Many are raving about a new Gymnastike (text) interview. It is superb.
Anyone who was a gymnastics fan in the early ’90s knows the name Tatiana Lysenko. Crisp and confident, Lysenko combined artistry with cutting-edge acrobatics, exemplifying the Soviet gymnastics tradition.
You trained under Oleg Ostapenko for years. When did he become your coach?
I started training with Oleg when I was nine or ten years old. I was incredibly lucky to be at the right place at the right time. …
On Round Lake:
I can imagine that it was a lot of pressure.
Our program was so strong that it was more challenging to prove that you belonged on the team than to prove to the rest of the world that you should win an event. Between 1990 and 1992, every move you made was critical, and you could never rest on your laurels. And not only did your performance in competitions matter, but every mock meet, every training session was critical. It was a very intense period in my life. For example, one day in training, as I was preparing to do my balance beam routine, Alexandrov walked up and said, “OK, if you stick this one, you’re in.” It was sort of a joke, but the pressure was on immediately. No one told me that I would be evaluated by the head coach on that day at that time. I did nail it, thankfully. …
Click PLAY or watch the 1992 Olympic Beam Champion on YouTube.
… She … lives in the Bay Area and currently works as an attorney in the field of legal discovery. Lysenko met her husband, Yogesh, who works in the technology industry, in California; the couple has a three-year-old daughter, Sophia.
MUST READ – A Conversation with Tatiana Lysenko
Gymnastics Coaching.com 