ISU featured interview article on Michal Brezina

[Sylvia]

ISU feature article with photos: Michal Brezina (CZE): Catching a Second Wind
Excerpt:

“At first I wasn’t really sure if I still want to go (and compete). But Rafael (Arutunian, coach) and my federation convinced me of giving it one or two more years. So I’m giving it one, I’ll see how it goes from there,” Michal, who trains in Lakewood, California (USA), shared. His federation asked him to stay to motivate the next generation of skaters in Czech Republic. “I know how that feels, because when Tommy (Tomas Verner (CZE), 2008 European Champion) stopped skating, it was hard for me to find the motivation and something that pushes me forward. When he stopped, I kind of fell asleep, because I didn’t really have competition in my country and even not in my training base that I was in.
...
The skater believes that mainly two things helped him improve as much as he did: “It really helped when I moved to Rafael and everything he changed in my – not I would say jumps or anything – but basic skating and understanding of what I’m actually doing on the ice. The understanding of where I am supposed to be on my blade, where the weight goes and how you press into certain edges when you go into certain jumps. I think another thing that helped a lot was that I started coaching in the summer. So when I teach the little kids it actually makes me think about what I’m doing in my own practice. It helps a lot, because as I’m explaining it to them, I’m explaining it to myself as well.”

 

[kittyjake5]

Great read. Thanks for sharing. So nice to see Michal having a successful season. Wishing him the best at Europeans!

 

[whiteskates]

Thanks for sharing! I have a soft spot for Brezina. He is stylish. I've always liked him regardless of whether he's done well in competition or not and I'm glad to see him doing so well this season.

 

[paskatefan]

Thanks! I heart Michal, and have always rooted for him. So glad he is having such success this season, and may it continue!

 

[kwanfan1818]

5th photo down: Vera is not impressed

 

[Sylvia]

Bumping up this thread 2+ years later with this IFS article because he's not exactly an OES skater :

Michal Březina: The Final Hurrah – International Figure Skating

Michal Březina is gearing up for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, which will likely be his final calling card on the competitive circuit.

www.ifsmagazine.com

Excerpt:

“I think I stopped counting,” Březina said when reminded that it was his 17th season. “Sometimes I forget how long I have been competing. My first junior Grand Prix competition was in 2004 in Hungary, my first Junior Worlds was in 2007 and my first Europeans was in 2008.
“I missed one Worlds and I have not missed a Europeans since the first one I went to. Out of the 10 World Championships I competed at, I was only out of the top 10 three times — Shanghai in 2015, Helsinki in 2017 and Stockholm. I take that as an accomplishment, the highlight of my career. Not many can say they finished top 10 at that many World Championships.”

He is slated to open his Grand Prix season at Skate America and will close it out in Sochi at Rostelecom Cup. With the 2022 Winter Olympics on the horizon — his fourth consecutive Games — Březina is committed to continue as far as Beijing, but said that will likely be his final calling card. “After the Olympics, that is probably going to be it. I am pretty sure you will not see me on the ice competing anymore.
“I still feel like I can push myself to keep it at a competitive level, but I can feel that my body is slowly — not giving up — but every day I feel like I need almost a longer break to be able to push 100 percent. It takes some effort to take care of my body to be able to perform at the level that I want to.

 

[Panja]

Bumping up this thread 2+ years later with this IFS article because he's not exactly an OES skater :

Michal Březina: The Final Hurrah – International Figure Skating

Michal Březina is gearing up for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, which will likely be his final calling card on the competitive circuit.

www.ifsmagazine.com

Excerpt:

He isn't OES at all, but rather well-known. I rather liked this article because it tells you al lot about himself, but also about his relation with his coach and with his training mates.

 

[livetoskate]

Nice to learn more about Michal & that he's begun coaching. He really has been around forever!

 

[Sylvia]

Bumping this old Brezina thread back up almost 2 years later (Michal officially retired at the end of the Olympic season)...

BTW, since the IFS website is no more here's the link to read the July 2021 article on Brezina via the wayback machine (scroll down): https://web.archive.org/web/2023012...magazine.com/michal-brezina-the-final-hurrah/

Figure skater Michal Březina will end his career at a unique show in Ostrava (published on the CZE federation's website before 2023 Worlds in Saitama):

ČKS, Česky krasobruslařský svaz

ČKS, Česky krasobruslařský svaz czechskating

www.czechskating.org

Machine translation:

The stars of Czech and world figure skating will descend on the Ostravar Arena on May 6 for the Made in Czechia show. On that occasion, Michal Březina, who officially ended his career last year, will say goodbye. In May, the Czech Figure Skating Association will also celebrate 100 years of membership in the ISU.

"A unique figure skating show is being prepared after a long time, which will be presented on the ice by Ondrej Hotárek, bronze medalist from the European Championships in sports pairs," reveals the chairman of the Czech Figure Skating Association, Stanislav Židek.

Among the main stars on the Ostrava ice will be the silver sports pair from this year's European Championship, Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini from Italy.

"However, we also have something to show from our ranks, the 6th dance couple of the European Championship 2023, the Taschler siblings, and the fresh junior world champions in the dance couple category, the Mrázek siblings," enumerates Židek. In addition to the complete Czech national team, spectators can also look forward to the Olympia synchronized skating team.

Other guests will be, for example, American figure skater Mariah Bellová (Bell ), the fourth woman in last year's world championship. The successful world-class American ice acrobat Philip Warren will also be present. According to Židek, other big names are also in the game. " We are still negotiating about other performers. "

The highlight of the evening will be the performance of Michal Březina, who will end his rich racing career on the Ostrava ice. The bronze medalist from the 2013 European Championship will appear in Ostrava at the end of April. "From April 30, a training camp for our figure skaters will take place in Ostrava under the leadership of Rafael Arutyunyan, among others the coach of the Olympic winner Nathan Chen, and of course also Michal, who works with him," explains ... Židek.

During the spectacular show, the Czech Figure Skating Union will celebrate 100 years of membership in the International Skating Union (ISU). This is a significant anniversary for the ČKS. " We can confidently look back not only on our excellent history of results, but also on the organization of the most important championships or projects," comments Židek.

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Today wife Danielle shared photos of the Brezina family in Ostrava (the littlest one almost didn't get his passport in time): https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr1dR7XL3H2/