Sovetsky Sport. November 11, 1989. The voice on the phone is concerned. We agree to speak in two days. I call at 10:00. "Please come tomorrow at twelve to the SKA gym, opposite the circus. Do you know it?"
Here she is - in blue tights. She asks to turn down the speaker; it's too loud and it will interfere with the conversation.
A good column appears in our newspaper. A needed one. The editors were inundated with letters - what is Elena Shushunova doing? Indeed, readers of Sovetsky Sport have not heard about her for a long time.
"I'm about a fourth-year student at the coaching faculty of the Lesgaft Institute of Physical Culture," Elena clarifies. "In the spring are the state exams. I'm getting ready. I also train... Once or twice a day. For good health. More precisely, for myself."
If my memory serves me correctly, you first came to this specialized gym in 1976. You are now twenty years old...
Everything is accurate. After the Olympics, I continued to train with the USSR national team. Sometime in April I said goodbye to it. I realized that I didn't need the workloads that were given there, it was too hard. Mentally tired, one might say exhausted. After all, after Seoul there were still various exhibition performances of the full Olympic program. Plus a training camp that they wouldn't let me go home from. To my family - my mom, my dad, and my sister Tanya.
I decided: it's not worth it anymore. I'm watching competitions on TV - oh, I wish I could go there... At the same time, you think that your form isn't the same and you won't look good against the current gymnasts. They do the execises better than me. A year ago, maybe I would have joined them. I come to the gym, get excited and do almost all of my routines. But performing at the same level is very difficult.
Svetlana Boginskaya, Natasha Lashenova, and Olga Strazheva took the entire podium in the fight for the all-around world championships in Stuttgart. Fifteen-year-old Olesya Dudnik sparkled on the vault. What is your comment on this pleasant event?
I liked our team! We performed well, but we could have done better.
What do you mean?
Although television coverage of the world championship was rather modest, it was impossible not to notice: there were a lot of falls. Even Boginskaya made a big mistake.
"By falling and getting back up, you grow..."
I agree. But in gymnastics you need to be more consistent.
What can you say about Daniela Silivas, who was only 12th in the all-around championship in Stuttgart?
Silivas still remains one of the strongest gymnasts in the world.
What about her teammate Cristina Bontas?
You can expect surprises from her. In terms of difficulty, Bontas is not inferior to our girls, and in some ways even surpassed them. If she improves in class, she could ruin everyone's nerves.
How do you envision the future of women's gymnastics?
Difficulty is growing. The apparatus are better, softer. The execution technique is ever higher. Here comes the world championship and I see: few people are unsteady on the balance beam. This indicates a very high class. And the dismount, this eternal scourge of ours? I didn't see a single mistake in any of our participants in the compulsory program.
Today, however, the difficulty has slowed down a bit. Gymnasts pay more attention to plasticity and expressiveness. But after some time, I'm sure there will be a new jump in difficulty. Foreign athletes are trying to catch up with us and are even catching up, but not in all events yet. If such an offensive goes ahead on all the apparatus, it will not be easy.
The new head coach of the USSR women's national team, Alexander Alexandrov, started with victories, and this is pleasing. Our team has risen to a new level - in expressiveness. Keep it up! But on the way to further improvement, you cannot miss anything or overlook anything.
Vladimir Artemov, winner of four Olympic gold medals and multiple world champion, in his interview with Sovetsky Sport (September 28) spoke about today's gymnastics: "I am against the too-young women's gymnastics that I see on the platform. I would advise, perhaps, to introduce some restrictions regarding the constant increase in difficulty of women's gymnastics. And raise the minimum age of gymnasts, who are allowed to compete against adults."
Of course, Volodya judges from his own male bell tower. In some ways he is right. But a female gymnast's prime is 16-17, maybe 18, and rarely does anyone manage to cross this age line. If I'm not mistaken, Romanian Nadia Comaneci managed to win her highest titles at the age of 15-17. The FIG has now introduced restrictions: from the age of 15, girls can compete among adults. It's quite a normal option.
People who play sports at a high level have very little time left. In our gymnastics, you cannot afford to miss a workout. If you don't train for a week, you have to start almost everything over again. It requires constant, long hours of work.
Patience and a lot of effort. As far as I know, this is your life principle?
I remain faithful to it.
Among Leningrad gymnasts there is now only talk about one fragment of the Sunday program 'Monitor,' from October 15. Those in charge of gymnastics and some coaches consider the episodes shown on television - the recruitment of children to a sports school from the film 'Kukolka,' tough training in initial training groups - to be unlawful. Have you seen this episode of 'Monitor'?
No. I heard about it. I have no right to debate or discuss it. As for early specialization, in gymnastics children need physical strength. If they come to our sport at the age of 5, say, we must first of all enage in games. You need to work on your posture so you don't waste your time on it later. And coaches need to take care of this so that the little kids don't develop complexes, so as not to discourage the child from the very beginning. Coaches who work with the smallest children must interest the children so that they do not become bored with anything, so that love [for the sport] remains for the rest of their lives.
In this regard, could you share your current plans: what will you become when you complete yours studies at the university?
I'll refrain from answering for now. If you have no more questions, I'll run - I need to train!
Thank you very much, Lena. I wish you success!
I left the gym so as not to disturb the two-time Olympic champion's concentration. And yet, what a pity that she couldn't surprise us on the platform...
V. POPOV