|
For Monette Russo—known
to her friends as “Netty”— the first time was a charm. In her very
first World  Championships, Russo was a part of Australian gymnastics
history, helping her squad to a first-ever team medal
(bronze).
Considered by many to be the future of Australian
gymnastics, this plucky 15-year-old was the 2001 Oz junior champ
and, according to National Team coach Peggy Liddick (Look for
One-on-One with Peggy Liddick in the Mar/Apr issue of Inside
Gymnastics magazine), is a virtual shoo-in for the 2004
Olympic squad.
Coached by Misha Barabach (pronounced BEAR-a-bash)
at the Victorian High Performance Center, near her home in
Heathmont, Russo seems unfazed by all the hype. “I like that
naiveté,” Liddick said. “I try and keep that as long as possible,
since they lose it so quickly. It will be interesting to see how she
deals, because now there are some expectations on her. I feel
certain that if she has the same performance in Athens as she did in
Anaheim, she’ll score two or three tenths higher on every apparatus
because people know who she is. She did a floor routine in [World]
team finals that was flawless. She stuck—and I mean stuck cold—all
four tumbles and only got a 9.1. She’s not really hung up on scores,
but she was [questioning the] 9.1. I told her: ‘Look Netty, it’s
just a process. Wait till next year. They know who you are
now.’”
Fans will also get a chance to get to know Russo
better this year as she heads to Europe and takes on the Grand Prix
circuit. “She needs more experience,” Liddick explained. “I’m
seeking out competitions for her where there will be gymnasts who
are better than her. If she goes out and wins everything that
doesn’t teach her anything. I want her to see the best and know that
she belongs there. After Anaheim she realized that she was a good
gymnast and now I want to see how she handles that.”
Russo was first tapped for stardom at age nine,
when Liddick spotted her and saw the future champ’s potential. “She
just had so much natural talent,” Liddick says of her first
impressions. “She was so quick-twitch and very coordinated. She was
always the first one done, and the first one to ask, ‘What can I do
next?’
“You can spot a natural talent a mile away,”
Liddick added, “but someone who actually wants to compete, and wants
to be on the team; that’s what you look for. And her parents are so
supportive and that helps a lot. They always want to do the
right thing [for Monette] and they communicate that very well to
both her personal coaches, and myself. Ask any coach and they’ll
tell you that’s a godsend.”
Inside
Gymnastics got a chance to chat
with Liddick’s latest protégé at the 2004 WOGA Classic, Russo’s
first meet of 2004 …
INSIDE GYMNASTICS: Tell us a little about your
Worlds experience. What does it feel like to be a World
medalist?
MONETTE RUSSO: It was just incredible. It
showed that we were up there with everyone else and it was a great
feeling.
[On the medal stand,] I was just thinking, ‘Wow,
all of our hard work has paid off.’ It was just the best
feeling.
INSIDE GYM: Did you go into the meet with
expectations of a medal?
RUSSO: No, we just wanted to go out and do
our best and whatever happened, happened. We were just really,
really happy with [the outcome].
INSIDE GYM: So, what have you done with your
medal?
RUSSO: I think I’m going to frame it, but
for right now I’m keeping it in the box, so that I can show
people.
INSIDE GYM: In Anaheim, the Chinese team had a
warm-up deduction, which lowered their score and helped push
Australia into the medals. What’s your take on the whole
controversy?
RUSSO: I think it makes me want to work
harder. We did get third place because we did really well, but yeah,
we know [about the deduction]. I think it’s made us even more
motivated. We want to do well, and kind of [show people] we’re even
better in Athens.
INSIDE GYM: What sort of response have you and
your teammates received in Australia?
RUSSO: It’s been good. Everyone has been
very supportive back home. We got to go on a tour and do some
[autograph] signings and talks and stuff. It’s been fun.
I think that [gymnastics] is getting more popular
[in Australia], especially since our medal. We get recognized more,
and get a bit more publicity.
 INSIDE GYM: What do you think the public’s expectations are
for you in Athens?
RUSSO: I don’t know, you know? I think
we’ll just go out there again and do our best and whatever the
outcome (shrugs) …
INSIDE GYM: What are YOUR expectations for
Athens?
RUSSO: Just to go out and do our best and
hopefully end up the same as Worlds, or better. If we keep going the
way we are, I think we have a good chance [of winning a
medal].
INSIDE GYM: The Sydney Olympics were a bit of a
disappointment for Australia. The team just missed out on finals.
Has that experience fueled your team’s inner fire for
Athens?
RUSSO: I think at the [2000] Olympics they
felt a bit too much pressure. We’ve just tried to work through it.
Now, we just try to do our good routines and be happy with that.
Where we end up is where we end up.
INSIDE GYM: In the past ten years or
so—basically your entire gymnastics life—Australia has risen from
relative gymnastics obscurity to a medal contending team. To what do
you attribute that surge?
RUSSO: Well, Peggy (Liddick) has been
trying different coaching techniques and I think she’s made us
believe that we’re really good. That was a big confidence builder
and makes us better gymnasts.
She (Peggy) has been so great for the team. She
has built up our confidence. Sometimes she’s really fun … and
sometimes not (laughs), but she has all these activities that I
think have helped us.
INSIDE GYM: Australia has been very up front
about recruiting international talent to boost their program.
Liddick is from the U.S. and your own coach, Misha Barabach, is one
of many Russians involved in the national program. What do you think
they bring to Australian gymnastics?
RUSSO: It helps us a lot. The Russians are
always really good, and so are their coaches. We get to learn all
those little techniques and stuff. They also all work together to
teach us things, which helps.
INSIDE GYM: Peggy has instituted a system of
National Team training camps, a lot like the USA’s. How often do you
train together as a team?
RUSSO: This year, because it’s an Olympic
year, we’ll probably get together about every month. We go for a
week, or so, and train together at the AIS (Australian Institute of
Sport).
INSIDE GYM: What do you think makes Australia,
as a team, special?
RUSSO: I think we’re a very, very close
team. So, I think that helps us a lot. We’re always helping each
other and that makes us a bit different. We’re very close,
always.
INSIDE GYM: How did you get started in
gymnastics?
RUSSO: I was always very active when I was
little, jumping around and all that, so my mom put me a in a little
fun program and it progressed from there.
I started in a little club program [at age six]
for fun and then the Elite program came and picked me out, and asked
me to come to their gym. I started training there, and ever since
then I’ve just been progressing.
INSIDE GYM: Tell us a little bit about your
family and what you like to do outside the gym?
RUSSO: I’m an only child, so I’m pretty
close to my parents. On the weekends, I just like to go out, spend
time with them and relax.
I also have a cat named Silky. I go to a normal
school. I can only go a few hours a day, but they’re really good.
We’re always [in touch] via email, and stuff like that. It was
important for me to have friends outside [of gymnastics], so I
wanted to go to school.
INSIDE GYM: One of the downsides of being an
Australian athlete is that every meet is so incredibly far away.
Just about every event you go to requires a 24-hour-plus plane ride.
How do you deal with that disadvantage?
RUSSO: Well, we always try and arrive a
little early, to get used to the equipment; to get used to the time
change. We just have to get through it. We get good at it, you know?
We’re always at the airport stretching, and stuff like
that.
[It’s a challenge] but we seem to pull through it
OK.
INSIDE GYM: What do you think your primary
strength as a gymnast is?
RUSSO: I think I’m pretty powerful and
that’s something that helps me. I’m good on floor and vault, and
pretty good on beam as well, but vault is probably my favorite
event. I love the thrill of running and then the power.
I love competing. I love the atmosphere of that,
and I’m very competitive.
INSIDE GYM: What’s the best part of gymnastics
overall for you?
RUSSO: I just love it. I think I was born
to be a gymnast. The traveling is also really good.
INSIDE GYM: Is there a worst
part?
RUSSO: Well, getting an injury is pretty
bad. It’s so frustrating when you can’t do anything. A few years ago
I had an elbow problem, but it’s all better now.
INSIDE GYM: Do you think you’re missing out on
anything by spending so much time in the gym?
RUSSO: I like what I do, and to get better
you have to work hard. I think ‘normal’ people are missing out
because they don’t get to do what I do. This is a great opportunity
for me and I get to do stuff that no one else can.
INSIDE GYM: You’re still quite young (Russo
will turn 16 on August 4th), have you thought beyond Athens
yet?
RUSSO: Well, Commonwealth Games are going
to be in Melbourne [in 2006], my hometown, so I want to go to that
for sure and then … I guess I haven’t really thought beyond
that.
INSIDE GYM: What would it mean to you to be
part of the 2004 Australian Olympic squad?
RUSSO: It would be the greatest thing ever.
It’s something I’ve always dreamt of and to finally be on the team
would be an excellent feeling. Like, I’ve put in all the hard work
and all those years have paid off.
INSIDE GYM: In your dreams, what are the
Olympics like? What would be the perfect outcome for you in
Athens?
RUSSO: Honestly, just to do my best and,
yeah, to win a medal would be really great (laughs). But I just want
to take it one step at a time.
INSIDE GYM: Anything else we should know about
you?
RUSSO: No, I think that’s everything. I
guess I’m not very exciting (laughs). I’m just a gymnast. That’s
me.
| 
