Javier Fernandez | Page 124 | Golden Skate

Javier Fernandez

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
In a month´s time we are going to see Javier´s performances from Rostelecom Cup, great that real skating competitions = GP are starting in a couple of weeks...
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland

Thanks for the info! WOW, that is sooo fantastic for a skater like Javi to get noticed and so wonderfully appreciated by getting the King Felipe Award (it sounds amazing)!!!!!
 
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xibsuarz

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2015
It's live here: https://www.facebook.com/elpaisdeportes/videos/559866034205472/

EDIT: I watched even though I only understood "Si, klaro" (claro?). The video is here: https://www.facebook.com/elpaisdeportes/videos/559949240863818/ I hope someone who know Spanish will translate the parts that might be something new :)

Thank you for posting the video! There are some very interesting questions, I will try to translate them, but it might take a couple of days (exams are driving me nuts) :)
 

cathlen

Team Gorgeous Cacti!
Record Breaker
Joined
May 2, 2015
Country
Poland
Thank you for posting the video! There are some very interesting questions, I will try to translate them, but it might take a couple of days (exams are driving me nuts) :)

Thanks! Take your time! :thank:
 

Yatagarasu

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 29, 2015
This might interest you guys too

Jackie Wong ‏@rockerskating 16s17 seconds ago
Jackie Wong Retweeted Hieloespanol
In a Q&A with El Pais, Javier Fernandez notes that he is not planning on adding the quad loop to his programs
Link to tweet
 

JuliettaG

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
It's a long talk! I'll try to do a recap... First he talks about figure skating in Spain and about what he does with his costumes when he doesn't use them anymore (his mother keeps them like trophies:laugh:) They talk about other things but not important...
About the minute 10 they ask him about his strategy this year with quads, the person who did the question asks Javi about Yuzuru doing the 4lo. His answer:
-Well, this is the idea we have.It's true that this year we've seen skaters doing more quads. Right now I do two at the SP and three at the LP, when others do two at the SP and five at the LP, their tech points are high if they do the quads correctly.I did the 4lo, like Yuzuru, but I don't expect to do it in a program, because It's a waste of training time. We think we can spend this time in other things because here the judges don't give any bonus for doing three different quads. Yuzuru is going to do four quads at LP but my strategy is completely different. I'm doing the same strategy as last year, and I want to do a perfect program in all of the competitions.

Then they ask Javi who fears the most, Yuzuru or Shoma:
- The two of them because they are younger. They have a way of training, they don't get tired. Because they are younger, they can do more things than me, because I'm among the oldest in this sport. Both of them have a lot of talent and I have to keep an eye on them at competitions, so I have to do my best work. All the skaters are a threat, so I have to try to be the best.

The interviewer asks Javi until when he'll keep competing.
-Now I'm 25 and I think in a couple of years... I'll have to think about. I'll go to the next olympic games and then I'll have to study if I want to skate two more years, or four... Right now, I can tell you that I'm going to keep competing until Korea and then I most probably quit, but I don't know for sure.

This are the most interesting parts,later If I have time I'll translate some more
 
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MeltedIce

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 17, 2016
Thanks JuliettaG!! I'll try to watch it too.
I confess I'm a bit worried about his strategy. If his programs have less base value because he includes less elements, won't he be depending on Hanyu/Uno/Chan to fail in order to win?
 

uhh

Medalist
Joined
Nov 19, 2013
If he is clean, the only skater who can beat him is Hanyu. Chen, Jin & Uno have more complex jumps, but they can't compete on PCS, and they don't get such consistent levels & high GOE on their spins and footwork. Plus, you have to pace yourself over the season - we have seen already last year Chen's injuries from doing a quad in the US Nats gala, and Yuzuru's foot problem at the end of the season. Maybe theoretically these other guys have the base value to beat Javi, but that means nothing if by Worlds they are injured from the strain that doing so many quads puts on their bodies.
 

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION 🔥
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Country
United-States
Translating a few more things:

He comments on his relationship with Plushenko. He says Plushenko is a great athlete and a great person. He gets along very well with him. P. loves all kinds of sports, among them football and golf. They have talked about how Javi and Yuzu have been pushing the level of the sport higher with their difficult elements. Javi has great respect for P., as he has won everything there is to win!

He says they don't really party too much in Canada. He hangs out with Sonia and Javier Raya, and sometimes they will go out for dinner together and spend their holidays together.

When asked how they go about creating his free programs, he didn't give too many details but said he goes on the ice with his choreographer and his trainer and with his three Elvis songs they try to create the best moves. He says there are still things that they need to change, but so far he really likes the program and can see that it has a lot of potential.

He responded to the question of how does he cope with the schedule changes when he is competing. He said you have to approach it in a very intelligent manner and take things into consideration about how far you are traveling, should you sleep on the airplane, when are you going to sleep. Also your food situation changes because you are out of your home environment. He has found that taking powders (protein powders, I assume) and making milkshake type meals has been helpful for him, even though it is not ideal. Stress also plays a big role. You have to learn how to concentrate and focus - training is competition and competition is training. You feel better and more confident when you know you are well prepared.

When asked if he might be interested in pairs or ice dancing, he laughed and said that although he loves both of those disciplines, he doesn't think he will do either one! He knows it is a totally different training regimen, and it is enough to do singles! :)

He spoke about the difficulty of moving the sport forward in Spain. He said it is a very complex issue that he could talk about for days. He mentioned the expense and the difficulty of getting sponsors to participate, but he seemed optimistic that the sport will grow in popularity.

He commented on his relationship with the press and said that sometimes he is tired and really wants his privacy, but he realizes it is important to tell news about the skating world. He thinks the media people in Spain do a great job, and he tries to make time to make himself available for radio and TV interviews and newspapers. He said after Worlds, things were pretty crazy for awhile -- i.e. the phone never stopped ringing!...He also mentioned he did an interview on TV in Japan with Miki, but he only said a few words! :drama:

My favorite question -- Where is his toupee?! At first I didn't understand this, but I guess they were referring to where is his Elvis hairstyle?! He said he can't grow his hair in 2 days, but he is letting it grow a little (on top?) so he can look more like Elvis!
 
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xibsuarz

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2015
Thanks JuliettaG!! I'll try to watch it too.
I confess I'm a bit worried about his strategy. If his programs have less base value because he includes less elements, won't he be depending on Hanyu/Uno/Chan to fail in order to win?

Perhaps not on Patrick (since I think his BV is still a bit higher, and he now gets higher PCS than him). Shoma...that will be hard to say. Shoma will most likely no get Javier's PCS, but he is not that far behind so the TES advantage could play in Shoma's favor. We'll have to see at COR.
But he has to rely on Yuzuru making mistakes for sure.
 

MeltedIce

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 17, 2016
A few more sections of the interview:

* Asked about how he is handling the pressure of having to defend two world titles this year and if he is afraid of Hanyu, Javi says Yuzuru is young and very talented, with a long career ahead of him. He just focus on doing his job at every competition and hopes that the best.

* About his choreography, he explains how he works with Brian and David (he says coach and choreographer, but I think David Wilson is repeating this season, please, correct me if I'm wrong) to find the best fit to his style and way of skating which the public would also like.

* He is repeating last year short program "Malagueña" (an improved version he says :scratch2:) and for the free program he is performing Elvis.

* Cute moment when his sister asks him what did he do after trainings, that he was always the last to leave :laugh:
He says it was a hard moment for the family when he decided to continue skating but her sister abandoned it for her studies.

* He is asked if he is ever think about doing pairs or dancing, besides the single men competitions, but he says they are very different kind of competitions and he is not capable of doing both at top level

* Asked about future generations (in Spain) he says there's a lot of talent today in juniors, but it's difficult to know how that will translate into the senior competitions.

* They talk about the economic cost for families to have a child train and compete in Spain, where there are no public help and very few ice rings. He talks about a project he has to create an agency to sponsor young skaters.

* Talking about his chances of repeating as European and World Champions, he says he thinks he has a better chance at the Europeans as most of his greatest rivals are from Japan and America (I believe he is thinking of both USA & Canada, but that's just an impresion)

* How is Plushenko at short distances? :rofl2: Who you go out with to party in Canada? He says Plushenko is one the greatest persons and skaters ever, and makes him laugh a lot. About partying in Canada, he says he does not, really, but usually meets with Javier Raya and Sonia Lafuente.

* He talks about his group of friends, inside and outside of the skating world, how they support each other, even from the other side of the world.

* About competing with jet lag, he explains the best is planing very carefully sleeping and traveling hours, besides lots of hours of training.

* He ends up the interview talking about his competitions this season, and how is going to try to win the GPF, which he still has not won.


And I think that's all (more or less :) )
 

xibsuarz

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2015
Thanks JuliettaG!! I'll try to watch it too.
I confess I'm a bit worried about his strategy. If his programs have less base value because he includes less elements, won't he be depending on Hanyu/Uno/Chan to fail in order to win?

If Javi's clean I don't think anyone but a clean Yuzuru can beat him. Javier since he still holds some TES advantage over Patrick and he gets higher PCS than him now. Shoma...hard to tell if they both make mistakes. Shoma will most likely still be behind in PCS but the difference is not that big, and his TES advantage could help him overcome that (as we saw in JO). But he has to rely on Yuzuru making mistakes for sure.

BTW, welcome Meltedice!! :ghug:
 
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Sorrento

Record Breaker
Joined
May 28, 2014
My favorite question -- Where is his toupee?! At first I didn't understand this, but I guess they were referring to where is his Elvis hairstyle?! He said he can't grow his hair in 2 days, but he is letting it grow a little (on top?) so he can look more like Elvis!
It's funny that both him and Yuzu are doing longer hairstyle programs this season- Javier does Elvis and Yuzu does Prince. Perhaps they could share some hairstyle secrets during the season.:laugh:
 

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION 🔥
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Country
United-States
It's funny that both him and Yuzu are doing longer hairstyle programs this season- Javier does Elvis and Yuzu does Prince. Perhaps they could share some hairstyle secrets during the season.:laugh:

:laugh2: You're right about the longer hairstyle thing for both of them. Didn't even think of that! I kept picturing Javi with this LONG hair on top and Elvis-style sideburns and couldn't help but laugh. If he ever uses this program as an EX, he will definitely have to wear a toupee. Maybe not for competition though! So I guess for the Malaguena SP, he'll have to slick his hair back! :drama:
 
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