Olesya Zykina (right) wins the 2002 European 400m title (© Getty Images)
Russia’s 22old European 400m champion Olesya Zykina is considered to be one of the greatest hopes of the Russian team. She began serious training only 5 years ago, and each year has surprised even her coach Sergei Reutov with her unbelievable progress.
Zykina was born in the historic Russian city of Kaluga on 7 October 1980. Her family had no connection with any sport. Her mother worked in a nursery school, and her father was a factory worker.
However, from an early age Zykina’s physical education teacher at school was always telling her that she was not like the other pupils, that she possessed a great physical talent, and that she should become a runner.
At first she did not take the words seriously and continued living a quiet normal life. She entered and graduated at music school where she studied piano. It was only when Olesya was 15-years-old she suddenly got the urge to run and the idea to try the local sports school. It was there that she met Sergey Reutov who was to become her coach. It was a decisive point in her life.
“I understood at once that she was a born runner,” says Reutov. “After only half a year of work she participated in the World Junior Championships and got the 8th place in the final (1998 100m 11.88). The following year she showed 51.31 (at 400m). It was unbelievable.”
”Nobody expected that this new young girl would be able to fight for a place in the Olympic team. But she participated in Sydney (relay) and later in Edmonton (6th). She became a major participant in the Russian relay team and as you saw in Munich nobody could beat her in 400m at the European Championships. Each year she is surprising us.”
Some people have made the accusations that Zykina, at only 22 years of age has been forced to achieve these results and exploited too much for her age. But her coach rejects this view.
”The most interesting thing is that I did not try to press her. Her progress was quite a natural thing. (Her dramatic development) it is all a little bit enigmatic. I was just trying to develop her natural abilities. We were concentrated only on 400m, she never ran above 500m and does not know how fast she is at this distance.”
Olesya says that she has become more stable and is now more mentally prepared to fight with her American rivals. This winter step by step she is building her form to run 400m and 4x400m in Birmingham at the World Indoors, where she is planning to achieve her top form.
Now she lives in Tula not very far from Kaluga, and studies medicine in Tula University. She is determined not to move to a bigger city because it is only in Tula that she feels like a star and the local civic authorities give her every possible support. In Tula she is recognized everywhere but by contrast in Moscow she would be nobody.
Nikolai Ivanov for the IAAF
