23 March 2007 - Interview with 2006 World Cup Winner, Sofia Goncharova!

Interview with 2006 World Cup Winner, Sofia Goncharova! Lausanne – 23 March 2007   We caught up with Sofia Goncharova (RUS) during her winter preparations. She is following a wonderful streak of success with wins at the World Championships 2005, at the World Cup Stages (Antalya, San Salvador, Shanghai) and the Meteksan Archery World Cup Final at the Mayapan Pyramids (MEX). Recently, she earned a team silver medal at the Indoor World Championships in Izmir.   Sofia Goncharova, 25 years old   Competition Results:   Date Rank Event Place 17.03.2007 2 Indoor World Championships (in team) Izmir, Turkey 22.10.2006 1 Meteksan World Cup Final Merida, Mexico 27.09.2006 1 Meteksan World Cup Stage 4 Shanghai, PR China 21.06.2006 1 Meteksan World Cup Stage 3 COPARCO Grand Prix de Tiro con Arco San Salvador, El Salvador 07.06.2006 1 Meteksan World Cup Stage 2 EMAU Grand Prix Antalya, Turkey 06.07.2005 2 European Grand Prix Sofia, Bulgaria 20.06.2005 1 Outdoor Archery World Championships Madrid, Spain   Sofia, what is your secret for winning? There is no secret! I have been shooting archery for 10 years now and these results come from all the training. I practice four hours a day, shooting about 250 arrows. My style isn’t the most conventional, because my holding hand is slightly open. However, I think every archer at a high level develops his/her own style to be the most efficient.   Let’s come back to the World Cup Final in Mayapan. In the semi-final match you had a slow start—after 8 out of 12 arrows, you were losing to Jamie Van Natta (USA). Did you think at any time you would have come this far and lost the most important match of the season? Not at all. As an elite archer, I believe you must always think you can win until the last arrow. I must admit I was a little nervous at the beginning of the match, shooting at the first World Cup Final ever in such a great place with the pyramids. I managed to stay focused and pulled a victory at the end.   Although Jamie was a bit unlucky with her trigger in the last shot and scored a zero, you truly earned the win, finishing with a 10 for a 111-100 score. However, it was not the first time I saw you have a bad start in an important match. Were you really too nervous? There is also the fact that you have to adapt to a new environment. As you know, in each World Cup stage the field for the finals is different. It is a special place for the fans and for TV, it’s great. However, for us, the archers, we come directly from the practice field and start the match on the final field. It sometimes takes a couple of arrows to adapt our vision to the field. Then I must be consistently in the 10 circle to win the match.   At the final of the World Cup Final in Mexico, you played your team-mate and friend Anna Kazantseva. Isn’t it more difficult to shoot against a friend? Yes. It was a big match for both us, but we are really friends. We help each other a lot during practice. I managed to stay focused on my archery and I am very happy I won.   What do you think of the overall World Cup? It is a very big step forward. All the stages of the World Cup are basically the most important events during the year. It is very good for publicity and the development of our sport. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all FITA Members, the FITA Office, all organizers, the sponsors, the Russian Archery Federation and the fans to have made these great events possible in 2006. I believe the World Cup will keep its success in future years!   What did you do with the 20’000 USD prize money from Mexico? I gave some very nice presents to my family; I bought a new bow and some other stuff.   How did you start archery? It was a cousin of mine, a few years older, who wanted to try and I went with her. I just liked it and kept going, while she stopped.   Did you do another sport when you were a kid? At some point I was doing archery and basketball but I simply preferred to do archery at the end.   What do you like so much about archery? I like to hit my target all the time. Archery is good for your body and it is good for your mind. You can be in complete control of all the gestures in a shot and it is a sport where you can surpass yourself almost every day. As long as you train, you can keep raising your level.   How many times have you been Champion of Russia? Ten to fifteen times. It depends what kind of competition we have in Russia each year. In any case, there are a lot of good shooters in Russia.   How do you train for archery now? Of course, I train at various distances, especially for the FITA Round at 30, 50, 60, 70 meters. However, I do not always use the target face—the red and yellow in the middle of the target face make it difficult to aim. I rather like to put a small white paper in the middle of the target and hit it. Sometimes, you don’t have to look at the target after shooting—you just know your gesture was perfect, your aim was stabile and your arrow is “in.”   I talked to Vladimir Esheev, your head coach, recently. He said it is very important to train your spirit. How do you do that? When I shoot, I try to concentrate at maximum. I empty my mind and imagine myself in a vacuum and no one can come “in my territory.” Outside shooting, I also do some exercises for my concentration. For example, I must follow one thing for five minutes or I must concentrate on one subject. Sometimes, I force myself to focus on something that I actually don’t want to do to strengthen my mind.   How is it to train with Vladimir who was a Recurve Champion? Do you have a compound coach in the team as well, or would you train alone most of the time? Vladimir Esheev is a very good coach and psychologist, so it is going very well with him. I think the base of compound and recurve is the same in skill and psychology. I also have a good compound coach in my city of Chita when I need him.   Do you do any special physical training? Yes! I usually do physical training after shooting. It is also good for the emotion and it helps you to come down after the stress of shooting. I actually do running or… football, sometimes something else. I don’t do much weight lifting, because I feel good in my weight and with the strength of my arm.   Do you prefer match play at 12 arrows or the FITA Round with 144 arrows? I must say that the FITA Round with 144 arrows is my favourite. The 12 arrow matches are interesting for the fans but I think it is a little short for the archers. In a match, I think it is very important for you to believe in yourself, to never be afraid to lose. Moreover, I don’t think you can just show up for a match and be the best. You must train, prepare yourself and be ready when it matters the most.   How does it feel to be one of three women who officially broke the 1400 point barrier? I feel super! It was a dream and I never thought I could reach this number of points, especially so early in my career. My personal best was only 1387 and to surpass it by 14 points at the San Salvador World Cup was amazing. Even in practice, I never did more than 1400 points, before this event. It is very difficult—you must be in great form, have no mental problem and preferably shoot without the wind.   Is the wind always a big factor for you? To break 1400 points it is, however I do like very much to shoot in the rain. It is beautiful to see the arrow flying through the rain drops…   …that’s a surprise. Do you still get high scores and are you used to the rain in Chita? I think my scores stay fairly high with the rain, but I can assure you it is not raining more often in Chita than elsewhere… I am not so often there in any case.   Do you think it is easier today than 3-4 years ago to break 1400 points with the evolution in compound archery? Yes, I think so. Regularly new models of bows come to the archers and the archers are training more. Everything is improving. I would not be surprised if somebody shoots a perfect 1440 pts, or close to it, in 5 years.   When exactly did you think you would become one of the top archers in the world? In 2005, when I won the World Championships in Madrid, I thought I could stay among the top archers, maybe be the best. It was a real confidence boost. Before this, I was earning podium but never the gold medal!   You said you live in Chita, close to the Chinese border and six hours flying time from Moscow. Anna and other team-mates live and train in Moscow. Do you really feel it is one Russian team? Yes absolutely. There are also some other young archers on the team who live closer to my area. Every time we meet for a competition or for a training camp, there is a great atmosphere and we have a lot of fun together. Also on my way back from Mexico, I stopped in Moscow and stayed a few days in the out-of-town house of Margarita Galinovskaya.   How is your life in Chita? My life is mainly around two poles—law studies and archery. The last couple of years, I have received good support from the Russian Federation so I can spend more time training for archery. I am also doing a Masters in Law and teach basic law courses to first and second year university students.   How is your home life? Any hobbies? I still live with my parents and with my 17 year old brother. I like spending time with them. Sometimes at night, I have fun with my friends going to restaurants or elsewhere. I used to play the piano. I believe there is a lot of time in one day to do many things.   How do you see your future in general? I hope I can keep shooting archery for a long time and also help the development of our sport. On another side, I also want to become a good lawyer. I believe a lawyer must have a lot of practical experience—I’ll see what I can do in this area when I finish my studies.   What do you expect in archery in 2007? I hope it will be another great season… I would like to say I feel it will be a great season with the World Cup and the World Championships. Also, we’ll shoot a FITA Round in each event. I am truly looking forward to the 2007 season!   Didier Miéville FITA Communications