How to raise an (Olympic) champion?

Alla Bogdanova, mother of Russian luger Andrey Bogdanov, medical worker

“Andrey was about 9 years old when I told him that he should go in for sports. And just then the boy from the apartment opposite decided to go to the luge section – and Andrei along with him. We didn’t have a very good idea of ​​what it was then, but we went. They got to a great coach and soon went to the North with her. To be honest, I then went a little crazy and thought that I would never let Andrei go anywhere again. Imagine: 9 years, Sever, for almost three weeks … A year and a half later, one luger boy received a very serious injury, in my opinion, he even lost his leg, and then I banned this sport: “That’s it, by no means, it’s so scary!” For about a year he went karting, and then he began to ask to come back … I am often asked how to educate an athlete. So, now I know for sure: just do not interfere with the child. Andrey’s choice was absolutely conscious, and I am very grateful to him and I am convinced that all his achievements are his merit, not mine.

In general, I can’t even imagine how he would have grown up without sports. Andrei has always been a very modest and shy child, completely dependent. And the sport and the coach really brought him up, I always tell her that she is our second mother.

The fact that this is very serious for Andrey became clear about five years ago. We somehow sat down, talked and chatted with him until 3 o’clock in the morning. He then told me: “Mom, I practically had no childhood. One sport. (This is true, even if they are on vacation, the coach will definitely find out where they are, what they do, how they spend their time, and so on.) “Andryukha, are you tired?” – “Yeah, I’m tired.” I saw it myself, I was motherly sorry for him, of course, and I asked: “Maybe you’ll quit then?” And he answered me: “No, I can’t do without sports anymore. This is my life”. It was then that it became clear that he really was all about sports, all his thoughts were there. And the choice, of course, is only his. In general, one must trust the choice of the child and the child himself. As much as possible to communicate with him, but only when he has a desire. Do not go to him with questions when he does not want to. Now he is away, on the qualifying round, and, of course, I really want to know how he is doing, whether they have passed, but I restrain myself, I am waiting for Andrei to get in touch.

The problem is that he is rarely at home (since September he has come twice for 10 days – and that’s all), you don’t talk much on the phone either. But I am very glad and grateful that Andrei communicates a lot with his step-father, who has been raising him since he was 9 years old. They are close friends. And Andrei himself is a huge authority for his younger brother. He is only 1 year 10 months old, but it is already visible. So we have already warned the coach that we will bring her another one soon. Although, of course, mother loves any child, not necessarily an athlete and winner. Yes, we still do not believe that Andrei has achieved so much, even getting to the qualifying round is already a great honor for us. And of course, it was a big surprise and joy when, immediately after the birth of his younger brother, Andrei went to compete at the World Cup, he was shown close-up at the start, and we suddenly saw that “Semyon” was written on his glove. So much, it turns out, means a brother to him.

Lyubov Ryazanova, mother of Russian figure skater Ekaterina Ryazanova, colorist

“Being an athlete’s mom is a lot of work. It takes a lot of time, a lot of patience, a lot of strength. We are constantly on the road, constantly in some kind of stress, in continuous experiences, there is not enough time for anything else. I went to work only when Katya had already grown up and was able to drive on her own, and before that, for ten years of my life, I was engaged only in her. But all this was definitely not in vain: my daughter has achieved a lot in life, I am proud of her, her courage, her ability to overcome herself.

Sometimes it seems to Katya that nothing works out for her, but in such cases I say: depending on what to compare with. Perhaps her personal ambitions are not satisfied, but by my standards, Katya has reached quite high peaks. Although, of course, you always want higher, faster, stronger.

Sport sucks so much that at some point you stop being afraid and just help, you become the support of your daughter-athlete. For several years in a row, we got up every morning at 6.00 and drove from Zelenograd to the skating rink on the Dynamo, skating together. My shoulder was close both physically and mentally. By the way, thanks to such a difficult routine, I learned to drive a car. Katya asked me several times to come and see the program they were running, asking if I liked it. And during the competition, she says that my presence instills confidence in her. ”

Svetlana Zaitseva, mother of snowboarder Nikita Avtaneev, housewife

“We gave the first board to our son at the initiative of the father. She and Nikita started skiing together, but then her husband returned to skiing, and Nikita “went” further. We have already put our six-year-old daughter on the board, she has already worked out with a coach a couple of times, they say that something can come out of her too. We hope Nikita will somehow tinker with her too, but so far he does not have time. It never happens in Moscow either. In general, when my son took up snowboarding, he began to grow up, to treat everything differently somehow. No wonder they say that sport disciplines. After the birth of his sister, he said that he was already an adult, and from the age of 13 he began to go to training by himself. To be honest, I did not even expect such composure and endurance from him, but he was able to combine both lessons and training.

I never doubt my son’s decisions: he makes them himself, and I am sure that he will be able to realize everything that he has in mind. Of course, we are very happy and proud of Nikita, because not everyone participates in the Olympics.

He is not always happy with our presence at the competitions, because then he feels a great responsibility. A couple of times we surprised him and, without warning, came, say, to the World Cup in Italy. Nikita saw us after and was very surprised: “Where are you from here?” So here it is: our parents went to the pioneer camp, and now we go to competitions.