Russian team won 31 gold medals in the European freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling championship among sportsmen with a hearing impairment in Gomel, Belarus. We discussed the results of the tournament with the Russian senior coach for Greco-Roman wrestling among hard-of-hearing sportsmen Vladimir Gorinov.
- We performed more than successfully. Top coaches have been working with the athletes. We showed better results than we did last time. We held the championship in Vladimir last year. We won 8 gold medals, 1 silver and 1 bronze medals in Greco-Roman wrestling, which were prerequisites for the future success, - started Gorinov.
Vladimir Gorivon is a merited master of sport in Greco-Roman wrestling, honoured Russian coach, senior coach of the national team in Greco-Roman wresting among hard-of-hearing, a member of the Russian Committee of Deaf Sports
- What were your winning goals?
- I don’t like to make the expectations public. Aleksey Shevtsov, a winner of the European championship and Aleksey Glushkov, graduate of Olympic Reserve College №1 are on the staff. Aleksey Glushkov is a Principal of one of the leading Moscow schools «Sparta». He joined us 9 years ago as a coach of the Moscow Region team. This is how coaches and athletes advance with us. We had a game among the coaches where everyone predicted the results of their teams. I would take the sheets to the tournaments and we compared them after. Wrestling is one of the most subjective kinds of sport. You should be way ahead of others.
- Wrestling tournaments are quite emotional. Sometimes it’s more than just a verbal argument, spectators get involved in physical abuse. Is it different during the tournaments for hard-of-hearing athletes?
- It happens in places where the security work is poorly managed. People with a hearing impairment don’t express their emotions loudly. All the emotions are in mimicry and gestures. Everything is calm and quite.
- Are athletes with a hearing impairment judged differently?
- Seconds aren’t allowed to give a verbal command. Some gestures are added. The same happens in volleyball and football. If a referee stops a game he should explain the reasons for that.
- How is the sparring stopped?
- By touching a shoulder. Exceeding the competition area, twisting fingers, unitards - are all forbidden. These are common gestures not only for athletes with a hearing impairment.
- Athletes with a hearing impairment are usually trained by able-bodied coaches. How long does it take to master sign language?
-It depends on a person and how fast he wants to be understood. Also it depends on an athlete. Sometimes it happens that they look away. If he doesn’t like you or is humiliated and pressured by you he just turns his back on you.
- How long does it take to learn the sign language in case of mutual understanding?
- It’s like the English language. In Soviet times we’d been learning it since the 5th grade but at the end nobody was fluent at it. Motivation and practice are needed. It’s not complicated.
- Who is your audience? Where do they learn about your competitions?
- People with a hearing impairment have a great announcement they pass round. The information goes through the hearing loss communities, places they work in and remedial schools.
- Do able-bodied come?
- Yes, they do. Some of them come to support their relatives. These are the ones who shout. It’s been highlighted by the mass media, also there is online broadcasting, sign language interpretation and news ticker.
- How are sports among those with a hearing impairment promoted these days in Russia?
- It hinges on the enthusiasm of some coaches and managers. Not all the regions are involved. There isn’t enough funding. Sport itself is the best tool for rehabilitation. They’ve been training with able-bodied athletes from the very childhood and are strongly supported by them - it’s priceless.
- What are the forthcoming and long-term goals?
- Participation in all-Russian competitions. According to the results of Championship of Russia athletes will be chosen for participation in World Championship in Turkey from 1st to 10th of June.
David Vladimirovich allows us to conduct the full workout. A big team of professionals is working here. As it’s said « It's the retinue that makes the king, but the king chooses the retinue.
Everything is well arranged - qualified specialists , food, accommodation. Everyone has one aim - to make the conditions for athletes better. I cannot name any other institution where so many transformations are being made to improve the life quality of sportsmen.