Russia’s Ivan Ukhov was last year’s most consistent elite high jumper, although he had to settle for second best at the 2010 European Athletics Champions in Barcelona behind his team mate Alexsandr Shustov.
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| Mercurial Russian high jumper Ivan Ukhov will defend his European indoor title in Paris in March. |
Ukhov started 2010 by going over 2.37m indoors at the Moravia High Jump Tour meeting in Hustopece, Czech Republic, in January and then ended his indoor season by adding a centimetre to that effort with a 2.38m clearance in the Slovakian town of Banska Bystrica, last March, which ended up being the best jump by anybody under any conditions in 2010.
He then provided an appropriate bookend to his 20 competitions this year by jumping 2.36m in the Polish meeting in Opole in September, the best jump in the world outdoors this year and his 14th win of 2010.
In an extract from a candid and rare interview he gave to the Russian sports daily Sovietskiy Sport, Ukhov talks about his problems with the rain, his rapid weight loss regime and the dangers of discus throwing.
Q: In 2010, you won the World Indoor Championship, the Samsung Diamond League, were second at the European Athletics Championships, and had the best jumps so this was obviously your best season ever?
A: To be honest, if you have not told me, I would not even have noticed. However, if we analyze it, you are right; it does appear to have been my best season.
Q: Do you not keep track of all your achievements?
A: Whether I won or lost, that's life but I’m not a diary. What does it mean, I don’t know. What’s a pity is that I missed the World Cup (the IAAF Continental Cup) but since Sasha (Alexsandr Shustov) beat me at the European Athletics Championships and only one person per country was allowed, he went.
Q: What the worst thing about high jumping?
A: Jumping in the rain, it’s terrible! (Editorial note: Curiously, the only time there was rain at both the 2009 World Championships and 2010 European Athletics Championships was on the night of the men’s high jump final.)
Q: You're the only one of the elite high jumpers around the world not to use in a specialist high jump shoe, with spikes on the heel. You jump in ordinary sprint spikes, why is that?
A: Yes, that’s true. Before every season I think it's time to move on and use high jumping shoes but I still haven’t switched to them. Somehow they do not work for me.
Q: Is that why you struggle in rainy conditions?
A: It’s scary. When I was young, I jumped in the rain without worrying because I was not yet aware of the risk. Now, when I go out to jump on a sector that’s wet, I understand that there is really is a risk of getting hurt and that’s obviously something I really do not want.
Q: Was this going through your mind at this summer's European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, when heavy rain came just before your final?
A: (Ukhov’s coach and 2000 Olympic Games high jump champion Sergey Klyugin interjects.) As soon as the officials start to go out, the rain started as well. It was like that at the Olympics in Sydney. It also rained at last year's World Championships in Berlin. Every other event seems to be allowed to be free from rain but as soon as the men’s high jump final starts, we get it!
Q: Second place at the European Athletics Championships, and in such conditions after just finishing tenth in Berlin last year, that’s a big step forward.
A: In Berlin, when the rain started, I started experimenting with new spikes but in vain. In Barcelona, I started with my sprint spikes and kept them on. For me, to win a medal in the rain, it's great.
Q: What about another of these myths about Ivan Ukhov? It is true that two days before an event you stop eating?
A: No, I am responsible about these things, my weight when I am competing is about 85 kg but in the off-season my weight can go up to 105kg. I lose the kilos quickly when I am doing weight training.
Q: Losing 20kg, that sounds a lot?
A: Oh yes, but it only takes about two weeks to lose that weight.
Q: Many athletes complain that they feel weak when they lose only a few kilos but here we are talking about 20kg. What does you coach think about this?
A: We had a training camp in Spain, and I think the extra weight helped. A bit of extra weight protects the muscles and ligaments. It is like training with a barbell - only it’s always with you!
Q: You started off as a discus thrower at your local athletics club. Do you have any ambitions to throw again, even if just for fun?
A: The last time I tried was three years ago, at a training camp in Kislovodsk. Unfortunately, there were also some deaf athletes training on the track. I was a little clumsy and the discus flew out of the sector... and because they are deaf they couldn’t hear us shouting at them. Thank goodness, it missed everyone but I'm now afraid to throw again and I think I’ve lost my skills.
Q: You are physically different to the stereotype of the usual high jumper, who is often very tall and thin. Is this the future of the event?
A: There isn’t really a typical high jumper. Sweden’s 2004 Olympic champion Stefan Holm was short, I’m stocky. People of different heights and builds can be high jumpers.
Q: Are you preparing to compete indoors?
A: Yes, of course. I plan to be at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Paris. I like to collect medals.
Q: Two years ago, you changed coaches to Sergei Klyugin. Why did you move from the Russian high jump guru Yevgeny Zagorulko?
A: With Zagorulko, I worked and worked, and I jumped well sometimes, but I could not win a major title. At that point, I thought it was necessary to change something, otherwise I would be going nowhere. Sergey had just finished competing himself and was coaching his wife Viktoriya (the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships high jump bronze medallist). He approached me and invited me to train with him and I said, 'Let's give it a try.'
Q: What has changed in your training compared to when you were working with Zagorulko?
A: Zagorulko has got a well-established training system; it’s been proven over the years. However, Sergei is a young coach looking for new things; he constantly comes up with new ideas and is, trying different options. We have a good relationship with Zagorulko, he still speaks to me, but psychologically it is much easier for me to work with Sergey.
Q: Why?
A: Sergey is teaching me constantly things but he’s not a hard taskmaster, he just says quietly: 'Vanya, do this and that!'