Childhood
Mustafina Aliya was born on September 30, 1994 in Yegoryevsk. Her mother, Elena Anatolyevna Kuznetsova, is a physics teacher. Father, Farhat Mustafin, is a professional Greco-Roman wrestler. When Aliya was born, he was working as a coach at CSKA. Mustafina has a younger sister, Nailya. She also does gymnastics and has already become a master of sports. The sisters’ maternal grandparents are from the Moscow region, and their paternal grandparents are from the Nizhny Novgorod region.
First training
Six-year-old Aliya was brought to the gymnastics section by her father. After some time, she began to win victories in her first competitions. At the third Spartakiad, Aliya received five gold medals at once. But she soon quit training. The reason was a quarrel with the coach, D. Kamalova. After some time, Aliya returned to her studies. But already to a new coach - Alexander Alexandrov. The young athlete found a common language with him.
“We hope Mustafina will return for the Olympics”
The head of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation, Vasily Titov, hopes that two-time Olympic champion Aliya Mustafina, who took a break from her career at the end of October, will have time to return to the national team before the 2020 Olympic Games. He said this in an interview with Izvestia. Vasily Titov also spoke about the need to urgently update the women’s team, the progress of the men’s team, and assessed the chances of our team to win more medals in Tokyo than in Rio 2016.
— How do you assess the performance of the Russian team at the World Championships in Stuttgart, where we won nine medals and came second in the overall standings?
“We performed great, but we still have some work to do.” First of all, I mean the women's team. It requires strengthening and serious updating. It's good that we have time for this. We won the team license for the Tokyo Games back at the 2018 World Cup in Doha, so we had a free hand in Germany. There was an opportunity to experiment, to see who was better prepared and who was worse.
— Could there be any changes in the coaching staff of the women’s team?
“It is important for gymnasts to avoid euphoria”
Olympic champion Alexey Nemov - about the long-awaited success of the Russians at the World Cup and the phenomenon of Oksana Chusovitina
— All coaches will retain their positions. There are no complaints about their work. But some girls will leave the national team. Objectively, there is now a generational change in the women’s team, and the renewal must be decisive. It needs to be carried out as quickly as possible so that the new squad can calmly prepare for the main start of the four-year anniversary.
— Is there a possibility that the titled gymnast Aliya Mustafina, who took a break from her career, will return to the 2020 Games? In an interview with Izvestia, Svetlana Khorkina practically ruled out this option...
- Let's hope so. Aliya is a very strong gymnast, the leader of the team in spirit. The team really misses her. If Mustafina manages to return to Tokyo, we will be very happy.
— In the absence of Aliya Mustafina, the team leader can be called three-time European champion, silver medalist of the 2016 Games Angelina Melnikova?
“It’s difficult to compare them, they are different athletes, but Angelina really has leadership qualities and the character of a winner. Sometimes she lacks stability, but I believe that she can still improve.
— The men's team took six medals in Stuttgart, including winning gold in the team all-around for the first time since 1991. What can you say about this generation of gymnasts?
— There is no need to over-praise them, but objectively, this is the strongest team in the last 20 years. All the guys are ready to show their best in Tokyo. The main thing is not to lose this victorious spirit. Actually, the entire logic of preparation will be subordinated to this. Now we need to work on obtaining two more individual Olympic licenses, and if everything goes well, the whole team will be represented at the Olympic Games.
— In Rio, our team won eight medals (one gold, four silver, three bronze), only the USA had more (12). True, the Americans received four highest awards at once. What can we expect in Tokyo?
“After the injury I didn’t count on two golds”
Gymnast David Belyavsky - about the triumph in Minsk and the main competitors at the World Championships
— The tasks are clear to everyone. We will try to perform even better than in Brazil. I won’t try to guess how many gold medals there will be. Artistic gymnastics is a very difficult and competitive sport; now many more countries are competing for medals here than even a few years ago. Unfortunately, the times when we reigned supreme in this sport are in the past. The USA, China, Italy, Japan, Great Britain, Ukraine have very strong teams...
In general, gymnastics has made great progress. It has become more complex as a sport, but at the same time it is developing in a number of countries from which high results were never expected. At the 2019 World Championships, athlete from the Philippines Carlos Yulo won gold in the floor exercise, the Turks won two medals on the rings (gold by Ibrahim Colak) and parallel bars (silver by Ahmet Onder), and the Belgian athlete Nina Derval won gold in the uneven bars...
— Is attendance at international tournaments growing?
- Undoubtedly. Still, this is a difficult sport to understand; in order to watch it with interest, you need to understand many small details. These are not gaming types where the rules can be understood in one match. However, there are two cities in Europe - Stuttgart and Glasgow - where the public loves artistic gymnastics. People go there not only to competitions, but even to warm-ups. The stands are always filled to capacity. I hope there will be several more places like this around the world soon.
— I can’t help but ask you about the situation with the rechecking of samples from the Moscow laboratory, which could lead to the deprivation of RUSADA’s compliance status. Are you following developments?
- Of course, I'm watching. But there is no point in commenting on anything ahead of time.
— If Russian athletes go to the Olympics again under a neutral flag, can we expect that in artistic gymnastics we will have a full-fledged composition - everyone who has received Olympic licenses?
- We will work on this. But again, we must believe in a positive scenario, that our team will perform in Tokyo under its own flag.
Adult career
In 2009, at the Russian Championships, the athlete received gold, and a second medal of the same type for the team competition. In individual all-around events she took 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. At the Cup - a victory was won in the all-around. These competitions were qualifying, but since Aliya was not yet 16 years old, she could not get to the World Championships.
From the World Gymnasium, Mustafina brought 5 gold medals and one silver. After a long break, she began to participate in competitions again only in 2010. At the European Championships, Aliya Mustafina took gold and two silver medals. In Rotterdam, she participated in the Japan Open Cup tournament as part of the national team.
Mustafina became a member of the team that was supposed to compete at the World Championships in 2010. She won two gold and three silver medals. In 2011 she performed in Jacksonville, where she took second place. In Paris she became the first in three all-around events. In 2013 she received a gold medal in Moscow.
Awards
- 2010 - five medals at the World Championships in Rotterdam: two gold in team performance and all-around, three silver in vault, uneven bars and floor performance
- 2010 - three medals at the European Championships in Birmingham: gold for team performance and two silver for performances on uneven bars and beam
- 2012 - four medals at the Olympic Games in London: gold for performance on uneven bars, silver for team performance and two bronze for all-around and floor performance
- 2012 – silver medal at the European Championships in Brussels for team performance
- 2013 - three medals at the World Championships in Antwerp: gold for performance on the balance beam, two bronze for performance on uneven bars and all-around
- 2013 - two gold medals at the European Championships in Moscow: for all-around and performance on uneven bars
- 2014 - three bronze medals at the World Championships in Nanning: for team and floor performance and performance on the balance beam
- 2014 - three medals at the European Championships in Sofia: silver for performance on uneven bars and two bronze for team performance and performance on balance beam
- 2016 - three medals at the European Championships in Bern: two gold - for team performance and performance on the balance beam, bronze - for performance on the uneven bars
- 2016 - three medals at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro: gold for performance on uneven bars, silver for team performance and bronze for all-around
Injury
April 8, 2011 was a bad day for Aliya. At the European Championships, the athlete suffered a leg injury. Aliya landed unsuccessfully after her vault. The team coach had to carry her off the platform. Due to the injury, she was withdrawn from further competition.
Aliya was examined by German doctors and diagnosed with a ruptured cruciate ligament in her left knee. Surgery was required. It was carried out on April 13 in a special clinic. After the operation, long-term rehabilitation was required. As a result, Aliya Mustafina missed the World Cup and began training again only three months after her injury.
Many were surprised at how quickly Mustafina recovered, since the injury was very serious. Andrei Rodionenko believed that Aliya would now have a fear of performing and this would not even allow her to maintain the level of skill she had achieved. But Aliya was sure that she had no fear and would not have it.
Personal life of Aliya Mustafina
In 2012, Aliya Mustafina graduated from school.
Next, the girl entered the correspondence department of the Russian State University of Oil and Gas named after. Gubkina. Her specialty is Economics and Management. Although the girl did not like to study, she enjoyed attending physics and algebra classes. By the way, the girl has not yet decided on her religion. The girl has a rather difficult character. But, according to Valentina Rodionenko, she has an important quality that every athlete needs. Aliya knows how to pull herself together at the right moment. Coach Mustafina states that all athletes have quite complex characters. Alexander Alexandrov adds that Aliya is the most difficult member of the team. This is confirmed by the gymnast’s father. And he says that his daughter is very vulnerable. The athlete herself says that she, compared to her sister, is very calm.
Olympics 2012
And indeed, the athlete soon fully recovered. In 2012, the Olympic Games were held in London, where Aliya again distinguished herself, winning another gold, silver and bronze. As a result, the athlete became the most titled Russian woman. For her achievements, the champion was personally congratulated by the President of Russia V.V. Putin, the Minister of Sports V. Mutko and the head of Tatarstan R. Minnikhanov. In an interview, Aliya said that she is not going to quit gymnastics and will continue to prepare for the next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The best quotes from gymnast Aliya Mustafina from social networks
On the last day of September, Aliya Mustafina celebrates her 19th birthday. This young gymnast has so many sporting achievements that it is difficult to list them. Aliya’s main victories at the 2012 Olympics in London were the Olympic championship in the uneven bars exercises, as well as the silver and bronze medals at the 2012 Olympics. Mustafina was named "Sportswoman of the Year" in Russia in 2012. And also, following the results of the 2012 Olympics, Aliya became the most mentioned athlete on Russian social networks. On her Twitter, VKontakte and Facebook pages, the famous gymnast shares her personal experiences, thoughts, and secrets of sports victories with friends and sports fans...
About sports and gymnastics
“There is so much torment during training: running, jumping, stretching... Many people don’t understand how you can live THIS way! But I love this life!” (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“When there are no competitions for a long time, you start to dream about it and get goosebumps when you imagine yourself on the platform!” (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“I like everything about artistic gymnastics. Perform, train, even when it’s hard. In the near future, I simply won’t be able to live without her” (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“Gymnastics is my whole life” (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“The best school is the gym. There is no place for glamor and pathos, there is only the desire to train hard!” (vk.com/id19257153)
“Sport is a force that either breaks a person or lifts him to the skies” (vk.com/id19257153)
“Sport is a secret weapon that is always with you!” (vk.com/id19257153)
“The carpet on which we grew up will always remain a home for us” (vk.com/id19257153)
“Here I go after training and see my peers walking, drinking and smoking. What about me? And I’m proud to leave training!” (vk.com/id19257153)
About the secrets of sports victories
“I want to shout about my happiness so that the whole world knows about it!” (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“I never had idols. I always wanted to be unique, like no one else, ever. I have my own path in gymnastics" (vk.com/id19257153)
“I live for today. I never make plans, even for tomorrow” (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“You don’t need to regret what happened... Go forward and don’t look back!” (vk.com/id19257153)
“Many people greatly underestimate themselves. This is wrong. You are better than you think. You can do more than you think..." (vk.com/id19257153)
“Everyone has failures in life, but you need to pull yourself together and continue to move towards the goal” (vk.com/id19257153)
“Self-confidence and energy are what you need, but despair leads to doing nothing” (vk.com/id19257153)
“To achieve what you want, you will have to give up all excuses and regrets” (vk.com/id19257153)
“The incentive will begin to gain momentum when you see your first results” (vk.com/id19257153)
“Don’t feel sorry for yourself, and you will become the first!” (vk.com/id19257153)
“Only by giving it your all will you find out how far you can go” (vk.com/id19257153)
“Whatever your goal is, you can achieve it if you are only willing to work hard” (vk.com/id19257153)
“To defeat others, you must defeat yourself!” (vk.com/id19257153)
London 2012 Olympics, Aliya Mustafina - uneven bars exercises (video in English):
London 2012 Olympics, Aliya Mustafina - floor exercise:
“The best way to gain self-confidence is to do what you are afraid to do” (vk.com/id19257153)
“I don’t like to do things that I can do without. But I always do what needs to be done thoroughly” (vk.com/id19257153)
“Everything looks so easy on TV. But few people understand how hard it is to get it all” (vk.com/id19257153)
About personal
“Surround yourself only with those people who will lift you higher. It’s just that life is already full of those who want to drag you down” (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“And no matter what happens to you, don’t take anything to heart. Little in the world is important for a long time" (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“How nice it is to realize that in this big world, there are people who need you!” (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“I’m horrified to think that people might start recognizing me on the subway” (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“Wake up in order to fall asleep again - that’s the essence of the weekend...” (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“The stronger you are, the bigger you are, the kinder you become!” (vk.com/public46093980)
“The stronger you are, the bigger you are, the kinder you become!” (vk.com/public46093980)
“Sometimes you really want to run away from everything and everyone... And at the same time you really want support... but there is none...” (twitter.com/AliyaMustafina_)
“Appreciate every moment you live next to your parents!” (vk.com/id19257153)
2013–2014
A few days before the competition, the champion caught a bad cold. Doctors allowed her to participate in the 2013 Universiade, but the difficulty was that Aliya missed a week of training. And the athlete once again proved her professionalism by winning gold and second place.
Aliya Mustafina also participated in the 2013 World Championships. On the final day, she was in 4th position. But she was able to win two bronze medals. And on the final day, Mustafina won another gold. In 2014, at the European Championships in Sofia, the athlete again received bronze. And in June she had ankle surgery in Germany. Rehabilitation took a month. But already in August, Mustafina again won another victory for the Russian Cup. And then the champion had to have her back treated in Germany.
Two-time Olympic champion talks about recovery from injury and summer vacation.
Mustafina’s return to the big stage after the birth of her daughter has already taken place: in April, she competed at the Russian Championships in Kazan and even won the team competition there. Then Aliya planned to get into her best shape for the August European Championships in Glasgow.
However, an injury interfered with the plans. Due to pain in her knee, Mustafina watched the continental championship on TV. The coaches are now speaking rather vaguely about her preparation, but the champion herself is eager to go to the World Championships, which will take place from October 25 to November 3 in Qatar.
LEARNING NEW ELEMENTS. AND NOT ONLY ON BAR
– Aliya, how are you feeling now?
– I am training and planning to prepare for the World Championships. The health situation has already become much better. I try to work to my full potential. Of course, the problem did not completely go away, but the doctor gave the go-ahead for me to jump.
– Will you prepare all the equipment for the World Championship?
– No, so far I only have a setup for parallel bars and beams. But if the opportunity arises, I will be glad to make not only these two shells.
– You posted a video on social networks where you learned new elements on the uneven bars. It turns out that you are not only remembering old programs, but also complicating them?
– Learning new elements, of course, is difficult at my age, but I’m trying to do it. And not only on uneven bars, but also on other apparatus. You can't stand still. I don’t want to talk more about this for now. Let's see what we can show at the competition.
– The national team coaches say that now you take training even more seriously than before, before the birth of your child.
“They rather think so.” It’s difficult for me to evaluate myself from the outside, but now I just understand what exactly and why I’m doing in the gym. I see a goal and go towards it. Everything has become very meaningful and I really enjoy gymnastics.
– Did you follow the recent European Championships in Glasgow?
– Of course, I closely followed all the performances. I liked the French women, I was surprised that they put together a good team and even managed to win the qualification.
– What can you say about the performances of our girls?
– I’m very happy about their victory in the team tournament. We managed to pull ourselves together and complete our programs without falling. In terms of the performances themselves, there were no special surprises for me, because I had seen a lot of girls in the audience before.
IT’S NOT EASY TO BE AT SEA WITH A SMALL CHILD
– During the European Championship, you yourself went with your daughter to relax at sea.
– This cannot be called a vacation in the full sense of the word. Of course, it’s not easy with a small child, and it’s completely different from relaxing on the beach. I didn’t go to the gym there either, there was no time for that. But I’m happy, the main goal was to take Alice to the sea so she could get some air. She learned a lot there, now she loves water and as soon as she sees it, she rushes towards it at full speed.
– What will you need to do to prove your right to compete at the World Championships?
– On September 16, we begin a preparatory training camp in Novogorsk. There will be a series of control training sessions. These estimates will determine who will make it to the team.
– Have you already decided on your personal goals if you go to Qatar?
“We will all have an obvious goal - to try to get a license to perform at the Olympic Games this year. To do this you will need to place in the top three in the team competition. In principle, the task is difficult, but real. All coaches and gymnasts will try to show the maximum result.
NATALIA MARYANCHIK
Personal life
The champion's personal life is quite romantic. Aliya Mustafina and Alexey Zaitsev met in the fall of 2020. They are the same age. The young people met in the hospital. Aliya's boyfriend is an athlete, and they were both recovering from injuries. The novel developed rapidly.
But the young people were in no hurry to get married. Their love was tested by time. Meetings were rare - between training sessions, competitions - and lasted a whole year. It didn’t hurt that Aliya and Alexey live in different cities. But finally the news appeared that a year after the meeting, Aliya Mustafina’s wedding would take place.
Her chosen one does not yet have as many awards as his beloved. But he already took first places at the European and Russian championships. So far, his age in bobsleigh is equivalent to that of a junior. So the young people still have a lot of time ahead to conquer the sports Olympus. The wedding of Aliya Mustafina and Alexey Zaitsev took place on November 3, 2020.
The young people, as they wanted, did not organize a magnificent celebration. Everything was modest, homely. The wedding took place in Alexey’s homeland, Krasnodar. Until recently, not only the media, but even coaches and friends did not know about her. The lovers kept the joyful event a secret until the last.
Aliya Mustafina was left alone with a small child
Aliya Mustafina // Photo: Instagram
The name of Aliya Mustafina has already been written in golden letters in the history of artistic gymnastics - by the age of 23, she had won about 40 medals of various denominations, including two Olympic gold ones: in London in 2012 and in Rio de Janeiro four years later.
Despite the fact that coaches have stated that the athlete has a difficult character, Mustafina has thousands of fans and admirers around the world who closely follow not only her professional career, but also the personal life of the gymnast.
In November 2020, Aliya married bobsledder, member of the national team Alexei Zaitsev. The young people decided to get married a year after they met.
Olympic champion Aliya Mustafina got married
And on June 9, 2020, Aliya became a mother for the first time - the gymnast gave birth to a daughter, whom she and Alexey named Alisa.
And now, a year and a half after the wedding, the gymnast announced that she had divorced her husband and father of her daughter. She announced this on her Instagram page. Mustafina noted that there were no special reasons for the divorce, and the former spouses also had no complaints against each other.
Aliya Mustafina and Alexey Zaitsev got married in November 2020 // Photo: Instagram
“Dear subscribers, I would really like you to receive all the important information from me personally. Therefore, I want to inform you that a month ago I got divorced. So that you don’t have any questions or unnecessary speculations, I will try to close them right away. There is no reason as such, it’s just that my ex-husband turned out to be not my person. We also have no complaints against each other. I love Alisa very much and am very grateful to Lesha for our daughter. And I ask you not to raise this topic again,” wrote Aliya Mustafina.
Fans from all over the world and in different languages - Russian, English, Chinese - supported the athlete, some noted that the troubles in their family had been noticeable for a long time, others simply wished Aliya to find her other half. “Aliya! Thank you for your courage and frankness. Our children are happy when their parents are happy! You deserve true happiness in everything,” “It’s a shame. But if it doesn’t work out, I wish you to find love, happiness and harmony with another,” “It was noticeable for a long time that you burst. It’s a pity... I hope you find the right one, don’t just waste yourself on bullshit,” “Everything that is done is for the better! Happiness to you and your daughter and success in your sports career!”
After a short forced break due to pregnancy and childbirth, Aliya Mustafina returned to training. Now the gymnast is intensively preparing for the European Championships, which will be held in Glasgow in August this year.
