“On the second attempt I knocked off my heel”

Athlete Pishchalnikova about winning Olympic silver

Rustam Sharafutdinov (London) close

Alexander Menkov was unable to compete for medals, taking only 11th place

Daria Pishchalnikova makes another attempt in the discus throw

Olympic champion in discus throw - Sandra Perkovic (Croatia)

Olympic champion in heptathlon - Jessica Ennis (Great Britain)

Ennis wins the final event of the heptathlon - 800m

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in a separate report See photos

Russian Daria Pishchalnikova, who won the Olympic silver medal in discus throwing, admitted that she was pleased with the result shown and spoke about her preparation for the competition and her love for porridge.

- Daria , admit it, why were you crying?
– You won’t believe it, last year I promised myself that I wouldn’t, because they had already called me a crybaby, but again I couldn’t restrain myself.

– What did you expect from yourself at these Games?
- Yes, I wanted to win! Bring gold to yourself, your family, your grandmother. Did not work out. What happened? Well, this is the Olympics, emotions. Of course, everyone will make excuses for this, but psychologically I was probably not ready. In the second attempt I knocked off my heel, it was painful. She beat her herself, as if she treated her. Maybe technically something didn’t work out. But I fought, I was determined to fight. It turned out to be a fight for second place.

– Can we say that the wind bothered you?
- Of course, you can (laughs ). Only it didn’t bother Sandra, but it did bother me. We are all in the same conditions.

– So Perkovich was ready to win?
- Well, yes - she was ready. She performed very consistently all season. I was aiming for a result of 69-70 meters. Well, she did everything to win.

– What do you have more now: joy or disappointment?
– Actually, I don’t know.

– Is this a worthy response to the nightmare of 2008?
– A nightmare... I live for today and am glad that I am here with you. I spent a lot of time talking about how I would enter the mixed zone and answer your questions. Or you just tell me “good bye” and I’ll pass by. A silver medal now is very cool for me.

– Is Rio de Janeiro ahead?
- I don’t know - I’m here and now with you. And Rio in 2016... I don’t even know what will happen tomorrow. But if I go, I will do my best.

– This year you managed to throw the discus 70 meters. Due to what?
– We changed a lot in preparation, a lot was done in the technical base. It so happened that the conditions coincided, physical readiness, technique was up to par, so I managed to improve.

– Did you feel better at the Russian Championship than here?
- Maybe yes.

– Isn’t the gap between the national championship and the Olympics too short?
- No, normal. A month is generally excellent. It was a short one between the qualifications and the finals. I just made it to the finals, and then it’s all over again.

– You were in no hurry to run along the path with the flag.
– I was just thinking about it. I see that the others have run away, and no one will clap for me. In fact, they clapped. I ran very modestly, I thought that my rivals would attract attention to themselves. But she herself understood that the silver medal is very good, but for them the gold medal is very fantastic - do you understand me?

- Yes. When Perkovic shot 69.11 on her second attempt, what flashed through your mind?
“I thought she was great, but as long as I have attempts, I can improve her result.” I’ve already moved on this season. In a word, I was not surprised by her agility, she was even somewhere ready for someone to shoot. It is a pity that in the end it was not possible to exceed that result. It just didn't work out.

– You started with not the best result - you decided not to give your best in the first attempt?
– In fact, 65.19 is not such a low result - look, only four athletes were able to improve it, except me. And for a debut in the final it’s quite decent. But you’re right, I didn’t want to take risks right away. I knew that I would still have five approaches left. By the way, remember 2006, when I started with 55.00. Something unimaginable was happening to me emotionally. Now I have become much more experienced and psychologically stable.

– How did you feel in the morning?
- Fine. There was a great desire to go to the dining room and eat something tasty and eat some porridge. I love her so much. Thank God they were there. Not my favorites, really.

– What are your favorites?
– Buckwheat and millet. Only without milk.

– You often express yourself emotionally on your Facebook page on one issue or another. Does this help you take your mind off things?
– Sandra Perkovich surpasses me in this regard. She probably has a billion likes on each post ( laughs ).

So I’m trying to popularize discus throwing, promoting it to the masses. So that people in Russia would pay attention to us and know us by sight. Otherwise they will forget.

“They won’t forget, there are only seven of you left now.”
- Not seven. This year there were significantly more - eight (laughs ). No, not even ten! Isn't it enough? Perhaps, but we all have good results! We are such a small powerful group, we always fight to the last and show good results. I am incredibly sorry that Vera Karmishina-Ganeeva and Svetlana Saikina did not manage to make it to the finals - they were capable of more.

– How do you like the atmosphere at the Olympic stadium?
– Probably, if I were a young girl, I would be a little confused by the excitement, the stands, but I have enough high-level competitions behind me – the same world championships – so as not to be nervous. The guys shared their impressions of the Beijing Games with me, talked about the pressure, but the public was favorable towards us. When I asked for support in one of the attempts, she applauded, although both Ennis and Rutherford were on the track at that moment.

- So you liked it?
- Of course.

Give me six more attempts and I'll gladly enter the arena again.

– Will you watch the recording of your best attempt?
– Yes, I’m already watching and amazed. Screaming like crazy (in the mixed zone at this moment a replay of one of Daria’s attempts is shown on the TV screen ). Of course I will if they post it. However, they’ve probably already made videos on YouTube.

– Who did you hug with on the podium at the end of the competition?
– This is Mikhail Leonidovich, the director of my ShVSM in Saransk. By the way, I say hello to the capital of Mordovia! I would like to thank everyone for their support and attention. By the way, how are we doing in walking?

- Badly. Borchin lost consciousness, and Kanaykin was removed for warnings?
- Wow. And I didn’t even know. Very sorry.

– Have you had time to talk to your parents?
- That's the point, no. I didn’t even have time to approach my mother. She's probably waiting for me now. But dad is now in Tver. He probably followed my performance via the Internet and telephone.

– You said in Cheboksary that you would take both parents.
– Unfortunately, there are big problems with accreditations here. It so happened that only my mother went.

You can find other materials, news and statistics on the 2012 Olympics page .

“In the second attempt I knocked off my heel” - Gazeta.Ru