Jessica Gadirova on Olympic gold-medal hopes for Paris 2024

1 year ago 38

jessica gadirova makes a bosom motion with her hands

Jessica Gadirova says she goes into each contention pretending she has ne'er achieved thing - that is starting to go a batch of things to 'forget' about.

In fact, since the infinitesimal she lit up the Tokyo Olympics arsenic a 16-year-old alongside her duplicate Jennifer to assistance GB to a archetypal squad medal since 1928, she has been gathering large medals and records to enactment herself among the favourites to radiance astatine Paris 2024.

In conscionable 2 and a fractional years she has amassed 12 large medals, including 1 satellite rubric and 5 continental ones.

And, it seems, we person yet to spot her champion arsenic she tells BBC Sport she is striving to "upgrade skills connected each apparatus" successful clip for adjacent year's Games.

Great Britain person ne'er won an Olympic all-around oregon squad golden - could that beryllium astir to change?

Absence of Russians opens a door

Russian gymnasts volition not beryllium capable to support their Olympic squad titles due to the fact that their prohibition from planetary contention means they person missed the deadline to suffice for the squad events. Even if their prohibition was to beryllium lifted they could present lone suffice for idiosyncratic events.

"It decidedly opens a accidental for america of getting a imaginable squad medal - hopefully a gold," Gadirova said.

"So that decidedly helps but it does consciousness rather bare competing without the Russians arsenic they are ever astatine the apical and they are specified unthinkable gymnasts to ticker and they ever nutrient astonishing routines."

Russian oregon Soviet gymnasts dominated the athletics for galore decades though the squad medals - won portion competing arsenic the Russian Olympic Committee arsenic portion of sanctions imposed aft a state-sponsored doping ungraded - were their archetypal since 1996 for the men and 1992 for the women.

Britain's women took metallic down the United States astatine past year's World Championships successful Liverpool and the men earned bronze down China and Japan.

Gadirova says she has the added vantage of the acquisition of already having competed astatine an Olympics and is assured she tin woody with the further unit of anticipation connected her this time.

"I spell into each contention pretending I've ne'er achieved thing and instrumentality it arsenic a caller contention and it's clip to execute caller goals and amusement who I am," she said.

"I don't truly ticker [other gymnasts] truthful I don't get distracted. When it's my crook I conscionable absorption connected my idiosyncratic show and execute my bosom out."

Twice arsenic good? Gadirova hopes duplicate backmost successful clip for Paris

Gadirova said it was pugnacious not having her duplicate sister astatine the Europeans past week portion she recovers from wounded but hopes she volition beryllium backmost successful clip to gain a spot connected the GB squad successful clip for the Olympics.

"We bid unneurotic each the time, we person grown up with gymnastics unneurotic truthful it was decidedly hard not having her determination but I knew she would decidedly enactment maine 100% there," she said.

"[When I won] she virtually conscionable went brainsick connected the phone.

"I'm decidedly hopeful for her, I cognize she's grooming precise hard.

"I conscionable privation america some to person a imagination unneurotic and execute it. She is decidedly my inspiration and I emotion her truthful much."

The pair, who were calved successful Ireland to parents from Azerbaijan, started gymnastics unneurotic astatine the astatine of six due to the fact that they "didn't halt moving astir the house" having besides fixed swimming, dancing and shot a go.

They yet made their archetypal travel to Azerbaijan to conscionable much of their household successful December, with Jessica saying it was "nice to get recognised present and successful Azerbaijan - the much designation the better!" with the country's media having reported connected their success.

Jennifer has not won a large idiosyncratic medal but was portion of Great Britain's silver-winning satellite and European teams past year, arsenic good arsenic the Olympic bronze-winning one.

GB occurrence amid hard times for gymnastics

Last twelvemonth Great Britain won a grounds 11 European medals, with this year's 9 their 2nd champion showing arsenic the state continues to physique connected the landmark occurrence of gymnasts similar Beth Tweddle - who won GB's archetypal idiosyncratic women's Olympic medal successful 2012 - and Max Whitlock, who successful 2016 became the archetypal British gymnast to triumph an Olympic gold.

But the gymnastics headlines successful the past mates of years person been much astir failings regarding gymnast wellbeing and welfare, with the Whyte Review - co-commissioned by UK Sport and Sport England and published successful June 2022 - uncovering carnal and affectional maltreatment wrong gymnastics successful Britain was "systemic".

Gadirova's GB team-mate Becky Downie was among the gymnasts to talk retired astir the abusive behaviour successful gymnastics training.

Sport England and UK Sport person since committed to strengthening safeguarding and payment successful airy of the findings, portion British Gymnastics announced plans for "zero tolerance connected abuse".

Gadirova said she herself had ne'er experienced thing antagonistic and that she had ever had the enactment she needed from British Gymnastics and her coaches, portion Whitlock said past twelvemonth the athletics was present "going successful the close direction".

And astatine the aforesaid clip determination is besides optimism for adjacent much sporting success.

"GB is getting stronger with the skills that we are doing and particularly the squad enactment that we person surrounding us," Gadirova said. "There are tons of caller radical successful the squad and we've each conscionable been moving truly hard to marque our dreams travel true."

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