Barbora Mokošová wants a medal from university games

At the World Universiade in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2017, she took an excellent 9th place in the all-around final, and at the last Universiade in Naples, Italy, in 2019, she twice took 8th place in the eight-man finals on the balance beam and the uneven bars. Gymnast Barbora Mokosova will travel to her third Universiade with the highest medal ambitions.

You are a graduate of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport at Comenius University in Bratislava. How did you manage to combine professional sport with your studies at university?

“Of course, it wasn’t always quite ideal and I always said I was more of an athlete than a student, but I’m still glad I managed it. It’s been challenging, but I don’t think it’s unrealistic when you have a good team of people around you to help you. If I had to make a decision now and I had the opportunity to go to college, I would definitely go for it.”

The two-time Olympian from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 will be a mainstay of the Slovak University team.

With what ambitions will you travel to China? Do you know the sports venue you will be competing at?

“We don’t have a lot of information. Even the rosters I would like to see already so we haven’t gotten to that yet, but I believe in a few days we will know. I haven’t seen the sports ground yet, but I’m going to check it out. Of course, we’re going with the highest ambitions. I want a medal from the Universiade, because I don’t have one yet. We are preparing and this whole season has been very good so I hope to continue that and we will be happy when we come back.

How were the last days of preparation? Was there anything specific that you included in your preparation as part of fine-tuning your form for China?

“It was more just little details and tweaks. We don’t have time to make any changes anymore. We know what we need those last weeks and days before the race and we stick to that. So far everything is going to plan, we’re flying out next week and I’m looking forward to it immensely. The Universiade is completely different to the other competitions I will be attending.”

The artistic gymnastics events of the Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games are held from 1 to 5 August at Dong’an Lake Sports Park Multi-Purpose Gymnasium, and a total of 14 gold medals are awarded.

Gymnast Barbora Mokosova will be in action at the World University Games on Saturday, August 5, when there are two events she will be competing in – the balance beam and the uneven bars.

The men’s gymnastics squad will also feature Volodymyr Oteshko, whose all-around competition is on the programme on Friday 4 August.

PROFILE – BARBORA MOKOŠOVÁ

Date and place of birth: 10.3. 1997, Bratislava
Coach: Martin Zvalo
Greatest achievements:

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Rio 2016 Olympic Games

European Championships – 3rd place in uneven bars