All in Attitude!
The gold of the rhythmic gymnastics ensemble won in Tokyo, was the most coveted sports honor for the Bulgarians during the unprecedented 5-year Olympic cycle. That was the public mood, that of the girls, their coaches and the federation after Vesela Dimitrova's girls took over from the bronze medalists at Rio 2016. The task was perfectly done. The girls broke Russia's dominance. The historic first gold for our rhythmic gymnastics is actually a product of dedicated collective work and a perfect pairing with people outside the spotlight.
What is the role of the choreographer, the ballet teacher, the sports psychologist, the masseur, the diet - about all this, as well as about the price of the Olympic dream come true, see the interview of Simona Dyankova, Madlen Radukanova, Laura Traats, Stefani Kiryakova and Erika Zafirov. They do it in episode 12 of NSK Olimp Education Studio "We will meet at the top". They answer maturely, without jamming. They do it in complete sync. Like a perfect ensemble. They will perform for the last time on December 16th in the "Arena Armeetz" hall, to finish the fairy tale they started writing 5 years ago, with performance of the "Dream" spectacle.
"After the success in Tokyo, we believe that the rhythmic gymnastics halls will fill up. One of the most valuable things about the success in Tokyo is to give faith and hope to the youngest of children. Our victory motivates not only the children, but also established competitive athletes in all sports, because it showed that it is possible. The gold medal is not reserved, it is for the best.”
"In those few seconds of triumph, you're out of your body for a bit. It feels more real imagining it than it actually is. It's something you've imagined a thousand times, but when it happens to you it's so different …”.
"Our coach Vesela Dimitrova made our routines so that they would affect the whole world, so that people would love us. Every single combination of hers is a masterpiece. We were so prepared for the Olympics that we were not worried or stressed at all. Vesela Dimitrova often jokes that we should be prepared like astronauts for any situation. Let's be cool and calm like snipers.
Her assistant Mihaela Maevska (who won a medal at the second Olympic Games – in Rio 2016 as a competitive gymnast she took bronze with the ensemble) is the other opposite. It inspires confidence, calm, balancing. And being cool can be your greatest asset. They are perfectly complementing each other with Vesela Dimitrova, who is more emotional. They made a great team. We are extremely grateful.”
"Elitza Pavlikenova - our dance choreographer, helped us on the steps, to clear the details. She chased us with a tablet to show them to us. We are also grateful to the ballet teacher Elitza Lukanova. She cut off her waist-length hair. She had vowed to do so if we became champions. Ballet training is a very important part of our training, it is the basis of our routines. In reality, rhythmic gymnastics is already just gymnastics with apparatuses, but you can make an immediate difference in staging and other elements when it comes to ballet. It's a cultural game."
"Mental preparation is extremely important. Before competitions we did sessions. First there is a moment of awakening of the brain - we do different exercises using different techniques. Then we imagine the combinations, and it is very important to know that we are in control of everything. That things don't just happen to us, but that the brain controls the body. When this is realized and applied, things work out.
You have to have that readiness and determination, that without any doubt in yourself you go there and do the elements you have trained without thinking. The first thought that came to you is the right one. Do not be swayed by doubts. It just provokes an error. And a big mistake it is. So the mental preparation to create that mindset is very important.
Our psychologist (with Prof. Tatyana Yancheva) has told us many times, when a certain element does not work out right, to think it over in our head many times and then do it. Because when you have the right combination sitting in your mind, it will be much easier to do. And when you think you're wrong, you go out and make a mistake. As we have had physical training, so we have had training for the psyche - the so-called autogenic training. These are the ones where we replay the combinations of certain elements.”
"We have never limited ourselves to any food. We do not use the services of a sports nutritionist. It's just that each of us was conscientious enough to look good on the carpet. Naturally, we have always eaten quality food, because it is the basis for an athlete to have good and quality energy. It's important to say that not everything works for everyone. Each of us should know our body well and what food affects it."
"Artistic gymnastics has changed a lot (since the era of Neshka Robeva - The great specialist is a guest in episode 2 of "We will meet at the top"). It is much more intense now. Our sport is more power oriented. Whereas before the bodies of female competitors were really very slender, now our muscles have to be very strong. To be physically excellently prepared, at the very least to be able to hold your own in training.
For this purpose, every year in the preparatory period we have a high-altitude camp at Belmeken, where our conditioning coach Tsvetelina Kirilova (a multiple champion in athletics) leads us in training. They are absolutely different from those in our sport. Rather, they are close to athletics. We climb peaks, we run at a stadium. She knows how to condition us, how to prepare us, so that when we get down from Belmeken, we can continue training in rhythmic gymnastics, without having a problem with endurance when performing the routines. It may sound very insignificant to people that they only last two minutes, but at first we had a lot of difficulty until we could make it to the end of the sessions."
"When you have an end goal, it is much easier to go through difficulties. As strange as it is, each of us can tell stories of setbacks and failures. But what pushed us forward was that we had an end goal. It always makes things easier. It's very difficult to get through a difficult time if you don't know why you're doing it. The ultimate goal is not necessarily the Olympics or something big, but the next competition. The important thing is to have the attitude of having an end goal. Let's go step by step.''
"You should never give up. You even have to be a little crazy, patient and very dedicated. Failures are lessons, they taught us a lot, they are the main reason for our successes. We must go through them without losing our desire and enthusiasm. You have to have the attitude that when you reach a certain peak, it's nice there, but you're only there for a short time. As our coach says, 'It will not be like that forever.' When you're going through a tough time, again, it will not be like that forever."
- persistence
- courage
- combativeness
- diligence
- stubbornness
ABOUT THE WE WILL MEET AT THE TOP SHOW
The educational program "We will meet at the top" is being broadcasted twice a month (one week apart) on Wednesday evenings at 20:00, live on our Facebook and YouTube channels.
All shows from the series ‘We will meet at the top’ (see here)
