Interview with Alina Kabaeva

Alina Kabaeva: I want to meet Michael Jordan
At the rhythmic gymnastics competitions in New York, the performance of Alina Kabaeva created a real sensation. Who would have thought that the most titled athlete at the Goodwill Games would be a 15-year-old girl who had recently started her professional career! And yet, the charming Russian woman with Eastern roots managed to win four gold medals. On Friday, she added three more top awards to her first place in the all-around - in exercises with ribbon, rope and hoop. Kommersant correspondent ALEXEY DOSPEPKHOV spoke with ALINA KABAEVA.

— Tell me honestly, did you expect to show such a brilliant result in New York?
“To be honest, I wasn’t too confident in myself. But after the first all-around exercise, the jitters went away. Then I was no longer nervous.
— Is this your first time in America?
- No, the fourth one. But I like Japan more, where I also visited. Interesting country. And Japanese cuisine, sushi for example, is also okay. True, among oriental dishes I still prefer Korean ones.
— Did you buy yourself a Japanese kimono?
- Certainly!
— And if you compare the USA and Russia, which country wins?
— Moscow, at least, it seems to me, is now no worse than American cities. But Russia as a whole is still much inferior to America.
— What is your hobby?
— I love music, mainly pop and disco. I like to ride around Moscow - right along the streets - on roller skates. Sometimes I go on roller skates at our base in Novogorsk - there is a good asphalt area there.
— Aren’t you afraid of falling and getting injured?
- Not afraid. I think I'm pretty good on my feet.
— Do you train a lot?
- It depends. Sometimes five to six hours a day, sometimes two.
— Your father, as far as I know, was a football player, your mother was a basketball player. What sports, besides rhythmic gymnastics, do you like?
— Football and basketball of course!
— Which teams do you support?
— In football for Spartak, in basketball for the Chicago Bulls.
— And your favorite basketball player...
- Of course, Michael Jordan! Is there anyone better than him? It's a pity I haven't met him yet.
— But, as I heard, you met the leaders of the Moscow government at the World Youth Games?
- Yes, I now know Valery Shantsev. We even talked to him. He said that he really liked me and that he was happy about my victory at the youth games.
— Your mother lives with you in Moscow. Is your father planning to move to the capital of Russia?
- No. He works as a football coach in Tashkent. True, I don’t remember the name of his team. But definitely not Pakhtakor. “Pakhtakor”, in my opinion, no longer exists at all.
— Why did you choose rhythmic gymnastics among other sports?
“I didn’t choose it—my mother.” It was she who brought me to the section. So, I felt that something would come of me.
— What are your favorite exercises?
- With ribbon. Tape and music, in my opinion, are the perfect combination. I don’t have any unloved subjects. Each one is complicated in its own way.
— What are you thinking about today, when the Goodwill Games are left behind? About the Olympics in Sydney?
- No. First I will think about the World Championships, which will be held next year in Osaka. We need to perform well there. And the Olympic Games are still far away.

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 135 dated July 28, 1998, p. 10

Authors:

Alexey Dospehov