And in the small Kamchatka city of Yelizovo, very far from Norway, where it was already night during the golden relay race, her parents worried about Veronika on TV. The correspondent of “RG” got through to the mother of the new Russian ski star Anna Stepanova.
Anna Alexandrovna, you probably followed the race where Veronika participated, with the whole family and live?
Anna Stepanova: My husband and I watched, worried! I couldn’t sit still because of my emotions. Commentators… it was better for me to watch without sound… And my husband also walked around the room, worried. And at the end of the race, of course, tears of happiness. There were many emotions – even the youngest daughter was awakened! She came in sleepy, immediately realized that Veronica had won this race with the team. And the next day we did not get enough sleep, went to work.
Is Veronica’s younger sister also a beginner skier?
Anna Stepanova: Yes. At the age of five, we first went to dances. But she, looking at Veronica, changed her mind and said that she wanted to be like a sister. Although they cannot be compared – they have different temperaments. But both have such a quality as the will to win.
Veronica is always so confident in interviews…
Anna Stepanova: She has always been tenacious. Everything that she wanted, she achieved. Naturally, we always helped her. I am the strictest in our family. Therefore, the character of Veronica is the result of upbringing. She studied at “four” and “five”. There were, of course, sometimes “triples”, but everyone has them. She always had discipline – from the age of nine she was constantly in sports camps at the training camp. So I learned to be independent and to communicate with people.
Is it true that from the windows of your house you can see not only Kamchatka volcanoes, but also the ski base where Veronika took her first steps on the ski track?
Anna Stepanova: We have now moved out of that house. But, really, where we lived when Veronika was little, there was a ski base across the street from us. And now, at a new place of residence, Koryaksky and Avachinsky volcanoes are clearly visible from her room.
It was the proximity of the base that affected Veronica’s desire to start skiing?
Anna Stepanova: My husband and I love sports. I studied at a young age, although, of course, I did not achieve such success as Veronica. Once my husband and I watched biathlon and after one of the races we decided to take our daughter to classes, especially since the base is across the road. Veronica immediately liked it. I remember how my daughter brought the first medal. She took third place in the ski school competition. I think it was a “classic”. And then the number of medals began to increase, and now there are probably more than 150 of them – they all hang on a separate wall.
Will she also bring home a medal from the World Cup stage?
Anna Stepanova: Naturally! It will hang in those rows where the first places. True, the daughter comes home about twice a year.
Was it not difficult for Veronica to be torn between studies and sports?
Anna Stepanova: You know, there are not so many questions during the holidays, and at this time she leaves for the camp. And the rest of the time he just comes from school, rests, goes to training, and then comes back and does his homework – somewhere up to 10-11 hours. Somehow it came easy to her. I was worried about the exam, but everything went fine. Veronika entered the university – ours, Kamchatka. Now in the last course. And this, you understand, is not easy – you already have to write a thesis, but there is not enough time.
What is he studying?
Anna Stepanova: Ecology and nature management. Somewhere in the 9th-11th grades, she developed an interest in the natural sciences. They tried to dissuade me, they wanted to give it to the physical education. But Veronika insisted that she needed a “civilian” profession, and you could unlearn to be a coach in absentia.
Judging by her Instagram page, your daughter does not stop learning – for example, she studies English.
Anna Stepanova: Yes, just the day before yesterday she answered questions in English. I won’t say that it’s perfect, but it can already at least talk.
Will Veronica go to Beijing for the Olympics?
Anna Stepanova: It’s probably too early to talk about it.