FROM BALLET TO WRESTLING MAT
Strange as it may seem, the world freestyle wrestling champion once contemplated the career of a ballerina. She went to a ballet studio and even tried to enroll in a ballet college. But only the lean and slender were selected, and Katia, with her more robust composition, had to give up her dream of becoming a professional dancer.
She embarked on a course toward big-time sports back in kindergarten where she took up gymnastics. Over time she grew out of it and had to look for something new. She received an offer to try freestyle wrestling and agreed.
“At first my mother opposed wrestling. Time and again she tried to talk me out of it. We even had bitter arguments over it. But when she realized that I was really hooked she said, ‘If this is the case, I want you to be the best.’”
“So what does it feel like for a woman to practice this traditionally men’s sport?”
“What makes you think it’s a men’s sport? After all, we do not compete with men. Of course, they are stronger both physically and technically. And, to tell the truth, a woman is not taken seriously in wrestling. I know it from my own experience. At first, I and my sparring partner Svitlana Sayenko met condescending treatment from the guys at our sports club. ‘So, you want to fight? Go play at wrestling,’ they would say. I think that over the years we’ve been practicing together their attitude has changed for the better. We try to convince the guys that wrestling means a lot to us.”
In the twenty years the sports club has been working, not a single woman before Katia and Svitlana laid claims to eminence in freestyle wrestling. They are the first. Coach Yury Holub believes that they have gotten that far owing to their strong willpower, competitive qualities, and perseverance. “I told them point blank that there was a tough road ahead of them. But Katia, for one thing, joined the club as an accomplished athlete. She earned the respect of the men, which is far from easy. It’s too bad there are no other female athletes who could spar with the girls. They know each other too well. On the other hand, it’s to their advantage that they often have to wrestle men, as it helps them master a style of wrestling unfamiliar to women. This has also helped Katia achieve considerable results over a short period of time.”
SUCCESS ON TWO-THIRDS OF THE MAT
The athletes have themselves equipped the gym of the Sumy Pedagogical University where the world champion is practicing. Unfortunately, it is far from adequate. To practice freestyle wrestling, at least two standard-sized mats are required. While the Sumy wrestlers have to make do with only one mat, which is also short by a third. “Svitlana was injured twice here. Our city must be the only one in Ukraine where there is not a single gym properly equipped for freestyle wrestling,” said Yury Holub. For some years now we have been trying without much success to lease a gym from the children’s and youth sports school. Now we hope that Katia’s success will start the ball rolling.”
The club members frown on the practice of boosting athletes’ performance with drugs. As the coach put it, “The national team often resorts to doping athletes, but we consider this unacceptable since high results can be achieved without performance-enhancing drugs. And Katia has proven it.”
“I KNIT BETWEEN PRACTICE SESSIONS...”
Katia is sure she had a stroke of luck in meeting her husband. Although he is not an athlete, he shows understanding for his wife’s restless way of life. Ihor is a software developer. They first met at the gym. Ihor used to work out there when Katia was still practicing gymnastics.
“Do you like to cook something tasty for your husband?”
“Usually it happens the other way around. I travel a lot and he often has to fend for himself.”
However, when she is in the right mood Katia does not mind showing off her culinary skills. She is particularly good at making pancakes. Just like most women she has a sweet tooth, but has to follow a strict diet and sometimes lose weight before competitions. One sad experience taught her a lesson. Before the European championship last spring she failed to lose extra weight on time and had almost nothing to eat for three days before the championship. As a result, she was too weak to put up a good fight. Her daily routine is also well planned. Morning exercises and a jog before breakfast are a must, followed by a couple of hours of practice twice a day. In between practice sessions Katia takes up her needlework.
“THIS IS NOT MY VICTORY ONLY”
“Girls from Europe attach less importance to competitions than we do. No matter whether she has won or lost, she’ll keep on smiling. For me, losing was often not much short of the end of the world.”
Katia has recalled how she lost in the Greece championship to a girl from Venezuela. She underestimated her rival, concentrating her attention on the Russian athlete who was in the same group and who she considered her main competition. “The coach gave me a good talking-to. He then told me to dispose myself for the victory. I summoned all my willpower to win.”
The final match with French athlete Legrande was a moment of truth for Katia. At the end of the bout they tied 2:2 and had to continue into overtime. After the referee had positioned the wrestlers, the French athlete had an advantage over Katia. But, sparing no effort, she must have gained favor with the Olympian Gods. And when she realized that she had won she burst out crying right on the mat.
“This is not my victory only. I owe my success to our coaches Yury Holub and Serhiy Lazarenko, and the entire wrestling club.”
The two gold medals and a silver laurel wreath brought from Greece are priceless for Katia Burmystrova. They are both a symbol of a sporting triumph and, arguably, the best birthday present she has ever received (Katia turned 23 on November 20). Yet another present came from the Sumy authorities, who presented her with a two-room apartment in recognition of her achievements.
Today Kateryna Burmystrova keeps practicing with a view to an Olympic gold medal. Simultaneously, she is pursuing a higher education. As she put it, in education, just like in sports, winning is a matter of steady and gradual progress. This is a sure road to real success. It is hard to disagree with that.
