Having successfully performed at the Islamic Solidarity Games held in the Turkish city of Konya, Turkmen weightlifters began to prepare for the new championship.
Intensive training takes up a large part of the life of athletes. All the necessary skills are worked out in the training halls, further tasks and goals are set to ensure a worthy representation of our country in the international sports arena. We talked to Kristina Shermetova, winner of the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games, about how they become professional weightlifters.
An athlete of the Turkmenistan weightlifting team, a graduate of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports Kristina Shermetova has many medals of various denominations in her piggy bank. Today she works as a coach at the 6th sports school of the Main Department of Sports and Youth Policy of the city of Ashgabat, preparing the younger weightlifters.
As a child, Christina, being an active and mobile child, went in for dancing, attended the gymnastics section. And one day her father brought her to a weightlifting school.
From the beginning of the classes, the coach Vladimir Avagimyan motivated the young athlete with the fact that in the future she would be able to achieve good results. And so it happened. Having made her debut at international competitions, in 2009, the junior won the bronze medal of the Asian Youth Championship. The first victory served as a catalyst for the further development of a sports career.
“When I just started weightlifting, I had to get used to the calluses on my palms, develop strength and gain muscle mass,” says Kristina Shermetova. - Now my schedule consists of two-hour training sessions, warm-ups and coaching activities. I am very grateful to my dad, because it was thanks to him that I came to big sport. Weightlifting hardened my character, helped me become more confident in myself and my abilities. I teach this to my students as well. To engage in strength training, you need to have a great desire to work and work on yourself.
One of the most memorable sporting events for Christina was participation in the 2020/2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Then her colleague in the national team of Turkmenistan, weightlifter Polina Guryeva won a historical silver medal Olympics. Winning the Olympic Games is the dream of every athlete. Therefore, today our athletes are also actively preparing for the Olympic Games, which will be held in Paris in 2024.
“We are very grateful to the Hero-Arkadag and the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov for their tireless attention to the development of sports and the education of sports youth,” says Kristina Shermetova. - The support from the leadership of our state helps a lot and motivates for further success. I hope that soon the Turkmen team will win many more medals at international competitions, thus glorifying our country.
