Yana Yegoryan
On professional sport, her childhood dreams, goals and teamwork
AR: Good Afternoon, Yana! I am very glad that you have decided to devote your time to our interview. Could you tell me, what you felt when you became an Olympic champion?
Y: This is what happiness for any sportsmen is! It’s a hard way, that I manage to make, but not alone. A lot of people were so close, helping and supporting me. A nothing but happiness an Olympic medal could not be called.
AR: Obviously, any sportsmen try to as fit as possible for every sports event. How do you prepare yourself for every duel or to such a big competition as the Olympics psychologically?
Y: It’s so complicated to get into the best shape possible and it is to a great extent the work of our coaching staff, who regulate our training process and our schedule. It is a tough job to prepare a sportsman for a competition in a peak shape. And honestly, I don’t know myself, when I am at the top of my game, because everything is under the coaches’ control, namely Ilgar Mamedov, Christian Bauer and Semin Sergey Alexandrovich. It is impossible to be prepared for a fight psychologically. When you participate in Olympics, you seem to forget everything that you have been training for, and everything is done automatically. And the feeling of realization comes afterwards.
AR: You are an eligible bachelorette at the moment. The man of your dreams, who is he?
Y: I think it’s best to keep your private life secret. For me, an ideal man is someone, a woman is happy with, and for every lady, it is something special. The main thing for me is a man should be supportive, say the right words, making me a better person, and close to him I would feel safe like behind the stone wall.
AR: What do you want to become when a child?
Y: A movie actress or a singer. I thought I was born for that. And even till now, I have been thinking what I am doing in sports.
AR: How much a number of followers on Instagram has grown and what feedback have you been receiving from your fans?
Y: The number of followers has really increased. People keep congratulating me, sending warm messages, wonder how I am doing, and asking how to become a fencer. It’s a real pleasure. I have been trying to reply to everyone. It’s not easy, but I am doing my best to find spare time for those, who have been supporting me and following my progress, I just can’t leave them unattended.
AR: Did you enjoy being a model for the AR Journal?
Y: I liked it very much. All the looks that have been created for us were amazing. I like cameras, but I could have imagined that it would be that exciting and so beautiful. Now when I go shopping, I try to choose similar clothes, I have been dressed during the shoot.
AR: How much time do you spend training? Is fencing a hard sport?
Y: Any sport is hard, and fencing is not an exception. The training process could take twelve hours a day, we train practically every day. Days-off happen, but very rarely. When the season is on, we train the whole time - it’s a feature of any sport. If you don’t work hard, the results will not come.
AR: What do you do when you have free time? What are your favorite places in Moscow? Where can you be met?
Y: When I have free time I usually relax. I enjoy singing and dancing, therefore I attend events where I can do both things. I often visit the Gorky Park, because I like it very much and I regularly go to the Tolstoy Park — this is in Khimki, where I live.
AR: What are you dreaming of?
Y: I dream of a family, my own family, and kids. I want to have my own family so much, this is what probably all the girls are dreaming of.
AR: Everybody points out the beauty and elegance of the Russian women’s fencing team. What could you recommend for your next Olympic outfit design?
Y: If it were possible, I would completely change our Olympic outfit. I have been talking about that since the first day I became a fencer. As soon as I saw those pants reaching my belly bottom, I was in shock. Surely, it is in trend now, in the times when low waists were popular, I could not understand how those fencing pants could be worn. Moreover, I would like to change the coloration, so that everything would be bright and picturesque, and any sportsmen would be able to choose their favorite colors and a personal logo. It would be a joy for me to compete wearing my favorite colors.