"I don't feel any lack of attention from the audience."

The winter season is in full swing in Russian track and field, the peak of which will be the Russian Indoor Championships, which will be held in Moscow in early March. One of the main stars of the current competition is the bronze medalist of the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, high jumper Ilya Ivanyuk. In an interview with Izvestia, he described what it's like to perform outside the international arena for three years, assessed the level of competition within the country and explained what he gets from the confrontation with another high jump star, world championship silver medalist Danil Lysenko.

- Are you satisfied with your results at the start of the winter season?

- Not yet. I thought I would show better results. At the "Battle of the Sexes" I wanted to jump about 2.30 meters and higher. But there were some difficulties - I will not talk about them. It didn't work out, unfortunately. And I didn't manage to perform well at the Russian Winter. Although the result of 2.27 meters is not bad, considering that after the warm-up there were doubts about the initial height. But I pulled myself together and performed a little better than I had originally thought. In general, perhaps, I did not guess with the form before these competitions. I hope to improve my readiness and results.

- You and Danil Lysenko are the two leaders of the Russian high jump in recent years. Does this confrontation add motivation?

- If I had achieved a result of 2.29 at the same "Battle of the Sexes", Danil's results would have been 2.31. Maybe I would have reached that mark. But there were some nuances that I was not able to observe, they prevented me. But in general I can say that the fight with Danil helps us to show good results.

- Are you satisfied with the calendar, which is now in the ban?

- I haven't looked at the calendar of the summer season yet, but for the winter season I can say that in general the competitions are interesting, but as if they are not enough. Although we, high jumpers, can't complain: we have already had four competitions this winter, and in some disciplines we have one or two starts. On the other hand, the winter season in athletics in general is short, so it's good that we have a place to compete. And it is very interesting to compete in such events as, for example, the Battle of the Sexes and Russian Winter. Several foreign athletes - from Turkey and Egypt - gathered at the Russian Winter. In fact, the tournament has become international again, as it was a few years ago. It is great that the organizers managed to gather such a group of participants.

- Do you feel the growth of spectators' interest in athletics during the absence of our athletes at international competitions?

- Yes, from the inside it seems that in recent seasons there has been a development of our competitions in terms of the interest of spectators. In winter people go to our starts quite well, and in summer it's great in general. Our summer calendar has become very busy lately, and it's nice that almost everywhere we see and hear a lot of fans in the stands. The guys from the All-Russian Athletics Federation (VFLA) are good at organizing all this. Of course, I wish they had started doing it earlier, but better late than never.

- So the sanctions against Russian track and field athletes have not affected the interest of the public?

- I don't feel any lack of attention from the audience at all. I only wish we could slightly change the locations of the competitions that surround us. It's the same stadiums, the same arenas.

- How was it in winter, when you had to compete in the Battle of the Sexes and Russian Winter two weeks in a row in Moscow, and at the junction of February and March the capital will also host the Russian Indoor Championships?

- Yes, that's what I'm talking about. Although in Moscow we have now performed in different stadiums - the "Battle of the Sexes" was held at the "Salute Heraklion", and the "Russian Winter" was in the CSKA arena. In general, I would like to see more stories like last year's summer season, when we were taken to the city of Zlatoust in the Chelyabinsk region. Then we visited Kabardino-Balkaria - we lived in a hotel in Nalchik, and competed in the town of Prokhladny. It's great that there are more locations, that we started competing in relatively small towns. This is interesting for the locals - people's attention is very striking. That's why I say that we want more such locations for athletics competitions.

- For example, in your native Smolensk region?

- A good idea, but not necessarily only there. We have a lot of good places in the country. It would be nice to compete on squares in all our cities with millions of inhabitants. Last year in Moscow, we held "Athletics Week" in this format - a jumping tournament was held in Gorky Park. So why not do the same "Athletics Week" in Nizhny Novgorod or Kazan? Or in St. Petersburg. Although in St. Petersburg the weather may not please us in early summer (laughs). So we have to think about it.

- Don't you like jumping in the rain?

- It's not safe (smiles).

- You mentioned about the competitions in Prokhladny. As you know, this is the place where Maria Lasitskene was born and trains. They say there is a cult of her there?

- Yes, you can see that the people there respect her. I can't say more in detail, because it's been six months since those summer competitions. But I can say for sure that there is a special flavor there - a lot of interesting places, the people are very friendly and emotionally supportive. I like the North Caucasus in general - beautiful views of the mountains, people are warm-hearted, they love guests and treat you in a homely way. But if we take Prokhladnoe as a place where Maria trained, it is quite modest in terms of conditions for training. I immediately remembered how I started practicing high jumping in similar conditions.

- In Smolensk?

- I started in Smolensk in the gym of an ordinary school. The coach there picked me up and started working with me. And in the same gym last summer we warmed up before the competition in Prokhladny. It just made me nostalgic.

- Are you following the situation with the unbanning of a number of our athletes - figure skaters, swimmers, speed skaters? Is there hope that soon athletes will be allowed to participate in international competitions?

- I don't follow it at all. If they unban us, good. If they don't unban us, we will continue to compete inside the country. At least I will speak for myself. Of course, I would like to compete in international competitions. But I do not follow what does not depend on me. Therefore, I am happy for those athletes who have already resumed performances in the international arena or will soon. In the meantime, I am enjoying the opportunity to compete in domestic competitions. This is what I can do now. And I try to do it well. And unban... As it will be, so it will be. Let it better be like a snow on the head, when you don't wait for it, but it happens. We need to develop athletics, to please spectators and convince them to come to our competitions.

- After all, you have had experience in major competitions, you won bronze at the World Championships. Don't you miss that atmosphere at all?

- Of course, I want to do it all again. But I try not to think about what happened. I prefer to focus all my thoughts on the next competitions. I have even forgotten what happened in Doha at the World Championships. I remember only in general terms, how it was organized on a large scale. But at the same time I would say that everything looks no worse in Russia. I would like to give the same trips to Zlatoust and Prokhladnoye as an example - just the top level of organization. I even want to say to foreign high jumpers: "Guys, come to us, jump here. What have you forgotten there? We've got wow here!"

It is clear that I say this ironically, but Russia is a country rich in beautiful places. And it will be very interesting for anyone to visit us. So I would like to wish the organizers to organize more such competitions as we have now. And that the venues at winter tournaments be bigger. Such as at the "Battle of the Sexes", where there is a very good platform, when there is enough space for the run-up, which is very important for high jumpers. And this platform can be sent anywhere, put up and hold competitions. I guess it all comes down to the availability of means of transportation.

- In the summer at the BRICS Games Danil Lysenko told me that his goal for the season is to show results no worse than those who will win medals at the Olympics in Paris. Do you have a goal to compete in absentia with the best at the World Championships?

- I join Danil's words. Plus or minus, I follow international competitions. And I try to estimate whether I am losing ground against the world's best high jumpers or not. So far, I'm holding up pretty well.