Maria Lasitskene's husband: “During the victorious final, he showed his tongue to his wife”

Journalist Vladas Lasickas talks about meeting his future wife, "golden" attempts and coach singing Chris de Burgh.

The cunning of Lithuanian surnames played a cruel joke. The masculine "-as" and girlish "-kaite" endings, which become "-kene" after marriage, were no secret. As well as Masha's former surname - Kuchina. But something familiar in the name Lasickene was heard only after her London gold. Google was shocked. The husband of the champion (the wedding took place in March) turned out to be an old friend and colleague, a “teammate” in two Olympics - London and Sochi, journalist and commentator Vladas Lasickas. The next success of his beautiful wife was the reason for this. to finally call and talk.

- How many days before the start did you and Masha arrive in London?

Does she have a large personal delegation?

– Coach Gennady Gabrilyan and me. Everything. Manager Olga Nazarova has been here since the very beginning, she has other athletes.

- How were these two prelaunch days? Is everything on a strict schedule? Or did you show your wife London, where you have been many times as a Wimbledon commentator and sports journalist in general?

On the 8th we slept all day. We only got up to go to dinner. It rained heavily on the 9th, but we still made it to Piccadilly Secus with an important mission: to buy a sweater with 101 Dalmatians. And they didn't find it. As a result, we ordered on the Internet, on Saturday they brought us to the hotel. On the 10th - qualification, there is no time for outings: they listened to music, rested before the start. And on the 11th, on the eve of the final, a full-fledged tour of an hour and a half was a success: from Big Ben through the London Eye and Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. We took with us a hedgehog - the mascot of the championship and took pictures with him at all the sights.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXqqpsAl1wk/?taken-by=lasitskene.maria

- Where did you watch the qualification and the final?

- Qualification - in the press box. with monitors. I wanted to watch the final from there, but it turned out differently. Gennady Garikovich (coach Lasitskene Gabrilyan - Match TV) never watches competitions from the coaching stand located behind the jump pit. He needs to see the jump from the side, look parallel to the bar. Only in this way can he understand and see everything that he wants to understand and see. From there I looked. And I got the only ticket to the coaching sector, which is supposed to be a neutral athlete.

- What about fart?

- I thought about that too. It seems like it turned out well with the qualification, why change something? Then I decided: to hell with him, I’ll go where the mess is. Everyone is suggesting something, shouting, confusing the athletes even more ... Coach Vashti Cunningham, aka dad, baptizes her, whispers something, prays, others gush with nerves in all directions.

- And you were just as calm as a boa constrictor.

- If I were an athlete, I would probably send such coaches in a certain direction right off the bat. And so he smiled, waved his hand to his wife, showed his tongue. I respected Gabriel even more. He believes that during the competition it is not necessary to pull the athlete. All the work has already been done, everything has been said and built. Why bother? She knows what and how. The coach only tells you how high to start. And Masha always looks at him after the jump.

– Did Gabrilyan tell you to postpone two attempts from 1.99 to 2.01?

Yes, with a special gesture. They synchronously thought about it and decided.

- But as a journalist, I think it was interesting for you to watch the coaching "mess".

- Oh yeah. If you want juicy material, you need to sit there and catch every word, every gesture. Nervyak! As soon as I sat down, I saw that the Lithuanians had already brought the flag so that Airina Palshite could run the winning lap. Father Cunningham was delivered an American one. Everything is clear, well done. We didn't have our flag. More precisely, it was, but in the sector. Alive. He jumped there. And won.

- Whom did Masha run up to first after the victory - to the coach or to you?

- I wanted to see the coach, but where he was sitting, it was impossible to break through. I had to be content with my husband (laughs). In fact, this is, of course, a coaching victory. I just make sure I eat on time, sleep, carry a backpack. I am not responsible for the sports - for the other part.

- Masha looked calm both in the sector and after. Worried, rejoiced - but without self-destruction. When there are no cameras, is she like that too?

- Worries - but inside. As if she could not jump just about two meters. In general, it feels like we are pulling the hassle onto ourselves. She beats sometimes - and she listens to music, calmly dispenses with reading social networks with demands to win. Disconnected from everything, judging from the outside. You can’t say at all that it will come out right now and start to “bang”.

- Why did Masha, who missed the starting heights, this time start from the very first - 1.84?

- Funny situation. The day before the start, the initial height was 1.88. Then the organizers changed everything, although for the World Cup 1.84 is very low. There were doubts whether to start with 1.88, but he and the coach decided - let it be so that the rhythm does not knock down. Masha made a trial attempt at 1.80 - and forward.

- Is it true that the status of a clear favorite is pressing?

“I was scared, to be honest. Any series after all is interrupted. When 1.99 did not jump, okay, I think we will be bronze, a medal is a medal. But Masha, if she felt something, did not show it. Although she has the 16th consecutive win of the season, and the 25th since last year. Only Blanka Vlasic won longer - 34 starts in a row. And interrupted the series, losing the Olympics in Beijing. You get a bit nervous. Moreover, the Internet added fuel to the fire.

You are a man of sound and free views. What do you think about the non-admission of Masha to the Olympics in Rio? Overdone the Western world?

- In many ways, Russia itself is to blame. And the excess is that some athletes should have been allowed in Rio on a par with Dasha Klishina. The same Shubenkov, Isinbaev, Masha - then Kuchin ... The main admission criterion - five years of training and testing abroad, was invented a month before Rio, it was physically impossible to fulfill. The request is late. In addition, after Rio, this item was canceled. What has changed? This raises big questions. People were deprived of the Olympics, and when it was over, they reversed. Although over the year the same athletes did not become “dirtier” or “cleaner”. Masha has already passed doping tests 15 times in the season, despite the fact that she is not a thrower or a marathon runner - she is a jumper. In other sanctions, there is a lot of logic. And the positive samples were massive, and we should have apologized earlier. First of all, in front of their athletes.

– Why was 2.08 height chosen for the championship attempt?

A photo: globallookpress.com, RIA Novosti/Anton Denisov

Maria Kuchina: I never felt like a queen!

At the Russian Indoor Championships on February 21, the current world champion, 24-year-old Maria Kuchina, took a height of 2.03 for the first time in her career.

At the Russian Indoor Championships on February 21, the reigning world champion 24-year-old Maria Kuchina climbed for the first time in her career - 2.03, showing the best result of the winter season in the world. Two days before conquering a new peak, Kuchina and her personal trainer Gennady Gabrilyan told the correspondent of "Soviet Sport" that the athlete achieves record heights only in a state of stress. Such a technique.

To the question "what is her uniqueness of Maria Kuchina?" Gennady Gabrilyan is ready to answer at any time of the day. Gabrielyan perfectly knows the character, talents and capabilities of his student, whom he has been training for 17 years, from the moment he came to the secondary school No. 5 in the city of Prokhladny to work as a physical teacher in the first grade, where the future world champion studied. He remembers all her successes, tears, bruises and bumps, and he records jumps, even training ones, on a video camera.

Who does not remember, Prokhladny is in Kabardino-Balkaria, where wrestling is a religion, and Elbrus is higher than Sotomayor's record, and Kuchina is a hundred times more popular than a Cuban jumper.

"KUCHINA IS A PHENOMENON"

Uniqueness - this is modestly said about Maria, it is appropriate to talk about the phenomenon, - said Gennady Garikovich Gabrilyan and gave me an hour-long lecture about his methodology. Let's dwell on the psycho-emotional part of it "How to help an athlete use fear and achieve success."

“The more frightening an athlete is, the more he is able to perform miracles during competitions. The more important the start, the more strong rivals around Maria Kuchina, as well as spectators in the stands and TV cameras are aimed at her, the more miracles can be expected from her in the sector, says Gabrilyan, and every second involuntarily starts up, as if before a record jump. - In training, Maria does not jump above 185 cm, but in stressful situations she perfectly adapts to high heights. In the starting attempts during the competition, it happens that she is not perfect, but she scrapes and climbs to the podium. When no one believes that she can become the first, Maria "raises the height", scatters and wins. After such starts, she wonders how she was able to do it.

UNDER GUARDIANSHIP

Stop a moment. Now Kuchina's lesson in CSKA exercise therapy will end, there will be two days ahead before the competition, during which the coach and student will not see each other. Gabrielyan believes that during this time Maria will be more imbued with fear. Moreover, according to the coach, the interview here and now will also help the athlete tune in to the desired “stress mode”. This is what I didn't believe at all.

Because in the course of my conversation with the world champion, both the coach Gabrilyan and the future husband of Maria Kuchina, the well-known sports journalist Vladas Lasickas, were ready to help their student and lover at any second.

Such a careful attitude, according to Maria, dear people, helps her achieve high results. And there is no contradiction here. The coach and groom seem to know better than anyone how to get the jumper out of the state of extreme stress into which she drives herself on the eve of the competition.

Relaxation will begin two days after the record. Now - the interview - for the emergence of stress.

WHILE THE IAAF IS SILENT

- Maria, in December we submitted an application to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to participate in international competitions as a neutral athlete ...
- I submitted an application in December, updated it on January 5, but no response. I am waiting for it to my personal mail, because it was my individual application. Samav wrote in what competitions this season I want to participate.

- Did you manage to meet with the president of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (VFLA) Dmitry Shlyakhtin after the New Year holidays?
- Yes. We greeted each other before the press conference for the Russian Winter tournament in Moscow.

- Is he aware of your plans now?
-It is hard to say. But the most important thing here is not my plans, but the return of the ARAF to the IAAF. And with this, at least until November trouble. Still, I hope that Russian track and field athletes will take part in the European Championship in March. Unless, of course, we are allowed to go where I really want to speak.

WAITING FOR COURAGE

- Have you always tuned in to international competitions in a special way?
- My mood is always fighting, every official start is a serious event where I want to jump beautifully and show everything that you are capable of. However, it is difficult to jump above two meters without dangerous competitors in the jumping sector. To achieve high results, I need adrenaline, the spirit of competition ...

- The winner of the "Russian Winter" -2017 Danil Lysenko took 2.35 in training, while his official record is 2.33. Why don't you jump above 185 cm in training?
- In training, I hone my technique. My training system, which was developed by Gennady Garikovich, is radically different from other athletes. We are not rushing to great heights in training, because I am firmly convinced that records must be set at competitions, as they say, according to the protocol. Exhausting yourself mentally and physically in training does not see the point.

- So, your coach is right when he says that you achieve high results only through courage?
- Yes. And I catch this courage only at competitions.

“I HAVEN’T COMMUNICATED WITH FOREIGNERS BEFORE”

- You never ask the stands to clap during the jump. But after all, such support can raise your arrogance to the right level. So, maybe here it is - your hidden reserve for new records!
- I will not change the line of conduct during the competition, I always behave the way I feel. I won’t be surprised if I ever ask the stands to support me with claps - I can expect anything from myself during the start. Being in the sector, I can ask the audience for silence, I can ignore the whistle at all, clapping my hands, and jump calmly. I don’t have a fad: “Oh, how do I prepare for the next height?”. I jump at the behest of my soul. I can start myself. And I don’t think that the applause of the stands is a hidden reserve for the growth of my results.

- Are Russian jumpers a weak irritant for you?
- When I start performing, many girls are already finishing competing. Two rivals remain to jump or one, and this, unfortunately, is not enough. I want to feel “tensed”, clearly aware that you need to take the height in the first attempt, otherwise your opponent will outrun you. Unfortunately, this winter season I compete with myself at all competitions, but here in St. Petersburg at Alekseev Memorial we competed quite well with Kristina Koroleva (1.90). She gave a touch of wrestling. Thanks to Christina, I felt competitive excitement. But I want to compete at heights closer to two meters.

- Do your foreign competitors support you during the period of sanctions?
- I didn’t communicate with them before, although I was always open. Probably, the language barrier interfered. I take it easy. I have enough communication in my homeland.

FIREBIRD IN A CAGE

- In today's situation, you feel like a queen in exile, who objectively has the best result of the season in the world, but your greatness is illegitimate?
“I never felt like a queen. This is a completely unnecessary feeling. It can relax you. We must not think about our own greatness, but train. Because any day your result can be improved by competitors. You should not think about your yesterday's result, which you have behind your back, when you need to take new heights today. After all, I perfectly understand that all this will pass quickly - my sports life: victories, personal records. Someday someone will surely surpass you. I am not in sports to receive royal honors. My highest joy: when my training work brings results.

- Well, let not the queen. Then, for sure - a firebird in a cage, which, if released, would certainly set the heat on the rivals at the Rio Games, where the women's high jump gold medal was won with a score of 1.97.
- You perfectly understand how I want to go to international competitions... I feel that I am in great shape. We did a great job all autumn and winter. Now is the time when I can be a leader in the whole world, but I am not allowed to realize it. This makes me angry and upset. For a year and a half, I really missed international starts. I really want to go out and jump with the strongest girls in the world, to defend the honor of my Motherland, even in the status of a neutral athlete. Sanctions make us stronger. We're not going to give up. We are clean and confident...

- Regarding the purity of our ranks and thoughts. The leadership of the ARAF called on Russian athletes to return 23 Olympic medals, which are subject to return by decision of the IOC disciplinary commission. How do you feel about this ARAF call?
- VFLA does its job, I do mine. The federation manages the processes, the athletes train.

"I AM READY TO PROTECT THE WORLD CHAMPION TITLE AT ANY MOMENT"

- Your teammate, world champion in the triple jump Ekaterina Koneva, after the Russian athletes were refused to compete at the international level, went on vacation, got married. Why didn't you follow her example?
- Because I have a hope that everything will fall back - from head to foot, and we will be allowed to international competitions. There are forces to train, there are emotions to show results. I don't want to miss the season and do nothing. In addition, in the summer in London (August 5-13) the world championship will be held, where I would like to defend my title. Suddenly they let me in! I don’t want to give this title to someone just like that, especially when I’m ready to defend it at any moment. If I take a break in the training process, then the fine tuning of my body will fail, allowing me to show high results. Everything will go to waste. Well, to get married - it is not necessary to take a vacation.

"WE'LL PLAY A WEDDING IN THE SPRING"

- So, your wedding is not sunbathing either?
- Vladas and I plan to get married in the spring after the end of the winter season, I hope after the European Indoor Championships, which will be held in Belgrade from March 3 to 5. There will definitely be a wedding, but this event will not entail any changes in my training process. Vladas supports me, he wants me to succeed as an athlete of the highest achievements. This means that we will prepare together for the Tokyo 2020 Games.

- Where will the wedding take place? In Moscow or in the Caucasus in your hometown of Prokhladny?
- In the Caucasus. The wedding is modest, so that everything is related, like a family ... We are happy with Vladas, and enough about that.

- Wait, will you live in the Caucasus?
- Sports life - she is always on the road. In Prokhladny I have a 10-minute walk to the sports arena, but now I'm happy in Moscow too. I changed my attitude towards the capital, although Moscow used to make me nervous.

"KLISHINA - GOOD FELLOW!"

- In January, during the awards ceremony for the winners of the Russian Winter, you had a warm conversation with Daria Klishina, who flew to the tournament from the USA. Daria is the only Russian track and field athlete who competed at the Rio Games. You don't envy Klishina a bit?
- I was only happy for my teammate Daria, for the fact that she had not been training for a four-year Olympic cycle in vain, and was able to courageously survive all the attacks against her. She coped with the excitement and showed herself at the Games in Rio. Klishina - well done! We have a very good relationship with her. We used to live together with Dasha at international competitions.

- When Klishina was admitted to the Games in Rio, a wave of negativity splashed out on her on the Internet, hurdler Sergey Shubenkov also got nuts when he applied to the IAAF to participate in international competitions under a neutral flag. You weren't surprised that when you filed a similar application, this wave of anger didn't even kill you?
- Probably, I'm boring, - Maria smiled sweetly. - I don’t know how to explain it, but, really, no clods of dirt flew at me, my environment noted this. Fans are divided into those who condemn us for filing applications with the IAAF, and those who are always ready to defend. Personally, I do not read insults addressed to me - I am always positive, and now I am waiting for a response to my application.

"I WOULD HAVE ARRIVED TO SOCHI FOR THE MILITARY GAMES"

- Sochi is now hosting the III Winter Military World Games. You know?

Certainly. I am a lieutenant of the Russian army. At the 2015 Summer Military Games in South Korea, I won a gold medal, it has a place of honor in my collection of sports awards. With pleasure, I now rushed to Sochi for the winter Games of the military to support my colleagues. I sincerely envy the participants of this forum, who enjoy the atmosphere of the holiday. But I have training!

OPINION OF THE SPECIALIST

"MARIA AS A VIOLIN"

Gennady Gabrilyan, Kuchina's personal trainer.

During these one and a half years that we have been excommunicated from performances at the international level, I categorically did not begin to make changes to Maria's training system. Here everything remains at the same level. For example, Masha's number of steps during the run is the same as three years ago, namely eight. In this situation with the removal of Russian athletes - you can not panic, so as not to break firewood. Relatively speaking, I keep my hands behind the student’s back so that her preparation for the starts remains stable. The ideology of the jump cannot be changed. Maria is like an expensive Stradivarius violin, very finely tuned, and it is important to handle it with incredible care. She is the only one in the world who overcomes the last steps before the jump with such high speed.

- What is the optimal weight for your student?
- At Maria, it changes during the season. Now she weighs 57 kg, and when she won the gold medal at the World Championships - 58 kg. Masha knows how to eat concisely. To become a queen, Masha constantly has to be Cinderella in the training room.

The world's best high jumper loves stress

This pretty athlete does not fit into the usual framework at all. 24-year-old Russian woman Maria LASITSKENE trains according to a unique technique, does not lift iron at all, does not jump over barriers, but jumps higher than anyone in the world. In mid-August, she became the first of our compatriots who managed to win the high jump at two world championships in a row. The President of Russia congratulated her on her victory in London. A little earlier, Masha KUCHINA got married and, unexpectedly for many, decided to perform under a new name.

The eminent athlete gave her hand and heart to a sports journalist, a commentator on the Eurosport Russia TV channel Vladas Lasitskas. He is older than Mary by 11 and a half years. He is a Muscovite, but has Lithuanian roots. Young people played a wedding not in the capital, but in Kabardino-Balkaria, where she was born Masha Kuchina. The celebration took place near Nalchik, in the ancient castle "Chateau Erken" on the lake. The newlyweds were congratulated on Instagram by the head of Kabardino-Balkaria Yuri Kokov.

It was an unforgettable March evening, - recalls Maria Lasitskene. - Such a beautiful place, such emotions! Before the wedding, there was a difficult moment: I was not allowed to compete at the European Winter Championships. I passed all the doping tests, everything is clean. But the disqualification from our federation was not removed and Russia was not allowed to “enter Europe”. I was very upset. But the wedding blocked all the negativity. Vladas and I did not miss a single dance that evening! And the next morning they flew away on their honeymoon. There was complete relaxation, a real buzz. And when my husband and I returned home, the good news came: I was finally allowed to compete in international competitions. True, under a neutral flag.

Maria's world record is within easy reach. Photo: © Reuters

Maria won her first World Championship two years ago in Beijing under her maiden name Kuchina. Many advised her to leave this name, because the sports world is already used to it. But Masha acted in her own way. I decided to please my husband.

I have relatives in Lithuania,” said Vladas Lasickas. - And in this country, if a woman marries, she takes her husband's surname. But the suffix "en" and the ending "e" are added to it. For example, husband Orbakas, and the wife - Orbaken. Their daughter will already have a different surname - Orbakaite. In addition to the "female" ending, the suffix "ait" is added. Now in Lithuania, not all newlyweds observe this tradition. It happens that a father gives his daughter his masculine surname. The people of the old generation, the orthodox, are greatly outraged, even infuriated. Therefore, when they learned there that the world champion from Russia took a Lithuanian surname - in accordance with all the rules and traditions, they respected Masha. So far, my wife has not been to Lithuania, but my relatives are already calling her to visit.

Maria and Vladas met three years ago in the Polish city of Sopot, where the winter world championship was held. A slender brunette from Kabardino-Balkaria then won the first resounding victory in her career, and a journalist with a Russian passport and a Lithuanian surname interviewed her. Vladas asked non-banal questions, and it seemed to Masha that some kind of irony came through in them. And this guy looked at her strangely. At some point, their eyes met, and Maria felt a slight tremor. She realized that one interview would not end the matter.

Gennady GABRILYAN invented a unique technique for the champion. Photo: Instagram.com

And so it happened. Lasickas got hold of her cell phone number, began to call with or without reason, to come to her training - as if on business, and then invited her on a date. They both realized that they were perfect for each other.

Vladas is my man. He knows how to calm down, knows how to listen, give practical advice, - says the world champion. - I think that our age difference is normal, the husband should be older.

The wedding of Vladas and Maria... Photo: Instagram.com

By the way, at first Lasickas courted another famous athlete - tennis player Anna Chakvetadze. She became famous for reaching the semi-finals of the US Open in 2007 and soared to fifth place in the world rankings that year. But after a successful season, Anya experienced terrible stress - at night, armed criminals robbed her parents' house, and the tennis player herself was at the same time there. She was almost killed. Later, fainting happened to her more than once on the court, the doctors could not make the correct diagnosis. In short, the sports career went downhill. The journalist Lasickas, who specializes in tennis, made a sincere interview with Chakvetadze, and then helped her get a job on television. Vladas' colleagues from the Eurosport Russia TV channel said that when he commented on the Grand Slam tournaments, he almost always asked his superiors to work in tandem with Anna Chakvetadze. They went abroad together, dined and dined together - they were already whispering behind their backs that, they say, the bride and groom were coming. But, as they say, the father of the blue-eyed Georgian girl intervened. Hot and impulsive businessman Jamal Chakvetadze Anechka said:

Don't rush, daughter. We'll find you another match.

...played in an old castle in the bride's homeland. Photo: Instagram.com

And for sure: on the advice of a caring dad, the tennis player joined the Just Cause party, and later became a confidant of the oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov in the 2012 presidential election. The TV commentator realized that he had nothing to catch. It won't pull.

According to our information, Chakvetadze married a Swiss businessman named Pavel, who is six years older than her. This nomination was approved by the Pope.

And Lasickas, fortunately, met Masha Kuchina. This girl, like her parents, is not obsessed with money at all.

Physical education teacher is a genius

I am glad that my husband has good contact with my coach Gennady Gabrilyan. For me it is very important, - emphasizes Lasitskene.

Gennady Garikovich for Masha is an indisputable authority. He was an ordinary physical education teacher at school No. 5 in the city of Prokhladny. There, in the first grade, Gabrielyan noticed the future track and field star. He began to train her according to a special technique, which differs sharply from the generally accepted one. In training, Masha - unlike, say, an Olympic champion Anna Chicherova- does not even come close to record heights. 185 centimeters is the limit.

Why in training to drive an athlete to a two-meter height? Or, even worse, for a world record of 2.10? Masha doesn’t need this at all, as well as doing barbell exercises, ”Gabrilyan believes. - She shows her best results at competitions when there is stress, excitement, fear. When there is adrenaline! The more strong rivals Masha has, the more important the tournament, the more it turns her on. I taught my student not to be afraid of stress. At the World Championships in London, she did not take 1m 99 cm on the first attempt, but she was not at all afraid. I decided to move the next two attempts to 2.01. And Masha calmly took this height. And then 2.03. Sports excitement, a stressful situation is a great force. This is the engine of progress.

The TV commentator stuttered at the sight of Anna's blue eyes. A photo.

In the high jump in every sense, she won the highest award - the second for the national team. Unlike her rivals, the Russian woman jumped to gold on the first attempt, taking the bar at a height of 2 meters one centimeter and setting her personal record.

Such stories are great for naive Hollywood films, since it is generally accepted that this does not happen in life. But everyone still willingly believes in them. Until recently, everyone was clapping for the future world champion Maria Kuchina, and after each jump she looked for her coach somewhere on the podium. They met many years ago when Masha just came to school, and Gennady Gabrilyan was her first physical education teacher.

It was in the small town of Prokhladny, in Kabardino-Balkaria. Gennady Garikovich Gabrilyan taught children to run over barriers and throw a spear. We dismantled the triple jump - the classic all-around. Masha was best at jumping high. When the results began to grow and it was necessary to travel to competitions, the coach quit the school.

He did not have any special knowledge behind him, he studied the technique, including on TV, looking at the famous American jumper Shanti Lowe. He really liked her run.

“She is like a teacher for me. And I am pleased three times that Masha has already defeated her,” Gabrielyan admits.

Now there are no jumpers left in the world that Maria Kuchina would not win. All the best were in Beijing, plus a historical record was set at this World Championship. Never before have six athletes managed to overcome one meter 99 centimeters in the final. The competition was crazy. But Maria is the only one who took one height after another without a single blot and, it seems, without a single emotion.

“I know that it is very dangerous to spill emotions with each height, you need to be completely concentrated. At any moment everything can change. There is no need to splash out emotions.

Composure and utmost composure are the key to success," Kuchina said.

Without being distracted by anything, the 22-year-old Russian jumper calmly did what she could. And it was she who was the closest to taking a record 2.03 for herself. But in the end, no one succeeded. And according to the sum of attempts, Maria Kuchina became the first.

"To whom do I dedicate the victory? To my coach. That's all he is," Kuchina said. "And I dedicate the victory to her. It's all thanks to her," said Gennady Gabrilyan, in turn.

No less important achievement is the bronze medal of our Olympic champion Anna Chicherova. A year ago, she received a serious injury, due to which she could finish the sport altogether, but she found the strength to recover and return not just to sports, but to her usual height. And such psychological self-confidence is extremely important a year before the Olympic Games.

At the World Championships in Athletics in the Chinese capital Beijing on August 30, 2015, Maria Kuchina won, as if by a textbook. I took all the heights from the first attempts, starting from 1.88 and ending with 2.01 - a new personal record.

Such scenario moves are very popular in the cinema: due to courage, youth, a stronger hunger for the big titles that are missing so far, the rising star outperformed the recognized prims - Blanca Vlasic, who became the second, and Anna Chicherova.

Already in the rank of the winner, Kuchina tried a tooth height of 2.03. The second attempt was, as they say, very close, tackling. But Maria hit the bar a little harder, and this time she still fell.

Maria was born on January 14, 1993 in the village of Prokhladny in Kabardino-Balkaria. At home, she is called none other than the princess of the height from Prokhladny! In the car family - all athletes! Mom is a volleyball player, father was a basketball player. The girl inherited good data - good health and love for sports. And most importantly - parents understand her!

Even in the lower grades of the school, at the age of 9, the girl was noticed by a coach who worked as a physical education teacher, Gennady Garikovich Gabrilyan. He became almost a second father for her, having taught her to use the best qualities given by nature and parents in sports. At first everything was standard, the curriculum, all-around. Then it became clear: Machine view - height. And that's when the serious individual work began. In which Gennady Garikovich and Masha achieved the maximum.

Masha achieved her first serious success by winning silver at the 2009 World Youth Championship in Bressanone (Italy).

Maria became the winner of the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore with a score of 1.89 m.

In October 2010, the girl moved to Volgograd to continue training with the famous Boris Gorkov at Lokomotiv. Her parents went with her. In addition, Maria entered the Volgograd State Academy of Physical Culture. But a year and a half later she returned to Gabrielian.

At the Universiade in Kazan in 2013, the athlete won a silver medal.

In March 2014, at the XV World Indoor Championships in Sopot (Poland), Maria became the World Champion.

February 7, 2014 Maria overcame a height of 2 meters for the first time in her career! At the international tournament "Grand Prix of Stockholm" in Sweden, already in the rank of the winner of the tournament, she stormed a height of 2.01 m and succeeded in the third attempt.

Kuchina - lieutenant, plays for CSKA. Represents Kabardino-Balkaria and the Moscow region.

“The Youth Olympic Games were a great event in my life. Until now, a huge amount of emotions has been preserved. When we went to Singapore, to be honest, I didn’t even realize what it would be. But it turned out - the Olympic Games in a mini-format! Everything was really grown-up. And what a load of responsibility! The composition of the Russian national team turned out to be not very large. But already being in the team has become a victory for every athlete. Therefore, it was necessary to perform very worthily, to give all the best at 1000 percent. We knew that the whole country was rooting for us. It’s good that my coach was next to me, so we coped with great excitement with common efforts. Future participants of the Youth Olympic Games should not be fuming, but do their job clearly and confidently. Of course, to catch the Olympic spirit, to feel every moment.”