“Swallows”
Command Special Interest
The 19th Winter Olympics (2002) in Salt Lake City stimulated interest in the number of medals won by national teams and in matters related to impartiality of umpires. From this point of view there are kinds of sport which arouse particular interest. One of these is diving which can earn up to 16 medals for the national team at an Olympic tournament.
It is
hard to foretell the results of our divers’ performance at the summer Olympics
to be held in two years. But, judging by the traditional international
competitions of the Grand Prix “The Spring Swallows” series, based on the
Olympic program, preparations for them are quite serious and intentions are
most ambitious. In any case, the chief coach of the national team of Russia
Alexei Evangulov was pleased with his charges’ performance in the Olimpiisky
Sports Complex in Moscow. Just like their main rivals, the Chinese athletes,
they won three events out of eight. Particularly successful were Dmitry Sautin
(springboard, 3 m), Vera Ilyina (springboard, 3m), as well as Svetlana
Timoshinina and Yevgenia Olshevskaya (platform synchro).
The
season’s start is promising, and now the task set by the coach is for the team
to show stable good results. As for sports officials, Alexei Evangulov expects
that they will provide a stable financial support for this sport. After all,
diving does not require special expenditures, whereas a “feed-back” in terms of
medals may prove to be very impressive. “All we need for competitions is
swimming trunks and a toothbrush,” jokes the coach.
As for
the umpires’ panel, Alexei Evangulov told journalists: “Our refereeing ethics
are very high. There are no quarrels or scandals. No fears to lose because of
the umpires in our sport. We take pride in our umpires. All this is explained
by the fact that ours is a close-knit family.”
Indeed,
other sports have something to learn from the diving sport.