About the “serpentine” team of gymnasts and men in swimsuits on the carpet: we talked with Alina Gornosko
25.05.2023

Alina Gornosko is a multiple winner of the World and European Championships in individual all-around and team competitions, a bronze medalist in the individual all-around of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. And at the recent Open Championship of Belarus, Alina brilliantly confirmed the status of the country's strongest "artist" - she became the absolute champion. And all this at the age of 21. Is it true that the Graces have a “serpentine” team, what athletes have to deny themselves for the sake of sports and what to do with men in rhythmic gymnastics Alina told in Smartether.

All gymnasts are a bit of an actress
Alina is sociable, witty and terribly charming. And also artistic. And it's very on topic. After all, connoisseurs and critics of rhythmic gymnastics have long been breaking spears in disputes: what is more in this form - sports, art, shows?
“First and foremost, I am an athlete. I am in the sport of the highest achievements, and this is a struggle for medals and pedestals. The fight is hot! With gaps of a couple of tenths, hundredths of a point, when the intrigue keeps the spectators, judges, and the athletes themselves in suspense. On the other hand, it is the most graceful look that borders on art and sports. So, gymnasts are also a little actresses.

In sports - from the age of three
Perhaps there is no other sport where kids are recruited at such an early age. Even earlier than figure skating. Alina got into gymnastics at the age of three! True, today the "draft" standards have changed a little.
- I was a restless child , and my parents decided to "make happy" the sport with me. Friends advised mom and dad to give their daughter in karate. But very small ones were not accepted there. Therefore, the choice fell on rhythmic gymnastics. So I stuck with it. But now children come to gymnastics at 4-5 years old. Three is too early.

The eye of an experienced coach is, of course, trained. However, is it realistic to see inclinations and prospects in a three-year-old child?
“Yes, it is very difficult,” the champion agrees. - If only to feel. And so, first of all, mentors evaluate the baby's stacks, flexibility. They ask trite questions to understand the level of development. They look at their parents - it is important in which family the child grows up and learns life. And by the age of 10, it is already possible to determine how gifted the girl is , whether she is hardworking or lazy, how she progresses in working with the body and objects.

Chubby cheeks - not scary
Not all children come to the gym with "reeds" with perfectly slender legs. Gornosko does not see anything wrong if the child has a tummy, chubby cheeks. Now it's hard to believe, but, according to the recollections of the athlete, in childhood she was still that "cheeky". Recently, Alina heard a funny story from the head coach of the Belarusian national team Irina Leparskaya :
- I learned from Irina Yuryevna that when, at the age of 10, Olympic champion Marina Lobach saw me and invited me to study at her place, Gornosko's prospects were rated by many as so-so. They said that I have a thick ankle, big cheeks. And that no one bet on me . This is to keep in mind the inevitable age-related changes. Especially under the influence of the training process. Look at me: I have grown into some kind of giant! I’m really, by gymnastic standards, very tall - 174 cm. We don’t have others like that!


The price of great sport is the absence of childhood and time
The beauty and popularity of sports graces are envied. But the price of success is the absence of a full-fledged childhood. And the prima of Belarusian gymnastics does not consider this a stereotype.

My life is proof of that. Kindergarten, school, university - all in parallel with sports. And the pressure only increased. I had to constantly educate character, learn something new. As a girl, I didn’t run around garages, I didn’t play in playgrounds. I didn't know what free time was. And I still don't know. But I know what it's all about. Therefore, I do not regret.


Alina Gornosko 3.jpgAlina at the Tokyo Games with coaches Irina Leparskaya and Marina Lobach
- It happens that we work without a limit, "until victory." The schedule varies depending on volumes and tasks. But not everything is so terrible: on Thursdays and Saturdays, the training program is shortened. And Sunday is a day off. If there is no competition. That's when you can sleep off! Once I set a record: I slept until four in the afternoon. I love this business. I am not an owl: before midnight I am already in a horizontal position and indulge in Morpheus. In general, I like passive recreation. Athletes will understand me. Although on Sunday I like to do housework, meet with family and friends, finally take a walk and get some fresh air. And the whole day not to talk about gymnastics ...

And in the pocket - three sweets ...
There are terrible legends about the diet of the Graces. Solid restrictions, diets ... Eaten caramel - "zalet", a piece of cake or pizza - a crime. Alina laughs, puts her hand in her pocket and takes out... candy!
“I have three of them with me!” My favorites are cream bars from Kommunarka. There is such a thing as self-discipline. In a certain situation, you really need to put a lock on your mouth and be patient . But for me, these problems remained in a transitional age. With such loads, the weight goes away easily - during one workout up to a kilogram. In fact, I can afford everything in the current conditions. Without fanaticism, of course.


Don't separate objects, listen to music
Clubs, ball, hoop, ribbon - four items for competitive exercises, each with its own specifics. Alina says that she does not have the most difficult or favorite discipline.
- I do not single out any type. All are interesting and insidious in their own way. As we say: the ball is round, the hoop is large, there are two maces, and the ribbon is long. Moreover, the tape is also very capricious: the stick comes off the ribbon, the ribbon rolls into a ball. All items must be managed at the limit of concentration.

In rhythmic gymnastics it is very important to "get" into the music. According to Alina, both the coach and the choreographer are working on the selection of musical accompaniment for performances. At the same time, the athlete herself has the same right to vote.
- Of course, I can "push" the composition. I know and feel this moment: when I listened to the melody several times, presented the number - and saw myself in it with this music. In such cases, I always insist that we try to do something for this accompaniment. Every year we make four new exercises , we try to radically change the images. Listen to every beat in order to focus on the viewer at the right time. Then comes the tailoring of the swimsuit together with the seamstress-designer, the choice of the color of the item - and that's it, I went to the carpet. The process is laborious, but very interesting!

"Snake" team of gymnasts? It's a joke!
"Graces", "reeds"... So fans and journalists call "artists". Are gymnasts also white and fluffy in real life? Alina Gornosko does not hide the fact that relations within the girl's team are built in conditions of intense competition. But that doesn't stop them from making friends.
- There is an opinion that our team is so ... Snake! This is, of course, a joke. We compete with each other, but we communicate wonderfully. It's true. We are always together, we are friends, we walk. I have no close friends outside of sports at all, only among gymnasts. And competition is only on the carpet. Outside the site - solid hugs, one for all experiences and secrets. And we recently came up with the idea of ​​cuddling with coaches before going on the mat. It's so cool, so relaxing!

A man in leggings and a ribbon - why?
Women play hockey and football, box in the ring, push the barbell. But men also encroached on the primordially female sports shrines - such as synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics. A guy with a ribbon, a mace, a hoop, artistically performing gymnastic elements on the carpet - is it beautiful or funny? Alina Gornosko's attitude to the radical erasure of gender boundaries in sports is rather negative.

“It is difficult for us to perceive such phenomena. But it looks like you have to learn. The world is coming to this. Unfortunately. Look, in the same ballet we see a dancer. Everything is worked out, plastically, gracefully. This is art. But to imagine a man on a carpet in a bathing suit or leggings and with a ribbon... I do not accept this. Although, by today's standards, I can be pecked for these words. But, as Irina Yurievna Leparskaya said, only women's bodybuilding can be worse than men's rhythmic gymnastics. And I completely agree with her. There are a lot of sports in which you can really take place like a man. However, everything goes to the fact that even purely female species will be represented not only by girls.

Lara Manfredi con chi si allena?