Yevgenya Artamonova (RUS)

When I saw Yevgeniya Artamonova standing outside the courts at the '94 Goodwill Games in Saint Petersburg, I said to myself, "Why not just go up and talk to her?" So I called her by her short name—Zhenja!—and she looked over and she smiled. In basic Russian, I told her I was Peruvian, a fan of hers, and asked her why she hadn't played the previous match. She said she had a problem with her knee, and as things turned out she didn't play at all during the whole tournament. Zhenja was very sweet, very polite and girly in a way. But her on-court persona is 180 degrees from that. She has become one of the most feared hitters in the world right now, and in the post Mireya Luis era, she could share the title of best outside hitter with Cuba's Regla Bell. But whereas Mireya and Regla look like panthers leaping and shuffling back into place, Artamonova has a very particular approach and style to her hitting. She almost looks like an airplane, with her pointy nose, pony-tail, and long arms that elevate her into a jagged star, then when she's in mid air, she swings her whole right arm downwards, not just her wrist, and most of the time it will be over the block. People say that she contacts the ball higher than any other player in the world with the probable exception of Mireya. And for Nikolai Karpol's tradition of having strong outside hitters as the basis of his offence, Yevgeniya came like a[nother] blessing sent from above.

She emerged as one of the most dynamic hitters in the '91 Junior World Champion generation that took the title in Czechoslovakia against the reigning champion Brazil. The South Americans, triumphant in '87 against Korea and in '89 against Cuba, where seeking to "three-peat" and establish themselves as a dynasty at the Junior level. But when Léila, Hilma, Karin, and Ana Paula reached the final against the USSR, they had no answer against the tall girls raised and picked by Karpol to become the next generation of Russian players. This new batch included setter Tatyana Grachova, middle hitters Natalia Morozova, Yelizaveta Tischenko, and Inessa Emelyanova, and outside hitters Yelena Batukhtina and, of course, Zhenja. There were other great players on that team, but these six went on to Karpol's Adult Team and quickly took over the ranks, displacing long time greats like Ogienko and Nikulina to secondary roles.

At the '92 Olympics, only Batukhtina was a starter in the Unified Team (name given in the absence of an official country name) that lost 3-1 to Cuba in the final. But Artamonova was inserted every once in a while, showing the confidence that Karpol had in her abilities, especially her jump serve. If her outside hitting looked like an airplane, her jump serving looked like a Concorde, what with all that free space she had, and the large steps she would take to elevate herself. Then she would crank that arm with such strength that her serves destabilised any serve reception system her adversaries had. After the Olympics, somebody (maybe Glenn Scott or David Kraft?) wrote in Volleyball Monthly about Artamonova: "Somebody get this Smirnova look-alike a national team to play on. Or better yet, a college scholarship in the US." And they were right expressing the similarity. The angles of her armswings, the strength of her hits, and the same availability from the back row pre-supposed that Artamonova would become the next Smirnova. Well, in a way she has, at least filling in the same role that Irina did when she played. But insofar as medals and titles, Zhenja is still working hard to match her predecessor.

After Barcelona, she went with the team to the First Edition of the Grand Prix in Asia and they came in third place after Cuba and China. But then disaster struck. She was injured sometime between then and July of '94, with the knee problem that kept her from playing at the Goodwill Games. Because of that, she didn't play at all at the '94 World's in Brazil, where she was replaced by Tatyana Menshova, who filled in extremely well and became one of the best hitters in the tournament. But when Artamonova came back from her injury, prepared, and eager to get her level back, Karpol was faced with a dilemma: who would be the outside attackers? By the '96 Olympics in Atlanta he shuffled between Irina Ilchenko (formerly Smirnova) whom he called back from the shadows, Artamonova, Menshova, and new rookie Yelena Godina, who was showing signs of being the next best thing. Maybe it was this indecision that cost him an Olympic medal for the first time in his career, for after losing to a surprising Chinese team coached by all-time legend Lang Ping, the Russians succumbed to the fiery passion of the Brazilians, who were eager to go home with a medal after the nasty brawls against the Cubans.

The year after Atlanta, Artamonova reigned in the second World Grand Champions Cup where she was chosen as the tournament MVP. Then, Russia won the Grand Prix against the world's best teams except Brazil (who didn't attend due to time constraints). Zhenja had also been playing a lot in Japan, where one can imagine the feast she had towering over all those diminute Japanese blockers.

For Artamonova, it was an opportunity to brush up on her defensive skills, and to keep a sharp eye on the fast-paced Japanese combination plays. It also made her a darling with the Japanese fans, because of her personality, which was so demure. It was as if she were joking that her explosive kills came out by accident, that she really didn't mean to bash anybody in the face with them. But no Japanese defender ever got clobbered by her attacks, at most rattled, but having Artamonova in their domestic league also helped them improve their defensive skills even more. Curious, that at the same time that Zhenja was playing in Japan, the up-and-coming Croatian sensation Barbara Jelic was also playing in the league. When they pitted them against each other, the two Slavic hammers went face to face... like a boxing match almost! The Japanese really love to sensationalise sports to almost heroic proportions reminiscent of their sci-fi adventures in animé.

In '98, when the beautiful Tatyana Grachova left the team (for I don't know which reasons), the smaller Yelena Vassilievskaja replaced her. This girl has the face of a baby, and she seems really short compared to her teammates, though in actuality she could be close to 1.80m. At the '98 Grand Prix, Russia faced Brazil in the final but lost despite flashes of brilliance by Artamonova, Godina, and the still budding Lyubov Sokolova. Though they lost 3-0, the match was hard fought, and in the end Brazil's Léila Barros became the hero of the match and the tournament MVP.

Still, these two teams would meet again in pool play at the '98 World Championships in Japan. I saw the match on Brazilian TV, and I don't know why, but the Brazilians never got their act together and were clobbered by the Russians! No one expected a 3-0 victory for the Europeans, and in one rally, I think it was the Brazilian commentator Dulce Thompson who shuddered and then laughed at the way Artamonova had spiked a ball OVER the Brazilian block and in between Virna's legs! Incredible, was the word of the match. Even more entertaining was Zhenja's way of playing around with her opponent's defenders, who would spread far back waiting for her cannonballs and then Zhenja would—boop!—dink a little raindrop in the middle of the empty court. In the semifinal though, just like in Atlanta, Brazil found no answer to Cuba, and Russia couldn't dispatch China. But for third place, again the tables had turned. I don't know why Brazil was so "off" in that tournament; some blamed the return of Fernanda who hadn't been playing with the team for many months, others said that the Russians were actually playing better, but whichever the reasons, Artamonova became one of the pillars of the new Russian team as she led her team to a victory over Brazil.

Karpol must be very glad that his club in Yekaterinburg has produced most of the glorious names that have integrated his National Teams. And since he keeps them together most of the time, they grow to know each other very well. They always go to international club championships playing as a team, and in the 2000 European Club Championships, they reached the final but lost to an Italian Club team. Artamonova, however, was playing alongside Ilchenko for a Turkish team, whose sponsors must have realised that these girls are more than willing to play for a better salary than they get in Russia under Karpol. But when it's time to assemble the National Team, Karpol seems to enjoy putting Zhenja back in the lineup. Recently though, a star has been rising in the name of Lyubov Chachkova-Sokolova, probably the most complete player Karpol has ever raised in his school. With her all-around game, Tischenko's lethal quick slides à la Ogienko, and Artamonova and Godina getting better on the outside, he has high aspirations for Sydney 2000.

The teams to beat, are therefore, Cuba and Russia. I wouldn't be surprised if these two teams battle out yet another Olympic final, though in the last two encounters between them Cuba has dominated Russia in straight sets. Power versus power, Cuba has the advantage. But if Karpol could let go of his conservatism and begin encouraging his setters and his versatile hitters to be more creative, maybe they could have a chance against the more physical Cuban team. That doesn't seem to be the trend, lately, as now Karpol is introducing even more height in the form of Yekaterina Gamova and some other players who are nearly 2 metres tall. (Ogienko would surely feel dwarfed by such towering players.) But for Artamonova, Sydney will help answer several questions. Will she manage to shine like Smirnova did in Seoul? Can her awesome attacks really make a difference against Cuba? And if she fails, will she stay with the National Team or will she seek lucrative offers overseas? Whatever she does and wherever she goes, Zhenja will always brandish that charming personality as the other side of a very shiny coin.