Vasily Konov's interview with Tamara Moskvina

[Sylvia]

Thanks @Ka3sha for originally posting these links in the FRWL thread.

Vasily Konov’s interview with Tamara Moskvina

Тамара Москвина – пары, конкуренты, принципы, семья, война, дети, Пекин

Легендарный тренер, воспитавшая олимпийских чемпионов, чемпионов мира и Европы, Тамара Москвина о положении дел в спортивных парах, возвращении Алины Загитов...

youtu.be

Text version can be found here:

Тамара Москвина: не обращаю внимания на тренеров-конкурентов

Легендарный тренер, воспитавшая олимпийских чемпионов, чемпионов мира и Европы, Тамара Москвина в интервью Василию Конову на YouTube-канале KonOff рассказала о... РИА Новости Спорт, 09.03.2021

rsport.ria.ru

The legendary coach who raised Olympic, world and European champions, Tamara Moskvina, in an interview with Vasily Konov on the KonOff YouTube channel , spoke about the state of affairs in sports pairs, the return of Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva, life with Igor Moskvin and the principles of her work.

 

[Ka3sha]

Parts I liked the most:

About plans for the Olympics

Usually we start thinking about it (next Olympics) as soon as the previous Olympic Games come to an end. Gradually you start thinking about music, about elements; who of the currently competing athletes will continue to skate, what style they will choose - so that we choose programs for our students, choose music for them, so they could be successful and different from all the others. But at the same time winning medals.
If I start telling you now in detail, it will practically be a textbook on how to prepare for the Olympics and how to win it (laughs). Or at least win medals at the Olympics - if not gold, then medals of different value.

Quads in pairs:

Quads can be expected soon, because now in pairs we have a limited set of the elements where we can come up with something new. Everyone does almost the same jumps, interesting lifts now don't score higher than others, same for other elements. And since the athletes starting jumping triples consistently, it is possible to learn a reliable quad throw on the lounge at first and then without the lounge.
This does not need to be done, of course, before the Olympics, because there is the possibility of accidental injury. In addition, the International Skating Union is "taking care" of the health of athletes and has come up with a rule, so a quadruple throw does not give a huge advantage over a triple one - well executed or with some additions, for example, like raising your hands or taking a long landing on one leg.
And with a quadruple throw, even if there's only a small mistake, the score immediately goes down, so logic says: why do a quadruple? It takes longer to learn, the likelihood of possible injury is significant, it is not evaluated by the judges - the game is not worth the trouble, so now it is not necessary. But when this Olympic Games will be held - what should the next generation do?
So most likely quads will come to pairs skating. Plus, everyone is talking about equality now. Sorry, singles also jump these difficult elements with the likelihood of injury, but I don't really read something in the press that one athlete or another got an injury or broke into pieces after training quads. This means that the methodology for preparing these quad elements is designed so that the likelihood of injury has decreased, and we will do this in pair skating too.

Coaching

- Are you a tough coach?
- No, I'm a liberal. I once read an article in a scientific journal about different types: liberal, democrat, autocrat, and so on. I looked and thought that I, perhaps, belong to the type of a liberal coach. I am waiting for the guys to perceive my comments and do things on their own, feel that they need it. And if you force your athlete once, force them the second time, then for the third time this forcing won't work. I want us to do a common thing as colleagues, and not as “I'm the boss - you're a fool”. That doesn't work for me.
It works for me, when we become colleagues, even if the guys are still young. Actually now, compared to my age, they are all very young (laughs). But I somehow mentally try to build, or rather, to feel with my heart and brain, that I’m with them, of the same age - this is what they love, what is pleasant for them, what they would like - in order to somehow go with them on the same wave. But this autocratic type of leadership or ...
- Raising your voice, use obscene language.
- Raising my voice ... Well, I once called my student a fool. It was a long time ago. And I apologized to her.
- What did she do? Rather, what she didn't do?
- I do not remember. But I think, since I graduated from school with a silver medal because of the Russian language and am a PhD, my knowledge of the Russian language is enough for me to explain what I want to tell my students. I believe that the skaters we work with are also well-mannered and educated enough to use literary Russian or at least English.
- But did you ever use obscene language?
- No never.
- Not once?
- Well, I don't know where to swear. Honestly

- In an interview with Elena Vaytsekhovskaya, you said that you would stop active coaching by the age of 85. Has anything changed?
- Why are you reading everything... I always say something like that and I don't remember what I said and to whom (laughs). Let's do this: It's not the job I do here, I do what I love, for me it's a hobby. Some experts say: "Here I am doing what I love, and they also pay me a salary for it." Other people say these things. And I just like to take two young, diverse, maybe even somewhere hostile people and then build idols, whom the audience will admire.
As an honorary citizen, I often meet with colleagues in St. Petersburg. Now, unfortunately, the Nobel laureate Zhores Alferov is gone, but I looked at him and thought: here he creates material wealth that is used by millions of people, and what am I creating?
- Art that gives people emotions.
- Well, probably. And this is always with me ... I felt not only unhappy, but, in comparison with such people, inferior. What am I creating? I only create a sports couple or skaters that other people like. So I want to create this, one generation after another. And so that they are all different. So that it is not a copy of my previous students, so that development proceeds, so that the new students differ in something from my previous students. But all the same it is all non-material, this somehow upsets me. But this is such a profession.

About Igor Moskvin:

- I remembered the words of Tatyana Anatolyevna Tarasova that Tamara is not afraid of anything, because Igor is always behind her.
- Yes. This is my main basis, because for our entire life together, for 56 years, we have been such a strong union, a real family. And now, when he is no longer here, I can say that for me he was a wonderful husband, man, coach, father. And a high-profile professional, because he taught me how to work. True, I sometimes neglected him, thought: "Oh well, he is already an old coach, I know better how to do it," and did it in my own way. And only ten years after one of his advice, I said to myself: "You fool, you fool! 10 years ago he told you not to do this. 10 years have passed, and you have come to this on your own"
But our life was filled not only with work. Some people say, "Now, you are fans of your work." We're not fans! We went to the theater, and we had many acquaintances, friends, and Igor studied, he was a yachtsman, even the champion of the USSR. Therefore, to say that our life was focused only on figure skating is not correct.
- Did you fight with Igor Borisovich?
- We had one fight related to a fight between our students. Other than that we did not fight, never shouted at each other, did not break the dishes. What else is there on the list?
- What's the secret? How is this possible?
- A secret? Probably, I tried to speak in a way not to offend anyone, and he probably loved me (smiles).
- Until the last moment, did he give any tips or advice?
- For the last three years, when it was already hard for him, he did not train, but he came to the rink, sat there and said: "Tamara, why aren't you listening? Look how far your athletes are skating! What kind of pair skating is this?" This is really correct, but now the youth are somehow not as they used to be.
And when he was no longer able to go to practices, he always asked me how the practice went. I always said: "Oh, Igor, it was very good today," although at that time some practices were not very good, because I had new young athletes who did not want to give in to each other. They didn't want to find how they can work towards a common goal without exposing their "I". Well, things are getting better now, so it's okay.
- Didn't you want to upset him?
- Yes. In general, I always try to think about what to say to an athlete, coach or colleague, so as not to upset the person or, if this is some kind of comment of mine, to present it in such a way that it would be an improvement, not a punishment; so that it helps to improve the case, and not so that the person is upset.

WW II and Leningrad

- You were born on the fourth day of the war. Did your mom talk about the evacuation from besieged Leningrad?
- About the evacuation, no, I do not remember anything. But, in my opinion, already in September we were evacuated to the Urals, to the city of Lysva, where my mother was born. We lived in the house of her relatives: her brother and sister. What I remember from that time: my cousin, who was evacuated from Moscow, also lived there, and I stole a 100 gram piece of bread from my sister Tanya, from the third shelf of the wardrobe.
- What is the daily piece of bread?
- Yes. I was three years old. This is what they told me.
- And you ate that piece?
- Yes.
- You got punished?
- Of course, it was horrible.
- Do you remember your return to Leningrad?

• I remember the return. But we were transported from Lysva to Khabarovsk, because dad served at the end of the war in Khabarovsk, he was an aviation engineer. And I went to school there. I was small, and I was often being bullied.
• Who bullied you?
• Boys, at first. Then daddy said, "Let me teach you." He taught me how to box (laughs). Since then, I started fighting with the boys, and they called me 'Eagle'. We ran around the yard, jumped from the roofs, and since then I became brave and was not afraid of anything.

I went there to the first grade, after the first grade my family and I moved to Leningrad, my father continued to study at the aviation academy. Well, I finished school, and off we go ...

 

[Ananas Astra]

I am watching the interview now.
One day, when I will be her age, I only want to be half as wise, smart and sweet as Moskvina is .

Long may she continue to reign!

 

[Frau Muller]

Lest anyone forget this all-time classic Moskvina Moment:

Tamara Moskvina doing an elbow lever

m.youtube.com

Brava, Moskvina! Tough as nails!

 

[mjb52]

haha I love the bow after, what a woman!

 

[Bigbird]

Class is just that, class.

 

[Ka3sha]

I am watching the interview now.
One day, when I will be her age, I only want to be half as wise, smart and sweet as Moskvina is .

Long may she continue to reign!

And she is wearing heels!
I know that she is sitting in a chair most of the time, but still

 

[Ka3sha]

The Skating Lesson did an interview with Tamara before Worlds

 

[mjb52]

That thumbnail is soooo dramatic, I love it. She is so cool.

 

[TAHbKA]

I kind of wonder whether... everything is ok. She was talking about her family (in the Russian interview) and couldn't recall what her grandson's name is.

 

[Taso]

I kind of wonder whether... everything is ok. She was talking about her family (in the Russian interview) and couldn't recall what her grandson's name is.

I can't imagine she's entirely ok, she was widowed 3 months ago...

Edited to add she said his name in the TSL interview and mentioned that she doesn't see her grandkids often (I think the grandson lives in Switzerland)

 

[Frau Muller]

I can't imagine she's entirely ok, she was widowed 3 months ago...

Edited to add she said his name in the TSL interview and mentioned that she doesn't see her grandkids often (I think the grandson lives in Switzerland)

I highly recommend that TSL interview with Moskvina, conducted by Dave Lease, uploaded on YouTube just hours ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p10R20VSPGc

 

[_Lola_]

I kind of wonder whether... everything is ok. She was talking about her family (in the Russian interview) and couldn't recall what her grandson's name is.

She recalled his name in a minute or so. It's just she didn't recall it at this particular moment.

Have you watched Tamara's interview with TSL? She's indeed in great shape.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Thanks @Ka3sha for originally posting these links in the FRWL thread.

Text version can be found here:

Тамара Москвина: не обращаю внимания на тренеров-конкурентов

Легендарный тренер, воспитавшая олимпийских чемпионов, чемпионов мира и Европы, Тамара Москвина в интервью Василию Конову на YouTube-канале KonOff рассказала о... РИА Новости Спорт, 09.03.2021

rsport.ria.ru

The legendary coach who raised Olympic, world and European champions, Tamara Moskvina, in an interview with Vasily Konov on the KonOff YouTube channel , spoke about the state of affairs in sports pairs, the return of Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva, life with Igor Moskvin and the principles of her work.

Is there a way to hear or read this in English?