Mariya Savinova (© Getty Images)
London 2012 Olympic Games and reigning World 800m champion Mariya Savinova, in her first IAAF Online Diaries entry, reflects on domestic issues now she has her own apartment, the huge meteorite that crashed in her native city of Chelyabinsk and also reveals a secret dream.
“Hi everybody. To be honest, I’m writing this diary entry between washing the windows! After the Olympics, I now finally have my own home, a place which is only mine and my husband’s. The apartment is situated in the Moscow region, and our neighbour is actually also an Olympic champion, the 2008 4x100m Relay gold medallist Yuliya Gushchina.
“In the last month I’ve been really busy with choosing the furniture and all small things that should be in an ideal home. I designed the style myself, I’d say it’s close to minimalism. We have only one big wardrobe, all other pieces are not taller than my waist. Everything is in warm beige colours, apart from the kitchen, which is green. We’ve thought green is a good colour for the appetite J
“Actually the kitchen is the place where I spend most of my time now! After we moved in, I discovered my love for cooking. Before, I was not a big fan of it, maybe because I didn’t have my own kitchen, but now I’m cooking meat dishes, baking puddings and making different desserts.
“My husband Alexey is shocked; he said he never expected his wife could be as good as this. Unfortunately, his comfortable and tasty lifestyle will soon be coming to an end, at least for a while, as we will be leaving for a training camp again!
“Changing the subject, the meteorite crash in my home town of Chelyabinsk is still a big shock. I cried when I heard the news. I thought: 'How can this be, that out of the whole world this meteor only hit my home town?!
“I was not there at that moment, but my family still lives there. I tried to call my mom, but during the first hour after I heards the news I could not reach her because the mobile network was overloaded; these were the worst of moments.
“When we finally talked, my mom said the windows on the first floor entrance to her house had been broken. Fortunately, the windows in her apartment survived: otherwise she would have been freezing, considering the temperature outside was about -20. My small nephew, first-year school boy, was at his lessons, when the windows in the hall near his classroom were just blown away. He got really frightened and started crying.
“On a happier note, I’ve had some really nice invitations after the Olympics, and I regret I could not accept all of them. For example, for the third year running, I could not go to the IAAF Gala in November, and this time it was the Centenary party in Barcelona.
“I’d really love to but, as usual, I was at the time in the middle of a training camp. Hopefully next season I will get an invitation from the IAAF again… and this time I’ll plan everything better. After all, this is one of the rare chances to wear an evening dress and heels – and I love it!
“Another unfulfilled dream so far is to try alpine skiing but it seems my family will never let me do this.
“Several years ago, I wanted to do a parachute jump, but my mom said she would never talk to me again if I ever dared. Now I realize this is a bit too extreme for me, but alpine skiing, mmm… although, for sure, I am not going to try this while I am an active athlete. Afterwards, we’ll see. I may be able to convince my family at last!
“Talking about my training, everything has been going great. I started jogging in the mid-October, and in January my coach was already asking: ‘Masha, why are you running so fast?!’ I ran my training PB over 2000m and also did some great intervals.
“But after that, unfortunately I got sick, and we decided to let my body fully recover. My first training camp for the outdoor season starts next week on 11 March and I'm going to Kyrgyzstan. I’m already looking forward, and how great it will be if I come to my home World Champs in my top shape.
“That’s it for now. Now it’s time to finish washing the windows. Take care.”
Mariya
