"Coventry does not have such a categorical anti-Russian position as Bach"

From April 20 to 23, the Russian Digital Sports Championship will be held in the federal territory of Sirius, combining physical and digital competitions. The Federation of Digital Sports, whose president is Nikita Nagorny, champion of the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo, who also works as vice-president of the Russian Gymnastics Federation, is organizing this event. In an interview with Izvestia, he described how the digital industry is developing in the country, explained the recent refusal of gymnasts from neutral status, shared his expectations from the new president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and also commented on Alexander Ovechkin's record for goals in the NHL.

"The task of our federation is to start participating in the development of digital sports in all disciplines in 2025."

— What do you expect from the upcoming Russian Digital Sports Championship in Sirius?

— This year we were preparing for it at the regional level, then within the framework of interregional competitions. According to their results, the best teams and athletes qualified for the Russian Championship. It will be held in two disciplines — rhythm simulator (Just Dance) and duathlon-tactical shooting (CS2 + Laser Tag). The All-Russian movement "Healthy Fatherland" and the federal territory of Sirius are actively involved in supporting and organizing the championship. We are already taking stock of the construction of the site, and we plan to make it in our style — beautiful, dynamic, modern, but at the same time futuristic. In addition, digital racing will be held in an interactive format, in which SMP Racing is our key partner.

In the future, it is planned to jointly develop and scale the digital racing format in our country. In general, the teams are already prepared at the highest level for the upcoming Russian championship. Let me remind you that some of them will represent our country at the 2025 Games of the Future, which will be held in the UAE at the end of 2025. Therefore, it is very important for us that the participants of the Russian championship prove themselves to the maximum and then continue their preparations for performances on the international stage.

— Why will there be competitions in only two disciplines at the Russian Championship, whereas, for example, there were 21 disciplines at the 2024 Games in Kazan?

— Of all the disciplines of digital sports, the rules of which are approved by the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, today only rhythm simulator and biathlon-tactical shooting are conducted by our federation. Meanwhile, football, hockey, basketball, and digital racing are developing within the framework of specialized federations for these sports. That is why this year we are starting close cooperation with the RFU, the Russian Automobile Federation (RAF), the Russian Basketball Federation (RFB) and the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RFH). We plan to sign cooperation agreements with them in the near future, and this year we plan to hold joint competitions in all disciplines. And the task of our federation is to start participating in the development of digital sports in all disciplines in 2025.

— Do you have an interest in the All-Russian Federation of Digital Sports managing this industry in all disciplines, independently engaged in their development and holding competitions?

— The interest is enormous. It seems to me that one organization should be engaged in the development of digital sports in our country, the federation, which has accreditation from the Ministry of Sports of Russia and a commitment to develop this area throughout the country. Of course, if any other federation wants to help us with this or develop new disciplines that the public is interested in, but the competitions are not held according to the rules approved by the Ministry of Sports, then we are all for it. But in general, the development of digital sports in all official disciplines should be handled by one federation. Taking into account the development priorities of the relevant federations and taking into account the relative novelty of such sports, we are ready to devote all the forces and resources of our federation to organizing competitions in digital hockey, digital soccer, and so on. We see the future of digital sports in close cooperation with relevant federations and are actively building partnerships with federations such as the Russian Federation and the Russian Federation, to whom we thank them for not contradicting us in any way, but on the contrary, they are interested in cooperating with us and saying: "Guys, let's sign agreements with us and develop digital sports."-discipline, because it is your prerogative." It was for such purposes that the All-Russian Federation of Digital Sports was created to engage in the development of all disciplines in the country.

— You held one of the qualifying stages of the upcoming Russian championship in Sirius in Belgorod. How difficult was it to organize in the frontline region?

— It's not easy, of course. But now it is generally very difficult for regions such as Kursk and Belgorod regions. Last September, Alexander Legkov and I attended the opening of the region's first digital center at Kursk State University. At that moment, when we were looking at all this, there was an air alert. It's terrible, but people get used to such conditions and hold competitions in them. There was also an air alert in Belgorod during the competition. But life doesn't stop there. It is clear that in these areas we have to do our best to ensure the safety of residents. But that doesn't mean that people should stop studying, training, and competing.

— Are there any regions that stand out particularly in terms of the development of digital sports?

— There is a federal program for the implementation of sports infrastructure — 300 digital centers by 2030. And by 2025, our goal is to have 50 digital centers operating across the country. And I would like to say thank you to all the regions that have joined in as much as possible and are developing digital as much as they can. That's why I don't want to single anyone out. I will give just a single example — one of the first places that we visited as part of the federation's work is the Surgut district. The head there is far from being from the generation of fans of digital sports or esports. But he answered me like this: "I've been boxing myself, but I don't understand your direction yet. But the kids like it — they're crazy about it. How can I not support it?"

"We have created a multi-sport international tournament that attracts athletes from all over the world"

— What do you associate with the arrival of athletes from such unfriendly countries as the USA, Germany, France and Estonia to Kazan for the Games of the Future? Is this a special relationship system in digital sports?

— First of all, this is due to the opportunity to assemble teams in an international format, since competitions in digital sports are held mainly according to the club system. There are legionnaires from different countries there. The Games of the Future in Kazan attracted representatives from 107 countries precisely because of this format, when a person does not depend on any organization, association or federation, which may prohibit him from participating in competitions and deprive him of the opportunity to develop within the country. It's like in the case of Alexander Ovechkin, who became the most legendary scorer in the history of hockey, being a Russian athlete playing for an American club. Because the club format in the case of the NHL allows top hockey players from all over the world to participate in competitions without any political restrictions.

— Can this be applied in classical sports?

— We are currently creating the same format in gymnastics in Russia — this is the Gymnastics Premier League. In 2024, representatives of different countries took part in the competitions. Including the participants of the Olympic Games in Paris. It seemed impossible in the Olympic year. But no, it worked. And in 2025, we plan to attract foreign gymnasts who will compete in the same teams as our athletes. Because it's a club format that allows you to attract people without any restrictions. The games of the Future have shown this possibility. And this format went further. This is the future. We see top industries like the NBA, NHL and UFC holding top competitions with the involvement of a huge number of partners, with a large number of spectators — full stands and maximum views on the Internet. And an incredible revenue from ticket sales. These organizations are not tied to any country or to any political restrictions - they simply hold cool commercial tournaments in which athletes can realize themselves and become the best on the planet, as well as attract great audience interest. We also need to move in this direction, as the Games of the Future have shown.

We have created a new multi-sport international tournament that attracts athletes from all over the world. But despite this, we ran into restrictions from countries. These countries threatened their athletes with a ban on participating in the Olympic Games in Paris if they went to the Games of the Future in Kazan. And because of this, they refused to come to us. I don't want to name athletes, countries, and disciplines, but you can guess, because there aren't many disciplines involved in both the Olympic program and digital sports. But still, this format has a great future. It is in my interest to create something similar in classical sports in the next two or three years.

— How successfully is this implemented in gymnastics?

— Very successful. There is a huge audience interest, all tickets are sold in two or three days. When we held such Premier Gymnastics League competitions last year, the 1,500-seat gym in Moscow was filled to capacity. Fan base, chants — we have never had such emotions in gymnastics in our country. In 2025, we plan to host more than 40 Premier League competitions. By the way, gymnasts who have completed their athletic careers can also participate in them. For example, I recently saw on social media that our 1996 Olympic champion Nikolai Kryukov, who has finished his career for more than 10 years, is preparing for such a performance. He was the senior coach of the Russian national youth team when I got there. And today there are rumors that he will take part in the Gymnastics Premier League competitions.

— In this regard, are you or your wife Daria not going to take part in such competitions?

— I think Daria will try to participate. Maybe she'll form a team. In my case, it would not be entirely objective to participate, since I, as the vice-president of the Russian Gymnastics Federation, am the organizer of these competitions. Besides, I don't think I'll find time to prepare.

"I do not rule out a return to the competition platform"

— You yourself have not publicly announced the end of your career as a gymnast — senior coach of the Russian national team Valentina Rodionenko said this in the fall on the day of your election as vice-president of the federation. Can you say for yourself that you will not return to competitions at the level of the Olympic Games and World Championships?

— I am 28 years old, which is an age at which it is foolish to talk about retiring from gymnastics. Especially when doing it in an interview. In my case, I understand that life is unpredictable, so I don't rule out returning to the competitive stage. Besides, what's the point of talking about retirement in today's conditions for our country? We have a lot of ambitious plans ahead of us to create something cool and cool, if we are treated the way we are now in the framework of obtaining neutral status. In these circumstances, we need to create something of our own - more interesting and subject to political influence. As for me, I will definitely announce the end of my Olympic career, but all in good time. It would be humanly right to do this by letting all the fans who have been with me all my career see me live. And say goodbye to them face to face in the framework of some show program in his native Rostov-on-Don, and then continue to please people in a new capacity.

— Do you suppose that you will try to get to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles again?

— I don't want to give anyone any more hope. Moreover, I am under sanctions from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and the EU has recently added me to its sanctions list. It is clear that in such conditions it is problematic to travel to international competitions. They just won't give me a visa. But we don't know how the political story will develop further. Perhaps only the presidents of the two countries know how relations between Russia and the United States will develop. Even if improvements are made, this does not mean that all sports will immediately allow Russian athletes to compete under their own flag and anthem. Unfortunately, athletes don't decide anything here. They're just nobody. And they can only do their job, train, perform inside Russia, speak out, but not decide when and where to participate under the flag and anthem.

"We see positive movements and prerequisites that we will slowly be allowed to compete"

— In March, Morinaro Watanabe, President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), then a candidate for president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), visited Russia. What are your impressions of communicating with him?

— I can't comment. But everyone saw his words that our gymnasts can compete in competitions in a neutral status. At the same time, European countries do not allow them. Take Croatia, for all its good relations with it in the field of sports, the country has not given visas to all of our people. The situation is the same with Belgium, where the World Cup was held.

— How did you react to Watanabe's defeat in the IOC presidential election?

"Nothing."

— And Kirsty Coventry's election as president of the IOC?

— We see positive movements in our direction and the prerequisites that we will slowly be allowed to compete. In any case, there is no categorical anti-Russian position like that of the previous IOC president Thomas Bach. Although Coventry came from his team, she has slightly different political views.

— Does optimism persist even after our gymnasts had to give up their neutral status before the April World Cup in Osijek?

— As practice shows, the international federation creates the conditions for a neutral status. Somewhere, as in judo and wrestling, it is enough for our athletes to simply meet all anti-doping criteria. Swimmers have the same situation. Plus, they are given the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup bypassing the European Championship — right through the Russian championship. In some places, the requirements are stricter, for example, for gymnasts. FIG creates biased requirements for admission to international competitions. Think about it: our gymnast Mukhammadjon Yakubov received a refusal, who subscribed to his school's page on the VK platform, posting the fifth anti-doping test. Only the number five is depicted as a Roman numeral, and it looks like the letter V. As we know, this symbol is now perceived by some in the world in the same context as the letter Z. Yakubov didn't post it anywhere, he didn't post it anywhere — he just made a repost. Because of this, he was stripped of his neutral status. Is this normal?

- no.

— This is a question for the global sports community: are you people out of your mind at all? We, the Russian national gymnastics team, are making progress, we are ready to receive a neutral status and compete. Based on all the requirements that exist, realizing that someone may be refused for political reasons, we do not add a number of people to the lists for neutral status - Nikita Nagorny, David Belyavsky, Artur Dalaloyan are not there. There are only young guys there. One of them, Lesha Usachev, was rejected because he was once a member of CSKA in Volgograd. Although he has not been speaking for them for a long time — he has been living in Vladimir for more than five years. And it has no relation to CSKA for a long time. And after all, all this is not cheap — you need to pay €300 to consider the possibility of awarding neutral status to one athlete. This is not a guarantee that this status will be given to him. And after all, those guys who were not allowed in are some of the strongest gymnasts today — they would have won something on the international stage.

And this is happening within the framework of FIG, whose president Watanabe comes to us and tells the Russian gymnasts: "You are all my sons and daughters, we will support you!" As a result, the non-admission is due to the Roman numeral V. This is unfair and biased. Therefore, you don't have to wait and adjust to it and create your own cool new competitions.

"I'm sure it's not the limit for Alexander to break Gretzky's record."

— You mentioned Alexander Ovechkin during the conversation. How did they react to his record for goals in the NHL?

"I've been following him, and I'm still following him. I'm sure it's not the limit for Alexander to break Gretzky's record. But for me, the moment when he scored the 895th puck in the NHL was emotionally akin to the feeling when I myself became an Olympic champion. I dreamed of experiencing the same emotions when it wasn't happening to me. The first time I experienced this was at the UFC, when Islam Makhachev became a champion for the first time and took Khabib's belt. The second case is Ovechkin's record. I wrote to him in a personal message that he had done a great thing when he glorified our sport and our country at such a time.

— In 2022, you posted on social media a joint photo with Ovechkin and a personalized hockey stick given to him.

— I was very pleased when Alexander and I met at the same event. After that, he said, "Let's get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere and have a closer chat in a cafe." So I was on my way to meet him from a training session at the Krugloye Lake center. On the way, I stopped at a store and asked for a stick of the brand Ovechkin plays with. I was given a club of the appropriate brand. I was an hour late for my appointment because I went to the store, but Sasha waited for me. We talked and at the end I showed him this club. He replied: "Don't you think I'm playing like that?" He took his club out of his bag and gave it to me. It is clear that she is not a player, but Ovechkin trained her during his arrival in Russia. In the end, he signed it for me and gave it to me. I hung it at home.

I have three hockey sticks from Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Vyacheslav Alexandrovich Fetisov. Moreover, my friends gave me the Fetisov stick. He played with her when he won the 1983 World Cup in Germany with the USSR national team. He was the captain there, and after that he gave it to someone. After that, many years later, she reached me through several hands.