Character Makes Champions

Evgenia Fomina, a physical education instructor at KFU, won silver and gold at the latest World Arm Wrestling Championships in the 80 kg category.

She had previously won silver medals eight times, and this October in Bulgaria finally succeeded in occupying the top spot.

- Evgenia Vladimirovna, how challenging was your way to this victory?

- I have been in arm wrestling for 20 years, and many times I have crossed paths in finals with Irina Makeeva, the strongest athlete not only in her weight but also in women's arm wrestling as a whole. I hadn't been able to prevail for a long time, and I came second. This time she won with her right hand, but I was better with my left hand, probably because Irina had a minor injury. We agreed to meet next year and find out who is stronger. Now I have to work twice as hard to keep my championship.

Honestly, I didn't even plan to participate this year. I decided to leave the sport because I was tired; I have my family, kids, my work… But about two weeks before the competition the president of our federation called and convinced me to enroll.

- Had you stopped training by that time?

- No, but I only exercised for myself. When I found out that one more championship was ahead I even cried because the importance of that for me was so high. Only thanks to my close people's support I managed to achieve this result that I had yearned for.

- Do your kids enjoy sports?

- My daughter is in the 11th grade, she came fourth in national rowing championship this year. My son is 10 years old and he doesn't like P.E. at all. I don't force him, it's enough that he takes walks with me and goes swimming. He also enjoys partaking in 4x4 off-road races with his father.

- What are your dietary recommendations for athletes?

- Exclude alcohol, sweets, and processed foods. Chocolate, however, is useful in reasonable quantities. I only consume coffee and chocolate on competition days. In general athletes must eat more vegetables, porridges, and limited amounts of meat and fish.

- What do you do if students ignore your classes?

- Usually they don't skip not because of fear but because of interest to the subject. Shirkers must write essays for their skipped classes. University is a busy time, and P.E., admittedly, is not the most important subject, but it's not the most useless as well. One of the main motivations for me to stay in sports is to show the example to students. They can see that one is able to develop and grow while having a job, a family, and kids. You just have to work hard in whatever you choose.