Faces of Gymnastics: Livewire Halkina relishing the spotlight as Rhythmic Gymnastics comes to Minsk
15/08/2018 - http://www.fig-gymnastics.com/site/news/displaynews.php?idNews=2176

Katsiaryna Halkina will be the name on everyone’s lips when the World Challenge Cup starts in Minsk on 17 August. The Belarusian is not only defending champion in the Ball category, she is also reigning European All-around bronze medallist. Add on the fact that Halkina is a hugely engaging and amusing character and you can see why the crowd will be right behind the 21-year-old.

Katsiaryna Halkina (BLR) performs with the Clubs at the 2017 World Championships.

In June this year Katsiaryna Halkina claimed her first All-around medal at a major championships, taking bronze at the Europeans, held in Guadalajara, Spain. It has no doubt contributed to her infectiously sunny outlook on life, although to be fair, it appears Halkina was born with a smile on her face. Check out her answer to the question: what are your best and worst characteristics?

“I will answer with a joke,” she says, already giggling. “The King of the Animals gathers all the animals and says, ‘Beautiful ones to the right, clever ones to the left’. So all the animals part ways, but there is one monkey left sitting in the middle. The lion goes up to the monkey and asks, ‘Why are you still sitting there?’. The monkey answers, ‘What if I am both beautiful and clever, should I tear myself in two?’.”

Halkina’s uproarious laughter confirms her self-deprecating nature. This kind of play-acting will not be anything new to the 21-year-old’s 62,600 Instagram followers.

“I am almost everywhere on social networks,” she admits. “My phone is always on and just at night I turn the sound off.”

This gymnast prides herself on answering every message her many fans send her and after any big success her social media streams are awash with heartfelt notes to all her supporters. Those messages are becoming ever more frequent.

In 2017 the Belarusian won her first World Games medals, claiming bronze in both the Ball and Ribbon disciplines in Wroclaw, Poland. A month later she picked up her first individual World Championship medal, grabbing silver in the Clubs in Pesaro, Italy. That same summer also featured a first All-around victory on the world circuit, in Berlin, helping Halkina win the 2017 World Challenge Cup All-around title.

Katsiaryna Halkina (BLR) performs with the Ball at The World Games 2017.

“I have stepped up a level,” says Halkina, who has nimbly filled the void recently left by compatriot Melitina Staniouta, who won three All-around World Championship bronze medals during her glittering career. “Every year must be better than the previous one,” Halkina adds.

Staniouta retired after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, having finished fifth in the All-around, one place ahead of Halkina. The younger gymnast, for whom Rio 2016 was a first Olympic Games, is now the face of her sport in a country where fans are both knowledgeable and passionate. Halkina is aware of this pressure but seemingly impervious to it.

“First of all I compete with myself and if I give 100 per cent then it does not make sense to me to be worried about competing with other people,” she says.

Once on the mat, or the stage as she likes to think of it, Halkina simply lets the music take her over.

“Music is the most important thing,” she says. “Gymnastics is a small play into which you have to put your whole soul and portray the meaning, and without music it is impossible to do this.”

A fan of everyone from rap artists to classical singers, music is Halkina’s constant companion. However, when she is – on those rare occasions – not performing or training she does like to take things down a notch or two.

“I spend time with my close friends and family, I like to go to a spa to relax or to take a walk on the streets or just go to sleep. It all depends on my mood,” she laughs. “After sport, my ultimate dream is to create a happy and big family and then find myself in something else.”

Long before any of that, Halkina is determined to not only defend her World Challenge Cup Ball title in Minsk but to also improve on her third-place finish in last year’s All-around competition. One thing is for certain, this ever-smiling gymnast will relish the huge support she will undoubtedly have in the Falcon Club arena.

“It is always very exciting to perform at home,” she says. “All my family and friends have the opportunity to come and cheer for me. It is a big responsibility.”