Bliznyuk explained why she gifted her Olympic gold medal to Viner.

Today, on the YouTube channel "Without Water," hosted by "SE" columnist and three-time Olympic champion in synchronized swimming Alla Shishkina, an interview with Anastasia Bliznyuk, a two-time Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics, six-time world champion, and coach of the Chinese national team, who won gold in the group all-around at the 2024 Paris Games, was released. She shared the fate of her awards from her Olympic victories.

— The gold medal from London is kept in a safe at my grandmother's, — says Bliznyuk. — Honestly, I wanted to see it, to check if it had tarnished or not. Because I saw Nastya Nazarenko, who brought her medal once, and it had really tarnished. I got curious. I asked my grandmother to go to the safe. If she puts a document in there, she might find it after five years. Although it would probably be somewhere on a shelf.

— Your grandmother keeps everything securely.

— That's for sure. She might lose the key to that safe and then find it again, and so on. In general, I understand that she didn’t get to the safe and didn’t check. But I was curious to see if everything was okay, how the medal looks.

— You gifted your gold medal from Rio to Viner. Tell us about that and the coach's reaction.

— When we were standing on the podium in Rio de Janeiro, I probably felt that I was in shape not long before that moment. After I ended my career. When they put the medal around my neck, I thought it wasn’t my medal at that moment. It belonged to Irina Alexandrovna. I don’t know why I thought that. Because, first of all, she gave me a chance. She saved my life after my serious illness. And for some reason, I thought that I had a second medal, while she had so many athletes, so many champions, but no Olympic medal. I wanted to give it to her. Then we all went to the award ceremony, and for the first time, we were awarded orders. I took off my medal.

— Was that already in the Kremlin?

— Yes. I took off my medal and tried to gift it to her, but she said: “No-no-no. What are you talking about? This is your medal. You earned it. It should be with you.” The next time we went on vacation, and there was a celebration for us. I had already written a text, a letter. We had a number with the girls, we danced a sports dance. And after the performance, I took the microphone, read my speech, and tried to hand the medal to Irina Alexandrovna, but she only accepted it until the end of the evening to dance. She danced and said: “This is your medal. You earned it. It should be with you.” And she returned it to me. I started to get a little nervous. Then she organized a big celebration for all the coaches on March 8. Stars sang, and there were many coaches and gymnasts. And that’s when I tried for the third time. I read the text. And then she came over and said: “You don’t understand. She has tried to gift it to me several times now. If you really want it, I will take it.” I think now she tries to return that medal to me in every interview. And I say: “Irina Alexandrovna, if you return that medal to me, I simply won’t come. I don’t need the medal.” I gave it with all my heart, and I am happy I did. That it wasn’t a backup medal, but the actual Olympic one. In general, I have not regretted it for a second. On the contrary, I think she looks at it—and it brings her joy. Perhaps she feels proud or experiences some emotions. If the medal were with me, it would be sitting on a shelf in a drawer. I wouldn’t see it. I would only look at it once a year—and it would be gathering dust. And so what?