are three contenders for tickets to Sydney, all of them belonging to the Deriuhinas’ School: you, Olena Vitrychenko, and Hanna Bessonova. Is this rivalry already leaving a negative imprint on your personal relationships?”
“Ms. Deriuhina tells us all the time we should defend our right to go only during the training, when you compete and work hard, without transferring this rivalry to everyday life.”
“Your are spoken of as a very emotional gymnast. Does this keep you from concentrating on your performance?”
“True, I used to burst out crying over every small thing. What especially hurts me is failure to do something during the training. I try to overcome this but, alas, I don’t always manage to do so.”
“In that case, the biased attitude of judges also brings additional pain?”
“Your guess is wrong here. If I paid attention, I would probably not be able to come out onto the mat again. It is coaches who speak and argue with referees.”
“Today, it is, unfortunately, Russia, not Ukraine, that sets pace in world rhythmic gymnastics. Alina Kabayeva and Yuliya Barsukova are now among the favorites. Are you prepared to challenge them?”
“Why not? Everything is very short- lived in our sport: today you’re on top, but tomorrow... The 2000 Olympics Games, if I manage to get in, are most likely to be the only Olympics in my sports life. In the past, I took up gymnastics, inspired by the achievements of Oleksandra Tymoshenko, the famous Ukrainian champion. And I, like she, came here to win.”
“Your mother is always at your side. Even today, on Saturday, she is helping you with your homework. She must be also watching her daughter’s diet, in particular, keeping her off her favorite whipped cream?”
“Every serious gymnast decides for herself what she should and should not eat. We’ve got girls who are always eating something but still stay slim. On the contrary, some others almost reduce themselves to madness by various regimens, but still they fail to slim down.”
“Your pets must be the only ones who never go to sleep on empty stomach.”
“Yes, I’ve got a cat and a dog who get along great. Olena Vitrychenko presented me a kitten three years ago. He was then the size of my palm, and now has grown up and become a real gastronome. He adores what I try to limit — peanuts and whipped cream. My little dog will also never refuse a piece of meat. She has made friends with the poodles of my coaches, the Deriuhinas. For the three of them are used to staying home with my mother while I am away competing.”
“But still, you have to relax a little.”
“I like movies, and I don’t have to go very far: there’s a movie theater just next to our school wall. I watch films and listen to music in the hope of finding something interesting.”
