Ilsur Metshin meets with Olympic champion Marta Martyanova

The Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin met with the Olympic champion Marta Martyanova at the City Hall. The 22-year-old Kazan athlete, who suffered a leg injury during the Tokyo Olympics, won the foil gold medal. The athlete came to the meeting with the head of the city together with her mother Nailya Martyanova.

The head of the city congratulated the athlete on the gold medal and wished her new wins. “You deserve admiration, respect, and you are an example for the younger generation, - Ilsur Metshin addressed Marta. – To become great athletes, scientists, artists, the talent is not enough, the main thing is to work hard. The Olympic medal is the reward for your work at such a young age, and I wish you as many such victories as possible”.

The Mayor thanked Nailya Martyanova, who brought up such a strong-minded daughter. The head of the city also congratulated the athlete on the wedding.

Marta Martyanova was born in Kazan, where she began training fencing from school age. The girl immediately liked this sport, and she did not miss training sessions, despite the fact that they took place early in the morning. At first, the mother of the athlete Nailya Martinova did not share her daughter's passion. “I thought about was that this is a men's sport. Later I began to notice that Martha succeeds, she was happy after training, and then I calmed down”, - said Nailya Martyanova.

From the age of 10-12, Marta turned from an amateur into a professional, and since 2016, the athlete has joined the Russian fencing team. The Kazan athlete won her first victory at the World Cup on January 14, 2018 in Katowice (Poland). There, she won a gold medal in the team competition. In the same year, Martyanova won silver at the European Fencing Championship.

The Kazan athlete showed sports endurance at the Tokyo Olympics. In the final, the Russian team competed with the French national team. During the competition, Marta injured her ankle, but she did not refuse the fight. Overcoming the pain, the athlete continued the fight and won a gold medal.

Now Marta is in Kazan, recovering from an injury and getting used to a new status – on August 17, she married a fencing coach from Yaroslavl, Yevgeny Lomtev.

“I still can't get used to the fact that I'm an Olympic champion”, - Marta admits. Marta does not plan to quit sports and plans to win gold in the individual championship. “Every athlete dreams about this, because a team is a team, and personal is still personal”, -Marta notes.