Another heroine of the Handballfast author’s column is the right wing of HC Lada and the Russian national team, the silver medalist of the Olympic games 2020 Olga Fomina (née — Chernoivanenko) — about skydiving, husband’s ice cream business, "Friends" and indifference to brand things.
1. Your father is a famous in Togliatti psychiatrist Igor Chernoivanenko. Can you imagine yourself in this profession?
— Oh, no, medicine is definitely not for me. I’m afraid to make an injection to someone… If it wasn’t handball, I would have connected my life with sports anyway.
Since childhood I’ve been restless, I was running, jumping, climbing the trees. I was always drawn to some activities. I was engaged in orienteering, I also liked skiing. But at the age of ten I decided to concentrate on handball. There was nothing surprising in it — handball is very popular in my native Togliatti.
2. Ex-player of clubs Lada and Astrakhanochka Daria Vasilyeva is fond of drawing pictures by numbers and crocheting. How do you spend your leisure time?
— On the one hand, I’m a restless person. On the other — I enjoy jigsawing puzzles. And large ones — of two thousand pieces. It’s a sort of meditation for me. It calms me. When I bring home another box, my husband sighs: "Well, I lost you for a week..."
I used to hung completed puzzles on the wall before. In a frame. Then I understood, there was no more space for it in the flat. Now I can admire it a day or two and calmly disassemble it. This process is especially fascinating for my son, who is four years and a half. He constantly says: "Mum, when will you finish the puzzle, I want to ruin everything!"
I understand Miron. Indeed, there is a pleasure, when all these small pieces begin to pour on the floor. It’s a kind of anti-stress. Like the heroine of a movie «Ameli», who liked to dip her hand into the sack with beans.
3. Is there anything else you haven’t tried yet, but would like to?
— Well, skydiving is already a passed stage… What to choose? I would like to fly in a wind tunnel. And in a ballon as well. Not in Samara or Moscow region, but over Cappadocia, for instance. It’s incredibly beautiful there.
4. Let’s take a closer look at the skydiving. Where, when, with whom?
— We had a vacation in Spain with my husband. He said once: "We’ll go somewhere today". He brought me to the airport and told me, that we would jump with a parachute. He knew, it had been dreaming of it for a long time, but hands didn’t reach. And he put me in front of the fact there. There was no way out — we did it.
Obviously, we jumped in tandem with an instructor. The height was four thousand meters, that is about a minute of free fall. The fear disappears in the first second, the wind picks you up and you are floating above the earth. Feelings are incredible! I will be happy to repeat it on occasion.
But I wouldn’t risk approaching a bungee in Sochi Skypark with a height of 207 meters. Parachute is easier in this regard. An experienced instructor, who is doing everything for you, is near. And you are just flying and enjoying.
5. Did you get acquainted with your husband in Togliatti?
— Yes, in 2009. At my friend’s wedding. She married an old friend of Evgeniy. He has no relation with handball. He is a dancer, embraced hip-hop and then focused on business.
We didn’t start dating at once. At first, he attended each home Lada match with a huge bouquet of roses. It was hard not to notice Zhenya —a handsome man in trousers and trendy coat. Girls were laughing: "Olya, your cavalier is in the stands again..."
So, he courted and cajoled me, that’s how it started (laughing). Although, we got married only in 2017.
6. You looked closely at each other for a long time…
— Well, we’ve been even apart for a while. I went to RK Vardar, where I played for two years. We started to communicate again during my second season in Skopje, and since that time we are inseparable.
7. I read in Handballfast, that your husband’s business is connected with ice cream production. Is it correct?
— Yes, it is. Moreover, he admitted later that he started this business just to impress me. And of course, when he started to win my heart for the second time, he constantly offered me ice cream. By the way, it is very tasty, made of natural milk and cream, without palm oil and other questionable additives. All the girls from HC Lada also tried it — everyone is delighted.
Unfortunately, the pandemic seriously hit my husband’s company. But he doesn’t give up and actively works to resume the production. Plus, while the process with ice cream has stalled, it’s the third year he is engaged in business, related to the sale of coffee machines.
8. What quality do you appreciate most of all in men?
— I would highlight three of them — self-confidence, determination and sense of humor. This is all about Evgeniy. This is what attracted me in him.
9. What feature would you like to get rid of?
— Modesty is a good thing. But sometimes such situations happen in life, when you need to be a little bit more confident. Both on the court and outside it. And here I still have some work to do. Though, it seems, that I achieved some improvements in this regard with age…
10. Why did you call your son Miron?
— Oh, that’s quite a story. My husband had two wishes. Firstly, he wanted to choose such a name, of which it’s impossible to make a diminutive-hypocoristic form. Secondly, a letter "r" should be present in the name. Initially, he persuaded me to a name Valeriy. Then we understood, it wasn’t an option. Mostly due to a phrase «It’s your time, Valera», which has become a meme. My husband repeated it so often, that at a certain point I threatened: "If you call him Valera without my consent, I’ll divorce you!"
Finally, we chose between Andrey and Miron. When son was born, we had a look at him and agreed, that Miron was more suitable for him.
11. Ekaterina Marennikova, the head coach of HC Lada, told in the interview to Handballfast: "Last autumn in Togliatti we went on a concert of HammAli & Navai with a team as a part of the team building. I liked it. Quite lively". What impressions did you have?
— Super! We rarely go out somewhere with girls. We had fun on full throttle there. We were singing, dancing… I like this band.
However, I’m omnivorous in respect of music. I listen to classical music, rock, pop-music, rap. On the whole, everything except chanson. I don’t like it at all.
12. What dog do you have?
— About eight years ago, when I was playing in Skopje, I picked up a puppy on the street. It was as follows. It was an evening, darkness, the lights were not on. Suddenly, I felt someone was following me. I turned around — there was no one.
And a few seconds later a small warm lump was clinging to my legs. He raised his blue eyes. Only these eyes were visible in the darkness.
I brought it home, fed. I thought, I would settle it somewhere the next day, but finally, I decided to keep it. The lump turned into a pretty dog, a mixture of Husky and German Shepherd. He is smart, obedient, performs all the commands. His name is Kasper.
13. A year and a half ago you received BMW X3 as a silver medalist of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. What is the fate of the car?
— I drive it. It’s a very comfortable car, I have no problems with it. I’d also driven X3 before it.
14. What was the last thing you were looking at, but told yourself: «I can’t afford it, it’s expensive»?
— Many girls in the national team covered their cars with a vinyl wrap. Anya Sen with a yellow wrap, Anya Vyakhireva — with a khaki one. Someone chose metallic gloss. At first, I also wanted to do so. But when I knew, it costed about 200 thousand rubles, I thought it was too much. And I’m quite satisfied with the white color of my BMW.
I refused from decorative wrap, but installed anti-gravel one. It’s clear and it protects from chips and minor scratchings. It’s a real benefit!
Actually, I’m quite a pragmatic and rationale person. For instance, I have always been indifferent to brand things. I have never bought Chanel or Louis Vuitton bags. I suppose, it’s better to spend these money on something useful.
15. Which dish you’ll never get bored with?
— With fried eggs. And in all kinds — I like sunny side up, scramble and omelette. It’s also great, when everything is mixed in a frying pan — tomatoes, onion, greenery, cheese. Plus I like boiled eggs, soft-boiled, poached…
16. And now we reached traditional for this column questions. What is your favorite series?
— "Friends". I adore it! Since childhood! I have seen it many times, in Russian and in English, I know I it almost by heart, but still it isn’t boring. If I’m in a bad mood, the best recipe for it is to turn on «Friends». From any moment. These heroes are like family to me.
17. And what film from recently viewed you won’t watch again?
— "Sausage party". But it’s not a movie, it’s an American cartoon. The stupidest one! It’s about adventures of food, which lives in a supermarket. Crazy plot, awful dialogs… We watched it in cinema with my husband and could hardly stay there till the end.
18. What is the last book you read?
— I have two books open at the moment. The first one is psychological. "How to talk so kids will listen and listen so kids will talk". The second one is the biography of Will Smith. It is simply called "Will". He is one of my favorite actors. The book is very interesting and frank. I learned a lot.
19. A famous tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov once told me: "I can’t stand blondies and cognac". What do you dislike?
— I’m ferocious when it comes to food. Except dried plums. One smell makes me sick. I also hate intrigues, deceit, hypocrisy… And slackers!
20. The six-time world champion in swimming Yuliya Efimova once said: "I’m mean, hot-tempered, stubborn". What three words are enough for you?
— I’m trusting. Hyper responsible. Fair.
*Author — Sport-Express columnist, specially for Handballfast
Photo: personal archive of Olga Fomina
