DMITRY SAUTIN, RUSSIA (DIVING)

(WHAT’S YOUR SECRET?)

"YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD. WORK, WORK, WORK AND WORK AGAIN. THAT IS THE SIMPLEST SECRET."

(DO YOU MONITOR THE RESULTS DURING THE COMPETITION?)

"I DON’T WATCH THE SCOREBOARD AS EACH PERSON GOES BUT WHILE I’M IN THE HOT TUB I GLANCE AT THE TV WHICH HAS SOME RESULTS."

(WHAT IS YOUR TRAINING LIKE?)

"I START OUT BY WARMING UP IN THE GYM, JUMPING ON THE MATS, DOING ACROBATICS. THEN I WILL HIT THE POOL AND THE DIVING BOARDS. IN TOTAL, IT IS TWO SESSIONS FOR FIVE HOURS A DAY."

(WHY ARE YOUR DIVES SO ARTISTIC?)

"DURING MY CHILDHOOD, I TOOK CHOREOGRAPHY LESSONS (DANCE AND MOVEMENT)."

(WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE DIVE TONIGHT?)

"MY LAST DIVE (BACK ONE AND ONE HALF SOMERSAULT THREE AND ONE HALF TWISTS). IT’S MY MOST RELIABLE AND MORE LAID BACK DIVE."

(CAN WE EXPECT IMPROVEMENT FROM YOU?)

"THERE WERE LITTLE DRAWBACKS THAT NEED TO BE WORKED OUT."

(DID YOU EXPECT TO WIN THE GOLD MEDAL?)

"I WANTED TO BUT I CANNOT PREDICT THE RESULTS."

MARK RUIZ, USA (DIVING)

"TONIGHT IT WAS ALL THE CROWD. THEY MADE ME COME BACK. I JUST WANT TO THANK THEM. I WASN’T FEELING WELL BEFORE AND DIDN’T HAVE ANY ADRENALINE FLOWING SO THE CROWD REALLY HELPED GET ME BACK INTO IT TONIGHT. THEY WERE GREAT."

"OVERALL, THE GAMES WERE GREAT. NEW YORK DID A GREAT JOB. I HAD A GREAT TIME AND A LOT OF FUN."

"I THINK OUR TEAM DID GREAT. WE ARE YOUNG AND DID VERY WELL. I AM SO PROUD OF LAURA (WILKINSON). TROY (DUMAIS) DID A GREAT JOB TOO. OVERALL, OUR TEAM DID GREAT AND I’M REALLY HAPPY FOR US."

"I’M REALLY PROUD TO HAVE WON ONE OF THE TWO U.S. MEDALS. ALL I COULD HOPE FOR WAS TO DO MY BEST. TONIGHT IT JUST WASN’T THERE BUT I WAS ABLE TO COME BACK AT THE END WHICH MADE ME HAPPY."

TIAN LIANG, CHINA (DIVING)

(DID YOU REALIZE HOW CLOSE IT WAS BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD PLACE?)

"I JUST CARE ABOUT THE COMPETITORS FROM THE OTHER COUNTRIES. I DON’T REALLY CONCENTRATE ON MY TEAMMATES."

(WHAT DO YOU THINK OF DMITRY SAUTIN?)

"HE’S NOT DOING VERY GOOD BECAUSE WE HAVE MET MANY TIMES IN OTHER COMPETITIONS AND HE USUALLY DOES VERY WELL."

(IF HE IS NOT DOING WELL, HOW COME YOU CAN’T BEAT HIM?)

"I’M DOING BADLY TOO."

(AFTER WINNING THE GOLD MEDAL IN THE 10 METER PLATFORM SYNCHRO, WERE THERE ANY EXPECTATIONS FOR TONIGHT’S EVENT?)

"I DID NOT EXPECT MUCH. BOTH OF US (SUN SHUWEI) WERE GOING FOR THE GOLD AND WE DID NOT TALK MUCH ABOUT THE OTHER MEDAL MUCH."

(WHAT WAS YOUR OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE GOODWILL GAMES AND THE FACILITY?)

"THEY WERE VERY GOOD. THE FACILITY IS VERY WELL EQUIPED."

(BEFORE THE GAMES, WHO WAS YOUR RIVAL?)

"SAUTIN, OF COURSE. I KNOW HIM VERY WELL. HE’S A VERY GOOD DIVER."

(HOW DID YOU PERFORM IN THIS COMPETITION?)

"VERY BAD. I COULD DO A LOT BETTER THAN HOW I DID HERE TONIGHT."

SUN SHUWEI, CHINA (DIVING)

(DID YOU REALIZE HOW CLOSE IT WAS BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD PLACE?)

"NO, BECAUSE I’M ONLY DOING THE BEST I CAN. I DIDN’T CONCENTRATE MUCH ON MY TEAMMATES."

(WHAT DO YOU THINK OF DMITRY SAUTIN?)

"HE IS VERY GOOD. HE HAS VERY GOOD SKILL. I GOT SOME INFORMATION FROM MY TEAMMATES THAT HE IS A VERY STRONG DIVER."

(WHAT WAS YOUR OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE GOODWILL GAMES AND THE FACILITY?)

"VERY GOOD. IT REACHED INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS."

(DID YOU THINK YOU WOULD GET ANY MEDAL FROM THIS COMPETITION?)

"NO. MY TRAINING WAS VERY SHORT AND MY PRACTICE WAS NOT AS GOOD AS I EXPECTED."

(WHAT MADE YOU PERFORM BADLY IN THE NINTH DIVE THAT COULD HAVE COST YOU THE BRONZE MEDAL?)

"I WAS A LITTLE NERVOUS. I DID WORRY ABOUT LOSING THE BRONZE MEDAL BUT I DID RECOVER WELL IN THE TENTH AND LAST DIVE."

IRINA LASHKO AND YULIYA PAKHALINA, RUSSIA (SYNCHRO DIVING)

(DID YOU KNOW HOW CLOSE THE COMPETITION WAS?)

"WE SAW THE RESULTS ON THE TV IN THE HOT TUB SO WE KNEW HOW CLOSE IT WAS. WE WERE NOT NERVOUS THOUGH, BECAUSE WE JUST HAD TO DO OUR BEST."

(WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT YOUR TEAM PERFORMANCE AND THE GOODWILL GAMES?)

"WE ARE VERY HAPPY FOR OUR TEAM. WE DID WELL. THIS IS A VERY NICE FACILITY. IT WAS VERY GOOD TEMPERATURE AT THE END BECAUSE IT STARTED OFF COLD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL SPRINGBOARDS."

(WHAT WAS YOUR BEST DIVE OF THE COMPETITION?)

"OUR BEST DIVE WAS OUR LAST DIVE (BACK ONE AND ONE HALF SOMERSAULT TWO AND ONE HALF TWIST). IT WAS BEAUTIFUL."

ALEXI YEVANGULOV, RUSSIA (DIVING COACH)

"I AM VERY HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS. WE WERE HOPING TO WIN BECAUSE THIS TEAM IS STRONG. THEY WERE WORLD CHAMPIONS THIS YEAR IN AUSTRALIA."

"THEY ARE FROM TWO DIFFERENT CITIES, EKATERIABURG (IRINA) AND PENZA (YULIYA). THEY PRACTICE IN THEIR OWN CITIES AND GET TOGETHER TO PRACTICE. THEY WORK A LOT AND THEIR TIME TOGETHER DEPENDS ON THE SEASON."

CONNY SCHMALFUSS AND SIMONA KOCH, GERMANY (DIVING)

(HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DIVING TOGETHER?)

CONNY: "TWO MONTHS."

(HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR PERFORMANCE?)

SIMONA:" WE WERE VERY HAPPY WITH THE BRONZE MEDAL."

(HAVE YOU BEFRIENDED OTHER COMPETITORS IN THIS EVENT?)

CONNY: "WE SPOKE WITH THE AMERICANS AT OTHER COMPETITIONS, BUT WE ARE LIMITED AS TO TALKING WITH RUSSIANS AND THE CHINESE."

(DO YOU WATCH THE SCOREBOARD?)

SIMONA: "YES, WE WATCH BETWEEN DIVES BECAUSE WE WERE VERY INTERESTED IN GETTING THE SILVER. WE ONLY MISSED THE SILVER BY ABOUT A POINT."

(WHAT MAKES THE GERMAN SYNCHRONIZED DIVING TEAM SO STRONG?)

SIMONA: "THEY PRACTICE SEPARATELY ON THE TECHNIQUE OF THE DIVE. THEY HAVE DIFFERENT COACHES TEACHING THE DIVES THAT THEY PRACTICE SEPARATELY. WE HAVE ONLY BEEN TOGETHER FOUR TIMES, TWO TIMES PRACTICING IN GERMANY, ONE TIME AT A COMPETITION IN SPAIN, AND THE FOURTH TIME HERE AT THE GOODWILL GAMES."

(HOW DID YOU ENJOY BEING PART OF THE GOODWILL GAMES?)

SIMONA: "THE GOODWILL GAMES WERE SUPER. IN GERMANY THERE IS NO INTEREST IN SYNCHRONIZED DIVING, NO ONE COMES TO WATCH IT. BUT HERE THERE WAS A NICE CROWD TO COME OUT AND WATCH US PERFORM. IT WAS BIGGER THAN THE CROWD IN SPAIN."

ZHANG JING, CHINA (DIVING)

(WHAT HAS BEEN THE SECRET OF THE CHINESE DIVING TEAM AT THE GOODWILL GAMES?)

"THERE IS NO SECRET. OUR COACH, HE TEACHES US VERY WELL."

(HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT TODAY’S COMPETITION?)

"I FELT SO-SO ABOUT IT. IT WAS NOT OUR BEST."

(WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE DIVE OF THE NIGHT?)

"THE LAST ONE (REVERSE TWO AND ONE HALF TWIST). IT IS OUR MOST COMFORTABLE AND RELIABLE DIVE. WE CAN ALWAYS RELY ON IT TO GET US GOOD MARKS."

(DURING THE COMPETITION DO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE RESULTS?)

"NO. WE DO NOT CONCENTRATE ON THE RESULTS. WE ARE CONCENTRATING ON THE TECHNIQUE OF THE UPCOMING DIVE."

(WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE CHINESE PERFORMANCE AT THE GOODWILL GAMES AND WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE?)

"WE DID WELL, BUT WE COULD HAVE DONE BETTER. WE LOST FOUR GOLD MEDALS FROM THE LAST OLYMPICS AT THESE LAST GAMES. THERE IS STILL A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE. WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED TRAINING FOR THE 2000 OLYMPICS."