On July 5 the Olympic torch relay will pass through Kyiv for the first time since Ukraine’s independence. This has been made possible thanks to the sponsors of the 2004 Olympics in Athens. For example, the Coca Cola Company has initiated a nationwide selection of the Olympic relay participants. The main selection criterion is that the honorable right to bear the Olympic torch will be granted to those whose life spirit and deeds set an example for all Ukrainian. The Day has in turn decided not to remain on the sidelines and with this feature begins a series of interviews with Ukrainian Olympic contenders of different years, with those who built the citadel of Ukrainian sports one brick at a time. Below is an interview with trampolinist Oksana TSYHULIOVA, a native of Mykolayiv, who struck silver at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, thus enriching Ukraine’s sports treasury. Some say that Oksana could have won gold just like her teammates Klochkova and Milchev, but... Well, let us proceed one step at a time.
“Oksana, what brought you into this sport?”
“At the age of five I was a very agile child, and my parents decided to enroll me in a sports class. They brought me to some sort of fitness group with mostly gymnastics, trampoline, and acrobatics. Soon I showed talent, and the coaches began to purposefully train me in trampoline tumbling.”
“Would you tell us about this kind of sport? How difficult and traumatic is it?”
“There are no height or weight restrictions. Normally, children of six or seven are enrolled in the trampoline class, although there have been cases when sixth or seventh graders enrolled and could be taught everything. They have achieved great successes. On the whole, it is a complex kind of sport that puts a heavy strain on the vestibular apparatus. And, of course, the trampoline is a dangerous apparatus. There is a risk of going too far and crashing to the ground. Thank God nothing of the kind happened to me. This will not happen if you exercise correctly. The coach should also watch out lest it should happen. When you feel that you could go too far you look out for yourself. This comes from within. Those who cannot listen to themselves and coaches take bad falls and break legs and arms. In general, the history of trampoline tumbling knows of two fatal cases and several cases of disabling injuries.”
“In Sydney the first two places in the trampoline competition were occupied by natives of the former USSR. When did this sport originate in the world and in our country?”
“This is a quite young sport. It originated sometime between the 1960s and 1970s. The trampoline was initially used as a simulator for cosmonauts. Of course, acrobats and gymnasts worked out on it, but as a sport it formed only in the early 1970s.”
“How do you evaluate the Ukrainian trampolinists’ readiness for the Olympic in Athens?”
“Despite the birth of my child, I closely follow sports news and the work of the National Olympic Committee and believe that our athletes, both men and women, have very good chances of winning Olympic medals. There is a certain performance rating, and the jury will use it to evaluate the trampolinists’ performance. Meanwhile, Ukrainians’ ratings are very high. I wouldn’t like to single out anyone yet. I’m certain that all those who have received Olympic licenses can vie for gold. Yet, in Athens competition will be even tougher than it was in Sydney. For example, at the recent world championship the Chinese team surprised everyone with good results. Meanwhile, when I left the sport (2002 — Author) there was no sign of them even on the horizon.”
“Speaking of Sydney, did you have any chances of winning gold? I heard many expert opinions that your performance was better than that of Russia’s Iryna Karavayeva.”
“Let me put it this way. The trampoline is a subjective sport. Everyone has his own personal opinion. As long as juries evaluate the performance, the athletes will be dissatisfied. Yet every trampolinist has his or her own technique, some more feminine others more robust. Whom the jury will prefer is hard to guess. Incidentally, contemporary performances are not too complex, as technique is more important. In terms of technique my performance was irreproachable. I have repeatedly watched the recording and reached such an opinion. Yet Karavayeva was more popular then, as she won more competitions before the Olympics.”
“Were you nervous before your entry?”
“Yes, very much. First, because trampoline was first contested as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in Sydney. It was a historic moment, if you will. I was worried not only for myself and my coaches, but also for all those who rooted for me and whom I was afraid to disappoint. There were many distractions in Sydney: a huge arena with thousands of spectators. And when I was doing my program, someone kept shouting from the grandstands. I had to shut out completely and jump as if it were practice routine, which is difficult to do. Incidentally, we warmed up on trampolines with one kind of nets and performed on completely different nets and trampolines. But all trampolines, even those made by the same company, are different. Some are hard, others too elastic, and others still not springy enough.”
“Do you follow sports life and keep in touch with other athletes?”
“Of course, I follow sports events, especially the sports and artistic gymnastics, which are familiar to me. I keep in touch with Klychko brothers whenever possible, when they come to Kyiv. Unfortunately, this happens rarely.”
“Would you venture to forecast the number of gold medals Ukrainians will win in Athens?”
“Aside from Klochkova, I think we have good chances in artistic and sports gymnastics, and definitely in trampoline. Unfortunately, these Olympics do not include synchronous trampoline tumbling as before. If there were still competitions in this kind of sport, I would perhaps still compete.”
“Had synchronous jumps been included in the Olympics program in Sydney, Ukraine would have won one more gold medal.”
“Absolutely. Since 1993 I and Olena Movchan from my native Mykolayiv had been the best couple in the world. To be fair, we had no match. We set many various records in performance, complexity, and total score. But this time we failed to have the synchronous jump included in the program. Understandably, I cannot jump until I’m forty or fifty.”
“Would you tell us about your hobbies outside sports?”
“Our child is my and my husband’s main hobby. Bohdan is now half a year old. With his birth everything else was relegated to the background. Meanwhile, I met my husband two yeas ago in the USA.”
“How do you feel about the problems of doping, which have recently stirred a controversy in international sport?”
“Personally, I’m for sports without doping. My sport is special in this respect. You must train your vestibular apparatus all the time. If you take something, you never know how your body will behave. Instead of improving performance with doping, you could fall and crash.”
“Can you as a professional athlete say that many caught with illicit substances in their system in fact do not know how they got there?”
“Once before a competition they wanted me to take a shot of what I was told were vitamins taken by sport gymnasts. Perhaps this was in fact so, but I refused the injection, lest it should affect my body. Moreover, I have never doubted my abilities without any injections. Yet throughout my career I took vitamins, for example, C and E, which my body needed. In general, every doctor and coach knows very well which medicines are allowed. They also know that even Citramon tablets contain caffeine, and that one cannot drink coffee. Yet, to be frank, doping is in fact widespread now. Perhaps this is due to the financial aspect of sports. The stakes are especially high in the commercial kinds of sports.”
