Twin sisters Evgenia and Olga Frolkina from Dynamo Kursk in mid-September entered the top three streetball players in the world among girls under the age of 23. Olga became No. 1, and Evgenia – No. 3. FIBA updated the rating after the victory of the Russian youth national team in the 3×3 U23 Basketball League of Nations. Kuryanka Olga Frolkina scored 398,396 rating points, and her sister Evgenia – 377,128. Last week, the Dynamo sisters and Yulia Kozik in China took the “silver” of the 3×3 World Cup.

Only in the final, the Russian national team, for which, in addition to three chickens, ex-dynamo Ekaterina Polyashova played, lost to Japan with a score of 14:19. Our girls, whose winning streak numbered 42 matches, did not work one of the trumps – long-range shots. And among the Japanese, Mai Yamamoto shone, famous for dagger passes under the ring. She became the most valuable player (MVP) of the U23 World Cup.

FROM THE AGE OF 9 ON THE PARQUET
Olga and Evgenia Frolkin have been playing basketball since they were 9 years old, but they thought about their professional career only at 13, when they were invited from their native Penza to Moscow to the A. Ya. Gomelsky UOR No. 4. “We played in the capital for four years, which flew by very quickly,” says Olya– “and then we were called to Dynamo (Kursk).”

– The fact that we became basketball players is entirely due to our mother – she also used to play basketball and instilled this love in us. However, not immediately – at first she gave us swimming, volleyball and tennis, – Zhenya recalls with a smile.

Girls still love to swim. However, they can’t always find time for this – Dynamo has a very busy schedule. “Often there are two workouts a day, each for 2 hours on average,” explains Zhenya. – And it can be like this for several days in a row. It’s not easy, but that’s the price of professional sports.

Food is also according to the regime. When preparing for competitions, you have to lean especially on meat, vegetables, rice, completely excluding sweet and flour from the diet. “Vitamins are also necessary,” Olya adds. “There is simply no way without them. They are an important part of the training process.”

“DEFEATS ARE SOMETIMES ON HAND”
There were victories and defeats in the Frolkins’ life. The champions admit that it is the fear of losing that, like nothing else, stimulates them to train in the gym with a vengeance.

• It is defeats and the lessons that an athlete learns from them that make him more experienced, stronger, – says Zhenya. – You return to training much more motivated and prepared.

To the question of how they tune in to their games, dynamovki answer: they come out to each with one thought: “Only victory!”

– It shouldn’t be otherwise, – Olya assures. – Basketball is first of all a team. Every player in it is extremely important. If one makes a mistake, the team will fall apart. So you need to be collected and fully confident in your victory – this is the key to success.

The sisters spend their free time from training and matches traveling. Whether it’s a trip to your native Penza, trips around your native country or abroad.

– We also really like to watch movies, – says Zhenya. – Most of all fiction.

Marat BAKASHEV