Ilya Khomenko is an international master of sports in swimming. The young athlete is a gold medalist in the World Swimming Championships among juniors, as well as a gold and silver medalist in relay swimming. At the 2013 European Championships, Ilya won bronze in singles and gold in relay.With the champion, we talked about sports career, about moving to Rostov and plans for the future.

Why did you choose swimming for yourself, what attracted you to this sport?

In my kindergarten during the "quiet hour" the children were taken to swim. I was also interested, asked my parents if I could go to classes. They said why not. Since this all started.

We know that you came to Rostov-on-Don from Essentuki. What was the reason for your move?

I came to study. Entered the Academy physical culture and sports (SFedU) at the coaching faculty. Initially, I chose between Krasnodar, Volgograd and Rostov-on-Don. In the summer I had to do, and in May I came to Rostov for a competition, where I met Georgy Viktorovich Shevelev. He offered to take me to train. This determined my choice.

How did it happen that you liveDon- Plaza?

The President of Don-Plaza - Igor Viktorovich Gorin - is the President of the Swimming Federation of the Rostov Region. He invited me here, and I'm not the first (laughs). Before moving to the hotel, I lived in a student hostel, and life there was not conducive to training. Igor Viktorovich marked mine sports achivments and offered help. I am very grateful for the trust shown.

Why did you, as an athlete, take place in Rostov?

In Essentuki I swam, as I was later told, to develop a base, but not for results. In Rostov, I began to train with Georgy Viktorovich, who brought up about 50 masters of sports, 4 masters of sports of international class, one honored master of sports - Vladimir Pyshnenko, champion and two-time medalist of the 1992 Olympics, silver medalist of the 1996 Olympics. The coach gave certain tasks and structured the training in such a way that the result appeared.

What do you think helped you achieve good results?

Self-improvement, constant striving to improve performance.

How do you set yourself up for a successful performance?

First I think about everything, and then I go to the start and stop thinking about anything at all. You can't think when you are swimming, everything should be on the machine. We have a technical sport. There was a time when I swam badly, because I thought about how I was sailing. This should not be allowed.

You are the winner of many competitions, what is the most valuable victory for you?

Of course, this is the World Youth Championship. Gold for the 100m breaststroke. My result is a competition record. Recently it was decided to enter world records among juniors. Now they took my result as a basis.

What victories do you plan to achieve in the future?

Now for me the main objective- to qualify for the European Championship, to compete with older athletes. Qualifying competition will begin in Moscow on May 12, I will try very hard. If we talk about long-term plans, of course, I would like to speak at Olympic Games... It would be great to get to the Rio Olympics in 2 years.

Soviet and Russian swimmer, Honored Master of Sports (1992).

Winner of the European Championship in 1991 (in the relay 4 × 200 m freestyle) and 1993 (in the relay 4 × 100 m and 4 × 200 m freestyle). Champion of the 1992 Olympic Games in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay (played in the United Team, which set a world record - 7: 11.95). Silver medalist of the 1992 Olympics in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay (did not participate in the final) and in the combined 4 × 100 m relay (did not participate in the final). Lives in Rostov-on-Don.

Efimova Yulia Andreevna

Russian swimmer, bronze medalist of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, three-time world champion, three-time European champion (2008 and 2010) in long swimming pools, seven-time European champion in short swimming pools, world record holder at distances of 50 and 200 m breaststroke in short pool, Honored Master sports of Russia. Efimova's victory in the 50 m breaststroke in Rome in 2009 was the first victory in the pool for a Russian female swimming at the world championships.

Yulia Efimova was born in Grozny, because of the Russian-Chechen war, she and her family had to move to Volgodonsk. There Julia grew up, and there she began to train in one of the local sports schools, under the leadership of his father Andrei Mikhailovich. Until 2011, she lived in Taganrog, where she trained with the Honored Coach of Russia Irina Vyatchanina. In March 2011, the athlete left for the United States, where she trains in California with David Salo.

Three-time European champion in 2007 in short course swimming (50, 100 and 200 meters breaststroke), champion (200 meters breaststroke) and silver medalist (50 meters) of the 2008 European Championship. Record holder of the European and European Championships at a distance of 100 m breaststroke.

Participant of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where she took 4th place at a distance of 100 m and 5th place at a distance of 200 m breaststroke.

At the 2012 London Olympics, she won a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke with a score of 2: 20.92.

In 2008, the All-Russian Swimming Federation recognized Yulia Efimova as the best swimmer in the country and “Discovery of the Year”. She won 2 medals of the highest standard at the European Championship in aquatic species sports 2010 at distances of 50 and 100 meters breaststroke.

In 2013, at the World Championships in Barcelona, ​​Julia won gold medal at a distance of 200 meters, overtaking Ricky Pedersen and Mika Lawrence, simultaneously updating the Russian record 2.19.41. At a distance of 50 meters breaststroke updated the world record in the preliminary heat - 29.78. In the final, she showed a time of 29.52 and beat the Lithuanian athlete Ruta Meilutyte, becoming a three-time world champion in a fifty-meter pool.

Sludnov Roman Andreevich

Famous Russian swimmer. 2001 World Champion, two-time champion world in 2000 in short course. Five-time champion Europe. Ex-world record holder. Participant of four Olympic Games.

At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, he won a bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke.

Sludnov became the first athlete in the world to overcome the "magic" line of one minute at a distance of 100 m breaststroke, showing a result of 59.97 on June 29, 2001 in Moscow. With this, he improved his own world record (1: 00.26), set just a day earlier. Less than a month later, at the World Championships in Fukuoka, in the semifinal swim, Sludnov again broke his own record - 59.94. In the final, he swam a little slower (1.00.16), which nevertheless earned him a gold medal.

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, he performed unsuccessfully, missing the final in the main distance - the 100-meter breaststroke.

Participant of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing. In the qualifying heats, he was able to break into olympic final, where at a distance of 100 m he took sixth place (59.87 seconds - new record Russia).

Khomenko Ilya

Student Rostov School Olympic reserve, a graduate of the swimming department of the Essentuki Sports School Ilya Khomenko at the World Championships in Dubai won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke with a record of the World Junior Championships.

At the Russian Swimming Championships in Moscow, Khomenko won the silver medal in the 200 m breaststroke and won a ticket this summer in Ri De Janeiro.

At the same distance, Anton Chupkov won, showing a time of 2 minutes 9.91 seconds, Khomenko (2.10.19), Kirill Prigoda closed the top three (2.10.57).

"I understand that my result is so far only the result of the level of the Russian championship, not more, but there is still time before the Games, I hope to add. I just started swimming, one might say, in this Olympic cycle, qualified for youth Europe, for the youth world, then went to Berlin for the European Championships, then for the World Championships in Kazan, but it didn't work out there. I hope it will work out at the Olympics, "Khomenko told reporters.

Ilya Khomenko. Born in 1995. He studied at the department of swimming in the Essentuki CYSS. After graduating from a sports school in 2012, he became a student at the Rostov School of the Olympic Reserve. International Master of Sports.

At the moment, Khomenko represents the FAU of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation CSKA (SKA, Rostov-on-Don).