Sovetsky Sport. July 24, 1971. Once upon a time there was a girl in the village of Smolevichi. The girl, like any girl, was not notable in any way. When she was ten years old, her parents took their daughter to a ballet school. But the girl wasn't accepted there. They said: "Her legs are weak, and her foot is wide..." Tonya is the name of this girl, and of course she was upset. Two years later, Tonya signed up for the gymnastics section, and there coach Vitaly Zitserman began to take a closer look at her.
Viktor Khomutov, the head coach of the Minsk sports boarding school, once stopped by Smolevichi. Zitserman advised him to take Tonya with him. In September 1967, with the consent of her parents, she moved to Minsk for sixth grade.
Suddenly one day in a conversation with his new student, Viktor Sergreevich remembered that when he worked at the ballet school a few years ago as a teacher of gymnastics, this girl, Tonya Koshel (yes, yes, it was her) was written off by him and members of the admissions committee.
At that time Khomutov was young, an excellent student at the Institute of Physical Culture. As is well known, students always lack money, so he worked part time and did not think about a career as a coach. He didn't notice how he got involved in this busy life, saw R. Knysh, V. Dmitriev, and - goodbye to graduate school. Viktor Khomutov made a firm choice - he became a professional coach.
A cautionary tale, isn't it?
Antonina Koshel was lucky - she was in good hands, and now no one doubts that the junior national champion is an athlete of great potential.
Who is your favorite gymnast?
Actuallly, it's Kuchinskaya. On beam - Lazakovich and Korbut, on uneven bars - Janz, and on floor - Karaseva and Kuchinskaya.
You see, for Koshel there is no absolute ideal in gymnastics. She has a clear idea of what specific standard she should strive for. Tonya knows how to evaluate her strengths, she thinks about "getting into the top ten, and maybe even higher."
Viktor Khomutov clarifies: his student has a chance to get into the "six" (and after the compulsory program, Koshel is even in third place!).
At just seventeen years old, Koshel has decided to become a choreography coach.
"Tonya is sensitive and attentive," says Khomutov. "Sometimes you're out of sorts, something isn't going well in training, but she'll look at you kindly and you'll calm down. She is exceptionally musical. I would say that Tonya has an innate sense of beauty, she has composed her own floor routines, and they turned out beautifully."
V. GOLUBEV