Occupation
Athlete
Education
Coaching - Smolensk State University of Sport: Russia
Family
Wife Daria Spiridonova
Spoken languages
Russian
Club
Dynamo Moscow [RUS] / Rostov-na-Donu Sports School of Olympic Reserve No.2 [RUS]: Russia
Coach
Anatoly Zabelin [personal], RUS
Sporting relatives
His wife Daria Spiridonova has represented the Russian Federation in artistic gymnastics, and won a silver medal in the team event at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (vtbrussia.ru, 27 May 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 17 Dec 2018)
International senior debut
2015
Injuries
He competed at the 2017 Russian Championships despite suffering from a foot injury. (intlgymnast.com, 05 Mar 2017)
Start sporting career
He took up gymnastics at age six in Rostov-na-Donu, Russian Federation.
Reason for taking up the sport
He was a mischievous child so his grandmother, who was tasked with disciplining him, took him to a gymnastics club where one of her friends worked as a coach, to channel his energy.
Most memorable sporting achievement
Winning a gold medal in the team all-around at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (championat.com, 03 Aug 2021)
Hero / Idol
Russian artistic gymnast Alexei Nemov, Japanese artistic gymnast Kohei Uchimura. (tass.ru, 09 Nov 2020)
Philosophy / Motto
"Nothing in this life is easy. The price of success, as a rule, is smaller than the price of failure." (Athlete, 19 Sep 2018)
Awards
In recognition of his achievements at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, he received the Order of Friendship from the president of the Russian Federation. (kremlin.ru, 11 Aug 2021)
He was named the Ministry of Sports of Russia's 2020 Athlete of the Year. (donland.ru, 06 Nov 2020)
For his performance at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he received the title of Honoured Master of Sport and the Order for Merits to the Fatherland [first grade] of the Russian Federation. (minsport.gov.ru, 09 Aug 2016; kremlin.ru, 25 Aug 2016)
In December 2016 the Sports School of Olympic Reserve No.2 in Rostov-na-Donu, Russian Federation, named one of its gyms in his honour. (rostovgymnast.ru, 27 Dec 2016)
Additional information
NAMED ELEMENT
He credits the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 for encouraging him to learn a triple salto backward piked on floor exercise, which he debuted at the 2021 European Championships in Basel, Switzerland. The skill was subsequently named 'the Nagornyy' by the International Gymnastics Federation [FIG] and awarded an "I" element value. "It was my dream, one of the few in sports. Who suggested that I do this triple somersault? The coronavirus is to blame for everything. Being in a long quarantine, I got the idea to do such a somersault. The first time I tried it on a trampoline, and I kept in my head the idea that it is possible to do it on the floor in competitions. The story is not as beautiful as it might seem, but a dream come true, a personalised element." (FIG Facebook page, 03 May 2021; championat.com, 25 Apr 2021).
CHAMPIONS ACADEMY
In 2018 he founded Champions Academy gymnastics school for children and adults in Putilkovo, close to Moscow, Russian Federation. "It's a commercial enterprise. I want to earn in order to be able to create gyms in [Russian] regions. Maybe, some time later, like-minded people will appear with whom we will join our efforts. My dream is to help the development of gymnastics in the regions. There are a lot of schools in Moscow but people from other places write to me that they would like to do gymnastics but it's not possible anywhere. I would like to give an opportunity to such people to try to practise our sport. And let the children, who are still deciding on which sport to do, make a choice in favour of gymnastics." (teamrussia.pro, 24 Apr 2019; Instagram profile, 30 Sep 2018)
YOUTH ARMY CHIEF
In December 2020 he was appointed to the post of chief of the headquarters of Yunarmia [Youth Army], an All-Russian youth movement involving 700,000 young people and with branches in every region on the country. (rostovgazata.ru, 20 Dec 2020; avangard.center, 28 Apr 2021)
Last update : 2024-07-22