dr. Anasztázia Nguyen: „I am not thinking in centimetres”

The long jumper of MTK Budapest, dr. Nguyen Anasztázia – at the time of this article’s publishing – is currently 26th on the world rankings and the first 32 get to go to the Tokyo Olympics. The athlete, who is only five centimetres away from the Olympic qualifying standard, is going to compete at the Hungarian Grand Prix Series station in Tatabánya.

– It is a great opportunity for every Hungarian athlete that there are more and more high-level competitions. The classification of these competitions also matters, because of the number of points you can get for the world rankings. The Grand Prix in Tatabánya is classified as bronze, while the Gyulai Memorial is a gold standard competition.

– It was not your best indoor season, so hopefully, the outdoor one will be more successful.

– I did not have a problem physically, but I had technical difficulties this season. We are constantly working on correcting these. Among other things, we have to elevate the jump and take it further, because I have the necessary speed.

– How will your schedule look like in the next weeks, months?

– I will go to the Hungarian Grand Prix in Tatabánya, then I will compete at the national championship and the Gyulai István Memorial. We also planned to compete in Turku, but we will see.

– Your personal best is 6.77 meters. How long do you think it will remain that way?

– I want to break it during each competition, but I never think about centimetres. My goal is to execute the jump as perfectly as possible and the result will come.

– Do you have some free time amid the trainings and competitions?

– We have adopted a Labrador Mutt more than 3 years ago and we spend a lot of time walking him and I also bake a lot. My favourite is the macaron these days, not only because it is delicious, but baking it is a serious challenge. Obviously, I do not eat the cakes myself, some are left for friends and coaches.

– Do you have any memories about the track in Tatabánya?

– I have competed there in my youth and for some reason the 200 metres race is what sticks in my head. Last year, I also competed there in the long jump and it was probably the best competition in terms of results. As a long jumper, it is an advantage at this competition that you can decide where you want to start your run up. The judges monitor the wind for us and it helps us greatly that we can decide which direction we want to start from.