Russian Olympic Committee made a documentary about the love story of Aliya Mustafina and Aleksey Zaytsev. If you haven't been keeping up - they got married in November and expecting a baby.
The documentary is in Russian, so I made a summary.
Aliya starts with saying that many people think that if a girl starts a serious relationship with someone, she will not be able to continue an elite sports career. Well, Aliya disagrees and thinks she can combine sports and relationship just fine. However, there were some changes. She is extremely independent and it was new for her to be able to rely on someone, to have someone to do things for her, to take care of her. She's still not quite used to it.
They met last fall at a Moscow hospital that specializes in treating athletes - she was there for rehab after her knee surgery and Aleksey was getting a treatment for his injury (he's on the national bobsled team). They liked each other instantly and eventually started dating, but then Aleksey went abroad for competitions, because his winter season was starting. Aleksey says that he realized things are getting serious when he went away. They spent all the free time they had from training on the phone, constantly talking and texting.
The documentary includes a short video that Aleksey sent to Aliya from Lake Placid where he says that they're always together even when they're apart and he's grateful for the existence of internet.
In December he told Aliya he'll be in Moscow on New Year on a layover to Germany and she asked him to celebrate New Year with her (in Russia this is a huge holiday). He says that in recent years it was the first New Year he spent with his loved one and not on the road.
Alexey recites a short poem he wrote to Aliya about their time apart and when he couldn't fall asleep from all the competition jitters:
Засыпаю дольше, чем сплю.
Просыпаюсь дольше, чем надо.
Как бы мне так заснуть одному,
а проснуться уже с тобой рядом?
Approximate translation (I'm really bad at translating poetry. It sounds much better in Russian): It takes me more time to fall asleep that I actually sleep and it takes me long time to wake up. I wish I could wake up next to you even though I went to sleep alone.
Aliya says one of the challenges in their relationship is that she's a very serious person and doesn't joke at all, while Aleksey jokes all the time. They're both very stubborn and it's often hard for them to compromise. Aleksey says that at first he didn't really notice that Aliya is a difficult person, even though he read it about her in the articles. Aliya comments that it's really hard sometimes for Aleksey to deal with her, but they manage.
In summer she went to Krasnodar to visit Aleksey and his parents (they live in a village near Krasnodar, it's in the southern Russia) and they've accepted her as their own daughter from the very first day, even though they couple haven't yet announced that they want to marry.
Aliya says their relationship was a big factor in her decision not to retire before 2016 Olympics, because she thought that she'd watch him competing and miss sports. Aleksey also tried to persuade her not to give up. She says that Aleksey is planning on competing for another 10 years, so she wants to return to the sport, too, after she finishes her studies (and gives birth, I guess - the documentary was shot before they made an official announcement about the baby).
For Aleksey, it was very hard to watch Aliya compete, because for the first time he was nervous for someone else. He was texting her non-stop during the Olympics even though she didn't look at her phone during the training and competition, so she would read his hundreds of texts in the evening.
Aleksey officially proposed after they both decided they want to marry. He created a quest game in their apartment, when at the end she found the ring attached to a balloon.
She went to shop for a wedding dress with her mom and a friend and chose the dress very quickly, refusing to try other dresses on. They had quite a small wedding. Aleksey says he really loved the dress and how Aliya looked on the wedding day.
They still spend a lot of time apart, because Aleksey is currently training for the Winter Olympics and competing abroad, so they can't wait to spend more time together.
They really want kids. For now, they're planning on having three kids and don't care whether if they'll have boys of girls. Although, if they have a girl. Aliys wants her to do rhythmic gymnastics.
Aliys says she's the boss in their family even though Alexey doesn't know it.
Aleksey says Aliya makes him extremely happy.
The documentary is in Russian, so I made a summary.
Aliya starts with saying that many people think that if a girl starts a serious relationship with someone, she will not be able to continue an elite sports career. Well, Aliya disagrees and thinks she can combine sports and relationship just fine. However, there were some changes. She is extremely independent and it was new for her to be able to rely on someone, to have someone to do things for her, to take care of her. She's still not quite used to it.
They met last fall at a Moscow hospital that specializes in treating athletes - she was there for rehab after her knee surgery and Aleksey was getting a treatment for his injury (he's on the national bobsled team). They liked each other instantly and eventually started dating, but then Aleksey went abroad for competitions, because his winter season was starting. Aleksey says that he realized things are getting serious when he went away. They spent all the free time they had from training on the phone, constantly talking and texting.
The documentary includes a short video that Aleksey sent to Aliya from Lake Placid where he says that they're always together even when they're apart and he's grateful for the existence of internet.
In December he told Aliya he'll be in Moscow on New Year on a layover to Germany and she asked him to celebrate New Year with her (in Russia this is a huge holiday). He says that in recent years it was the first New Year he spent with his loved one and not on the road.
Alexey recites a short poem he wrote to Aliya about their time apart and when he couldn't fall asleep from all the competition jitters:
Засыпаю дольше, чем сплю.
Просыпаюсь дольше, чем надо.
Как бы мне так заснуть одному,
а проснуться уже с тобой рядом?
Approximate translation (I'm really bad at translating poetry. It sounds much better in Russian): It takes me more time to fall asleep that I actually sleep and it takes me long time to wake up. I wish I could wake up next to you even though I went to sleep alone.
Aliya says one of the challenges in their relationship is that she's a very serious person and doesn't joke at all, while Aleksey jokes all the time. They're both very stubborn and it's often hard for them to compromise. Aleksey says that at first he didn't really notice that Aliya is a difficult person, even though he read it about her in the articles. Aliya comments that it's really hard sometimes for Aleksey to deal with her, but they manage.
In summer she went to Krasnodar to visit Aleksey and his parents (they live in a village near Krasnodar, it's in the southern Russia) and they've accepted her as their own daughter from the very first day, even though they couple haven't yet announced that they want to marry.
Aliya says their relationship was a big factor in her decision not to retire before 2016 Olympics, because she thought that she'd watch him competing and miss sports. Aleksey also tried to persuade her not to give up. She says that Aleksey is planning on competing for another 10 years, so she wants to return to the sport, too, after she finishes her studies (and gives birth, I guess - the documentary was shot before they made an official announcement about the baby).
For Aleksey, it was very hard to watch Aliya compete, because for the first time he was nervous for someone else. He was texting her non-stop during the Olympics even though she didn't look at her phone during the training and competition, so she would read his hundreds of texts in the evening.
Aleksey officially proposed after they both decided they want to marry. He created a quest game in their apartment, when at the end she found the ring attached to a balloon.
She went to shop for a wedding dress with her mom and a friend and chose the dress very quickly, refusing to try other dresses on. They had quite a small wedding. Aleksey says he really loved the dress and how Aliya looked on the wedding day.
They still spend a lot of time apart, because Aleksey is currently training for the Winter Olympics and competing abroad, so they can't wait to spend more time together.
They really want kids. For now, they're planning on having three kids and don't care whether if they'll have boys of girls. Although, if they have a girl. Aliys wants her to do rhythmic gymnastics.
Aliys says she's the boss in their family even though Alexey doesn't know it.
Aleksey says Aliya makes him extremely happy.
Good for them! To be honest, I'm finding it hard to believe she'll continue with gymnastics after she haves her baby.
ReplyDeleteThanks a ton for the translation!
on one hand, I think it's very unlikely and with any other Russian gymnast I would be sure they won't return. On the other hand, it's Aliya and you never know with her. Also, she has very supportive parents and in Russia grandparents often take a major part in child-rearing, so she might be able to actually pull it off with some special training accommodations.
DeleteI really hope that Aliya would not be too hurry coming back, at least wait for two years, because new born baby really needs mother's fully care!!
DeleteThanks for the translation! I love Aliya's gymnastics. If she continues with gymnastics after having the baby, I wonder how that will work at Round Lake. Perhaps she will have to train on her own like Chuso to get more flexibility for training and family.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the translation!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the translation!
ReplyDelete