Alexander Samarin: 'All setbacks make me stronger' | Golden Skate

Alexander Samarin: 'All setbacks make me stronger'

gsk8

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Country
United-States
Last month, Alexander Samarin headed into the ISU European Figure Skating Championships as the "number three" of the Russian men. The national bronze medalist competed alongside teammates Maxim Kovtun, four-time and current Russian champion, and Mikhail Kolyada, two-time Russian champion and current silver medalist. In a field of what began with 37 men, Samarin took the silver medal, trailing the new and old European Champion Javier Fernandez by less than two points.

More...

Samarin has been doing the quad Lutz since the past season, but the flip is new, and the skater surprised himself with how fast he learned it.


“I did the quad flip just before New Year’s Eve,” he offered. “I made myself a present. Actually we wanted to learn another jump, but I came to my coach myself and said, ‘maybe it’s better to try this one’ and I went for it and landed it on my second attempt. I guess it’s the fastest I’ve ever learned a jump. I’ve tried different quads, but [until then] I never went for the flip. Now I have to do it in competition. The Lutz and flip will be a good claim.”

What are your thoughts on his performances? How do you think he will fare at Worlds?
 
Last edited:

ladyjane

Medalist
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
Country
Netherlands
Nice article, I like it that he is very aware of his shortcomings. And acting on them. I also admire his stance towards Javier. Of course he wanted to win, and he got real close (I think it was the first and the last time Javier didn't have a runaway victory at Europeans of all the 7 golds) too, but there are worse lose situations than with Javi in the mix! He still looks up to Javier, and rightly so, but he is definitely on the way up. I may not really like his style of skating, but I love his grit and spirit! And he gets the jumps.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Great article. Thanks to GS and Tatiana Flade. I was intrigued by this part.

Samarin is mostly known for his jumping ability and has often been criticized for lacking in the components department. He and coach Svetlana Sokolovskaia have taken that criticism to heart. The 2017 World Junior bronze medalist has started to work with former ice dancer Vitali Butikov to improve his skating skills, and since the fall, has been working on the floor with dancer Ramil Mekhdiev from Igor Moiseev’s famous Russian dance ensemble.

Looking forward to the results next season.
 

gsk8

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Country
United-States
He scored new personal bests at Euros. He should make the top 10 at Worlds if he performs well (depending on how others skate).

Personal Best Total Score 269.84
Personal Best Score Short Program 91.97
Personal Best Score Free Skating 177.87
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Samarin himself selected the music for both his short and long program this season (“Cold Blood” by Dave Not Dave and music from The Greatest Showman soundtrack).

The skater felt that the short program was his style and hopes the audience is enjoying it, admitting that the lyrics are a “bit daring.” ...

“The text is a bit provocative indeed, but I really like that song and have fun skating to it,” he said. “I don’t emphasize the lyrics. I know the translation of the lyrics, but it’s not about that, we’re just expressing the character. I didn’t get any comments from judges about it.”

OK, so this part made me look up the lyrics to see what the fuss was about. I guess the singer is supposed to be a thug who goes around murdering people? Personally (being blissfully unaware of all that) I thought that Samarin did a fine job of following the musical tempo and phrasing.

Question for GSers. Did the lyrics bother you at all? (Lots of skaters have done "Mack the Knife.")
 
Top