Lida (gymnastics.org.au, 01 Jan 2019)

Athlete

English, Russian

Aspire Gymnastics Academy [Brisbane, QLD, AUS]

Iuliia Iakovleva [mother]

Her mother Iuliia Iakovleva has coached rhythmic gymnastics in Australia. (Nikki Fogden-Moore The Mojo Maker YouTube channel, 28 Sep 2018)

She took up the sport at age five in the Russian Federation. (Aspire Gymnastics Academy Facebook page, 12 Aug 2019; gymnastics.org.au, 28 Feb 2017)

"Rhythmic gymnastics is a very popular sport [in the Russian Federation]. My parents decided to take me to a class and I loved it from the first class I ever did." (Aspire Gymnastics Academy Facebook page, 12 Aug 2019)

To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Away from sport, she aspires to become a doctor. (sahof.org.au, 08 Jan 2022)

She trains about 30 hours per week. (Aspire Gymnastics Academy Facebook page, 07 Sep 2020)

Competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (gymqld.org.au, 20 Jul 2021)

Russian rhythmic gymnast Evgenia Kanaeva. (gymnastics.org.au, 28 Feb 2017)

Her mother Iuliia, and Aspire Gymnastics Academy owner Anya Tabolkina. (gymqld.org.au, 20 Jul 2021)

"Before I step onto the competition floor I usually do 10 plies while repeating to myself, 'I am breathing out the nerves', then I do 10 more plies while repeating the main corrections in my routine and finally finish off with, 'I will fight till the end'." (gymqld.org.au, 20 Jul 2021)

"Keep working hard and never give up. Even if it's hard, you have to set goals and work towards achieving them and then it will become easier." (Aspire Gymnastics Academy Facebook page, 12 Aug 2019)

She was named 2021 International Athlete of the Year at the Gymnastics Queensland Annual Awards in Australia. (gymqld.org.au, 31 Mar 2022)

General
MOVE TO AUSTRALIA
Born in Petrozavodsk, Russian Federation, she moved to Australia with her family at age seven. (Aspire Gymnastics Academy Facebook page, 12 Aug 2019; gymnastics.org.au, 28 Feb 2017)

TRAINING CAMP ABROAD
At age 12 she returned to the Russian Federation to take part in a training camp under coach Elena Kholodova. "The first time I trained in Russia, my performance instantly improved due to their intense training structure and discipline, which I have now adopted in my own training. When I returned home to Australia after my first training session in Russia, I surprised the rest of the competition. During the Sydney selection trials for the [2016] Pacific Rim Championships, I ended up ranking No.1 due to the new skills I had learnt. This was a turning point for me. It was then that I started to believe in myself as a gymnast and I realised that this was what I wanted to pursue as my career." (olympics.com.au, 18 Jul 2018)

COACHING
She has worked with some of the younger rhythmic gymnasts at Aspire Gymnastics Academy in Brisbane, QLD, Australia. "I assist my coach in training some of the younger gymnasts within my club by demonstrating some of the complex and difficult skills so they could learn. My long-term goal after gymnastics is to go into coaching and developing not only the sport in Australia but the future development of our young girls in the sport." (asf.org.au, 01 Jan 2019)