Vadim, In 2019 you raced Kona after a very strong qualifier in
Boulder,USA. U immediately wanted to take a chance on getting back to
Kona in 2020…and succeeded in Arizona, only 5 weeks after the World
championships 2019!
This meant a relaxed view on 2020 with a certain ticket for the World
Champs 2020. Only…because of Covid the race wasn’t held in 2020. So
your qualifier counts for 2021! How does it feel already being qualified
for the next world championships?

It feels very nice because I have less pressure on myself. My training became more relaxed mentally. I believe it also translates to better recovery & performance in the long term. 

In Canada the approach of the lockdown changed quite a lot. Pools
open, pools closed, pools open,…you trained a lot on the VASA ergo.
Currently you are back in the pool! How did this on/off period affect
your swimming skills?

I have VASA since August 2020. Recently we travelled to another province for a month and all my sessions during that period were in the pool. It took about 3 sessions (<=45 min each) to feel like there was no break and after that I even had few sessions where I swam easy at the pace which was not easy before the lockdown. Then I had to return and switch back to VASA which caused my upper body to be sore for a week! So I’m very confident the VASA training is at least as good as in the water in terms of muscle power and endurance and it takes very short to get used to the water. Also I have some allergy to chlorine so VASA makes my training more comfortable.

You are used to a lot and long indoor sessions, both on treadmill and
turbotrainer. So lockdown wasn’t a big change in running/cycling for
you. How did you look at this whole lockdown according to training?

The lockdown didn’t change a lot about my training except the switch to VASA. However since we work from home, I have 1h30 spare daily because of no commutes and I think it means better recovery and performance. So overall I think the lockdown even has a potential to make me improve.

In 2021 you will race the Kona World championships, but after a year
without competition you want to be back at it and perform before this
race. Where and what do you wish to perform or aim at?

Well, you still make me race at home :-))). My calendar includes 70.3 at Florida in April and a full in Tulsa at the end of May. I’d like to qualify for 70.3 WC which is supposed to be in Utah this year and most of all I want to see if I can improve my running at the races before Kona. I’m however ready mentally for the scenario where one more season is postponed, I’m pretty sure following the program you prepare will only make me stronger even if there are no races.

Thank you Vadim and onwards to Utah and Kona 2021!