Silver medalist of the Olympic Games in academic rowing Eugene Zolotoy: in Krasnopol I am charged with emotions

Yevgeny Zolotoy in Krasnopolye is rare: you can get out to a small homeland once or twice a year. But each trip brings the silver medalist of the Olympic Games, the repeated winner of the world and Europe champions in the academic rowing sea of emotions. At the same time, the first feeling that arises in the soul of an athlete at the mention of Krasnopol is pride in his district and the place in which he grew up.

The great journey of the athlete began with school. Yevgeny Zolotoy is grateful for many things to his teachers: Julia Adamovna Andriyanova from elementary school, who said: “You will succeed if you do not smoke!” (today the athlete remembers this with a smile), biology teacher Olga Koroleva, who led the boy from the fifth to the eighth grade, an English teacher who strongly recommended learning a foreign language. And, of course, the teacher of physical education Anatoly Leonidovich Ananyev, who was the first to accustom him to sports.

- Childhood was very active. We had huge fields where potatoes and cabbage were planted. The harvest had to be cleaned, and not only their own – they helped their grandparents. So there was enough activity. I spent all my free time outside, I didn’t like to stay at home. I was, you could say, the captain of the local guys, always collecting teams. Played football, hockey – cleared the pond, which was nearby, put the gate. I had skates and a stick: my parents bought me, who always supported me in all activities, and probably even then they understood that I needed to realize myself.

At that time, there were no mobile phones, so almost all the entertainment was sports. Evgeny tried himself in different forms, participated in many competitions, but most of all he loved to run.

- If we wanted to swim in the summer, we had to get to the nearest village, which is about 10-12 kilometers. I was running, and my friend Kostya, who did not like to run, was riding a bicycle nearby. We were swimming, jumping into the river from a tree overhanging the water. To run back was not always enough strength, so either sat on the trunk, or drove a friend’s bicycle, the athlete shares pleasant memories. By the way, in the school of the Olympic reserve, I originally entered athletics. I was tried in running at different distances, hammer throwing, but the explosive force for these disciplines was not enough. I also liked long distances. I returned to school, and soon coaches from Mogilev came there - they offered to go to academic rowing.

Today Evgeny Zolotoy lives in Brest - there is a rowing base, where our national team in academic rowing trains. On vacation, the athlete tries to recover as much as possible after a busy season, but at least once a year for two or three days comes to Krasnopolye.

- If they are invited to an event, I am happy to come: I am interested in talking to the residents of Krasnopol, and I think they too. But I spend most of my time at home. I come to Krasnopolye to recharge. For two or three days I do not train, do nothing, but even sitting at home on a bench, looking at nature, remembering my childhood and feeling that additional strength and energy appear. In winter, before going to foreign camps, I plan to visit Krasnopol again. I want to feel the snow, because snowdrifts are rare in Brest. And here I remember how I used to remove snow every day, how I got up at 7 in the morning, to go to school in 20-30 minutes in the cold, which was five kilometers away

During the time that has passed since the childhood of Yevgeny Zolotoy, Krasnopolye has changed a lot. Recently, says the athlete, opened a new FOK with a swimming pool, gym, sections. Once upon a time, they could only dream of it!

- When I was growing up, there were not enough sections, they were at schools. Today, the opportunities for growth of young athletes are much greater. There are teachers, coaches from the Olympic reserve school come here. I notice that children light up when they see me. I always tell them it will work out. The main thing is to believe in yourself. It is difficult to achieve an Olympic medal, no one will guarantee that a particular child will become a champion. But in any case, he will get a huge experience that will be useful in life. Sport develops discipline, punctuality, which is necessary in everything.

Evgeny has already started preparations for the new season, which will be pre-Olympic. The athlete sets himself serious goals - to win the world and European championships. In the final competitive year, the Belarusian at all major starts, including the world and European championships, won silver awards - only the German Oliver Zeidler, the Olympic champion of Paris, managed to bypass it. Now athletes communicate very well, discuss training schemes and try to get the best from each other so that their fight becomes even brighter and more interesting for fans.

- At the end of May, the European Championship will be held, then the World Cup, at which 10 Olympic licenses will be played. Everyone wants to go to the Games, so the fight will be even more beautiful than usual. The World Cup will be held in a legendary place – on the so-called “lake of the gods” in Switzerland. There will be a lot of spectators. By the way, fans from Belarus also come to the competition. When you see Dutch or German flags in the stands, you don’t pay attention to them, but when you notice Belarusian, when you hear the fans supporting you, it’s a huge motivation. In February 2027, a meeting of the International Federation will be held in Lausanne, and perhaps we will be allowed to compete with the flag and anthem. I hope that will be the case - then the victories will become even brighter.

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