Hryshyn: “I felt like Father Frost after shower”

Belarusian Olympians got a very good impression of Vancouver and Canadians, said our sportsmen at the press conference. However, there were some things they would have been glad to avoid. Thus, a silver medal winner Syarhei Novikau confessed that he made himself eat the food offered by cooks of the hosts of the Olympics.

Syarhei Novikau: “I was satisfied with the food only on the first day. Then everything palled, everything lacked salt and was uncommon in some way. I ate automatically because I had to eat something. I was not impressed”.



A freestyle Olympic champion Alyaksei Hryshyn confessed he felt like a Father Frost because of towels in his room.

Alyaksei Hryshyn: “They do not wipe, they remain on your body. Then you take a hair-drier and try to take everything off. I went to the laundry and tried to wash those towels. Nothing helped. Imagine: if you use them before shaving, you start looking like a Father Frost – your beard becomes white”.



A freestyle skier Asol Slivets explained why she had disturbed her colleagues at night.

Asol Slivets: “The walls in our rooms were too thin. We had three single rooms. It turned out that some people had to wake up early or to go to a training session. For example, me and Ala had to leave at 5 a.m. once – the others had to wake up too because everything could be heard clearly. If somebody went to the washroom – the other inhabitants of the house could hear everything in detail”.



An ERB reporter wondered whether the Olympians liked the uniform the journalist had had a chance to try on before they left for Canada. Everyone praised the uniform. They even said that other sportsmen envied them and suggested exchanging their uniform. However, they said that few of our sportsmen had agreed to it as they had wanted to keep the uniform. The bronze medal winner Darya Domrachava said that the only problem was that women’s blazers were way too big.

Darya Domrachava: “The size of the blazers was too big for our women’s team. All the blazers were huge and we looked like snowmen”.



However, sportsmen said that all those problems were encountered in the welcoming atmosphere of Vancouver. Especially after Alyaksei Hryshhyn’s victory, said Asol Slivets.

Asol Slivets: “We went for a walk in Vancouver on the day that followed Lyosha’s victory. People embraced us in the subway and shouted out: “Belarusians, you have the gold medal, you have the gold medal!”



Speaking about plans for the future, Alyaksei Hryshyn said he would visit a doctor and check his back for any complications. Then he will start training again. Syarei Novikau and Darya Domrachava reminded that the season was not over and they had to leave for the starting competition of the World Cup soon.

Having heard about health problems, journalists asked Alyaksei Hryshyn if he was scared to jump.

Alyaksei Hryshyn: “I am always scared – and it is normal. Every one of us is a bit scared. We try to overcome it. Probably, we get some adrenaline from it, from the flight and the moment. You cannot avoid being scared in this kind of sport. If you are not scared, you probably have some deviations in your mentality”.

Information about a freestyle skier Dzmitry Dashchynski leaving big-time sports appeared some time ago. However, he did not confirm it.

Dzmitry Dashchynski: “I have not announced it yet. Time will show: it depends on my condition and my desires – it is difficult to perform after so many years and to get the motivation to jump”.



At the end of the conference the sportsmen assured they would get ready for the Olympics in Sochi and prepare for new victories.

Photo by: Zmitser Lukashuk

See also:

Belarusian Olympians’ uniform was made in China