Hold on.
Hold it!
I don't have skills like miss Marta.
Hold it.
Hold it!!!
Hold it.
Hold it!
Hold on!
Come on Marta, do it...
Finish it...
Come on, come on!!!
Hold it!!!
Get set!
Go!
The little gym dash, the little gym dash,
just run fast as you can, but please dont crash.
"Now parents, if they
have got up till this point,
see if you can get them to do, little handstand jumps.
Little handstand jumps.
Good!
Encourage them to look down at their hands,
and have them keep the arms nice and straight.
My name is Marta.
I was born in Szczecin.
I train in artistic gymnastics.
My adventure with gymnastics
began when I was seven years old.
I was in the first grade of
elementary school, it was in 1994.
Since then a lot has happened.
At the age of 13, I moved over 500km away from my home,
to Zabre, without my family,
to develop my skills there.
And there, in that place, my passion developed,
into an even greater passion for gymnastics,
and I dreamed that I could be in the Olympics.
Furthermore, there in Zabrze,
I met my future-to-be husband, now present one,
and it was our common dream to
go together and be in the Olympics.
And that opportunity finally happened in 2008,
since 2005, I had been the best contender in Poland,
I had achieved much success,
I have achieved great success in world cups,
European championships, and world championships.
Unfortunately, this dominating lead ended in 2016,
when I was not able to qualify for
the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro.
I decided it was the right time
to retire and to become a mother.
After some time I managed to get pregnant,
and now we have a wonderful daughter, Jagna.
But I felt I was still missing something.
I had thought that it would be easy to
stop doing gymnastics, and stop my career,
but somehow gymnastics was
always in the back of my mind.
And I thought that I would regret it,
if I did not try to return to
gymnastics again, to a career in sports.
In the beginning it was supposed to be a
way to get back in shape after childbirth.
Instead, after each training,
I was more and more eager
to get back to competing again, I wanted to return.
I tried starting again, the first time
was in 2017 after a two-year break.
I managed to win the Polish championship.
Now, I am at such a level that I have
competed in the European championships,
and the world championships, where
the first success I had at that world cup,
I took home a bronze medal.
In 2019 there is the European
championship in Szczecin.
And this was also a driving force
for me to get back into gymnastics.
So, ...What's more... there are
very popular survivalist-type programs
...and our kids are like mini survivors.
Because they will be challenged
to want to explore their limits
we are here to create a safe
environment for them to do that.
Hello, what's your name? Ela.
Ela, will you give me a high
five? Great! Applause for ela.
If there is a flip, it will be
a swing, but the first one will be a wheelbarrow.
No, I hurried up. What?
Rotation deflection.
Twisted two and a half bolts.
There was nothing else to collect
later for a somersault with a spin.
I feel like this...
Don't worry. Tell me what's up with the leg?
My finger got bent back, the
one I recently hit the barbell with
...and when I turned and went forward,
I got it stuck on the mattress...
It bent backwards...
Mommy, it has pain here.
Give a kiss.
Oh dear, dear... And now I won't let you go.
There was nothing to collect
I have to correct it, but my finger is hurting.
Well, here...
I know...
... and of course...
Daddyyy!!!???
Thank you very much for joining us.
As you are competing now on
the European championships...
In your hometown...
How does it feel to also be involved as
an ambassador to do the promo films?
Can you tell us a little bit about this?
Its really exciting
I think it's more like a very big event to celebrate.
Its nothing like.. Ok, Im going to the Europeans,
and I can compete. Its from
the hotel to the gym and so on
its like, ok, its in my hometown, and it's
really a big celebration of gymnastics here.
Im happy with it.
Specially, that the last Europeans was like...
15 years ago, and this is a perfect
promotion for gymnastics here in Poland.
And what are your personal
expectations of this championships?
No expectations for me. Really... because
now we are just trying to
manage everything all together,
like parenthood, our job, because
we have normal jobs, and the trainings.
So trainings, its like additional, because
we don't earn enough money from just gymnastics,
not so much, so our jobs are our main focus.
So, because of that we have no expectations.
I only have one expectation, to be happy.
And to have time for celebrating
here, because of what Ive said earlier,
this is a celebration.
As Marta has said, no expectations.
I had made minimal points to get onto the team
because I had four years without
any international competitions.
So I needed to show to our coach what I can do.
He then decided to include me on the team,
- so I have no expectations, like Marta.
- Just fun, just fun.
Just have fun and,
this is only for a short time no more than two hours
per day for training, so its more like a hobby now.
Talking about that, what does a daily
schedule look like, combining all that...
Like, nothing too difficult,
but more like an average day?
Its like, Roman starts his training from 6am to 8am,
then he comes back home,
because our gym is about 900km,
meters, meters! -Sorry meters...
from our home, so it's like a 15 minute walk.
...so he comes back home,
and he stays with Jagna, our daughter,
so I can have time to go train.
So about two and half hours of training.
So then I go back home, after my training,
we have time for a coffee,
for lunch, time for ourselves...
then we have work, we go to little gym,
our workplace, and we have some office work,
like the payments, and so on, and then after,
in the afternoon, the lessons start, the classes
so it's about 3 to 4 hours with the kids.
Work with kids.
Zuzia, whats going on?
Attention, panthers and super panthers, I have
a new exercise. We will jump like monkeys.
Legs on blue, hands on red. Jump, jump, jump.
Who will try first? Susan. Jump, I'll help
you out a little... good. Great, bravo Zuza.
Here. We sit down on the red mat.
It's August 2019 and I want to tell you what
has happened with me during the last 6 months.
March was a very intense month,
an intensive month when it comes to
preparing for the European championships,
because at the beginning of April,
the European gymnastics
championships was here in Szczecin.
Unfortunately, they were some
problems because of management reasons,
it turned out that the hall in which I trained,
and where Romek also trained,
was not available for our
trainings for a whole week, the
week right before the start of
the European championships,
due to the fact that it was to
be used for other competitors,
so we had to find on our own another place to train.
We ended up going to Gdansk,
and of course, no one from the Polish association was
interested in helping us, so we did it on our own.
And unfortunately, due to fact that the
training preparations were reduced a lot,
the result I achieved at the European
championships was not satisfying,
I still think it was a very cool event,
and got a lot of joy out of it,
I received a lot of kindness and nice words,
from all over Europe, because of how Romek and I train,
how Jagna is always with us,
and how we do everything together,
and it was fantastic, it made us stronger.
Then in April, it was time
for the Polish championships,
and unfortunately... As life is not a fairy tale,
during the training before the competition
I injured my elbow, and ended up getting surgery.
Fortunately the surgery was not complicated,
it was not so severe, it was just an arthroscopy,
so I recovered very quickly,
and...
Now I am preparing intensely to
take part in the world championships,
that will be in October, which is a
qualification for the Olympics in Tokyo,
which is also not that easy,
and...
Without being aware, and without my knowledge,
they tried to exclude me from the possibility
of taking part in this world championships.
The Polish gymnastics federation
stated that instead of two female athletes,
they would submit only one,
therefore, they would exclude me from starting
in the national qualifications, and from
the world championships qualifications.
So I took all the measures I could, including,
reporting it to the international
gymnastics federation,
just for them to help me and to make it possible
for them to submit the other athlete as well,
and we managed to do it at the last
possible moment. So now Im here,
Im intensely preparing for
the world championships,
Romek is also preparing himself,
but we also have a very
interesting thing going on, because
just like the federation didn't want to
support and send me to the world championships,
financially, we also have to
resolve it ourselves, unfortunately.
We have a beautiful initiative on "go fund
me", trying to collect enough funds to go.
So...
Now its August,
we're in the middle of preparations,
everything is going according to plan,
and we really hope that we
can go to the Olympics again.
I have one too, but they made it in black,
and they said they're going to make one for Jagna.
But for her it will be white instead of black.
I need to tell you something, otherwise I will forget...
Angie is teaching a big fan of yours,
and the girl is ten years old and is in training,
I don't know exactly where or
when, but she would love to meet you.
Ohh, there you go.
And I don't know if maybe she could
come to a training, or if she can meet you?
For training it will be a problem,
because we're generally here on goodwill,
I don't know how the school
authorities would react, so to speak,
but as long as no one finds out, it would
be cool to bring someone to a training
but she doesn't want to watch you,
she just wants to get to know you.
Ok.
Not that you will coach her.
So, she will not train?
Ah, okay. I understood she wanted to come and train.
Bless you.
- No, she just wants to meet you.
- No problem, no problem at all.
Ready!
How high you jump!
Aren't you afraid?
No.
Am I supposed to take a picture of
the mattress lying like that? Or what?
Yes.
Mom!
I'm coming, I'm coming to you.
I'm just going to get my phone.
Do a backflip...
Jagna is with us all the time.
On one hand, its a choice,
but on the other, we also
made this decision ourselves
a little bit.
There's this huge bond,
that exists between Marta and jagna.
This bond cannot really be described.
Maybe due to...
The fact that jagna accompanies us everywhere,
but...
But you can see, in every detail...
Character, behaviour, temperament...
Literally, it's a copy and paste.
It is great to have two such girls together.
We'll go first, right? We'll zigzag ahead.
Christopher, come on, help us!
And here, put your arms high to the side.
Cool.
Agatka, come on.
And up here zigzagging.
Great, when someone has already run.
A huge round of applause for
our panthers and super panthers.
One, two, and... threeeee
Mom!!!!!
Daughter!
What's up?
Come
Whats up, daughter?
I didn't take your you know...
Matilda...
Matilda has it and I forgot
it, I didn't take it from home
Daddy, I got it. Daddy! Daddy...
What do you have? A Teddy bear?
Mom! - Cool.
Skipping. And the back flip? -On the spot.
On the board? -Yes.
Good.
Running in place on these mattresses. - Yeah.
Is this Jagna's water? -Yes!
Two sets to finish. Come on, come on.
We're going to start by marching forward, okay?
Come with me around the room.
That's great.
Can try it on your toes.
Great.
You can stomp like an elephant.
You can take big steps.
Huge.
You can take tiny steps, foot by
foot. It's a very difficult exercise,
Show me the pictures you are making.
And what was that beautiful song? What?
Nooo.
Ok.
Jagna, what are you eating?
Pasta with green cucumber,
bad lettuce and my tongue hurts.
Does it hurt? Lettuce is not good?
And the celery?
Good. Celery.
Lots of bubbles.
Come on, come on here, not from the head.
Mom.
You started snacking? Well, nice flowers.
Maybe you should practice before you eat. What?
No. I already have this.
I'm going to fall.
And if you fall, you'll land on the mattress.
One foot in front of the other.
You can do it.
You can do a flip at the end.
No, I don't want to.
On your feet. Good.
Great. Bravo. Look at the end of the beam. Look at me.
Beautiful. And what a good job.
Well, you see...
Bravo. -Great. I told you you could do it.
Do I get a hug?
Give me a moment. I have three
jumps, and then to the other side.
I have to get up there.
It's too high up there.
And what do you have next?
An orange.
And say in English.
Orange.
Orange, yes! The same as the color.
Just like in the Polish language;
Orange and orange, right?
And here is watermelon.
Watermelon. - And do you know 'watermelon' in English?
How?
I don't know...
"Watermelon"
yes!
Say: Water...
Watermelon. -Bravo, awesome!
Oh, there it is! Who's that?
Martyna.
You were riding it together? -Yes!
She was in the front, and I was in the back.
I think it was the other way around. You
were in the front and she was in the back.
Yeah.
- She was in front, she was in front.
- Martyna was afraid to ride the scooter.
No...
She was afraid to be by herself,
but she wasn't afraid with you?
And will you ever ride races like daddy?
What? -Yes.
Theres a class in the European cup...
So what are you going to be? A gymnast or a racer?
A racer and a gymnast.
And a gymnast? So both?
Yes, both.
And what are you going to be
when you grow up and are bigger?
A big scooter.
A big scooter? I mean, what are
you going to be when you get older?
I dont know...
So big, so big.
What are you going to be?
Recently we had ten drivers
at the cup event in Poland.
And this is normally registered in pzmot.
Yes!
You should go do a flip on the balance beam.
No, I already did it.
Then go do another one.
Hold on.
Hold on.
Flip.
Nose to the railing.
Nose, nose
forward push-up
what a beautiful forward push-up.
Straighten your legs.
No! Forward support,
do not worry, Im holding you.
You've farted now.
No. -Yes.
Nooo... -Yesss!
No, no, no
why? -I don't know.
Why? - I dont know.
Why? -I dont know.
Why? -I don't know.
Why? -I dont know.
So, was it fun asking questions like that?
I told you she doesn't know how to.
Go hard!
Grab a narrower one. Closer.
Get your hands closer together.
Jagna, hands close together.
Meet Matilda.
Matilda is the daughter of
the production manager, Iza.
Both girls are very smart, very clever,
but...
I would like you to see,
how they differ in the place Which
jagna has grown up in and knows very well.
Where every mattress has a different hardness,
a different softness, where every
surface can cause or suppress bouncing.
The girls have known each other since
the very beginning of this documentary.
They see each other from time to time,
but they share a very friendly bond,
and enjoy each others company.
Fun.
Children and parents...
One... two... three... four.
And... four.
No... -Yes.
No, there is also my dad.
Theres also my dad.
But Ive counted your dad.
Yes.
One, two, three, four.
And my mom and me.
Mhmmm... and the children.
Not one children, but two children.
I have you. Give me a hug.
Are you holding on?
Do you want to fly like that too?
Yeah. -Do you want to? Come on, then.
With mom. - With mommies is good. Yes, you can try.
Iza, yes, you can try it, but first,
hold and cradle her bottom and her neck.
Look at how with me and jagna.
And now she puts her arms under
your bottom and behind your neck, right?
So she must have her hands underneath.
Underneath, jagna, right here.
And hold her tightly to you so
that your chin doesn't hit her.
And that's the safest way.
Look at me now.
See what I can do.
See? You see?
You aren't able to control your movements.
When we're far apart, it's still okay.
But when we're close,
I can block your bounce... for example.
See? And you won't be able to bounce anymore.
Jagna, how old are you?
Then how old is it?
Two, three, four.
Four or three?
Three. What's your name?
Gusia.
Marta: Gusia or Bogusia? Jagna: Yes.
Gusia kulesza?
Gusia kulesza!
And tell me, do you go to the nursery or kindergarten?
Kindergarten.
Kindergarten? So what about the nursery?
The nursery is over now.
Finished the nursery and now you go to?
Kindergarten.
And do you have any friend or colleague there?
Zosia...
And Karol.
Karol and not Kuba?
No.
And do you remember what
aunties name is in kindergarten?
What is it?
I don't know.
You don't know? Maybe Marzena?
Yes or no?
And the other aunt? A...
I dont know.
You dont know? And tell me, who
lives in the house besides mom and dad?
Who is in the house?
I dont know.
What kind of pets do you have?
Well, a rabbit...
A rabbit? A living one?
What kind of pets live in our house?
Two?
Which two?
Tell me.
Ponies...
Two cats?
Who scratched you awhile ago?
Lolita.
Please sit down nicely.
Lolita.
Who is Lolita?
My... me... my cat.
And do you have more cats at home?
Yes.
Who else lives at your house?
Froggy, just please sit straight.
Gunia...
Who lives at your house?
Mom and dad?
Me...
And who else?
Me.
And the big redhead?
Wacek...
Wacek. And who is wacek?
I dont know...
The year of 2020 started for us like any other year,
and I think for most people in the world as well,
but we all know what happened then,
the global pandemic quite drastically
changed everyone's lives, and our lives too.
As far as our sporting career is
concerned, we had to stop training.
And the main quadrennial event, the
Olympics, were postponed until next year.
As far our professional life is concerned,
we had to stop working until may, and
then begin again with the new restrictions.
As far as our family life is concerned,
we got even closer,
we had a chance to be with each other 24 hours a day,
and that showed us how strong our bond is together.
When it came to Jagna's life,
it definitely hit her hard that,
she had to stop-going to daycare, and well, she loved it.
In the meantime,
jagna went from being a two and
a half year old to a three year old.
While at the age of two, we had
practically no difficulties with her,
we could communicate everything
to her. But on her 3rd birthday,
as if by magic, she turned into a typical
three year old, with her own fussiness.
Also, with a very firm opinion, and her own idea of life.
For us, and as parents, it was quite a challenge.
But we had the opportunity during this
pandemic to learn a lot about her behaviour,
and how to deal with it.
Jagna, first of all, started to
communicate really fast with words.
So her verbal communication is at quite a high level.
So, as parents we have to be careful
on what and how we use words with her,
because she can use them very well in her arguments.
Shes also able to use her firmness outside of home.
And use other people to get what she wants,
even if the parents are against it.
At the moment weve started
the adventure called preschool.
Jagna doesn't have any problems,
and shes doing a good job.
And I think all three of us passed
the COVID-19 exam with a good grade,
as we've dealt with the
consequences of what has happened.
We continue to have a lot of plans for the future,
as we continue to train, and work,
jagna is in preschool,
so I think now everything
can probably get back on track,
or even speed up and everything will end well.
You can do it.
Are you going to make it? Did you made it or not?
Running? But jumping is also jumping.
Hands... touch... hop, hop.
What have you got here? -Nothing.
Okay? -Yeah.
Try to change your behaviour a little bit.
You have the trampoline free
now. Use it now because if I
go on the trampoline you know
you won't be able to jump, ok?
Great. You are standing beautifully.
I would like to play "airplane".
What kind of plane?
My baby. Are you my baby? -Yes.
My baby's such a little baby.
Good thing you don't bite your nails, you know.
Come on. Are you going to grow a little bit? Why?
No.
Grow some.
No.
Grow up. Baby grow a little bit.
No... no!
Don't scream.
On your feet... Go, stand on your feet. Are you standing?
Give me your hands.
No, not like that or I won't catch you.
And now what? And now what?
I don't know.
Run away... run away from here.
Once we are here, we could try to reach it...
Oh Jesus...
The chocolate will melt in your hands...
I know...
I know, but...
Because Im big, it doesn't melt...
...melt...
I take a little and it won't melt for me.
They are bitten... they are bitten...
Look how big my muscles are. - Me too, see how big they are.
You have some.
See how mine look.
And see what kind I have.
Here.
And you know my mom...
I'll put it here too, if I get thirsty, I'll come.
Not here, okay, here. - All right.
These are Susies.
We'll leave them here and when
we get sweaty, we'll come here, okay?
To the hotel.
Matilda try to hold your legs
together on the trampoline.
Oh beautiful.
Put your left leg here, here on the mattress.
I can't. I can't.
In line just like in the gym. Why are you freaking out?
You can't hang out with your
parents because you're so picky.
I dont want to be filmed.
But Miguel came to record you for that.
Why did you stick it in your mouth? Yuck.
Well hard, hard, hard.
Now it's not going to fall off of you
anymore. So now you know not to nibble, right?
Yeah.
You are welcome.
Its done.
And what?
Its good.
Facing forward and wandering... With your right foot...
I'm supposed to jump off now? -Jump off.
And a flip.
And flip right off.
Head. And who's going to hide
the head? The woodpecker. Or you?
Me.
Well, rather. You, rather.
Like a stork.
Hi!
What is your name?
Jagna kulesza.
So, jagna kulesza, how old are you?
Three and a half, almost four?
And tell me...
What was yesterday? What happened?
I dont remember.
Were we in the gym?
Well, were there classes or not?
There wasn't. -Why wasn't there?
Because it was Christmas.
Christmas!? What kind of Christmas was it?
The one we need to paint eggs.
To paint eggs. I think it was easter.
Yes.
Who brings presents on easter.
Santa Claus!
Santa?! On easter???
No, someone else brought you a present.
A rabbit! -Rabbit, mhmm
and then the next day, what did we do?
We painted eggs. -No, later.
Before dad got up?
Something had to be done.
And what?
Did we spray dad?
With water! -Water?!
What kind of a holiday was that?
I don't know.
Smingus?
Smingus...
Dyngus.
Dyngus.
And tell me...
What present did the bunny bring you?
A dress from the film "frozen'.
A dress from "frozen"?
And what else?
There was something else from 'frozen', right?
A backpack. -A backpack...
What is your favourite film?
Frozen! -Frozen...
The first or second part?
Second.
Second...
And who is your favorite character from frozen?
Elza, the snowman. Kristof. Sven, Olaf, and elza and Anna.
And Anna. So you like everyone in "frozen".
And is there any food that you like to eat the most?
Yes.
What do you like to eat the most?
Scrambled eggs.
Scrambled eggs???
And with mayonnaise?
Yes.
And with what else?
With cucumber.
With cucumber??? Ok.
And tell me do you have a favorite color?
What is your favourite color?
All of them.
But the one you like the most?
Orange, green, yellow...
...pink... cream...
Blue and purple.
And is there anything you like doing the most?
What do you like to do the most?
Cut, cut cucumber.
Cutting cucumber is what you like the most?
Why?
Because you do.
Because yes, because you
like to cut cucumber the most.
And tell me, do you like to exercise in the big gym?
Yes!
What do you like to do in the big gym?
To exercise.
But what type of exercises?
Flips.
Flips?
And jump on the trampoline.
And jump on the trampoline, mmhh...
And stand on your hands?
And swinging on a pole?
And on wheels?
So you like to do everything in the gym?
Okay and what would you like to be in the future?
When you're big and grown up?
What would you like to do?
To be a cashier.
To be a cashier?
Would you like to work in a store? Yes?
Yes! -That is amazing!
Do you like to go to any
classes besides kindergarten?
Gym.
To the gym and where else do you go?
To the ballet.
You have ballet lessons? Do
you like going to the ballet lessons?
And tell me, do you have any friends in kindergarten?
Who are your friends?
Zuzia and Matilda.
And only zuzia and Matilda?
Or are there other children?
There are others too.
But zuzia and Matilda are your...?
Colleagues? -Favourite friends?
And friends. -And friends...
And you like playing with them?
And Frederic too.
And with Adasio. - And adas, and who's Frederick?
He's Matilda's brother.
And adas?
Zuzia's brother.
Okay. Do you have a brother or a sister?
Would you like to have one?
A brother or a sister?
Also a brother.
A brother.
Only a brother?
Just a brother.
Look at this.
Look at this!
Here it comes!!!
Puff! I just k*lled it.
We're in the square.
And I'll help you turning on the letters.
This is where you turn on and then you eeeee...
Watch out!
Do you want it quiet or loud?
Quiet.
Hey, is everything okay?
Or shall we switch? -Yes.
Okay. You have mine and I have yours.
Careful, zuzia.
Zuzia, move back. Get out of the way.
Zuzia!
Zuzia, you are taking everything away from me.
Zuzia! You cant play with jagna.
Please give jagna more, zuzia.
Now only zuzia will clean it up.
How did zuzia take it away from jagna?
Wheres my broom?
I'll give it to you.
I wanted one too I
wanted one too. I wanted one too.
And now the topic of the day,
the most titled sports gymnast of Szczecin,
two-time Olympic games
participant, Marta pihan-kulesza.
She dreams about performing in the most
important event of the four-year period.
Fighting against all odds,
even with her home federation,
she still has managed to
qualify for the finals of the
European championships
as the only Polish participant,
when all plans literally came
crashing down in a second.
Now she has to fight for a quick recovery.
Marta pihan-kulesza and her husband Roman have been
icons of sports gymnastics in our region for years.
Dozens of gold medals at the Polish championships,
including the most prestigious competitions,
allowed them to compete
regularly at the European and
world championships and to
reach for the world cup medals.
The couple is historically
the first Polish couple who
independently won Olympic
qualification's for the same games,
Marta represented Poland in Beijing and London.
After the maternity break there
was a crazy plan to come back,
and fight for the qualification on the third place.
Quickly Marta again dominated the domestic market.
And managed to be the face of the European
championships organized in Szczecin.
Now, again in competition, she was supposed to score
points necessary for the
fulfillment of the Olympic dream.
Unfortunately, during her
performance in the finals,
in which she appeared after a break of a few years.
During the free exercises routine,
in a seemingly harmless situation,
she grabs her knee, stopping the performance.
Even on the replays you can't see
that her leg twisted in any unnatural way.
Aside the fact that the "move" was not a difficult
one or the type which overloads the joints.
And yet, the diagnosis resulted in a torn ligament in
the knee and the end of her performances this year.
Now the fight is not for the
realization of ambitious dreams,
often even against the decision of the domestic
association, but for the return to full recovery.
Many sportsmen would break down in such
a situation but not Marta pihan-kulesza.
She again promises full commitment
and a fast return to competing.
We will keep our fingers crossed for her to succeed.
Today in "sport" the athlete, you have just
watched, Marta pihan-kulesza, is our guest today.
Good morning, Marta. As an opening question,
I have to ask: How are you feeling?
Good morning, welcome.
I feel... good.
Positive...
For now...
We are waiting for some decisions,
I've gone to my first consultation
with the doctor here in Szczecin,
after the first visit with the
physiotherapist and next week,
after Thursday, we will decide...
We will decide...
Whether my leg is ready for the surgery or
if we still need some more rehabilitation.
But there is no doubt that the ligament is torn,
it's just a matter of how you will try
to rebuild that small but very
important element of the knee.
Yes, its the "anterior cruciate" ligament,
with partial meniscus damage,
not the best type of injury.
Simply because recovery from such an injury
is considerable time and labour consuming.
Its a ligament without, which most normal people,
those who normally lead a moderate
active lifestyle, are able to cope,
but when it comes to gymnastics, well,
without this ligament you just can't.
Because its responsible
for stabilization of the knee,
the joint and the main deep feeling in that limb,
so well, if you want to continue
to lead such an active lifestyle,
and continue the adventures with gymnastics,
we're watching again that moment when it happened,
it doesn't look that bad,
so I wonder if you had any
problems prior with that knee,
and if this injury maybe could
have occurred somehow beforehand?
Well, because from what it seems, it looks that
you were also terribly surprised by what happened.
Ive never had any problems with my knee.
And Ive never had an injury during a competition.
It has never happened before that any of
my routines were interrupted by an injury,
and when it comes to the injury that
happened now at the European championships,
I was totally surprised.
After the first acrobatic track,
after the element with rotations,
which I was jumping back, I was
doing a forward flip after the rebound,
and at that moment I felt the pain in my knee,
but I figured I would worry
about it after the competition,
because free exercise was the first
routine in the finals of the multi-event,
I said to myself that I would worry about it after
the start because it seemed to not be so bad,
I felt it slightly instable but I
tried to continue the exercise,
but after that jump and after those
few steps with the choreography,
I felt that my knee was unsteady and...
And I am a physiotherapist by profession,
so somewhere in the back of my mind, after
the injury happened when I felt the pain.
And this click in the knee, I thought it might be that,
and afterwards I confirmed it, and unfortunately,
understanding that it was a cruciate ligament.
And I assumed, that it was completely torn,
as I didnt have any stability in my knee.
I know maybe two athletes, who so
calmly would approach such an injury.
Which requires extensive rehabilitation.
How do you manage to keep
such a fresh mind, such great calmness,
such confidence that you, as soon
as possible want to return to normal,
starting with rehabilitation exercises and
then the normal exercises. How do you do it?
I think if it wasn't for that thought,
first of all it would be hard for
me to come to terms with the injury.
It's not easy to come to terms with any injury,
especially such a serious one.
I think that...
No athlete wants to end his career
with an injury during a competition,
and...
I can't blame myself of anything
when it comes to preparation
because that's what hurts me the most, because
I was very well prepared for the competition,
and you could see it, on that day before the finals
of the multi-jump during warm-ups in the side room.
I felt very good,
and if it wasn't for that injury,
I would have started in the finals
in the balance beam exercises.
Because I was the first reserve
for the finals and the athlete,
who was supposed to start there,
a Romanian woman, withdrew
due to her being in hospital
because of a kidney infection.
Well...
It's hard for me to be sad about
the fact that I was so well prepared.
The injury happened and I cant change it.
I also have no influence on it
and I could sit down and cry,
but I prefer to redirect this energy to focus
on the best possible and
most reliable rehabilitation.
Because as I said, I don't want to end
my career with an injury at a competition
and I would like at least one
more chance after rehabilitation.
Can I take that as a statement?
And an important point.
Are you declaring that no matter
how the rehabilitation will go,
you will still come back
where we will be able to admire you?
I would like to,
I cant say I'll do it 100%
because Ive never had such a serious
injury, and such an extreme surgery
and let's not hide the fact that its
easier to recover when you're 17 than 33.
As I say I would like to do it
and I would like to show that I can,
because I know that a lot of
people are cheering for me.
After all, I have received incredible support
from the international gymnastics community
during the competitions when
and where the injury occurred,
so I know that many people
are rooting for me and, above all,
I would not like to disappoint them and I treat
it as a challenge rather than a declaration.
But I can't promise, because as I say, I
don't know how it will eventually turn out.
We are keeping our fingers crossed.
There were people who said
that after the maternity break
you wouldn't come back, but
you came back in great shape
- and this time it will work out as well.
- Thank you very much,
Im sorry that we have to talk in such
circumstances after such an incident,
but we will return to normal events
and normal conversations about sports.
Marta pihan-kulesza was, my and your guest,
thank you very much for the interview.
When all this happened, this injury,
the first thoughts in my head were
to act, to act as quickly as possible.
Which doctor should I contact, how soon will
I do the surgery, who will finance everything,
so it was very motivating, I was strongly motivated,
but right after the surgery...
And during the first days of rehabilitation,
the reaction was maybe not so...
Not so dynamic, because I felt an
enormous sense of powerlessness.
I felt powerless because of the pain,
the fact that I was so immobilized,
I became a liability for my family,
I couldnt go anywhere by car alone,
I couldn't go to the toilet without crutches,
I couldnt make myself a sandwich or a coffee,
because I had to use the crutches all the time,
even at home it was troublesome and,
I have to say, the whole rehabilitation
process at the very beginning,
was something very difficult...
And I didn't feel very good about it.
Even though I tried to hide my feelings,
I felt terribly lonely during that time,
even though I had the support
of my closest loved ones,
the support of Roman, I had jagna,
the support of people from work,
the support of my family,
this powerlessness and lack of
ability to act made me feel alone,
simply
in all that, and I wasn't sure if I would
ever be able to return to gymnastics,
if I would be able to return to my full mobility,
because for a person who every day
could do a backflip on the balance beam,
or run up to the bus,
being limited with crutches,
the lack of mobility in the joint,
the inability, so to speak, to stand on my leg,
well, for an athlete like me, it was traumatic.
It was traumatic and...
I don't know if I wouldn't have needed
to seek out the help of a specialist.
If it wasn't for the fact that
Roman was there to motivate me,
if it wasn't for the fact that I had jagna with me,
if it wasn't for the fact that I have a fantastic job,
I don't know if I wouldn't have
needed the professional help
of a specialist who would be able to pull
me out of this mental, not physical, hole.
The rehabilitation process itself
was very painful at the beginning.
It wasn't my first surgery,
it wasn't my first rehabilitation process,
it wasn't my first time in hospital,
but now I know...
That it was the most painful
injury in terms of recovery.
Now jagna is four years old,
and I will take a little break, and
we'll see each other next year.
Tender and kind, built over time
this is my love for you
steady and pure, patient and sure
this is my love for you
so shout from the city gates
hear heaven bless this day
let all the elders say
that this love was worth the wait
let go and hear the sound
pull all the barriers down
I'll Cherish the one I've found
this is my love for you
Careful and wise, true and refined
this is my love for you
gentle but strong from suffering long
this is my love for you
so shout from the city gates
hear heaven bless this day
let all the elders say
that this love was worth the wait
let go and hear the sound
pull all the barriers down
I'll Cherish the one I've found
this is my love for you
this is my love for you
Let the sound be heard
let the songs be sung
I have found the one
that this heart loves
let the veil be torn
save yourself no more
let this love in me
find a home in yours
so shout from the city gates
hear heaven bless this day
let all the elders say
that this love was worth the wait
let go and hear the sound
pull all the barriers down
I'll Cherish the one I've found
this is my love for you
this is my love for you
this is my love for you
Look forward.
Towards the edge
hands up touching the clouds, ...and strong...
...and then touch the mat.
Bravo!