News03 Jan 2008


Parental encouragement, and a little bit of luck, propel Drozdov to the multi-event elite

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Aleksey Drozdov in Gothenburg 2006 (© AFP)

It’s impossible to enter the elite club of high class athletes by chance. Especially if one is engaged in such demanding event as the men’s Decathlon. If luck is on your side you can succeed in winning a competition or even two. But it’s not enough to be just lucky in order to perform with constant success at high level international competitions. Russian Decathlon star Aleksey Drozdov is more than sure that he collected his European Championships medals – senior bronze in 2006 and Under 23 gold the year before - due to mere and sheer luck as well.

Early exposure to athletics

Drozdov first appeared at a stadium at the age of six, when he accompanied his elder brother, Sergey, who was trying his luck in the sprints. At that time the Drozdov family was living in a little town called Klintzi, about 160 kilometres far from the nearest regional centre, the city of Bryansk, where Aleksey was born in 1983. For the first few years he was just running at the stadium for fun, but then began to take athletics really seriously. And it was at that time when the fundamental base of his excellent physical conditions and strength began to emerge.

Like his older brother, he preferred the sprints but without achieving any evident success – he failed to clock sub-11 seconds in the 100m, prompting him to consider bidding farewell to athletics. His brother’s decision to quit the sport at 21, due to marriage, also figured into Aleksey’s decision to leave the sport. But his parents encouraged him not to follow his brother’s example. They were certain that his goal was to begin his university studies and continue in athletics. Unfortunately there were no high schools in the little out of the way town, so Drozdov had to leave Klintzi and move to Bryansk.

And it was in Bryansk where Drozdov’s life made a positive turn. During his entrance exams the youngster was noticed by the experienced coach Gennadiy Morozov, a specialist in the Decathlon whose disciples included Aleksandr Pogorelov, the record holder and national under-23 champion.

First title and 8200 point threat at 22

Drozdov now admits that at that time he didn’t even understand how he drifted towards the multi-events. The variety of events appealed to him. And it all went so well that at the age of 18 he was already a candidate as a master of sport – a prestigious sport title in Russia. And the next year - 2002 - he passed the 7000 point mark, qualified for the master of sport and won the Russian junior national title.

By 2005 at 22, others began to take notice of Drozdov. That year he won two national titles – the Heptathlon indoors and Decathlon outdoors (8120 points, his first tally above 8000) – and took the European Under 23 title, improving his best to 8195. After finishing 10th at the World Championships in Helsinki, he ended his season with a fourth place showing at the Decastar in Talence, France.

Near miss in Osaka

At the 2006 European Championships he earned his first international medal, taking bronze in Gothenburg tallying a PB 8350, ending the season in the No. 7 spot on the world lists. At the World Championships in Osaka last August he upped his career best to 8475, just shy of a medal, finishing fourth.

But according to his and his coach’s plans, he was prepared to threaten the 8700 point barrier. For his personal records in the 10 disciplines totaled 8732 points – 10.97; 7.58; 16.98; 2.12; 50.00; 14.73; 54.46; 5.00; 68.98; and 4:31.00. Did he make any mistakes in Osaka that prevented him from an even better performance?

“Only after the competition in Osaka did I get to understand that I was quite capable of really fighting for a medal with the world’s best,” Drozdov admits.

Overcoming psychological barriers

It appears that Drozdov’s main problem was his insufficient psychological stability. Most likely it was a matter of his lack of international experience. For instance, he was just seven point shy of the silver medal at the 2006 European Championships. In Gothenburg he set personal bests in six disciplines but underperformed in the other four,particularly in the javelin Throw, where he was 5.50m behind Hungarian Attila Zsivoczky.

In Osaka it was nearly the same: Drozdov bettered his results in four events, but wasn’t very strong at all in the Discus and Javelin Throws, to say nothing about his low result in Long Jump. Arriving with a personal best of 7.58, he reached just 7.25 and eventually missed the podium, 112 points behind. In training Drozdov regularly jumps 7.70 or better, he says, but also admits to a psychological barrier. He once injured his heel while training for the Long Jump and while the injury is fully healed, the pain remains in the back of his mind, keeping him from fulfilling his promise in the event.

Because of its unforgiving technical demands, the 110m Hurdles is another of the disciplines Drozdov is not friendly with.

“Sometimes I have the feeling that I’ve got it and all the technical nuances are so clear,” he said. “But after the hurdles I go on with the discus or with the javelin and here the technique of the hurdles somehow disappears. And when I’m running the hurdles at the important competitions I’m trying to make it better, and here the technique abandons me and the old mistakes emerge. Besides our second day starts with the hurdles and it occurs that I feel myself chained, so to say.”

Looking to Beijing, targeting two-decade old national record

And his future plans? Certainly they are all connected with the 2008 Olympic Games. Drozdov considers it a must to tally 8700 points in order to win a medal, and is being prepared to achieve such a result.  And if he manages to climb to this peak he’ll improve the outdated national record that was set 23 years ago and is equal to 8698 points.

It’s not apparently his aim to perform at the highest level indoors this winter, but he is planning to take part in the World Indoor Championships. Normally his solid personal best in Heptathlon, 6225 points, is enough to to contend for a spot on the podium.

“But it’s not my event,” he says, referring to the Heptathlon. “I’ll take part in indoor competitions but only in order to get in good shape for the Olympics.”

Drozdov is quite serious in his Olympic preparations: six hours per day of persistent training. But besides that he is always on the move.

“For me it’s so dull to stay at one place for more than two or three weeks,” he says, laughing. “And after such a time period I begin to feel uncomfortable and try to change my surroundings and location.”

Perhaps his desire to travel and move stems from his father’s passion for driving. His father Vasiliy was a professional in that field. Drozdov is also fond of alpine skiing. And he is using his time wisely: in spite of his professional sports career that takes so much of his time, he also finished his university studies. The diploma he achieved permitted Drozdov to sign a contract with the military and it is now in the army where Drozdov exercises his university skills. By the way, he didn’t let the army down after winning the CISM World title in India last fall.

Tragedy struck Drozdov three years ago when his father perished in a sudden fire that occurred in their house. It’s still not known whether it was a tragic incident or a well-prepared crime. But Drozdov knows that his father, who has always full of encouragement, is with him still.

Nickolai Dolgopolov and Rotislav Orlov for the IAAF

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