The first stage of the Russian Swimming Cup was held from May 1 to 2 in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The system of dividing the stages of the Cup of Russia according to the geographical principle was introduced for the first time. Thus, the first stage was Far Eastern in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the second stage was Central in Obninsk, the third was West Siberian in Irkutsk and the final in Kazan.
The Volga Region University Center for Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism Student National Teams' Team showed good results. The team was trained by coaches Dmitry Drozhetsky and Nikita Starodubtsev.
Olesya Korchagina, Angelina Kornilova, Irina Zlobina, Dina Kiramova, Dmitry Cherkasov and Dmitry Salamashko, teacher of the Department of Theory and Methodology of Water Sports made part of the team. Nikolai Zuev, a first year student of the Russian national swimming team.
Olesya Korchagina took third place in the 50m breaststroke, Angelina Kornilova won second place in the 800m freestyle and third place in the 400m freestyle. Irina Zlobina took silver and bronze in the 50m and 100m backstroke. The winner in the 200m backstroke was Nikolai Zuev, adding a silver medal in the 100m backstroke to his list of awards. Dina Kiramova snatched a bronze medal in the 50m backstroke, and Dmitry Cherkasov took the third place in the 200m butterfly.
Coach Dmitry Drozhetsky shared his comments and impressions about his participation in the competition with us in an interview:
What athletes took part in the competition?
- About 18 masters of sports of international class and 9 honored masters of sports participated in the competition. 20 people were from the Russian national team. The total number of participants was 223 people from 24 subjects of the Russian Federation.
What difficulties did you face on arrival to Sakhalin?
- The main difficulty was acclimatization, because on Sakhalin there is a different time zone and a big difference in time. Because of this we could not always come to the competitions fully ready.
How do you evaluate the organization of the competition?
- The organisation of the competitions was excellent. The pool is good and modern, and the overall organization is comfortable enough. We liked everything.
What are the impressions of athletes who came to Sakhalin for the first time and participated in the competition?
- Since it was the first time we were all in Sakhalin, it's difficult to give a definitive assessment yet. In general, we were all impressed by the beauty of nature: the mountains, the sea and the nature. However, the weather in the first two days was not very good - it rained, which, fortunately, ended by the last day of the competition.
Nevertheless, we are very glad that we were able to visit Sakhalin and perform successfully in the competitions. We have further plans to prepare for the next stages of the season. Our team will continue to prepare for the finals of the Russian Cup and the International University Games at the end of August.
