Ott Kiivikas: we have a world-class next generation
Kiivikas reports from Zagreb
For the first time in quite a while, we travelled to a competition with a large team: 8 people in total. Travelling with a group this size is always more interesting than going as a pair. Even just sitting around a table together gets a good conversation going, and you don’t run out of things to talk about any time soon.
Alongside my role as a delegate at this competition, I had another important responsibility: helping to run the first European Athletic Fitness Championships. That brought extra pressure, as there was a lot riding on it. Looking back, though, people were very pleased with my work, as both the organiser and Dr Rafael Santonja personally confirmed. I explained the rules to the athletes and judges on site and was happy to demonstrate the movements myself to make everything crystal clear. The first day, the preliminaries, was a little rocky: getting the technical equipment connected on the main stage took a long time, and the screen showing the rowing ergometer event was rather makeshift. For the following day’s overall competition, however, we set up the rowing beside the stage. That worked well, as we got through the 6 athletes quite quickly.
I suspect counting reps in the strength round will give us plenty more entertainment in future, because people’s ideas of a clean rep vary so much. Athletic fitness legend Ako Rahim, for example, was credited with 26 reps by two judges, while Aire and I counted 14 and 13 reps respectively… The final credited total was 18 reps. Yet on the first day, Helena Forshen was credited with 34 pull-ups, most of them done with a kip, so it will take time to get this sorted out.
How our athletes performed
Natalia Nazarenko-Kiivikas was the first to compete. The first day was shaky, particularly the routine: Natalia hadn’t competed yet this season, and it showed. The following day, both Natalia’s conditioning and routine were significantly better, securing a narrow win over a long-standing rival. I have to admit, though, that watching from the audience, I couldn’t understand Natalia’s second-place finish in the physique round. The overall judging was even more baffling, with Zabo, the competitor from the shorter height class, crowned the winner. I don’t know—perhaps I can’t judge—but there was no way Natalia should have lost that one, especially when muscle mass carries more weight in fitness, as had been emphasised at the judges’ meeting beforehand, and there was very little difference in how dry they looked. Still, we have to be happy with Natalia’s result. European Championship gold is gold!
Oleg Anissimov has made clear progress, particularly in conditioning. As the old saying goes, there’s no substitute for conditioning, and that held true here. As soon as the athletes stepped on stage, it was clear to me that nobody could match Oleg in the physique round. That was also true in athletic fitness, where the opponents carried considerably more muscle mass. The winner of the shorter height class, Robert Horvath, has placed in bodybuilding competitions and finished 4th in classic bodybuilding at the World Championships in Tallinn, yet placed third in the physique round here. For the first time, Oleg faced a serious challenge in the routine round, with the Ukrainians taking points off Oleg, whose lead over the nearest rival in that round was just 1 point. We decided that this autumn we’d show them what we’re made of and put together a routine that should secure an outright win. In any case, a fine effort from Oleg.
Egle Eller-Nabi was unquestionably born for the stage. Egle’s presentation and conditioning were both very good, and frankly, deserved a higher placing than the results sheet showed. Egle was 1 point behind fourth place, with the same margin separating Egle from 6th. All it takes is to keep competing, and I believe medals at major competitions could be within reach in the near future. Let’s be honest: 5th out of 14 athletes is a terrific achievement, especially in your first competitive season.
Esta Pilt was in shape as always. Finishing 1 place higher in any round would have given Esta the European title, but the 3rd place in the physique round surprised me… Esta certainly deserved a top 2 placing, which would have secured the win. Esta rowed well by their own standards and also did well in the strength round. Athletic fitness is definitely Esta’s sport, and I recommend committing to it fully. The wins will come, and a silver medal is a fantastic achievement.
Kristo Kauder certainly didn’t fulfil his potential in the physique round, where he placed 6th. Kristo has good proportions and a very respectable amount of muscle mass, but this time he needed a lower body fat percentage and, above all, better posing… That will take serious practice, starting today. His rowing was very good, and I believe stronger competition will help him break the 3 min barrier. He is certainly someone who could achieve higher placings over the next few years than this competition’s 6th place.
Kristjan Oras, as a paddler, clearly played to a strength: the top-class time of 2.57 won the event. This time, however, the physique round kept Kristjan from finishing higher than 5th overall. Both muscle mass and conditioning were lacking, and the posing also needs work. Still, I believe Kristjan could achieve excellent results by devoting more attention to athletic fitness.
All in all, it was a great trip, and a thoroughly draining one: the days were long and came with plenty of responsibility. But the rewards were well worth it: 2 golds, 1 silver + every athlete in the finals and 4th place in the team standings!
People once said we were killing off Estonian bodybuilding—perhaps that is true of the heavyweight division—but in the newer disciplines, we have entire teams’ worth of excellent, world-class athletes who are ready to undergo doping control at any time. And this spring season as a whole has been the most successful in the history of Estonian bodybuilding and fitness!
Author: Ott Kiivikas
Source:Turg.Fitness.ee
Come and train! ArtGym
