Ekaterina Kurakova | Page 8 | Golden Skate

Ekaterina Kurakova

MGstyle

Crawling around on the ice after chestnuts
Medalist
Joined
Sep 1, 2015
I can't believe her second mark is so low. I thought she was clearly in her own class out there. Anyway I could easily imagine Ted's heart eyes while commentating on her :love: and I can't blame him :yay:
 

DenissVFan

Medalist
Joined
Oct 20, 2017
Congrats on two great performances! :) Ted was about to melt haha. She's so cute :)

The score was... not ideal but I hope she can score better in seniors. I guess it's rather likely that we'll see her at the Polish Challenger.
 

EdgeCall

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 31, 2012
She was the cutest little sunshine in Poland today and I enjoyed her performance more than those of the medalists. I hope she can make this passion of hers her trademark.
 

Dashw

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
What a wonderful skater! I didn't understand why she was skating in junior events, so I read earlier posts in this fan fest.She seems better than many senior skaters. I remember hearing of Orser coaching a Polish skater, but didn't realize Katia was Russian til recently. I hope we see her on the senior circuit soon.
 

Edwin

СделаноВХрустальном!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Katya Kurakova: "I want to bring people joy." Interview from the JGP stage in Riga.

Maya Bagriantseva When met live, Katya turns out to be the same as on ice and in the K&C: joyful, smiling infinitely and very positive. A petite girl, polite and attentive, easy to talk with, very mature, and even competent in the Russian language. Not just any interview, but pure pleasure. By the way, Katya and I had to change the venue: that evening's doping control messed up our plans, and on the morning of the day of departure, Katya went out to inspect Riga ("well, I can’t leave without taking a walk around the city, it’s very interesting"), so we had to talk while at the airport, right before flying to Warsaw.

Q: Katya, after your short program, in the K&C you said some phrase in Polish, what was that?
A: “Buzyachki to Torun.” Buzachki is like small kisses, and Torun is the city that I represent, there is the ice club that I represent.

Q: Have you already taught Brian Orser some Polish phrases?
A: Not yet, but it will be necessary to choose a word this season and rehearse it. For this, “buzachki" is perfect (laughs).

Q: Well, what are the general sensations from the stage in Riga?
A: Joy. It was my first official international start, I was here for the first time representing Poland. That is, it was my debut, premiere. So, a week ago they issued me with a new national uniform, it is so beautiful, I really like it. Now my next stage is Gdansk.

Q: How did you come to this idea about moving to Poland?
A: I think it was like a joined path. It was the first time I came to compete in Poland, and I enjoyed performing there so much, I liked the city and the people in the club so much. Representatives of the Polish side talked to us then, and later my parents called in and already started to discuss everything. When I joined the Polish team, Marek Kalizhek from the Federation said that we are one family. And at first, maybe these were just beautiful words, but now I feel good, and yes, we are one big friendly family where everyone supports each other.

Q: Have you set yourself and the coaching staff any specific goals for the season ?
A: Yes, we want to present me as a skater from the very best side. That I am a good athlete, I am not going to give up and lose, that I can be strong, positive and bring happiness on ice. Well, of course, this season I need to earn rating points, this is the last season when I can compete in both juniors and seniors, so I need to use this opportunity. We will perform as often as possible and earn a rating.

Q: The plans for juniors are understandable, but for seniors?
A: European Championship and World Championship. As for the national selection, in December we will have the Polish Championship, by the way, it is combined with the Four Countries Championship (which I won last year). But that's not all. To get away from Poland for the main starts of the season, you need to earn national rating points inside Poland. It will be necessary to perform at two more national starts, in addition to the national championship. One tournament will be the stage of the Junior Grand Prix in Gdansk, plus I will also perform at one Challenger tournament.

Q: How did you spend the 'quarantine season'?
A: We worked a lot on sliding, I even matured in that aspect, because I realised that figure skating isn't all about jumping. This is “skating,” you must be able to do it well. So you look at this athlete and want to see a full program, and not only jumps. For example, I usually watch someone’s performances, and if I’m not interested, I only watch jump after jump, so, 'well done, well done, and now we better push 'fast forward'.
I want that when people watch me, they watch my whole performance, rather than 'fast forwarding' the program. We also worked a lot on jumps, both on the triple Axel and on complicating the program. At the end of spring, I had training camps with Brian in China, we could skate there for two hours and practice sliding. Artistry is also very important, that is, being able to convey to the viewer what you want to say. Then the audience will feel you, and support from the stands is very pleasant.

I am the only one in the world doing the Lutz-Euler-Flip, so when I went into my first cascade yesterday, of course, inside I understood, I would be the one who'd show it first. I went and just like in a movie, I only hear my own breathing, I wet Lutz, Flip - and then I hear the whole audience start screaming, applauding, and it makes me even more charged to go forward, and with each jump it becomes easier and easier. In the end, on the steps sequence, I immediately exploded from within from emotions, I wanted to smile, laugh, hug everyone.

Q: After the short program, you and Brian came up to the monitor with the results - and you had pretty surprised faces.
A: Well, I was a little surprised by the indicated underrotation on the Lutz-Euler-Flip cascade, to me it seemed it was good. Then Brian also said that he liked the cascade, and various other people later approached me and said that they did not agree with this decision.

But I can’t say that I have a negative attitude towards this or I want to say something bad to the judges, no. This is just an additional reason for me to work even harder and make my elements so perfect in the future that no one will have any questions at all. That is, I just need to jump, jump, jump, and jump.

Q: And then on the Internet you read about yourself?
A: Yes, although I can’t say that social networks make up most of my life.

Q: Good, but how do you deal with negativity from the fans, with all this network h@tred?
A: I deal with this well. I read everything, and after my first competitions there was some h@tred, and I was showered with obscenities, there was a lot of negativity, they criticised me for taking too few steps, for example.
I read all of this not from the point of view of “oh, those were some bad words being said about me,” but through the prism of “oh, this person is telling me something.” Well, of course, not in those blunt expressions, but the essence is true, I agree, there were too few steps there. Later, I talked to Brian, yes, let's make that a little more complicated. I read, thought and realised that I should improve. That is, I read the h@te, but won't let the bad words get at me, but rather the meaning this person wants to convey to me. Thus, they do not insult me, but make me get even better.

Q: What did the evening after the competition look like yesterday?
A: Oh, not without adventure. I skated my free program, came off the ice very joyful. Brian said that he was proud of me, but for me it is a special phrase, it is important for me to hear it, and it means a lot to me.
I'm was feeling so happy, and suddenly a very nice woman comes up to me and says that out of 36 girls, two were selected for doping control, and I am one of them. It was also my premiere (laughs). Everything was new to me, I didn’t even know that this should be done in the presence of a doping officer, and several attempts had to be made. I think I never drank so much! In general, I eat little and drink little, during the day I sometimes drink only 300-400 ml, and then I drank a litre at once - but to no avail.
Then they just didn't solder me! They say to me: "Well, put on your skates and go skating." Well, to make my metabolism work. And now imagine this: late evening, an empty skating rink, the lights are off, it's cold - but I have a training session (laughs). In general, we spent 3 hours there, I even stopped feeling embarrassed at the end, it seems. I have a photo - one o'clock in the morning and me, happy, after doping control - “I did it!”. On competition day, my body is dehydrated and stressed. After the competitions there are so many emotions, but going to the toilet isn't amongst them.

Q: At the hotel, you probably fell to sleep like dead?
A: No, not at all. I hardly fell asleep that night. Firstly, there are so many nice text messages, instagram posts, stories, emails. I try to answer everyone, because a person spent his time, wrote to me, found some kind words, I really appreciate this and am grateful to every person. In general, I went to bed only at 4, and at five I already jumped out - we need to collect our stuff. And then I went out to explore Riga - I wanted to have time to walk around the city before the plane.

Q: Katya, who travels with you to competitions?
A: By myself. Sometimes mom flies in, but I ask her not to watch the competition. Mom is just very nervous and worried. I will sometimes ask her for some water before my start - and I see her hands shaking. I understand that she is worried, and excitement means insecurity. And I immediately begin to worry: “why my mother isn't sure I will succeed?” Therefore, I am calmer when my mother doesn't come to watch. I send her for a walk instead. About nerves, especially when you perform in the last flight, you understand you are among the strongest girls, any mistake can cost you dearly.

Q: Before you go out for your skating run, you stand and warm up at the gate alone, Brian steps aside.
A: Yes, I have my own ritual, my own words, I don’t need the trainer to stand by my side and hold my hands. I don't like this. Brian and I have a very good contact, he always feels with me. But with Ernest - the second coach - I already had not so comfortable experiences in previous competitions. He started to get nervous, I saw it, I even had to calm him down (laughs). I prefer stay by myself, I know what to tell myself, I’ve been competing for several years now, I have experience, and this is not my first coach. A certain system has already developed in my head, I know how to tune in and calm myself.

Q: What's that toy there, is this your mascot?
A: It's a polar bear - the symbol of the Olympic Games in Sochi. I was 10 years old, my first choreographer gave it to me. Well, I immediately decided that it would be my lucky talisman. I really liked working with that choreographer; I was training with Natal'ya Petrovna Dubinskaya. Well, from that time on, it became a habit. Before, I only trusted my mother to keep it, because it was something very personal and special for me.
And then I felt that I could trust my child, my bear, to Brian (laughs). I didn’t even allow anybody to wash it, only once at home, while I was gone, it was cleaned. But I don’t have any superstitions by the way. Like, "Oh, they washed my talisman, and all the luck went from it." I believe that even if without this bear on me, when I come to the competition, I myself am a lucky person, and luck does not depend on this. It all depends on me.

Q: Who does your makeup and hair?
A: I’m doing everything myself. I also invented this hairstyle myself, at the training camp. Every day I tried something new, I couldn’t find something really “mine”. I felt I've grown out from the hairstyle I had last season, I grew up, but to what I'v grown into I couldn't understand. So my hair was braided this way or that, and so on. Then I thought: “why can't this be simpler”, and everything worked out at once. I immediately liked my reflection in the mirror. A friend of mine, a boy from Canada, helped me with my make-up, his name is Corey, he also performs here. He helped me with my dress.

Q: Tell me about the costumes of this season.
A: The dress for the short program is purely my idea. When I was little, I had a similar dress - just for daily life, not for skating. I loved it very much and still remember it well. And when we staged this program, I had such easy, positive emotions, love, romance. I realised that my dress should be in the same kind: very light. And I remembered my children's polka-dot outfit, so I insisted on that colour. This whole program - it was staged not only that a person would think about something serious, but to charge people with positive emotions, so that when this person would look at my skating, his mood would improve, and he would carry on going about his own business joyfully. I don’t like when girls start to cry during their routines or in the Kiss and Cry. These are your emotions, and you shouldn't show them. No, of course, if you have a program in this vein it's another matter, then it is your image. Your dissatisfaction with your skating - no, keep it to yourself. Then go to the locker room where you can do whatever you want. In the meantime, people are looking at you, you must "keep up a face."

With the dress for my free program, my friend also helped me. As soon as the program began to appear, he immediately proposed the idea of ​​these golden butterflies on my dress. From the very beginning I knew that the dress would be pink, and then the collaboration began - with the costume seamstresses, and mine, and the trainers. Already at the sketching stage, in our joint discussion with the trainers, they say “this is good, but the neckline will not work”, Tracy (Wilson) also adds in.

Q: Are your boots new too?
A: Thank God, my feet are longer growing, now I can skate in just one pair (laughs). In the old ones, I skated for two seasons. And this year, yes, we changed brands; I’ve been on Riedels all my life and this is the first time I am on Edea's. I still had to break them in, of course. My bones hurt, I have to put silicone or foam tabs in my boots. At first, when I just started flying to competitions, I was very worried about the skates - they fly separately from me, in hold luggage, they cannot be taken as hand luggage. Therefore, I very carefully check whether there are stickers on the suitcase left from the last flight so my baggage does not fly away to another place.

Q: Is Katya Kurakova still a schoolgirl or already a student?
A: While I still have school, I am in my last year. I attend a Russian school, but I study using Skype. About future university, I think that's about attending university in Poland. I learn Polish quite intensively, I can already speak it. So what's next? I think I want to be a coach. Well, not right now, like I’ll immediately end my sports career and start training at the boarding, I still really want to go on a show. I already had experience with Ilya Averbukh, and it was just a fabulous experience. I liked it so much, I had so many emotions I had enough of them to last my till the end of season. I often look at those photos again and am just incredibly grateful that Ilya chose me then for the role of Alice. In addition to everything else, “Alice in Wonderland” is a special fairy tale for me, I always saw myself as Alice, and on trips, when I was little, I was looking for “my” hole, into which I can fall and emerge into a wonderland.

Q: Do you live in Canada most of the year? Alone?
A: Sometimes alone, sometimes with mom, sometimes with grandma. But I am doing a great job by myself, I really like it, I enjoy washing and cleaning, and preparing my meals. I like that I am an independent person and I am responsible for myself.

Q: Do you miss some Russian food in Canada, or can everything be found in Russian or Polish stores?
A: No, you can’t say about me that I’m a person who likes to eat. Since childhood, coaches in Russia instilled this in me (laughs). But in general, I have to say that I am very grateful to my Russian coaches - both for my character and for the fact that I really learned to work there, and not for the fact that “well, it didn’t work out today, I’ll try again tomorrow”. No, there is today, and I have to get the most out of every workout every day.
And keeping weight is also training, this is my shape, it is in my interests to be light, to keep fit. But at the same time, I really have a sweet tooth, if I eat little, it does not mean that I don’t eat sweets at all. I just don’t throw down some creepy amount of food, but even a small piece of chocolate before training helps me giving energy and a good mood. But after the competition there is no appetite at all, there is no desire to eat or drink, I just want to dance.

Q: I can’t resist to ask about Zhenya Medvyedeva, now you are both are having the same trainer.
A: Yes, we always train together, on the same rink. In the adult group, we have very good conditions, there are about 8 people skating together. We are friends, we communicate, I can’t really say we are the best of girlfriends, of course, but we have very good relationships. In general, I am very glad that Zhenya is here, because we compete in training, and this is just a great motivation for work. If I see Zhenya has made a cascade, I’ll go to do it too, I’ll try to get it more complicated. And then Zhenya will do 3-3-3, and I immediately understand I also need to jump this. I see that even Brian is interested in watching this, we can push each other well, and of course it is very good to have a sparring partner. It seems to me that if Zhenya hadn't been here, everything would not have been so beautiful.
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From: http://twizzle.com.ru/2019/09/20/ekaterina-kurakova-isu-jgp-riga-cup-2019/

Auto censor kept messing me about over some valid words in this context of this bubbly but still quite serious interview.
 

Giltedge

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 5, 2018
I wish they'd learn not to read them, even if they feel strong-minded. In the end, it's the only way, not even to let them impinge on their consciousness.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
Edwin, thank you for translating!

I'm so happy for her and really admire her honesty and spirit.

This whole program - it was staged not only that a person would think about something serious, but to charge people with positive emotions, so that when this person would look at my skating, his mood would improve, and he would carry on going about his own business joyfully.

It sure worked this way for me! :biggrin:
 

Agaszka

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 17, 2018
From now on Katia has Polish citizenship and get into this special financing program team100 with Ministry of Sport and Tourism. Only 3 figure skaters are in it (she and Kaliszek/Spodyriev)
 

Lunalovesskating

Moonbear power 🐻
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 3, 2018
From now on Katia has Polish citizenship and get into this special financing program team100 with Ministry of Sport and Tourism. Only 3 figure skaters are in it (she and Kaliszek/Spodyriev)

Just saw it on Twitter :) yay for Ekaterina.
 

Agaszka

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 17, 2018
Nothing that I could find, but I was talking to her at JGP in Gdańsk and she's really really good, I can tell you that. She said that writing is a little programmatic (alphabet etc.)
 
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