Sergei Evglevski Interview
It's time to bring you a taste of shooting on the show for the first time in over 5 years as we speak with Tokyo Olympian Sergei Evglevski about his recent Olympic experiences and his amazing career. We learn from Sergei how getting into shooting was almost part of the 'family business' and whether or not that was a help of hindrance along his early shooting career. We also learn about his experiences in front of a home crowd at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and what it was like sharing that with his mother. Added to this we find out just what his Olympic experience was like in Tokyo and why we can expect to see him at many more future Olympics over the years. It's an interview that you will want to not miss the target on so get to listening and fire away!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.
BEN WATERWORTH: It is Off The Podium, An Olympics Podcast coming to you once again today for another interview and very exciting times today as we return to the sport of shooting and our first ever rapid fire pistol shooter, Sergei Evglevski. He's a shooter who competed in Tokyo, funnily enough, and a fascinating chat here learning about how he got involved in the sport, his family history, an esteemed family history, his mother, bronze medallist at the Sydney Olympics and a six-time Olympian, so great stock that he comes from. And just fascinating chat learning a little bit more about the sport, his experiences in Tokyo. Bit of a viral TikTok star is Sergei, so we learn a little bit more about that. And some fun stories about the village in Tokyo, about sharing an elevator with some very prominent Australian Olympians and sharing a bit of a joke with them. It's a fun story, which I know you will enjoy. So without further ado, here is our chat with Tokyo Olympian Sergei Evglevski.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's been a good five years since we spoke to somebody on this show from the sport of shooting. That person was Catherine Skinner, fresh off a gold medal from the Rio Olympics. And of course, Catherine competes in trap shooting. Now, we have never spoken to somebody from the 25-metre rapid pistol. It's been an event that's always fascinated me. I've always been interested in how it works and how you get involved in it. And our guest today, not only are they involved in it, not only are they competed, not only are they back recently from the Olympics, they are part of, I guess, a family business, I almost want to say, in terms of not only competing in the sport, but an Olympic tradition, which is very, very fascinating. Our guest today is Sergei Evglevski, and he's with me now to talk a little bit more about that. First of all, Sergei, welcome to the show. It's a pleasure to chat with you on Off The Podium today.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Thanks so much. Thanks for having me. And really well done with the pronunciation of the name. Thank you. So that was really good, yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: I would like to sit here and say I'm really good at name pronunciation, and I got it in one go, but I won't lie. I did write it down phonetically, and I did watch several YouTube videos of other interviews to make sure that I did get it correct, because I am woeful at name pronunciations. So therefore, I need to practise to sound smart every now and then.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: So no, it sounds it sounded really good. Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'll probably end up calling you like, you know, Sam Smith by the end of this. I don't know if I'll just completely fall out of the way there with that one. But I love your story. I love kind of learning your background in the sport. And as I said, kind of almost like a family tradition, because your mum's a bit of a legend in the sport, isn't she? So this is sort of something that I guess you grew up around and couldn't really avoid. But I mean, was it always a case of just looking at your mum, obviously your dad involved in the sport and kind of just fell into it that way? Or is it just something that you thought, well, this is cool. No matter what, I want to give shooting a go.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, I mean, it'd be hard to say if I did shooting, if my parents were involved, like I would like to think that I would have stuck to shooting if my parents were involved. But who knows, my parents definitely got me involved majorly when I was younger. They knew that I would be interested in it and they knew that I would love to do it. So they just pushed me into it. And yeah, and the rest is history.
BEN WATERWORTH: It must be a pretty cool thing to say that your parents are shooters and like, you know, they let you play with guns basically from a young age. I mean, that's pretty cool thing to tell your friends at school, like.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, exactly, I used to love bragging about it when I was younger. Ask other kids like, hey, what does your dad do? Oh yeah, well, my dad's a gunsmith, my mom's an Olympic shooter. And I just, I wouldn't even know like what that meant at the time, because I was like five or six years old. I was like, oh yeah, my mom shoots guns. And then like teachers would ask me like, so what do they actually do? I'm like, oh yeah, they shoot guns. And then I can parent take the interviews. They would ask them, hey, like Sergei's running around the school telling people you shoot guns, like what's to go there, and then they explain themselves. And the teachers were like, oh, okay, yeah, that's understandable. Because back then, the incident stuff wasn't a big thing back then, you know. So they would never just like look it up on the phone quickly, be like, what's this kid on about? But yeah, there. So it was a pretty cool experience growing up with shooters as parents as well, because it's a unique sport as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: I can imagine your mom would just bring a bronze medal to a parent, like, here you go. Like this is what I do. You know, Olympic medal. Yeah.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah. Well, she was always pretty casual about it as well. Like she never really even showed me much of the medals until like I was asking about it. And I was like, Oh, hey, mom, when where's your Olympic medal? And she's like, Oh, it's over there if you want to go get it. And then like, you know, where's your where's your Commonwealth Games gold medals? Where are your World Cup medals? And be like, Oh, they're down there like World Cup ones are in the cupboard. Commonwealth Games are down down the corridor if you want to go have a look. It was just so casual about it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, it's kind of just, you know, like, oh, where's the photo albums? Where are the medals? There they are.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, exactly right.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Kind of kind of sitting there because you were you were what? Three when your mom won a medal in Sydney. Is that correct?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I would have been three. Yeah, I would have been two or three.
BEN WATERWORTH: So do you have any memory of your mum going off as a three year old to compete in an Olympic Games?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: No, no memory, unfortunately. I do remember because we used to live in Canberra. So at the time of the Sydney Olympics, we lived in Canberra. And I have like a little bit of memories from Canberra, but nothing Olympic related.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's crazy to think. I mean, do you at least have a memory then that first time you were able to to hold a gun and then kind of the first memory of shooting a gun and what age? Like, is it sort of an age restricted sport where you're not allowed to pick up a gun and start shooting until a certain age?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I mean, like, yeah. So with pistol shooting, it's when you're 13 years old, that's when you get your gun licence, you get your junior one. And then you do that with an adult. And then, you know, as you get older, you get a probation licence, and then you get your full licence when you turn 18. But then in saying that, though, I was definitely younger when I first had a shot, like on a farm kind of thing, you know, just out in the back kind of thing. I think I was like 11 or 10, something like that. Like my first time, you know, holding a rifle, holding a shotgun. But then properly shooting a pistol, like in the Olympic style events, I was 13 years old, and I had the proper discipline about it. You know, having fun and stuff in the backyard, I was like, yeah, 11, 12. But proper discipline, proper on targets, everything like that, was when I was 13 years old.
BEN WATERWORTH: Is it a case too, when it comes to choosing a discipline, obviously, your mum was involved in pistol, like, you know, a bit of the tradition going on that side of things. But is there sort of a much of a thought process and maybe doing something more involved with the rifle, sort of like a trap? I mean, kind of, is that something that shooters often, you know, have to make that decision early and stick with it? Or is there sort of much where you could easily, if you wanted to tomorrow, go to trap, switch over and do a different discipline in shooting?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I think if anything, if anything is stopping you, it's the financial aspect, because shotguns, a top quality shotgun, is quite expensive. If you want, if I wanted to, for example, switch over to trap, you know, you can't, I mean, you could borrow someone else's for a bit, and then if you like it, buy your own. But in saying that, like, a minimum, it's like $6,000 to get like a really good, you know, Beretta, Parati kind of style shotgun, which are styles, which are brands, sorry, I should specify. They're the ones that use the Billingpicks. But if you want, if I wanted to move over to rifle, for example, I have to get a rifle suit, which they use, and then buy a rifle as well, where pistol is probably the easiest one to get into. Because a pistol, you can get a good second hand pistol for a couple hundred dollars. That's just like a really good entry level one. And then keep getting better, keep upgrading. And then the best pistol you can get, like the one that I use, they're probably only about $3,000, $3,000 to $3,500, where if you compare that to the other events, it's not too expensive.
BEN WATERWORTH: Is it a case that you have that pistol then for all your competitions, like your lucky pistol that you kind of take, or is it sort of dependent on the event? So like, say for example, was the pistol you use at the Olympics the same one that you use at the Commonwealth Games, or does it kind of sort of alternate between events?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So yes and no, for example. So use a pistol for what event you participate in. So obviously 10-metre air pistol, you use an air pistol. You don't use a pistol like mine, because mine has, mine's a 22-calibre pistol. It's a rimfire one, it's a different kind of thing. But my pistol, Rapidfire, it's designed a bit different compared to other events, compared to another 25-metre event that women shoot. My triggering, which is the trigger on the pistol, it's built a little bit different. There's a bit of a different, I guess, pull with it. But in saying that, though, it is the same gun I used at the Commonwealth Games, and I've got two of those. I've got one as a spare just in case, and then mine is my main one. And I've just been using it for the last five, six years now.
BEN WATERWORTH: So it basically is like a lucky pistol then. It's kind of been with you as part of you almost there.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, exactly right. I think it's almost like a car. You just got to service it every once in a while, clean it, service it, change the barrel on it. That's it. And you get to go. You can have that gun for like ten years.
BEN WATERWORTH: And do you give it a name? I don't have a name.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: No, I really should. I'm trying to think of something like a pun as well, but I can't really think of anything. I'm trying to think of something funny. But then I could do something simple like Carl or Dave or something.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Or Ben. Ben's a good name.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Ben is a good name.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Firing Ben off at the target. Make Ben an Olympian, you know, bring him along to Paris along those ways. When you obviously start, though, and kind of competing and moving through the ranks, is it a pressure point that you kind of you've got this stock that you're coming from, that kind of you're almost expected to do well because of who your mom and who your dad are? Or is it kind of a case of put that behind you and form your own identity because you are you and you don't need to kind of live off the name as such?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, I think I had a bit of both. So when I first started competing internationally, the first things my parents told me were, you know, there's going to be people that know you. There's going to be people that know your name and our name. And it's going to be coaches, just anyone really that's going to come up to you and be like, hey, like, I've known you since you were like this small. Like, you know, I hope you shoot as well as your mom, hope you shoot as well as dad and so on. And I didn't believe it at first because I'm just like, well, like, you know, they're not going to do that. Why does it matter to them who I am? But then they did. Like, I had a lot of Russian coaches, Ukrainian coaches, Estonian, Lithuanian, literally all the European countries come up to me and be like, oh, I remember you when you were this small. Like, you know, I hope you shoot as well as your mom, like, you know, the day before my event. And that did put a little bit of pressure on me. I mean, I started realising that, okay, the name does exist in the shooting world. But I want to create my own name. Like you said, you know, I don't want to be Sergei. That's a shooter. That's Lolita's son. I want to be, you know, Sergei, who's as well as a good shooter as Lolita was, you know?
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. And when you sort of then make your first, I guess, national team and you're out there competing, I mean, what's that kind of like in that moment when you are creating that name for yourself? I mean, at that point, again, you're always going to be your mother's son. But I mean, you've made that there on your own talent, your own skill, and you're out there representing a sport that you obviously love enough to make it to that point.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, I think the good thing about shooting is that you definitely, you need the skill, you need the talent to go somewhere with it. You can't just be someone's kid and then make a team. It's definitely not like that. I don't think it's like that in a lot of sports really, but this is a sport that's definitely like, if you've got it, you've got it kind of thing. There's a lot of people that have been shooting for years and years, and I just unfortunately just can't get to that next level. And I was lucky enough to get to that next level, make an Olympic team, make a Commonwealth Games team, win a Commonwealth Games medal. So yeah, it's one of those things where you keep pushing and keep trying, and then you eventually become your own shooter.
BEN WATERWORTH: You first competed on the international stage in 2015. You got some medals at the Junior and Open Oceania titles in both the 10-metre air pistol and the 25-metre rapid fire pistol. Is that something that's common amongst shooters to kind of alternate between? Is it kind of like, say, like a swimming, like if you're going to do the 100 and the 200, that you can easily just go, okay, I'm going to do the 10-metre air pistol and the 25-metre rapid, or is it sort of more generally people are focusing on one over the other?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: It's, I would say you are a very, very, very good and disciplined person and shooter to be able to shoot both at a high international level. I think there were only like two or three shooters that shot both rapid fire and air pistol at the Olympics this year. They're very, very different events. I would compare it to like a 100-metre sprinter being in the 1500-metre. It's just, yeah, because air pistol, you're standing in the same spot for an hour and 15 minutes, shooting one at a time at the same target. Rapid fire, you're standing there, you're standing in the same spot, but you're shooting at five different targets in different time sequences. So five shots in eight seconds, five shots in six seconds, five shots in four seconds, and then you go. You're done in like 15, 20 minutes. So the mentality of air pistol shooters and rapid fire pistol shooters are very different. So to be able to do both at an international level and to be good at both is pretty amazing.
BEN WATERWORTH: So what's that like then, your first international event doing both and then meddling in both? That's pretty incredible to be able to do that in your first international competition. Such a discrepancy, like you're saying.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I think I was able to do it because I think when I was shooting the air pistol, I was a junior, I think, from what I remember. And then shooting the men's, shooting the 25 metre rapid fire, I was either a junior or a senior as well. So I think I was able to kind of separate the two. You know, the air pistol one, I kind of viewed it as more of a fun event and kind of just relax and take it easy because it wasn't my main event. You know, so there's just no pressure, just have fun out there. And I ended up having, you know, great fun because I meddled. But then the rapid fire is the event I take seriously and I'm like, OK, you know what? This is your event. You know, be confident, do what you can.
BEN WATERWORTH: What is it about that that sort of made it your event? Was it just something around the mental aspect that you kind of just drew yourself more towards the 25 metre? Was it just something you felt you were more talented in? I mean, was there something in particular that you favoured over the 10 metre?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I think literally just, yeah, everything you just said. Like, I think I was drawn towards it because I just got better at it. Like, I just started getting results quicker and then getting the results of like, you know, national podium level. And then I started just within six months after that, just started shooting like international level results. And then I think that's when I went to my first Junior World Cup in 2015 and where I medalled in rapid fire. That was like, OK, like this is something that I can actually take seriously and get really good at this event. And air pistol, I think it's just, it's just mentally quite difficult for me. They always say like, there's always two, like rapid fire or air pistol shooters. So it's always separate, either one or the other majority of the time. So I was just obviously better at quick shooting and better to shoot quicker and, you know, more rapid, as you say, like rapid fire.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's, as I said in the sort of the intro, it's always one of these events that always fascinates me. And I love watching it during the Olympics because I feel that, you know, shooting is a sport that clearly Australians only really watch during an Olympics or a Commonwealth Games. And I feel even then sort of the disciplines that are sort of different, like we're talking about pistols and then obviously, you know, rifle shooting and most Australians are probably more familiar with the rifle side of things with people like Michael Diamond and Russell Mark and Catherine Skinner and Susan Ballot, like kind of these people who have obviously, you know, been Olympic champions. Whereas the pistol side of things, I feel it's sort of never been a focus, but it's so entertaining. Like, I just I love kind of watching the focus you guys have and just that that ability to kind of just turn around, as you're saying, like shooting five shots in four seconds and just doing all that sort of stuff. It really is an entertaining sport. Is it surprising to think that this is something that's only in the Olympics, that we should be watching more of this outside of an Olympic or a Commonwealth game period?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I think if you asked me that a couple of years ago, I would have said, look, it's not that surprising, but I think now, I think now it can be because shooting, from what I've heard and what I've been told, it's like the second biggest sport in India behind cricket. And if you can get to that level, and Asia and Europe especially, I know in Asia, for example, they were telling me, I think it was in Korea, for example, our nationals last a weekend. There's a couple of hundred shooters, but for them, it lasts like a whole week. They have like thousands of shooters and they have a couple of hundred every day. So I think it definitely has the potential to be one of the biggest sports in the world. And I think it already shows that in Asia and Europe. It's just unfortunately, you know, the American countries, like in the continent and Australia countries as well, it's just not as big. But I think it definitely has potential for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Is it sort of improving? Like sort of when you were, you know, getting involved in the sport as a junior, kind of like are the numbers, have they increased since you started? Are they kind of the same? Kind of like, how's it developing right now?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, I think it definitely has increased for sure. I think people are starting to really realise the potential of the sport. And I think that's what draws people into it and what draws the right crowd into it. You know, that mentality of like, I want to be the best and shooting is one of those sports where you can get to a national level, you can get to a national best level quite easily, but then getting to that international best level is, you know, a whole other environment. So they get addicted to that kind of, you know, them trying to get to that level, they get addicted to that work. So I think it's definitely, it's definitely growing as a sport. And then, you know, with everything like streaming services and just like internet, you know, like, you know, watching finals wherever. And now with COVID as well, we shoot together from different states. Like I'll be competing in Melbourne, competing with guys from Canberra, guys from Brisbane, guys from Perth, like over Zoom. So I think with technology coming in as well, I think it can definitely grow and it has grown in Australia for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Now I need to follow up on that. How on earth do you compete on Zoom? Are you literally just setting some targets up in the backyard and putting a camera, literally shooting at a camera or something?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: So I'll go to the range with the coach and they will have a judge dedicated to the range. And then the judge will go and approve the targets, approve the shots, and then send the scores through online. And then the Zoom camera is just facing us so that the judges from the other states can see that I'm actually shooting as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, that's insane. That's something that I didn't even think was possible, that you can kind of have these competitions in different parts of the country over Zoom like that. That's all kinds of crazy.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, I don't think I'll ever make it an international thing, like a sanctioned international thing, like World Cups or anything. But I think they've definitely had it for fun. Singapore have invited us to a couple of international competitions online, stuff like that. And I think it's definitely a good, fun way during COVID to still stay together and still shoot together.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because I can't think of many sports in which you could do that. I mean, it's kind of a target. Archery, maybe you could. Those sort of sports. But I mean, you're not going to run the 100-metre sprint like over Zoom, are you?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, exactly. I think from what I've heard, some swimmers and like athletics have tried to run together, but it's been too hard for them because the conditions are different. The Aztrac in Brisbane is sunny and dry, where Melbourne is wet. So it's very different. And I think shooting is one of those lucky sports that actually worked out alright. And we do Zoom competitions quite regularly now.
BEN WATERWORTH: That kind of adds a whole other element to the idea of online gaming, basically.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, exactly right.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, kind of literally taking that to that next level. One thing I'd love to learn a little bit more, obviously shooting a very mental sport, but the physical side of shooting, which I think is overlooked because there are physical elements to shooting. You can't just simply hold that pistol up and just have a couple of shots without doing some form of training. So how important is that physical element to training when it comes to shooting?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, I think it's one of those things that you definitely build up over time when it comes to shooting. When you start off as a junior, it is quite a heavy gun, and it is quite hard to do, and your arm gets fatigued very quickly. But then you build up that strength, and you get better and better, and it gets easier. But I think if you want to get on to the national and international level, you've got to get fitter. There's a lot of different shooters that you look at them, and they don't seem fit, but they're quite fit for their body. Does that make sense? They're not Arnold Schwarzenegger walking around, but they're quite fit. They have that general fitness, and they do what needs to be done for themselves. Sorry, what I was going to say is I think having basic fitness and having good strength, good balance, good posture, and good flexibility is definitely a bonus in shooting for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which then balancing that with the mental aspect, outside of the obvious of just practising shooting, what are some of the other sort of mental things that can really help with getting you in that zone, to focus on the targets, to stay controlled in an event?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I think it's... Everyone's definitely got a different routine. I think that's something I've learnt. For me personally, what I did, I listened to music, I kind of let myself be by myself, I don't really speak to anyone, have my headphones on, just walk around, do my own thing, and just really repeat to myself what I need to do and what I'm there to do. I'm there to do a job, I'm there to focus, do what I need to do, shoot. I'm there to shoot, I'm there to complete a job, and I'm there to compete for my country, for myself, and just do it with the best I can. So I just repeat that to myself, and I repeat the process. I get a bit technical with shooting, I repeat to myself, I pull the trigger smoothly, bring it up to the target, kind of just repeat what the procedure looks like in my head before I shoot, and then I go and do my thing, where other people do something different. A lot of countries, they juggle, actually. They try to get that hand-eye coordination in there, because they juggle and throw balls to each other. A lot of countries just relax and play on their phones until the last minute, and then they go out there and shoot. So everyone's got a very, very different approach.
BEN WATERWORTH: What's some of the tunes? What are kind of the helpful songs that help you get in that zone?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I like to listen to stuff that hypes me up a bit, because shooting rapid fire especially, for me personally, I kind of want to be hyped up, because I'm there to do it. I shoot, I'm like bang, bang. It's like, yes, done, done, done. So, because it's a quick event, I like to be hyped up and good to go. So for me, it's more like hip hop, but with a good bass, a bit of rock, but probably mainly hip hop R&B.
BEN WATERWORTH: I was just thinking of Bang Bang by Mark Ronson, potentially. I hope you were there, hit me with your best shot.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: No, nothing like that.
BEN WATERWORTH: James Bond theme, maybe, just to get you in the zone.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: No, nothing like that. Something with a good build up is definitely what gets me in check.
BEN WATERWORTH: Is it also a case of, can you psych out opponents in shooting? Can you give them a bit of a glance? Is there a bit of toying going on with that mental aspect, with trying to play with your competitors to get the edge of them in a competition?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, I mean, personally, I think if you are doing that kind of thing, it's a bit of a dog move, in my opinion. Me and my mates, we joke around before we compete with each other. We'll just chat and dance in front of each other, just to put each other off. This is in the warming up area though. But I think as soon as you're on the firing line, and as soon as you're in that competition mode, everyone is just focusing on themselves. And to be honest, it would be quite hard to actually put someone off and distract someone because everyone is just so mentally focused on what they need to do. They're looking at their own target, they're looking at their own gun, and they're just blocking everything out. It's just one of the things I love about the sport as well, actually.
BEN WATERWORTH: You mentioned you first competed in the international stage in 2015. Going to some great success out of that, but was there any possibility of an Olympics in 2016? Were you sort of in the qualification process? If so, sort of how close did you get? I mean, was that a realistic goal at that point?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: It was realistic. So we had two selections. I qualified to make the team, if that makes sense. So I shot the scores required to make the Olympic team. And there was me of three people for that event. David Chapman, who did go, me, and then another shooter called Thomas Ashmore. And after the first selection, we had two selection competitions, and then they will go based off those scores. I shot well in the first selection. I was shooting like the best, and then I got second in the final. And then after the second selection, I shot a little bit worse, but if you added the qualifications up, it would have been the exact same as David Chapman, who did go, and then I got first in the final. So it was quite close between us. And I think the only reason, well, not, not I think, I do know, the reason I didn't go was my maturity level in shooting wasn't up to the standard. Because shooting is a very mentally draining sport. And I was still quite young, you know, I was 2016, I was 18, 19. I was going out with friends a lot, you know, just not really taking life as seriously. And in shooting, when you're not taking life as seriously, your shooting is kind of affected by it. So I guess when you're not disciplined, your shooting is affected by it. And back then, I wasn't, you know, I was just a kid, I was having fun, I was going out and stuff, and I just wasn't mature enough to go to an Olympic Games in shooting. So they decided to go with David instead of me, which I clearly understood. I spoke to the coach about it, and they said, you know, if you were a bit more mature and a bit older, then it would have been you. But unfortunately, this isn't your game. We've got to prepare for the next one, because I wasn't even preparing for Rio Olympics either. You know, that was just something that it could have happened. So it would have been very difficult for me, in my opinion, that is.
BEN WATERWORTH: So do you take that then and take that on board from your coach and then go, OK, well, an Olympics is what I want to go to, work on that. I'm going to be a bit older in four years time. That might come naturally. I mean, kind of do you take that advice and run with it, which obviously leads on to some great success in between that period and then when you eventually may go to the Olympics?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, because that was the actual plan. We would go to the qualifications for the Rio Olympics and see how we went and go based off how we were going there. And then seeing how I shot and stuff, we kind of got the answer of you can make a team, you can easily make a team, but there's a difference between making a team and winning a medal at the Olympics. Very different things. So I think the goal was to eventually get to the Tokyo Olympics and not only make the team, but kind of dominate and be the first shooter in Australia, like just the first named shooter, like the first shooter people think of.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I mean, that's a big goal. That's a very big goal to kind of take that on board. And I mean, I guess along the way, Commonwealth Games, silver medal, pretty decent, keep the family tradition going along there as well. So I mean, kind of what was that experience like on the Gold Coast and doing in front of your home fans as well?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, it was pretty crazy, because I'd like to say I matured from 2016 to 2018, but I was still looking back now, I was a completely different shooter. I guess I did take it as serious, I just didn't have the right mental approach. So back then, like the fact that I could have, like looking back now, like the fact that I managed to bring back a silver medal and to shoot in front of everyone, my friends, my family, my loved ones, my partner as well, it was just incredible. And being in the village as well was just insane. Amazing experience.
BEN WATERWORTH: What were the crowds like at shooting? I mean, I worked at the Gold Coast, I didn't get out to any of the shooting events, but I mean, what was it like? Were they well attended? I mean, I can't imagine any event there wasn't well attended. It was put together very well, but was it big crowds?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: The shooting especially was huge because I remember after qualification, I was going for a walk around the range. People stopping me asking for photos, and people I didn't know. It wasn't people in the shooting community, it was just literally randoms. And I saw the line, this huge, huge line. I would say it was 40 to 50 metres long. I asked them, what's this line for? They're like, oh, it's for your final. People trying to get in to watch it. I was like, Jesus, how many people aren't going to get in? My friends and my family, they all lined up right after qualification and just stood there for an hour. They were like, no, we can't leave. They were like one of the first ones. But they were just like, no, because if we line up later, we're not going to get in. So I found out that the whole finals hall and stuff was packed out. Like it was packed. Yeah, it was huge. And then outside, they had a big projector where the food trucks and stuff were, and that was all packed out. All the seats outside, everything was, it was huge. Yeah, so it was so much more than I expected. And it was just the love and support that you got from like fans is crazy.
BEN WATERWORTH: And is there like an adrenaline aspect to that when you do a good round that people are going to be cheering and like kind of, I mean, obviously crowds in Europe, I can imagine, get quite big, but these are crowds that are cheering for you. You're not going to get the, you know, the European crowds cheering for you potentially, maybe in Belarus. But I mean, is that kind of something that kind of just spurs you on a little bit too?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, definitely. It's one of those things as well, though, like we're shooting especially, so you would always get a clap or a cheer when you shoot a 50 in rapid fire, which means you shot five shots and you shot five 10s. That's a perfect score. So when you get that, you always hear a clap, a cheer, whatever it is in the background. And you kind of got to almost... Yeah, you do get that adrenaline, but you got to calm yourself down a bit. It's like, all right, that's done. Move on to the next one. It's finished.
BEN WATERWORTH: Cool.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: 50. Awesome. Great. Move on. Focus on the next targets, the next targets and the next targets. And then you just do that till the end.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's not long jump where you basically, you know, clap in the crowd, right? You know, come on, like, cheer me on. Basically, you got to need that silence.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: No, exactly right. And you do get, you have World Cups where it is silent, and you have World Cups where people just play with Vuvuzelas and those, you know, rattle things just the whole time. And that's when you have your earmuffs on, you're looking down the range and you're focusing yourself. Well, that's for me personally. There are other shooters that can stare at a crowd and tell them to hype them up and then take a shot. And good on them for people that can do that, because I know I personally, I don't think I could do that. I think that would put way too much pressure on me. I would shit my pants, I reckon, to be honest.
BEN WATERWORTH: Where are the wildest crowds? Like, where do you go in the world if you want to kind of go to a wild shooting crowd?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I think India for sure was a pretty big crowd. And honestly, like Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games are the massive crowds. Like from, unfortunately, we couldn't have a big crowd with the Olympics. We only had people that competed in shooting, that come to the finals and watch. But even then, like the crowd that they had, and all the shooters that came to watch was pretty big as well, you know. So seeing past Olympics and seeing the crowd at Commonwealth Games and then like India World Cups as well, it's always those three ones are massive.
BEN WATERWORTH: Did you ever get to go to any of the games to watch your mom growing up, sort of as you got older, like with Rio? Did you go along to Rio even though you didn't qualify to at least cheer her on?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: No, unfortunately, it was one of those things where you'd have to find yourself if you wanted to go. But also my mom was very like, let me do my thing with shooting. She didn't want people watching her or people that she knew watching her, like, you know, her, like my dad, us kids, she didn't want them. She didn't want us watching her. She just wanted us to kind of relax and do our own thing. Like that's how she took it. She kind of took it more of as a job. And, you know, if your dad's an accountant, you don't go watch him punch numbers all day. So that's how she kind of took that mentality.
BEN WATERWORTH: And was that experience in Extra Special making your first Commonwealth Games team, your mum still at the Commonwealth Games then as well? Like, I mean, kind of what was that like, the experience sharing that with her having learnt about all the successes and watched her all those times to actually be competing alongside her as a teammate?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: It was pretty incredible, but you only kind of realise how incredible it is during and afterwards. Like, you know, when you say the words like, I competed with my mum at the Commonwealth Games, like that's an amazing sentence, and not a lot of people get to say that. But during it, we kind of just focused on ourselves and focused on what we needed to do, like what our job was. And because we had so many competitions prior, like, you know, Nationals, Australia Cups, State Titles, whatever it is, we're kind of used to it, and that's how we kind of took that approach. Like, I kind of did my own thing, like did my own routine, you know, just relax, whatever. But then, you know, we would go out for dinners beforehand, you know, hang out, because meanwhile, we're really close as well. And yeah, it was just, it was almost like a shock until afterwards, like before it's like, yeah, cool, you know, we are mother and son, but like it's, we're doing our own thing. And then afterwards and a little bit during, it's like, okay, crap, we just, we just did something that not a lot of people can do and people dream of, which is pretty incredible.
BEN WATERWORTH: Very much. And was in the hope that that will continue on to experience an Olympics together or kind of had, I mean, I don't know, is your mom still competing? Was she on the, on the cards for Tokyo qualification?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: No, so that's, that's when she decided to call it. I think for her, it just got to the point where it was just too much on her body, essentially, because her lower back was hurting, her elbow was hurting and doctors, physios and stuff, no matter what, they're all saying, you need to let your body naturally heal itself. This is only going to stop if you stop shooting because she shot for like, you know, over 30 years or something, over 40 years almost. So for her, it was just got to the point where she had to call it and be like, look, unfortunately, I can't do it. And if I make the Tokyo Olympic team, it'll be, it wouldn't be to win a medal. It would be just to go. So she decides after the Nationals that same year at a Commonwealth Games, she announced to everyone that she was done. And everyone was kind of shocked. Everyone was like, wow, that's incredible. You know, like someone that's lifted the game up of shooting in a show is retiring. They're done. But it was the best thing to do for her, for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, who knows, Brisbane 2032, they could name the shooting centre after her or something like that as a tribute or kind of, you know, who knows, right?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Exactly right. I think deep down making Olympic Games with her would have been incredible. I think Rio, I knew I wouldn't make it, but I was kind of really hoping that she would make it for Tokyo. But then, you know, seeing how she was at Commonwealth Games and then everything afterwards, it was just a bit too much for her. It was just, you know what, I can't keep doing this. And then I understood.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, you've got that unique distinction, though. Like she went to, what, six Olympics, then you make it a family, seven Olympics in a row. So then kind of like you can keep pushing on Brisbane, you know, post or that sort of stuff. And then who knows, you could have children that could keep going on. I mean, this could be like some sort of streak that is unmatched in an Olympics. I don't know kind of what the record might be there for family members competing in consecutive Olympics, but you could set the bar here.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, well, like to be honest, I never actually really thought of that. And I've only just realised, like doing interviews and stuff that, like, you know, the Olympics passing down on to me, like is the seventh Olympic, like, you know, attendance or competition in our family. So, yeah, if that goes on as well, to my future kids would be incredible.
BEN WATERWORTH: Keep on plugging along. That sounds amazing. So from the Commonwealth Games in and towards Tokyo, kind of what was that process like for you to get then on that Olympic team? And what was that moment like when you were in, when you had gotten that ticket and you knew that you were an Olympian?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, it was pretty incredible. After Commonwealth Games, with how I shot, I learned so much from it because I personally didn't compete the best. But then the final was incredible for me. I had a couple of mistakes here and there, but to come away with the silver medal was just amazing. You kind of got addicted to it, and it's just like, yeah, I don't want this to stop. I want to keep going. And then the next one would have been Tokyo Olympics. So I really just pushed myself and pushed myself and just tactically planned out what needs to be done training-wise and how I need to shoot. And I got to the selections. I mean, not to my own horn or anything, but I did well at the selections. I competed really well. I won all three. Well, we had four, but then you could drop one. I won all four, and I was quite ahead to the point where, like, there was no discussion on who was going to go for rapid fire. So for me, it was almost like a goal that I had to achieve. That's the mentality that I had. So I kind of expected it in a way. This probably sounds, like, very obnoxious from me, but it was just a goal that I needed to achieve deep down. And if I didn't achieve it, it would have been a disappointment for me.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which it's important, though, to set those goals and kind of work that. I mean, you're not in the sport to just, you know, I mean, some people have to have fun. You obviously got to have some sort of fun. But I mean, your goals are to make an Olympics and, of course, you know, go for an Olympic medal. So it's important to kind of set those targets, no pun intended, and then obviously achieve them. So I mean, do you then go into Tokyo with a set goal? Do you go, medal, I can do this? Or is it sort of, you know, just the best you can do because it's your first Olympics?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I think with everything that happened with COVID, with just the postponement and, you know, talks cancellation and stuff, I didn't necessarily have a goal of, you know, medal done. You know, shoot this, get this medal. It was more just go there, your first Olympics. Like that, I think that was the thing that was in my head the most. You know, this is the first Olympics. You can't, you're not here to stuff around, but also you're here to learn so much. So I got in there and the goal I had set for myself was to compete the best I could, you know, and to focus, to give it your all, you know, not to half-ass and just 100%, everything you have to the point where like, you just like dive exhaustion afterwards. You know what I mean? Like you just give it a thousand percent. And looking back now, there were a little bit of aspects that I definitely could have tried harder. I definitely could have done better, but I'm still proud with how I approached the games, how I competed, and I've learnt so much more than I could have that I'm going to implement for the next games.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which one thing that I found very unique, going back to what I was saying about kind of when people maybe think about Australia and the Olympics in shooting and sort of those names I mentioned before, Australia's never meddled in the rapid fire pistol at the Olympics, at least in the men's side of things. I mean, is that something that can spur you on to kind of go towards these games, but to maybe be a history maker, to be the first Australian to bring home a medal in the rapid fire pistol?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, it's definitely something that motivates me for sure, because it'll be one of those things for me that I know is just a goal for me. It's to be able to compete in the Olympics to make a final, bring back a medal in that event, especially an event that I love and that people shoot all over Australia is just a great motivator for me. It definitely spurs me on for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: You finished 17th in Tokyo. I mean, did you leave based on what you're saying before, impressed with how you perform? Do you feel you could have gone better? How did you leave Tokyo feeling with how you went?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I think it's very hard to explain. I think if you explain to someone that does understand shooting and isn't in the shooting community, finishing 17th, shooting a 5.72 compared to a 5.82 cutoff, it's not amazing. But looking back, if you look at my targets and stuff, I had really good grouping. It was just really unfortunate. It was just the nerves took over, lack of international competition, I think played a bit of a factor. It was a factor that I could control, but unfortunately, I didn't learn to control it. But yeah, 572, 17th, it's disappointing. But at the same time, though, I'm proud of it, and I'm happy I did it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which one thing that we ask a lot of our guests and a lot of you have obviously been asked, is kind of the delay for Tokyo. Did that affect you, anything on those lines? But I think it's more maybe now on the flip side of things with Paris, that yeah, it's only three years away as we keep hearing. But is that almost not, because generally you kind of, you're used to this four-year cycle, is that something that maybe is a bit of a detriment, or is it more of a help? Because you can work on that adrenaline, you can sort of work on the, okay, this is what I did in the Olympics, just bring on the next one, I kind of can get to that point. I mean, does a three-year gap make much more of a difference than a four-year gap?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I think it's more of like a bit of a, hey, just letting you know, you know, the next Olympics, it's three years away. So it's one of those things like people take it how it is. For me, it's like, okay, like the train has just slowed down a bit, but the momentum is still there. You know, have a bit of a break, slow down, and then keep that training up, keep that competition cycle up, and just keep going and going. For other people, they could be like, you know what, I need a year break, and I'll get back into it then. But yeah, looking at Paris three years away, like it's definitely a big motivator for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: And obviously, with the comm games as well, less than a year away, kind of that unique position that we have there as well. I mean, is that kind of a big motivation to kind of go one better in Birmingham and go for that gold medal next year instead of the silver?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Unfortunately, shooting is actually not in Birmingham, which is-
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, isn't it? Oh, wow. Why isn't it shooting in Birmingham?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Unfortunately, I think the reasons were it would have been too hard to do a shooting range. The gun laws in England are quite strict. But in saying that, though, they're all excuses because there's been a Commonwealth Games shooting event in Manchester. There was one in Glasgow, like in Scotland, which have equally as strict laws. I mean, personally, it's very disappointing that Birmingham didn't have the Comm Games. But yeah, it is what it is. Got to fight through it and go to Paris.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, I'm just looking here that that will be the first time that shooting has not been at a Commonwealth Games since sixty two. So that is exactly right.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Sixty year, seventy, what's that? Eighty year gap. Am I doing my math correctly there?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, yes.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: It's a sport that is one of like the OG sports. Like I think it was from what I remember. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure shooting was in the first modern Olympics. You know, it wasn't back when the Greeks and stuff were running around Athens, but it was in like those first modern Olympics. And it's been in shooting. Shooting has been in every Olympics since then. And it's been, like you said, it's been in those Commonwealth Games since the 60s. So the fact that it's not in there is very, very disappointing. And hopefully it will be in the next one. Hopefully, I put it up for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: My math is 60s, but actually it wasn't in 1970 apparently. So 66, 74 onwards. Because it is, you're right, like it's one of those sports that, you know, I think of a core sport or sort of like something that should be, like it's just, it's just there. Like you just automatically assume. It's like when they try to take wrestling out of the Olympics, like a decade ago, it's like, wow, you're taking wrestling out of the Olympics. That's one of the ones. And it's, it's fascinating. I wasn't aware of that in Birmingham that they were, they were not doing shooting. Is that like a big controversy sort of amongst the shooting community? Because I can imagine that, you know, given that it's been part of the Commonwealth Games for so long, that it's obviously a major tournament for you guys to be able to go out there on the world stage to compete at a Commonwealth Games.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, it was, it was pretty crazy. It got pretty big. There was a lot of controversy from the Asian countries, like India, that are in the Commonwealth, and Singapore, Malaysia and stuff as well. They were pretty outraged, actually, to the point where India said, we will hold a Commonwealth Games Federation Shooting Championship, which I think was what was it called, and then the medals would go towards Commonwealth Games, but it would be held in India, separate time. And I think all parties agreed to it, and then that would have been in January next year, or February next year, but now because of COVID and stuff, it's been cancelled. They unfortunately cancelled that as well, which it is what it is. It's a tough year, everyone's going through it. But yeah, it did cause massive controversy for sure, and it was very disappointing, especially because this was like, I think when it got announced, it was about a year after Gold Coast, which yeah, it just sucked really.
BEN WATERWORTH: I can imagine if there's one sport, a few sports you don't want to piss the athletes off, it's shooting. Yeah, you would think that. Do it into equestrian, right? They're not going to do much, but like shooters? Yeah, I don't know.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, I think what's disappointing is that shooting is one of those sports where it just peaks at the Olympics. That's our peak. When you have sports like, for example, skateboarding, and no disrespect to skateboarding. I love watching it. I think it was Keegan Palmer that won the gold medal. That was incredible. His effort was awesome, but that's not their pinnacle, but that's not their top. They have the X Games. They have other stuff. And there are some, like an example is the USA basketball team. Sometimes they just say, no, I don't want to go to the Olympics. I need to do my training for the NBA. That's just that team, though. The other countries, like Patty Mills and Asha, they love going to the Olympics. That's their top thing. Where for shooting Commonwealth Games and Olympics, that's the peak for us. And so take it away from Commonwealth Games and an event where percentage-wise, the amount of athletes that go, the amount of medals they bring in, it's one of the highest. Take it away. It sucks. It's a kick in the gut, for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, it's always interesting how some of those sports work. We've talked a lot about on the show before about some of these sports, like football is the world game. Of course, it's got a place at the Olympics. But when you've got an event, the World Cup, that is, I guess, technically bigger than the Olympics.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, exactly right. I personally don't think soccer really should be in the Olympics. I love watching it. I'm a huge soccer fan. I love Chelsea, and I love watching Sam Kerr play for the Tiltas, and I love watching Thomas Deng and everything like that in our Socceroos team. That's not the peak, you know? The peak is playing EPL, playing Bundesliga, World Cup.
BEN WATERWORTH: So that struggle with golf that's been included, you haven't had a Tiger Woods come along, and I mean, tennis is kind of getting there, where it's kind of like obviously Novak went for the golden slam, but it's kind of peaks and troughs, right? Yeah, exactly right. How they come along. When it comes to the training aspect, do you just have a sort of a range in your backyard? Like, I mean, are you allowed to, like legally? Can you just sort of, you know, just put a range up in your backyard and start shooting, just warn the neighbours, hey, you know, I'm not shooting things. I'm just, I'm practising for the Olympics.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: No, I fortunately can't do that. I train on a range. It's actually not far from me. It's about, it's like 12 kilometres away. So it's like 15 minute drive just down the road. It's like a big, big area. It's an official shooting range. There's different kinds of ranges. A 50 metre range is like a 40 yard range. The 25 metre range is the one I train on. And yeah, it's not too far away. 15, 20 minute drive and just train there. Yeah, can't train backyard stuff. I think if you want to build a range in the backyard, it's more like a farm kind of thing. You have to have a big enough property to do that and to not bother the neighbours. But yeah, in the suburbs, you know, southeast suburbs of Berwick, you can't do that, no way.
BEN WATERWORTH: Doris next door isn't just going to have a couple of stray bullets going through a window on Sunday afternoon. Do you look ahead, in terms of the age range of shooting, is there a peak age, like if you're a certain age, that's when you're at your peak, and do you kind of then map out, maybe to follow in your mum's footsteps to go to Six Olympics? You've just had your first so you've had that taste. Is it something you can do that, that you are working towards a peak age where mentally you will be in your perfect range for shooting?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I think statistically, when you view it, the middle and age, I think it's usually around the late 20s, early 30s. That's when they peak. That's the average age of all the medals. But in saying that though, there's been so many shooters that have won medals when they were 16, 17. Olympic, Commonwealth Games, high level medals. And then there's been world champions at 56. There was Warren Potent who won a bronze medal, I think, at the Beijing Olympics, or might have been... He won a world champs in 2014 Granada, I know that for sure, and he won that in rifle. And he was I think he was over 50 years old when he won it. And then I think he won a medal at the Olympics as well, at a, you know, in a mature age. So shooting is one of those things, like it's really individually based, and it's really depends on your mentality and how you approach it. If you if you really decide I'm not going to shoot when you're 30, and you bring put that mentality into the world, then you won't shoot past 30, you know, you won't succeed. But I think if you keep pushing, keep trying, you can definitely make an Olympic team till you're older.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, I'm just, I'm just seeing a pattern here. Your mum's first Olympics, she was 23, and next Olympics she was 27, won a bronze medal. Your first Olympics, you were 23, the next Olympics, you'll be 27. So there's a pattern going on there, Sergei. And then to think about it, six Olympics, you'll just go to the 2040 Olympics, you know, I mean, I don't know where they'll be, but you know, kind of just plenty, plenty of time. Brisbane, home Olympics, 11 years, plenty of time to get there.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, exactly right. I think Brisbane for me would be an incredible goal. Brisbane is a goal I've planned out for sure, whether to continue after Brisbane, I'm not too sure, because Brisbane is where I actually started, like, the Commonwealth Games, like, there were gold coats, but the range is actually in Brisbane. So, you know, to be able to go to the Brisbane Commonwealth Games, win a silver medal there, and then be able to go to the Brisbane Olympics as well, and it will be on that range as well, the shooting events, and to, if I win a medal there, it will be amazing. You know, start at Brisbane, potentially finish at Brisbane, who knows?
BEN WATERWORTH: Great book is because it's kind of one of those things, isn't it, where I know a lot of Olympians who went to Sydney sort of delayed their retirement as soon as they knew that there was a home Olympics, so like I'm going to push myself on further to go to an Olympics and home. So it's kind of obviously now with an extended time frame with an 11-year gap rather than a 7-year gap. Like it's interesting to kind of have that. And it must be a massive motivation, as you were saying there, to kind of like go to a home Olympics. Like, I mean, that's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, really, isn't it?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: It really is, like it's yeah, it's in all honesty, though, it's like a once-in-a-lifetime like not for everyone, you know, the people like after Brisbane, who knows when the next one will be in Olympics, like be in Australia, sorry, and after Sydney, like Sydney 2000 and then 32 years later, Brisbane, like it's the big gap.
BEN WATERWORTH: The gap's getting smaller. What was it? 44 years between Melbourne and Sydney, now 32 years. That is true, yeah. Hobart's getting closer. We will get an Olympics in Hobart. They'll just share it around Australia by the end of this century.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Australia will be a village.
BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly. Every single part of the state will be the Olympics. Before we get to our final set of questions, I always love to hear about Olympic experiences and just outside of the competition. Obviously, unique Olympics with Tokyo, obviously, couldn't do as much as say you would be at a regular Olympics, but do you have any fun memories from around the village or just soaking up that atmosphere of what it was to be an Olympian?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Just the whole memory itself is what you need to soak in. You can't forget parts, unfortunately. It's just, you're there and you're soaking everything in to the point where it's like you won't ever forget little moments. I only think I'll forget being in the same lift as Ash Barty or having a chat with Paddy Mills or getting into the lift and like Delva Dover, Paddy Mills, Joe Ingalls, just all going up to the same level I am, because they look like a floor above me. You know, like it was just insane stuff like that. And you want to like, you know, fanboy, you want to like go crazy and be like, Jesus, you know, these, you guys are amazing. But at the same time, though, you're like, you're all there almost as equals. Like, yeah, basically teammates. So it was really strange, like doing that. And I think, yeah, just creating moments like that, it's just it's just incredible, like to be able to create those moments like that. So I don't think I'll ever have a particular moment. I think just all of it. It's just going to be locked away in my brain.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because that conversation, Sarah, I can imagine you get into that lift. I mean, you clearly know who they are, but you're there as well. And same clothes. They're wearing Australia. Got the Olympic rings on. You mean, is it kind of like a bit of a, you know, Patty Mills, you know, what sport are you in? Like, you know, kind of just have a bit of a conversation and kind of like, how have you found it? You know, things like that.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, like, I actually did jerk around there. Like, I got into that lift and I was like, oh, so what do you boys do? And like, they were like a little bit taken back, like, oh, like, we're on the basketball team. I'm just like, oh, yeah, I'm like, I'm fucking with you. Of course, I don't hear you guys. And then they asked me, like, oh, what do you do? I'm like, oh, I'm shooting, blah, blah. And yeah, you know, to them, I probably look like some kind of like official or physio or something, because my body's not a perfect athlete, not a peak athlete. But yeah, it's pretty incredible doing stuff like that, for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: One thing too, actually, before we get to the questions, I love your Instagram, and I loved your, I guess, TikTok style videos. I mean, I'm guessing maybe the TikTok kind of the fun there. I mean, that must have passed the time a little bit in quarantine, but you were doing these even before you were in quarantine though, weren't you? I mean, this must be just a bit of a fun thing to get people into the sport and kind of just follow you there, because they're very entertaining.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, like it was one of those things. Instagram started doing reels and stuff, and I just thought, you know what, why not? Just a bit of a laugh, show people what the sport's about. And then I started posting them on TikTok, because at first I wasn't a fan of TikTok. Everyone was obsessed with it, everyone was on it. I'm just like, no, I'm not into it, you know? I didn't understand the concept, and then my videos were pretty similar to TikTok. So I'm just like, you know, I'm going to re-upload them on TikTok now, like may as well. And then one of them just blew up and got like over a million views. It was crazy. Yeah, it was huge. I don't know, I just put it up one night, I performed with the bed, and I woke up next morning, I had like 300,000 views on it, and I'm just like, Jesus, like that's huge. And it was a shooting video as well. It was a video that says like, what intense training session looks like. And you know, it's me shooting, and then like peeling a mandarin, and then me shooting, and then finishing off peeling mandarin, and then me shooting again, and then me eating the mandarin. Like it's obviously, it's all done for laughs, but yeah, like I love putting up videos like that, you know, it gets people into shooting. I have a lot of people asking me, how do I get into shooting in Victoria? How do I get into shooting in Western Australia? Like this is awesome, it's pretty interesting. So to be able to make funny videos like that, and to get people interested, and to get them to pay attention to shooting at Olympics, whatever it is, it's pretty awesome.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, I was thoroughly entertained in the lead up to the interview, just watching them and kind of, yeah, I want to keep watching all of them. It's kind of like some channel on Netflix or something. Keep watching them, viral, keep going on to that. Now, Sergei, we wrap up our interviews with a series of fun questions. These are based on a questionnaire that Team Canada gave to their athletes ahead of both Rio and Pyeongchang. We have some get-to-know-you elements here. Now, there is, as always, we put this out there, that there's a drawing element if you want to do some homework. We've had one athlete do it before. Again, entirely up to you. Stick figures are acceptable as well.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Beautiful.
BEN WATERWORTH: Just leave that out there, too. And I always like to, again, I say this every interview, try and find an athlete from the same sport. Unfortunately, Team Canada did not quiz any shooters ahead of Rio. So the closest I've got is an archer, Crispin Dwaynes, an archer, so I kind of thought, well, they're kind of better than a sprinter. Kind of work on that way. So your favourite ever Olympic moment is?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: So for me, it is a very particular moment. It is being able to take my mum's bronze medal out to school and to go to every class of my primary school and be able to show it off. I think that's a very, I don't think that's a memory that a lot of people can have. And yeah, for me to be able to do that is pretty amazing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Fantastic. And how is that show and tell? Do you have the coolest show and tell basically at school that day?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, like some kid next to me had like a bionic or something. I'm just like, get out of here, get out of here.
BEN WATERWORTH: Olympic freaking medal. Yeah. Drop mic. There you go. If you could choose any Olympic host city, where would it be?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Olympic host city. In all honesty, I would love, despite everything that's going on there right now, I love my home city Minsk, like where I'm originally from in Belarus. You know, despite everything political going on there, it's a very beautiful city. It's got that European, Eastern European style, like architecture, and it's just an amazing city that not a lot of people know about. Not a lot of people know about Belarus country itself, so to be able to have the whole world watching that country would be an amazing achievement.
BEN WATERWORTH: You know, whenever I think of Minsk, I just think of Friends when Phoebe's... Yeah, David was in Minsk, right?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yes, he was.
BEN WATERWORTH: I don't know why I always think of that, but yeah, it's actually interesting. I've never been to Europe, but when people talk about, where would you like to go in Europe? I'm always talking about, you know, Belarus, like, you know, Estonia, like, places like this where it's kind of like nobody talks about going. It's all about France, Germany, like, no, I want to go see these places that kind of just, you know, people go to because they just, they look like where that's where people have the most fun in Europe, you know, not so many tourists, and it's just kind of more of a natural sort of feel to it.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, definitely. I think it's because I've got like such a cultural, like, connection to it as well. Yeah, like my house is very Europeany kind of thing, you know, like the way we eat, the way we speak, the way we act, everything like that. It's definitely not like an Australian household.
BEN WATERWORTH: So how many languages in does that mean you speak?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: We speak English and Russian. I speak Russian and English as well, yeah. So I speak Russian with my parents, like, the whole time. I speak English with my sister because it kind of, you know, raised like that. And yeah, just, you know, like, actually, the whole day today, I was making pin menu, which is like Russian dumplings. I was making that with mum today, helping her out.
BEN WATERWORTH: So is that case, like, where you get, like, can you literally mid-sentence just be speaking English and go straight to Russian and kind of just have, like, a dual conversation in both languages?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, yeah, like, I'm fluent in both. Yeah, I can speak both for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: I just love watching people, like, I was living in Canada, and I'd say, watch Justin Trudeau giving a speech to the nation, and he would just be, you know, speaking English and mid-sentence into French, and you're like, you wouldn't even realise what you're doing. Like, well, he's just speaking French now. And I was like, back into English, and I was just like, well, this is incredible. I can barely speak English. So I don't know what this is like to be able to do it. Was it like, when you were born, you're learning Russian straight away and English straight away, or was it kind of something you learnt as you grew older?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: So I learnt Russian straight away, and then we moved to Australia, and I started getting both languages thrown at me. So my parents freaked out because I was not speaking to her. I was like three or four years old. Like, I could speak, but I just didn't want to. So my parents freaked out, like, you know, something's wrong with me and what's going on. And the doctor just said, like, he's just confused on what language to speak. You know, he is Russian at home, and he goes to daycare and he's English, and he's English on TV. He just doesn't know what's going on in his head. And then eventually I just started speaking English. Like, I thought that was easier for me, but then I went to Russian school when I was younger, and yeah, just big Russian for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: So if I was to get you to say the sentence, you should all listen to Off The Podium in Russian, what would that sound like?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I would like to see another full show of Off The Podium.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, that's the best way I've ever heard that said. Wow, jeez, put that on a t-shirt. In your spare time, what do you most like to do besides the TikTok videos?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Lately, it's been playing Zelda Breath of the Wild. I just bought that game. I bought it for myself in quarantine, but then I got distracted in quarantine making these videos and building Lego and stuff. So I started playing it, and I just instantly regretted not playing it earlier. It is such a good game. It's so awesome. Honestly, building Lego, playing Switch, watching EPL soccer, and making some TikTok sometimes. And that's basically it. And just hanging out with friends. I think lately with all the COVID lockdowns and stuff, I really miss hanging out with mates and hanging out with friends. It's a big one for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: I did jell over the fact that you go for Chelsea. I'm a ManUnited supporter, so it cannot be perfect. So it's all good.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, I mean, look, you guys are bringing back Ronaldo. It's going to be huge, but we'll see how it goes.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, I don't know how I feel about that. But I've never been a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. To me, Ronaldo is the Brazilian guy. That's who I grew up with as my Ronaldo.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Oh, yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: So that's kind of always interesting when you hear Cristiano Ronaldo. So yeah, my sister is a massive Zelda fan. Her son is called Link, based after. Really? That's how much she loves. That's how much she loves Zelda.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I've already just started loving it, though. I've met my mates. I'm like, oh, how do you backflip? How do you do this? How do you do this? And they were saying you cook elixirs and recipes. I'm just like, I don't even know how to pick a mushroom, let alone cook these elixirs. I don't know what you guys are talking about.
BEN WATERWORTH: I haven't played it since Ocarina of Time on Nintendo 64, so I would never have a clue.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Well, I never played it. I just got told, like, yeah, such an amazing game and you look up, you know, best Switch games, and it's always Breath of the Wild, Breath of the Wild. So I was just like, you know what, like, I think I played one Game Boy version when I was younger, and that's it. I never really got into it properly, never really got into that. The only games I was fully into were Pokemon. Like, I'm a big Pokemon fan, just the games. I wasn't really a huge fan of the series or anything like that. And then Zelda is now my next obsession.
BEN WATERWORTH: So then this will age me. What was your first Pokemon game then growing up?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Uh, leaf green. That was my first one.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, way, way aged me. I'm back in red and blue and yellow, like when they were one colour. That's when I got excited when gold and silver came out. Like, oh, they're getting shinier. Yeah. And then kind of I lost track of it. What is the weirdest instruction a coach ever gave you?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Oh, that is a hard one because I have a, like, I've definitely got a couple, but they just seem normal to me. Well, for other people, it don't seem normal. I think a strange one that people say like, oh, really? Like you do that is we have a training session, and my coach forces us to go have like a 10, 20 minute nap in the club room, just on the floor, and then come back and train again. Yeah. I'll just go have a sleep.
BEN WATERWORTH: Go sleep.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Exactly.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Like I go have a sleep. I'll stay here with the guns. It's all good. And then, yeah, just go have a nap. Like you have like a 20 minute power nap, and then just come back and start shooting again.
BEN WATERWORTH: Now, I'm suspicious of this. What's your coach doing while you're all sleeping for 20 minutes?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: He's probably just chilling, reading a book. That's all he does.
BEN WATERWORTH: I feel there's more to it than just reading a book.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, probably. Exactly right.
BEN WATERWORTH: He's doing something with those guns. I don't know what he's doing. What is your favourite workout?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Favourite workout would have to be, I would say push ups, something simple like that. I prefer body strength stuff. I prefer doing push ups, pull ups, sit ups, squats, stuff like that. I think push ups is one of those things that I think everyone's got to learn how to do. To be able to do as many as you can is awesome.
BEN WATERWORTH: How many can you do Sergei?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I've actually given myself a little record. I think I got like 34, 36 in a row, which like killed me though. Like I just just dead afterwards.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's pretty impressive. I mean, I'm lucky to do two. So I should take that. I'm on my knees still. I'm not even doing the proper ones. So if you could have lunch with any one person, who would it be?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Jack Black. Jack Black for sure. I shared a video on my Instagram the other day of him on Jimmy Fallon playing a trumpet. And then it's just watching his videos and watching movies like School Of Rock and stuff. He's just such a character, such an awesome person. And I don't know if you've seen his videos that he does about Marvel.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh yeah, was that the one he was throwing a Thor hammer to himself around the pool and stuff like that?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, yeah. He's in these Speedos and a Thor helmet, and he's throwing the hammer, and then he's dressed up like Spider-Man and dancing to WAP by Cardi B, and you just tell him he'd be such a fun guy, and lately I've been loving him, so Jack Black for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Pick of Destiny is one of my favourite movies, and I think I heard he was making a sequel to it finally.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I think it's already out.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh wow, jeez.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I could be wrong, I could be wrong.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, okay, well I gotta look that up. See, that soundtrack is just something I listen to constantly. It's just like I could never get sick of those songs.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Tribute, when you think about it, it's like not even... It's almost like a pointless song, but it's just such a good song.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, yeah, it really is. And the fact that Dave Grohl plays the devil in that movie, like when you realise that, you're like, holy crap, Dave Grohl. And what meatloafs his dad in that movie? Like it's just kind of just the randomness to that. What is your favourite sandwich?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Ham and salami sandwich. Ham, sorry, not ham, sorry. Cheese and salami toast sandwich with red onion inside.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, nice.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: It goes down very good. Thinly sliced red onion. Salami, like a good Hungarian or something like that. And then cheese, toasty, done.
BEN WATERWORTH: And is it a specific type of bread, or is it just whatever's available?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Whatever's available, but I prefer like a multigrain or something like that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, I like it. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I would love, I'm a bit of a comic book nerd as well. Like I love Marvel movies, everything like that. X-Men were one of my favourites growing up. So I'd have to say like Nightcrawler's powers of like teleportation, just being able to like, you know, go from point A to point B in under a second, would be amazing.
BEN WATERWORTH: I like it. Good work. The best candy in the world is?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I actually had Mike and Ikes for the first time the other day, which is that American candy. And they were pretty good. They were pretty awesome. So if it's best candy, I'd say that. But, you know, if I'm going based off the Shire, what we can get at Coles and stuff, I have to go over classic Snickers. Snickers last me for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yep. That's a good one. A bit nutty, but, you know, it kind of works that way. Now you sort of, we know you're a Chelsea fan, but I mean, expand this out to other teams as well. As a kid, your favourite sports team were?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: As a kid, my favourite sports teams. Okay, so Chelsea for sure. I never got into AFL because my parents never were into it, and I just never really had, I had some friends that played a lot, but I just never really grew up with it, so I don't really have any AFL teams. That's a hard one. It probably just has to be Chelsea, that, and then the shooting team, to be honest.
BEN WATERWORTH: Hey, that works. So, you know, that's a team. That's a team. You got to put it out there. I mean, you had the... I got involved. I loved how the AOC had the merchandise of each of the sports, and I got the modern pentathlon, because I'm a modern pentathlon fan. Don't judge me. But you had the shooting shirts and all that kind of stuff as well, too.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Well, like modern pentathlon, I love that. Chloe Esposito is a really good friend of mine.
BEN WATERWORTH: You're a friend of the show even more so. One of our best and most favourite guests. We like to jokingly say in the show that we got her that gold medal, because we started at the beginning of Rio, and on that very first episode, we're celebrating modern pentathlon. We're like, hey, this is a sport, get involved. And then remember waking up thinking we're dreaming. Wait, did we just win a gold in modern pentathlon? Like, how did this come about? And yeah, we spoke with Chloe a few weeks back, and yeah, amazing. And I mean, there's a sport you could get into. You got one fifth of the sports down pat. So you just need to work on your horse riding, fencing, swimming and running, and you're done.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I mean, I think saying that is so much easier than doing. The amount of how she trained with swimming and running and everything was incredible. Like, dedication to that sport, and the physical demand for that sport is insane. She's incredible.
BEN WATERWORTH: Is that friendship legitimately from because she's got to practise at a range, and you sort of are practising together, essentially?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: So her younger sister, Emily, was a really good shooter. She went to a couple of games, she went to a couple of World Cups, more than a couple, she went to a lot, and she just missed out on the Rio Games, unfortunately. And I met Chloe through Emily Esposito, Emily was their younger sister, and I stayed at their house a couple of times. I went to Emily's 21st, I flew over to Sydney for it, and obviously knew Chloe from there. And Chloe was a really good shooter back in the day as well. For the London Games, she won the quota spot for Australia at the Oceanas, which is a quota spot is a spot at the Olympics for that sport. She won it in the shooting event, because my mum already won it on the international circuit, and then someone from Australia had to win it. And she has participated in the shot really well and won the quota spot as well in shooting. If she didn't want to do Monk Tethon, Chloe would be a great shooter as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: Geez, look at this, just the family lineage there as well is crazy. I'm also thinking, though, Sergei, too, in terms of other sports. I mean, you've learned to ski, you could do biathlon as well. I could, yeah. Add to the Olympics, like one up your mum, and be like, okay, six Olympics, I'd say your six, I go to 12. Yeah, exactly right. Winter, summer, winter, summer kind of alternate every two years.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: That'd be incredible, yeah, for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: It kind of works that way. Your favourite sports movie is?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Ooh, I used to love the movie Goal, which was a soccer movie about this kid that fled from Mexico, went to America, and then started playing for Newcastle in England. So I'll probably have to say that one. I loved She's The Man when I was younger. That was even, like that's a classic in that movie. That's such a great movie.
BEN WATERWORTH: I had a massive Amanda Bynes crush growing up, so I will watch anything she does.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: For sure. Green Street Hooligans is a good one as well. They're all soccer movies, to be honest.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, you know, you like the sport, you like that. I always like to sort of pose this question about, you know, is there a specific shooting movie? But I guess kind of you're in that unique position where they're shooting movies in general. I mean, is there one about the sport of shooting that people should know about?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I mean, in all honesty, though, like, with all the action movies, like shooting and stuff, if they made a movie just specifically for shooting sport, it'd be like the worst action movie ever. It'd be so boring. It would suck. Um, no, there is no movie. If they made one, I would love to be in it. It'd be pretty incredible.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, I think so. The one I always keep tying it in now to all the James Bond movies. I'm just thinking of the sport. I mean, he shoots in every single movie. So, I mean, basically, that's kind of cheating there. But, you know, we're discovering he's done fencing, he's done bobsleigh, you know, kind of horse riding. Like, Jesus, just tick off all that.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: He should do modern pataflop, if anything.
BEN WATERWORTH: He really should, exactly. We've seen him swim, we've seen him shoot, fencing, he's done it all. He's a modern bent athlete. Look at that. Wow, the two greatest modern bent athletes of all time, Chloe Esposito and James Bond. Just tick that off. I like that. I like that. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Anywhere in the world, where would it be? I love Mexico. I went there for a competition. I know the listeners won't be able to see, but you can see I've got a sombrero in the background.
BEN WATERWORTH: I noticed that in the background.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I picked that up from the country. I love Mexico. I think Tokyo would be an amazing place to live, for sure. Obviously, we couldn't walk around there out of the village, but just from what I've seen in movies, everything like that, pretty incredible. London, I think, would be pretty incredible. There's just so many places to live. I think London would be pretty incredible. I'd say London.
BEN WATERWORTH: London, okay. When you were little, what was something you always thought?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: When I was little, what was something I always thought? I did have this weird, almost like a fear. I wasn't a fan of walking in the dark. If it was past 9 o'clock, I didn't like going outside to walk around. My mum was like, oh, let's go for a walk, the midnight walk at 10 p.m. or something. I was like, no, it's monsters out there. So whenever I went to sleep, I woke up middle of the night. It was dark, but you can kind of see the outline of certain things. And my chair that had clothes on it, I'd picture like monsters and stuff, and it would just freak me out. And I'd just be like, no, get under the covers. Because the covers is the protector. If a murderer comes in, if you're under the covers, they can't get you. Everyone knows that. So that's something I always had a thought of for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: I also like the fact that your mum would just be like, hey, let's go for a walk at midnight. She had a lot of energy at that time of night, did she?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, she did, apparently. She was just trained all day. And then she'd just be like, oh, what else did they do?
BEN WATERWORTH: She's very young at heart. Family walk time. Let's go. Get your shoes on.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Exactly. Back at school.
BEN WATERWORTH: Go for a walk. The last one here. What is your favourite joke to tell?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Ah, favourite joke to tell. I would say just a compilation of puns and dad jokes. Like, I think they're classics that will just never die.
BEN WATERWORTH: You can't get sick of them. They're there for a reason. So do you have a favourite dad joke? Do you have one that is sort of a go-to dad joke?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: I don't have a go-to. A classic is just like, oh, I'm funny. Like, oh, hi, funny. Like, kind of like, you know, like stuff like that. That's such a stupid joke, but it's so good. And I think puns, I think puns in general. Well, he's hilarious.
BEN WATERWORTH: Are they shooting puns? Like, I mean, the whole, like I said one before, like, oh, Rating on target for Paris.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a lot of the obvious ones, like, you know, the aiming on target, whatever, but.
BEN WATERWORTH: The last shot at qualifying.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Last shot, yeah. No, not that I can think of. It's more like in the moment. I think that's my kind of, kind of humour. Like, I would be a terrible stand up comedian, because I would know what to say. It's more in the moment kind of thing.
BEN WATERWORTH: You'd be a good podcast host then.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, yeah, exactly right.
BEN WATERWORTH: I don't know what to say half the time, and it just, you know, the bullshit comes out, and then hopefully one out of five sticks, right?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, exactly.
BEN WATERWORTH: Kind of how it goes out. Sergei, obviously we talked a little bit about your social media. Where can people follow you? Start up to date, watch the funny videos, you know, tag the Gram, the TikTok, anything else you got out there?
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Yeah, so I do have a TikTok, surprisingly. So if you want to follow that, go Sergei, S-E-R-G-E-I dot Evglevski. So the last name is EVGLEVSKI. And that's the exact same for my Instagram. So Sergei, S-E-R-G-E-I dot, I made my last name, EVGLEVSKI. Good thing though is you type in Sergei, I don't think there's a lot of them that pop up anyway. So I think I'll be one of the first ones up there anyway, so we're all good.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, if you follow a lot of Olympians, it's kind of all sort of connected that way. So it kind of works. Sergei, it has been a lot of fun chatting with you today to learn about your career and obviously your Olympic experiences. And I'm going to go and watch a bunch more of these videos because I think they got plenty here to entertain me ahead of Paris in 2024, where we look forward to seeing you go on to keep that tradition of the second Olympics bronze medal and then keep going further towards Brisbane and bringing home multiple medals in the future.
SERGEI EVGLEVSKI: Exactly right. Well, hopefully, hopefully, definitely. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you so much and enjoy the video as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: And a massive thanks to Sergei there for his time, a lot of fun. I always love speaking to athletes from sports. We haven't really spoken to, yes, we did have Catherine on obviously five years ago, but different style of shooting, where we haven't really talked to someone from it before. So, always informative and exciting. And I still can't believe that shooting is not at the Commonwealth Games next year. You think I would know that? I should be on the ball, I should know what's going on in these sporting events, but I'm actually legitimately shocked that shooting is not in Birmingham. So, that is a big disappointment. Maybe it will make me tune out of Birmingham a little bit. Maybe, who knows? But what am I kidding? I'll be watching Birmingham. It's always a great event, the Commonwealth Games. Next episode, we'll have another interview for you. Plenty more to come as we keep firing them out between now and Beijing. So many great athletes coming your way that you will not know where to begin. And if maybe you don't know where to begin, you want to go back and listen to some past episodes. If you want to go back into the archives and listen to our Catherine Skinner chat from 2016, that was a great chat. I do remember that one fondly. Or any of our other athlete interviews that we've had post-Tokyo in the lead up to Tokyo, or maybe sort of in the lead up to Beijing, where obviously we got some winters and some summers on. So kind of keeping everybody excited and busy right now. Search for Off The Podium on all the good podcast platforms out there. While you're there, hit subscribe. You'll never miss an episode. Leave us some feedback. Leave us a rating. We'd love to hear what you think of the show. And of course, social media, Off The Podium. Search for us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Not on the TikTok yet. The TikTok, apparently. Don't sound that old saying it. But who knows? Maybe one day we'll get our act together and get ourselves a TikTok. Still my favourite Kesha song. That is a dad joke. That one does not die, apparently. Big thanks again to Sergei and to everyone for listening in. My name is Ben. This is Off The Podium. And as always, go left.
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