Kristine ESEBUA: “the medal really changed my life”

Originally from Georgia but raised in Ukraine, Kristine ESEBUA was introduced to archery at the age of 11 by her mother, who used to practice the sport in her youth. Kristine liked it and showed great potential from the start. Within one year she reached the Master of Sport level. Talent boosted motivation which in turn brought good results, and ESEBUA soon joined the Ukrainian junior national squad. Her first major success came in 1998, when she won individual and team titles at the European junior level.

In 2003 ESEBUA moved to Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, and since then she has carried the colours of her country to the highest levels, at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, and of course on the podium of the 2011 World Championships. ESEBUA currently still lives in Tbilisi where she is a full-time athlete.

How have you been since the Turin World Championships?
Things have been going well since Turin. Our preparation is good - and we have taken things step by step since those World Championships. Since it did not work for us at the London Olympic Games, neither as a team nor individually, we have already started working towards the next Olympic Games.

How do you explain that your best ever individual result came at such an important moment: the World Championships?
It was obviously unexpected. I cannot remember the detail of how it all happened. Afterwards I analysed it and remembered how I built the achievement, step by step, round after round. I only focused on controlling myself, and shooting the way I am supposed to, without making mistakes. I just thought about my shooting sequence, not about victories or 10s. This approach helped me reach the final and I was obviously very happy with the result.

How important was your world silver medal for Georgian archery?
It was a surprise after a long period without medals for Georgia. It was a very successful achievement both for me personally and for my country. The medal really changed my life. We had won medals at the European level and indoor events, especially with the team, and individually I had placed 3rd at the 2005 European Grand Prix in Sofia. However no archers under the Georgian flag had ever achieved such a success at World Championships. After the individual Olympic gold medal that Keto LOSABERIDZE won in 1980 during the Soviet era, my success was the first archery medal at the world level in the history of independent Georgia.

What was the impact of your medal in your country?
Since my medal, there has been a lot of media interest in archery in Georgia, where the most popular sports are wrestling and football. The image of archery has changed and our sport is developing. My medal has attracted many people, including lots of children, to the sport. The level used to be very low but it is now growing all over the country. People now realise that it is possible to win archery medals on the big stage, despite the fact that we are a small country with a small number of archery clubs.

Was your move from Ukraine to Georgia related to archery?
Yes it was. My mother travelled to Georgia very often and told me that the level was very low there, and that they did not have a strong team. When I was 16 years old, back in 2003, my mother and I decided to go for a few months in order to raise their level. Step by step our results got better and better. We took one competition after another, then one Olympic Games after another. It became out of the question to take the road back to Ukraine, and we ended up staying in Georgia! We now have a good, solid team. Our international results have been improving and improving, and we hope to increase the level even further.

How did winning a world medal help you grow as an athlete?
It has taught me a lot. The main thing I learned was about controlling myself and my emotions when approaching finals, without thinking about results but about technique.

As defending silver medallist, what are your expectations at the Belek World Championships?
I never expect any particular result out of competitions, I do not like to think about that. I wish everyone success and a great result!

Go to Kristine ESEBUA’s biography.

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