Anna Chicherova at the IAAF Centenary Gala at the Museo Nacional d'Art de Catalunya on November 24, 2012 in Barcelona (© Getty Images)
Russia’s London 2012 Olympic Games and 2011 IAAF World Championships High Jump gold medallist Anna Chicherova has resumed intensive training but, while getting ready for the summer, and like many mothers, she has also had to struggle with sudden family issues like the illness of her young daughter Nika.
“Hi all. It’s been a little while since I updated my diary, and lots of stuff has happened to me in the last month.
“I had a nice training camp in Portugal during March, which was my first outdoor training since last summer. I really enjoyed the warm weather, which you cannot expect in Moscow at this time of the year.
“Surprisingly, the training went very well for me, despite the long break I took after the Olympics. I had not been doing any weights since December. In Portugal, I was on the Algarve in Albufeira, after just two or three sessions, I was showing my normal results from previous years in the weights room.
“It was as if I had not missed anything at all! Maybe my muscles still remembered the feeling, I don’t know. I had a small problem for a short while with my knee and it started to hurt after such intense training. However, I’m fine, and I’m already continuing with my preparations back in Russia, in Sochi.
“I love this place, it feels like a second home for me, and I realized how much I missed being here. Now I am focused on the technical aspects of my training. I am still jumping from only a three-step run up but, hopefully, by the end of the camp I will move on to five steps.
“My small daughter Nika is here with me, and she was the cause of all my worries recently. She somehow got sick, and for several days her body temperature was up to 40 degrees.
“Of course, I was close to almost panicking as we could not find the cause, and she was the reason I had some sleepless nights but fortunately she is now feeling much better. In fact, she is playing by my side at the moment, while I am writing this diary, and talking all the time!
“I have a really intense schedule in May, as I am competing in two meetings in Asia, in Japan and in China, (the IAAF World Challenge meetings in Tokyo and Beijing on 5 and 21 May respectively) so we decided that at this time Nika would go with my mother to my native town, Belaya Kalitva in the Rostov region. All this travelling would obviously be too much for her.
“As for me, I am really looking forward to the start of my season. I do miss competitive jumping, and I am curious how well I can do. After I skipped the indoors, it has been a while since my last competition and I do miss the atmosphere a lot.
“Finally, there is another thing that occupies my mind now. On 29 April, I am hosting the anniversary celebrations of my sports club. It’s going to be a huge party, with lots of people and the press have been invited; and it’s my first time to host an event from the stage!
“I have been trying to learn my speech recently but there was almost no time, what with all the training and Nika’s illness. There are just a few more days left, and I feel I need to hurry up. I am both nervous and excited now.
“Talk to you again soon. Best wishes to everybody, Anna”.
