Evgeni Sadovyi - A Russian Olympian

Triple Olympic gold medalist Evgeni Sadovyi started swimming at the age of 8. Many coaches at that time told him and his parents that he had a natural feel of water and that he would have a good future in swimming.

Until he was 11 his favourite sports were games. Evgeni remembers, "It was a little bit of swimming, a lot of playing games in the water and on land, along with some social activities.

"However, at the age of 13 I became disinterested in swimming and became interested in motorcycle racing mid weight lifting. I slowly drifted away from swimming.

"This was a time when people around me were saying that my time was over; I was not going to be a good swimmer because I did not have the competitive spirit and that I did not want to train. This made me change my mind, and I started to swim again with more effort and seriousness.

"However, I still was interested in playing games and other activities. But I had some serious injuries at that time. Slowly, games and motorcycles drifted away. I decided to become a better swimmer. "At the age of 16, I had a chance to train for three months without getting sick — without breaking my knees and legs! As a result, I won a zone competition in Volgograd. That was when my coach, Victor Avdienko, noticed me. He reached an agreement with my parents for me to train with him in Volgograd.

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natural feel of water - природное чувство воды

competitive spirit - бойцовский характер

make smb. do smth. - заставить кого-л. сделать что-л.

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