It was expected that Svetlana Khorkina would have something (controversial) to say about Russia's 4th place finish at the World Championships and she did not disappoint. You can read the original Russian interview (published by Sport Mail) here and a great English translation/summary by tumblr user papaliukin here. I recommend you read it, Khorkina is brutally honest which makes for an interesting interview. You can disagree with her on a lot, but she still makes you think.
The first part of the interview is Khorkina just saying aloud what everyone else is thinking: Russia didn't look ready at all, their routines still lack the difficulty needed to challenge USA in Rio and the time is running short. They can fight for the podium if they hit, but since hitting is a big problem for them, they have the work cut out for them. Sure. They also have amazing gymnasts, capable of being champions. She mentions Mustafina, Komova and Tutkhalyan in particular, but makes a point saying that they look like they're lacking the necessary motivation to reach that potential and actually become champions.
But it's after the obvious is said when the interview really gets interesting and starts revealing more about Khorkina herself and the changing society and its effects on gymnastics than the Russian situation itself. For the most of the interview she expresses her frustration over gymnasts' work ethics and the increasing publicity over the team inner workings and then she compares them to herself and how things were done back then. While most of us seem to be happy that the gymnasts aren't isolated from the rest of the word anymore and have freedom to decide for themselves, she longs for the old days when the Round Lake camp and gold medals were the only things that mattered to gymnasts, and the coaching staff was there to make sure that everyone worked as hard as they could and more.
For years gymnasts, who were for the most part teenage girls, had to work in poor conditions, train hard and compete while nursing several painful injuries, sometimes suffering from eating disorders because of the body type required by the sport or undernourishment because of a strict enforced diet and still go to the Olympics and win gold medals under huge pressure. They trained since they were small children, isolated from the rest of the world and surrounded by grown ups who perhaps gave them love and support, but not unconditionally. The gymnasts were still there to honor their country by winning gold medals and the grown ups were there to make sure that it happened, no matter what.
Modern gymnastics also has its share of criticism, but most people agree on that working conditions for the gymnasts have been improved greatly from the days of Soviet dominance. They have a voice and the prevalence of social media gives everyone a platform to use that voice. They aren't isolated from the rest of the world anymore and they are free to make their own informed decisions about injuries and competitions. For many (but certainly not all) sports isn't the only way to make it out of poverty anymore, there's education available. There's this freedom that everyone sees as something positive, but for Khorkina it's the world in which she grew up and sought to protect throughout her career ending.
When they start talking about Mustafina's recent absence from this year's major competitions and Komova's earlier 3-year-absence from gymnastics, both due to injuries, you can almost hear Khorkina's anger and frustration on her voice by just reading her responses. She keeps telling how many injuries she had to overcome, keep them to herself and compete and win medals without anyone knowing. There was no complaining, withdrawing from competitions or press releases, it was part of the job and everyone knew it. With freedom comes responsibility, and Khorkina obviously feels that Mustafina and Komova are not pulling their weight like she did during her time. To her their injuries are just excuses, something they could easily overcome if not for lack of motivation and passion.
It sounds terrible to blame them for not competing because of injuries, but it gives insight to the world Khorkina grew up in and perhaps even more so to her character, the drive and passion she had and still has for Russian gymnastics. You'd think that someone from the era of gymnastics we discussed earlier would be happy that the gymnasts these days don't have to go through the pain she suffered, but that's not Khorkina. She can't understand why they don't want suffer through it, why they don't want to sacrifice themselves for gold and their country.
So we have Svetlana Khorkina. One of the most celebrated and decorated gymnasts in the world, someone who did everything in her power for over a decade trying to support her country's program and her team when it struggled to rise out of Soviet Union's ashes. And now she finds herself in 2015 in a world where she went through all the pain for nothing, because the people she's surrounded by don't seem to be making an effort anymore. She left the program after years of blood, sweat and tears in a situation in which she thought they could carry on and continue her work. But instead they complain in public and come up with excuses even though she did it all and even more behind the closed curtains.
As said in the beginning, you probably don't agree with her about everything, I certainly don't. You may even think she's just rude. But when you think about the situation in Russian gymnastics and her personal history and her passion for the sport, so evident in this interview, reading it might just break your heart a bit.
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