original: https://www.sport-express.ru/figure...henko-skolko-zarabatyvayut-figuristy-1553511/
translation: me
- Serafima, you are just back from Turkey. How was your vacation there? "All inclusive" is a little associated with certain degradation - "Tagil", all that. [Note: there is a certain association about poor and not very educated people going to "all inclusive" hotels]
- I had a good rest. I always go there with my mother, I like it, because I don’t need to think about what to cook, I don't need to make extra effort, everything is included, yes. Sea, pool nearby. For my activities, this is the perfect vacation!
Degradation? I have have entirely different feeling. I almost never use the Internet there, maybe half an hour a day, and communicate with people. I am not an open person, an introvert, and I rarely do it at home. And there... This is kind of a syndrome. You can tell people everything because you won't see them anymore. And they are simpler, always inviting to hang out and go to parties.
- A figure skater can afford a cocktail off-season?
- Probably. No one strictly forbids it. But I do not like alcohol, I do not drink. Although this time my mother and I went to a club, and I danced there for 4 hours without a break. Didn't drink a single drop. And nothing happened, everything is fine, I was a huge success, people watched and clapped.
- Well, with your choreography.
- Yes. (laughs)
- Since training and camps have now started, what kind of music will you be dancing to on the ice? The short program is known - "Megapolis", but the free?
- "Cherbourg Umbrellas". At first I didn’t really want to, but Angelina Nikolaevna said she clearly sees me in this program. I trusted her. In general, I love my coach, so I agreed. She cut the music herself, it turned out great.
- Will you increase difficulty? The trend of the season, apparently, are quads. You had plans for a quad Salchow. Does it work?
- Not really plans, I'm trying, working. I am not afraid, which is very important. That is, I can jump it at least 20 times per workout. So far there have been no clean attempts. I rotate it, but fall.
- Is it the merit of Trusova and juniors from Tutberidze team that everyone is learning quads?
- Of course, it is.
- If you watched the World Championship, what did you feel when Tursynbayeva landed her quad? Was there a feeling that this is a historical moment?
- Maybe it's bad, maybe it's good, but I didn't feel anything. That is, I am very happy for her, she did great. But she did it and thats it.
- Did you expect such a return from Evgenia Medvedeva?
- I waited for this moment all season, waited for such a performance! Because I believed in Zhenka [note: diminutive for Zhenya]. And I continue to believe that everything will be fine. We saw each other before the final of the Russian Cup, when she was preparing in St. Petersburg. She really became different. She began to think differently, in a more mature way, freer in emotions. Before that, she was tense. As at war, you know. In general, I notice that many skaters are now becoming more relaxed in communication.
- Is it really such an influence of Canada after leaving Eteri Tutberidze?
- It seems to me that in this case the opposite happened. Zhenya changed and left after that. I, too, have changed with Angelina Nikolaevna, in fact. But I am not planning to leave! (laughs)
- Based on calculations, you will participate in the Grand Prix in the upcoming season. Mentally prepared?
- I'm still getting ready just for the next season. If they give me a Grand Prix event, it will be great. Another great chance to show myself.
- Do not you think the selection at the Grand Prix is somehow unclear? There are many criteria, and even now you do not know whether you will be invited.
- Like any rule, it is correct. But what about intrigue? Without it it's no fun! Let's also remove the jumps and spins from the programs and even do three competitions per season. This is a sport, nothing should be on the surface.
- There is crazy competition among ladies. The awareness there are so many ladies affects you?
- I am in a dome with my coach, I do not think about it. Such thoughts really interfere, you just put too much pressure on yourself.
- But still, how does it feel to realize that, with a result of 203 points, you are not even close to the national team?
- This is my problem, not others, and the point is not in competition. I myself got only 203 points. In Tallinn, I skated far from perfect. I have to work on myself, and not think about competition. If you think about it, you can end up very far from the top.
- You already had such experience, did these thoughts interfere in the past?
- Not. Those seasons that I failed were not particularly competitive.
- Which makes it even more sad for you.
- We should not look back. I see no reason to be upset about what happened, I will not change it. You can only prevent it in the future.
- But you understand why it happened?
- Yes. I sometimes, in interviews of figure skaters, i read “it didn’t work, I don’t know why, we are figuring it out”. For me it is strange. I always know why.
When you skate with a coach such as Eteri Tutberidze, all attention is on you, you are at the top. And then you feel ashamed for every mistake with your next coach. You fell and it seems that this is the end. That it is my coach doing something wrong, since there are no such results as with Eteri Georgievna. I am the one to blame, but also my coach. Now I understand that it is not like this.
- How did reach this understanding?
- With the move to Evgeny Viktorovich [Note: Plushenko]. There, I trained with Yulia Lavrenchuk and Alexey Vasilevsky, and they didn’t scold me at all. They used my work ethics as an example for the younger and even the older boys. When I start to jump, nobody can stop me. I jump up mistakes, of course, I do it wrong in a hurry, and this also affects the muscle memory. And at the competitions all these “wonderful” jumps showed up.
They were able to send it in the right direction, stopped me. They gave me confidence, and we still keep in touch.
- Why you didn't keep working with them?
- They were fired. For what? It did not depend on us, unfortunately.
But still it was not easy in Moscow. I did not live in a rented apartment, but rented a room. This is just insane! I lived with the owner, a woman, thank God, not with some strange people, men. In general, it was ok. But when I washed my face, they screamed at me for every extra drop of water. It wouldn't be so bad if my mom did it, but a stranger... It becomes scary. And there is no one around, no parents. As a result, at some point I stopped thinking about figure skating, I was crushed by all this. Injury, inability to jump, apartment, coaches being fired... In fact, I quit for a month and a half.
- And how did you return?
- I remember well that day - March 8th. My mother was reading a forum forum and saw that Nastya [note: Gubanova] had left Angelina Nikolaevna. And I thought this is a sign, it is my chance. I have to continue, I can still do something in the sport.
- And in general, did you like Moscow as a St. Petersburg native, despite the shared apartment?
- In fact, in St. Petersburg, I had almost no friends, no support. That is, I had no one to go to the movies, and all that. It just looks like it makes no difference for a figure skater. But these emotions are very helpful. And when I moved to Moscow for the second time, Evgeny Viktorovich had a very cool group, such a team! All for one, as a family. Words can not convey it.
In St. Petersburg before Moscow, I was downtrodden. And when they treat you like rubbish, it's unpleasant. The group thought - well, her skate. As an extra bag. Perhaps some people treat others based on their achievements. Thank God, now there are no such people around me.
And then, in Moscow, they told me how hard working I am, how hard I work. But in essence, you believe in what you convinced yourself of, and that is what happens. When I thought about bad things, they happened. And then I was inspired by something good, and I keep carrying it in myself. Angelina Nikolaevna is very helpful in this, always gives tips. Together with Svetlana Korol, they did a lot for me.
- This feeling of, forgive me, "bag" - it lasted for a long time?
- Two and a half years. 2016, 2017 and the first part of the 2018th.
- You have worked with many great coaches. Let's try to describe each of them in one or two words. Evgeny Plushenko?
- Chief, boss. He did not coach directly, he gave ice time, coaches, a general scheme. All were afraid of him: "Oh, Evgeny Viktorovich came!" And everyone is trembling.
- Evgeny Rukavitsin?
- He tried to do a lot for me, but I could not trust him. Got to him after Eteri Georgievna and just did not trust him, it didn't work for me. It was purely my problem, the team tried to do everything for me, but it was like this.
- Eteri Tutberidze?
- (long pause) It is very difficult. She's so different. Everyone thinks she is evil, but she is not evil, she just sometimes is a little strict. But she motivates incredibly! You're just ready to go out and jump all the quads at once.
- And Sergey Dudakov?
- He, on the contrary, is very calm. He and Eteri Georgievna are as fire and water. And get along well. Yin and Yang, one can say. If she overdoes somewhere, he will always calm everybody down.
- Do you study at a sports university?
- It is an Olympic reserve school, and I study to be a coach.
- Was this question ever raised, study or sport? Polina Tsurskaya faced it, and she chose the first.
- I've never had it like this. Because my mother always supported me. She never said: "You are done, Sima, finish, go study, you need to earn money, you are a financial burden to me” ... She will give the last ruble for camps, so that I can skate.
- After Tallinn, didn’t you earn anything?
- Not a dime. On "Challengers", there is no prize money. I also do not get the team salary. My mother is paying my bills.
- But there must be some kind of salary, at least regional.
- None. Seriously. I have nothing.
- And this person is in the top 20 best results of the season. Your mother works on an ambulance, if I'm not mistaken [note: thats a not well paid job]. So how to live, then?
- Very hard. True.
- Don't you think that often, when they put a child in figure skating, parents fullfill their own ambitions rather than their child's?
- Parents always put children into sports, so that the child is healthy, so that the child is busy something. My mother put me there so I'd be fit and strong. And then it goes like this: if after the first or second grade there is zero progress, the outcome is clear. Therefore, my mother and I waited for a few years, if it did not work out - we would have searched for another sport, direction for development. But overall, I started very late, when I was 7 years old.
- In the women's skating we now have an insane generation full of stars. What is wrong with men?
- Of course, it is necessary to ask them. I can express the opinion of an outsider. First, it seems to me that men in other countries are now very strong, Chen, Hanyu, and we don’t have such people who are ready to reach up for the skies. Maybe there is no motivation. But it's about the boys themselves. That is, there is no such thing - insufficient funding or something like that. Because in any conditions you can show the result. In Egypt, of course, you will not become a world champion, but still. The issue is in their heads, because they are probably doing great in training, but at competitions... I struggled with it myself. I will not say that I overcame it, but I managed to manage it.
- Do you feel that you are at the peak?
- According to statistics - it turns out, yes. I have never received so much in international or Russian competitions. I could not dream of such a thing! I now feel just fine. Close to perfect harmony with the body and mind. Because people believe in me.
translation: me
- Serafima, you are just back from Turkey. How was your vacation there? "All inclusive" is a little associated with certain degradation - "Tagil", all that. [Note: there is a certain association about poor and not very educated people going to "all inclusive" hotels]
- I had a good rest. I always go there with my mother, I like it, because I don’t need to think about what to cook, I don't need to make extra effort, everything is included, yes. Sea, pool nearby. For my activities, this is the perfect vacation!
Degradation? I have have entirely different feeling. I almost never use the Internet there, maybe half an hour a day, and communicate with people. I am not an open person, an introvert, and I rarely do it at home. And there... This is kind of a syndrome. You can tell people everything because you won't see them anymore. And they are simpler, always inviting to hang out and go to parties.
- A figure skater can afford a cocktail off-season?
- Probably. No one strictly forbids it. But I do not like alcohol, I do not drink. Although this time my mother and I went to a club, and I danced there for 4 hours without a break. Didn't drink a single drop. And nothing happened, everything is fine, I was a huge success, people watched and clapped.
- Well, with your choreography.
- Yes. (laughs)
- Since training and camps have now started, what kind of music will you be dancing to on the ice? The short program is known - "Megapolis", but the free?
- "Cherbourg Umbrellas". At first I didn’t really want to, but Angelina Nikolaevna said she clearly sees me in this program. I trusted her. In general, I love my coach, so I agreed. She cut the music herself, it turned out great.
- Will you increase difficulty? The trend of the season, apparently, are quads. You had plans for a quad Salchow. Does it work?
- Not really plans, I'm trying, working. I am not afraid, which is very important. That is, I can jump it at least 20 times per workout. So far there have been no clean attempts. I rotate it, but fall.
- Is it the merit of Trusova and juniors from Tutberidze team that everyone is learning quads?
- Of course, it is.
- If you watched the World Championship, what did you feel when Tursynbayeva landed her quad? Was there a feeling that this is a historical moment?
- Maybe it's bad, maybe it's good, but I didn't feel anything. That is, I am very happy for her, she did great. But she did it and thats it.
- Did you expect such a return from Evgenia Medvedeva?
- I waited for this moment all season, waited for such a performance! Because I believed in Zhenka [note: diminutive for Zhenya]. And I continue to believe that everything will be fine. We saw each other before the final of the Russian Cup, when she was preparing in St. Petersburg. She really became different. She began to think differently, in a more mature way, freer in emotions. Before that, she was tense. As at war, you know. In general, I notice that many skaters are now becoming more relaxed in communication.
- Is it really such an influence of Canada after leaving Eteri Tutberidze?
- It seems to me that in this case the opposite happened. Zhenya changed and left after that. I, too, have changed with Angelina Nikolaevna, in fact. But I am not planning to leave! (laughs)
- Based on calculations, you will participate in the Grand Prix in the upcoming season. Mentally prepared?
- I'm still getting ready just for the next season. If they give me a Grand Prix event, it will be great. Another great chance to show myself.
- Do not you think the selection at the Grand Prix is somehow unclear? There are many criteria, and even now you do not know whether you will be invited.
- Like any rule, it is correct. But what about intrigue? Without it it's no fun! Let's also remove the jumps and spins from the programs and even do three competitions per season. This is a sport, nothing should be on the surface.
- There is crazy competition among ladies. The awareness there are so many ladies affects you?
- I am in a dome with my coach, I do not think about it. Such thoughts really interfere, you just put too much pressure on yourself.
- But still, how does it feel to realize that, with a result of 203 points, you are not even close to the national team?
- This is my problem, not others, and the point is not in competition. I myself got only 203 points. In Tallinn, I skated far from perfect. I have to work on myself, and not think about competition. If you think about it, you can end up very far from the top.
- You already had such experience, did these thoughts interfere in the past?
- Not. Those seasons that I failed were not particularly competitive.
- Which makes it even more sad for you.
- We should not look back. I see no reason to be upset about what happened, I will not change it. You can only prevent it in the future.
- But you understand why it happened?
- Yes. I sometimes, in interviews of figure skaters, i read “it didn’t work, I don’t know why, we are figuring it out”. For me it is strange. I always know why.
When you skate with a coach such as Eteri Tutberidze, all attention is on you, you are at the top. And then you feel ashamed for every mistake with your next coach. You fell and it seems that this is the end. That it is my coach doing something wrong, since there are no such results as with Eteri Georgievna. I am the one to blame, but also my coach. Now I understand that it is not like this.
- How did reach this understanding?
- With the move to Evgeny Viktorovich [Note: Plushenko]. There, I trained with Yulia Lavrenchuk and Alexey Vasilevsky, and they didn’t scold me at all. They used my work ethics as an example for the younger and even the older boys. When I start to jump, nobody can stop me. I jump up mistakes, of course, I do it wrong in a hurry, and this also affects the muscle memory. And at the competitions all these “wonderful” jumps showed up.
They were able to send it in the right direction, stopped me. They gave me confidence, and we still keep in touch.
- Why you didn't keep working with them?
- They were fired. For what? It did not depend on us, unfortunately.
But still it was not easy in Moscow. I did not live in a rented apartment, but rented a room. This is just insane! I lived with the owner, a woman, thank God, not with some strange people, men. In general, it was ok. But when I washed my face, they screamed at me for every extra drop of water. It wouldn't be so bad if my mom did it, but a stranger... It becomes scary. And there is no one around, no parents. As a result, at some point I stopped thinking about figure skating, I was crushed by all this. Injury, inability to jump, apartment, coaches being fired... In fact, I quit for a month and a half.
- And how did you return?
- I remember well that day - March 8th. My mother was reading a forum forum and saw that Nastya [note: Gubanova] had left Angelina Nikolaevna. And I thought this is a sign, it is my chance. I have to continue, I can still do something in the sport.
- And in general, did you like Moscow as a St. Petersburg native, despite the shared apartment?
- In fact, in St. Petersburg, I had almost no friends, no support. That is, I had no one to go to the movies, and all that. It just looks like it makes no difference for a figure skater. But these emotions are very helpful. And when I moved to Moscow for the second time, Evgeny Viktorovich had a very cool group, such a team! All for one, as a family. Words can not convey it.
In St. Petersburg before Moscow, I was downtrodden. And when they treat you like rubbish, it's unpleasant. The group thought - well, her skate. As an extra bag. Perhaps some people treat others based on their achievements. Thank God, now there are no such people around me.
And then, in Moscow, they told me how hard working I am, how hard I work. But in essence, you believe in what you convinced yourself of, and that is what happens. When I thought about bad things, they happened. And then I was inspired by something good, and I keep carrying it in myself. Angelina Nikolaevna is very helpful in this, always gives tips. Together with Svetlana Korol, they did a lot for me.
- This feeling of, forgive me, "bag" - it lasted for a long time?
- Two and a half years. 2016, 2017 and the first part of the 2018th.
- You have worked with many great coaches. Let's try to describe each of them in one or two words. Evgeny Plushenko?
- Chief, boss. He did not coach directly, he gave ice time, coaches, a general scheme. All were afraid of him: "Oh, Evgeny Viktorovich came!" And everyone is trembling.
- Evgeny Rukavitsin?
- He tried to do a lot for me, but I could not trust him. Got to him after Eteri Georgievna and just did not trust him, it didn't work for me. It was purely my problem, the team tried to do everything for me, but it was like this.
- Eteri Tutberidze?
- (long pause) It is very difficult. She's so different. Everyone thinks she is evil, but she is not evil, she just sometimes is a little strict. But she motivates incredibly! You're just ready to go out and jump all the quads at once.
- And Sergey Dudakov?
- He, on the contrary, is very calm. He and Eteri Georgievna are as fire and water. And get along well. Yin and Yang, one can say. If she overdoes somewhere, he will always calm everybody down.
- Do you study at a sports university?
- It is an Olympic reserve school, and I study to be a coach.
- Was this question ever raised, study or sport? Polina Tsurskaya faced it, and she chose the first.
- I've never had it like this. Because my mother always supported me. She never said: "You are done, Sima, finish, go study, you need to earn money, you are a financial burden to me” ... She will give the last ruble for camps, so that I can skate.
- After Tallinn, didn’t you earn anything?
- Not a dime. On "Challengers", there is no prize money. I also do not get the team salary. My mother is paying my bills.
- But there must be some kind of salary, at least regional.
- None. Seriously. I have nothing.
- And this person is in the top 20 best results of the season. Your mother works on an ambulance, if I'm not mistaken [note: thats a not well paid job]. So how to live, then?
- Very hard. True.
- Don't you think that often, when they put a child in figure skating, parents fullfill their own ambitions rather than their child's?
- Parents always put children into sports, so that the child is healthy, so that the child is busy something. My mother put me there so I'd be fit and strong. And then it goes like this: if after the first or second grade there is zero progress, the outcome is clear. Therefore, my mother and I waited for a few years, if it did not work out - we would have searched for another sport, direction for development. But overall, I started very late, when I was 7 years old.
- In the women's skating we now have an insane generation full of stars. What is wrong with men?
- Of course, it is necessary to ask them. I can express the opinion of an outsider. First, it seems to me that men in other countries are now very strong, Chen, Hanyu, and we don’t have such people who are ready to reach up for the skies. Maybe there is no motivation. But it's about the boys themselves. That is, there is no such thing - insufficient funding or something like that. Because in any conditions you can show the result. In Egypt, of course, you will not become a world champion, but still. The issue is in their heads, because they are probably doing great in training, but at competitions... I struggled with it myself. I will not say that I overcame it, but I managed to manage it.
- Do you feel that you are at the peak?
- According to statistics - it turns out, yes. I have never received so much in international or Russian competitions. I could not dream of such a thing! I now feel just fine. Close to perfect harmony with the body and mind. Because people believe in me.
)
?) was she skating to in 2018/2019? I really liked it and didn't catch the title, tried to look for it but with no effect
Maybe she can make it next time
