At the beginning of the summer I took part in the opening of a wonderful sports installation - the “Pearl” Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy. This is a unique sports complex designed exclusively for rhythmic gymnastics. It’s a wonderful building, with two training halls, an excellent ballet hall, well-appointed changing rooms and recreation rooms… It’s also fitted out for competitions: there are halls with stands and a hotel complex for people from out of town. It’s a super place to train. As far as I’m aware, there’s nothing like it in Europe or anywhere in the world, so the Pearl centre can rightly be called a “rhythmic gymnastics academy”.

Another reason I was so pleased to take part in the opening ceremony of this centre was to see the conditions that the kids will now be training in. In the past, our best training base was Novogorsk, and most of the other sports facilities weren’t up to standard (low ceilings, hard mats and so on). Actually, I should say that the standard of the sports complexes now being built in our country for various types of sport is very high.

An important point: the academy has been built in a wonderful district, amongst apartment blocks where there are lots of children who can now train right next to where they live. This is also a great relief for the parents: they don’t need to take their children to classes somewhere far away from home, and they can relax because the kids are doing sport instead of being out on the street.

St.Petersburg today is actually doing a lot to promote sport, and it’s particularly gratifying for me that they haven’t forgotten about rhythmic gymnastics. Incidentally, St.Petersburg is where rhythmic gymnastics was born. There are lots of talented kids there, so I’m confident that the Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy has been opened in the right place and at the right time.

The opening ceremony was a very festive event. The gymnasts put on an excellent demonstration programme…a proper show, done to a very high standard – world-class, you could say. There were some very complicated elements, the composition was perfect, the music was just right, and the costumes were very tastefully made… I was extremely excited by it all, because I know just how much work goes into creating all this lightness, beauty and glamour.

Although I’ve now finished my sporting career, I still care about rhythmic gymnastics. I think it’s a wonderful sport, especially for little girls. And the posture, the walk, the beauty of movement – all these things stay with you for the rest of your life. And you certainly don’t have to be a champion for that.

I’m really pleased that rhythmic gymnastics is on the right path, that it’s progressing and becoming every more popular, and that our gymnasts are doing so well in the international sporting arena. I hope this trend continues into the future, and I’m going to try to make every effort to make this sport one of the most loved, popular and accessible types of sport for our children.