class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>
How high Roman Mityukov (23) demands of himself quickly became clear at the World Championships in Doha after he missed the gold sensation by just 0.1 seconds. With silver at the World Championships 200 meters backstroke, the Genevan became only the second Swiss swimmer in history to win multiple World Cup medals (next to Flavia Rigamonti), but he remains cool and says: “I won bronze at the last World Cup medals , now it is silver. That’s okay, especially for a game in February. But we’ll see what happens at the Olympics!”
Mityukov also accepted the reception quite coolly when he returned from Qatar at Geneva airport. The silver hero is back in his homeland. His parents came to Switzerland from Russia 35 years ago – Mityukov was born and grew up in Geneva. And he went on to become a world-class swimmer in Geneva.
The talent quickly became apparent
A foreign adventure like colleague Jérémy Desplanches (29) – who left France shortly before the World Cup and is now training alongside Mityukov again under coach Clément Bailly – has never appealed to him. “I feel comfortable here, where I have my family and my friends,” Mityukov tells “24 Heures.” “There is no point in going into exile if you have everything here and you are making further progress.”
The World Cup high flyer came into contact with the water early on. Like his brother and sister, he learned to swim at primary school. But when the three talented children started taking the competitions more seriously, only Roman remained. He was always willing to take on the high training effort. Until today. Nowadays he works 25 to 30 hours a week in the water or in the gym.
As a teenager, his talent quickly attracted national attention and attracted selection to the European Junior Championships. But there was a problem: Mityukov did not have a Swiss passport. The talent forced his naturalization. He really put pressure on his parents to complete the process for him as quickly as possible. Now he has long been an indispensable part of the national team and with the World Cup silver in Doha he steps out of the shadow of Desplanches and Noè Ponti (22), whose Olympic medals from Tokyo have surpassed everything so far.
Hamburger restaurant expert from Geneva
But for Mityukov, who seems more introverted compared to Desplanches, there is also a life outside the pool. When asked what animal he would be, he says: “I wouldn’t be a fish. I would be a Leo, just like my zodiac sign.”
In addition to top sports, he also studies law. And he surprised people on “24 Heures” by saying that he regularly treats his toned body to something. Mityukov likes to eat hamburgers for life, but not the fast food variety. “It has to be a quality burger,” says the Olympic hopeful, describing how he has already visited almost every burger restaurant in Geneva to find out where the very best are.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
