Dmitry Larionov and Mikhail Kuznetsov from Nizhny Tagil took 6th place at the Olympic Games in Rio in the rowing slalom competition. This was the last competition – next year the two-man canoe class will be removed from the Games program.
Dmitry Larionov’s sister Daria told about our Olympians:
– Dmitry and Mikhail coexist so organically that I don’t even think that they could perform separately. Our families are very friendly – we are one big company! And Dimka and Mishka have been together since the age of 12 – they don’t spend as much time with their family as together: they always support each other, consult, worry and rejoice.
The guys train a lot, they are not in Russia most of the year – camps, trainings and competitions are held abroad. They even have a traditional annual training session – on the morning of January 1st, they play football outside. So, there is nothing that could interfere with their training process.
Unfortunately, this Olympics was the last for the children, as the canoe-two class is removed from the program of the Olympic Games. And the guys do not like to think about the future, but I know for sure that while the guys are not going to give up sports – in the middle of September they will have the Russian championship.
Brother Dima is very easygoing, he knows how to quickly come to his senses after failures, although it happens that he withdraws into himself, ponders mistakes. I always want to say a huge thank you to the personal trainer of the guys – Olga Gvozdeva. She is always with them, she is not just a trainer, she is a Man with a capital letter. Olga Vladimirovna always finds the right words to motivate the guys before and after the start.
The rowing slalom school was not close to home, none of Dima’s friends did rowing slalom. But due to the fact that Dima tried a lot of sections, and the choice was small then, his mother took him everywhere – he was engaged in singing, dancing, playing the accordion … He tried – he did not like it – he dropped. Although he still plays the accordion, he can pick up a couple of songs. And then Dima was attracted by training on the water, and he decided to try himself in slalom. And here I got carried away seriously!
At school, Dimka studied normally, due to the fact that he trained a lot, left for training camps, missed classes a lot, sometimes problems arose. But even now he continues to study, has received a higher education, is studying for a master’s degree. He always goes to training camps with a book, or even two, flights are very long, Dima spends them with benefit – he loves Russian classics very much.
In 2014, Dima and his wife Elena had a daughter, Alyonushka, and he tries to spend all his free time in Tagil with his family. In general, he cannot break away from sports for a long time. He often plays hockey (this is probably his big hobby), and in the summer he plays football.
Dima in our big family is incredible pride and an example to follow! His cousin Pavel Kotov followed in his brother’s footsteps – he also started rowing slalom at an early age, and now he is already showing excellent results. And our mother, as it is fashionable to call it now, is a “fitness-cute” – she loves to go to the gym.
Sport is a big job, I know it firsthand. I can see what difficult training they can withstand: difficulties are not only physical, but also emotional. Any competition is an incredible emotional load, which the guys steadfastly cope with. That is why the support of not only family and friends, but also the fans is very important!