Sylvia
Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
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@reut's interview for Absolute Skating back in 2010: Ari Zakarian: "I always welcome people who are ready to take risks"
Ari Zakarian interview
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Ananas Astra
Get woke, go broke!
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Sylvia
Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
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Post #9:
January 1997:
OLYMPIC SKATER INJURED IN CONNECTICUT CAR CRASH
Olympic figure skating champion Oksana Baiul was hospitalized with a concussion after an early morning car crash in Bloomfield, Conn.<br> Baiul, 19, of Simsbury, suffered a cut to her scalp and received 12 stitches at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, said a hospital spokesman.
www.deseret.com
Vagabond
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How dare you?!
It's his first language, of course he speaks Russian well. You might be interested to know that he gave an interview in Russian to the Russians after the GPF. He, Maxim and Andrew also gave an interview fully in Russian back in 2020. Ilia speaks with his parents at home and grandparents in Russia (since his grandpa can't visit them in the US anymore, they communicate via skype), he is also friends with Artem Kovalev who just recently said he and Ilia spoke in Russian with each other when they were hanging out in Linz as juniors. Ilia has literally family in Russia, you saying he doesn't care about Russia and mocking his roots is just weird to me. Oh, and his favorite skaters are Trusova and Kolyada
Karen-W
Let the fan wars of the Olympic season begin!
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Ilia has stated many times that he most looks up to Yuzuru and Jason as skaters. He has also stated that he appreciates/admires Trusova, but I've never heard him mention Kolyada.It's his first language, of course he speaks Russian well. You might be interested to know that he gave an interview in Russian to the Russians after the GPF. He, Maxim and Andrew also gave an interview fully in Russian back in 2020. Ilia speaks with his parents at home and grandparents in Russia (since his grandpa can't visit them in the US anymore, they communicate via skype), he is also friends with Artem Kovalev who just recently said he and Ilia spoke in Russian with each other when they were hanging out in Linz as juniors. Ilia has literally family in Russia, you saying he doesn't care about Russia and mocking his roots is just weird to me. Oh, and his favorite skaters are Trusova and Kolyada
He has also made it clear that while he can speak Russian, he doesn't know how to read or write in Cyrillic, which calls into question his overall fluency/literacy in the language.
I wouldn't say he has mocked his Russian heritage or is ashamed of it, but I think it was also pretty clear from WTT that he is very happy and proud to be an American and represent the country of his birth.
I didn't say HE is mocking his Russian heritage, but the posters here who are denying his connections to Russia ?
His fluency sounds good, it was the Russians who said his Russian is "excellent", they will know better than us. The fact that he is bilingual ( he also talked about this) also means he has typical bilingual problems when switching languages, nothing out of norm. He said back in 2020 that he feels 30% Russian and 70% American. And he did talk about Misha being his idol, many times. You never watched his Insta lives?
His Russian interviews ( if the links work, idk how this works lol)
In 2020
https://youtu.be/llihrI55KW8
After the GPF
https://youtu.be/n99WoXxkdqY
Vagabond
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There are plenty of illiterate people all around the world who speak their native language fluently.
LeafOnTheWind
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People aren't denying his Russian heritage. They are mocking the Russians for claiming him as one of their own. Those aren't the same thing....and, on the same time, no one of them claims poor Stephen Gogolev like their own.... even thought Gogolev is the one who learned his first steps in skating in Russia....ha! ha! it is as miserable as it is, Russians do not need him
It is undeniable that one needs to have a great success and then he/she will be claimed Russians... these claims are made in the arrogance at its highest! and, yes, why didn't Russians embrace that beautiful girl who skated for Russia, Ksenia Makarova?? Ha! wasn't it because she was not successful enough? of course it was so. Its miserable.
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Sylvia
Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
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Translation of a new Ari Zakarian interview by sport24.ru's Konstantin Lesik (June 14): https://fs-gossips.com/ari-zakaryan...-it-would-have-raised-the-level-of-our-sport/
Excerpts:
Excerpts:
Sylvia
Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
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Blog interview with Ari Zakarian by Alisa Barladyan [link to her profile] (April 19, 2024):
www.telecomasia.net
"Ilia Can Change Figure Skating For The Better:" Zakarian About Malinin And The Season Results
The 2023–24 figure skating season is almost over. All that is left are smaller competitions that don't usually feature top athletes. The next few months will be full of various commercial shows. First of all, because of the legendary performance of Ilia Malinin, an American figure skater of...
Sylvia
Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
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Ari Zakarian was interviewed by Rustam Imamov after the ISU Grand Prix Final in Grenoble (December 9, 2024): https://www.championat.com/figuresk...an-pri-i-ocenkah-amerikanca-ili-malinina.html
Google translated excerpt from the introduction:
Google translated excerpt from the introduction:
A translation: https://fs-gossips.com/13168/
Sylvia
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Bumping this thread back up...
"Ari Zakarian, vice president of the Armenian Figure Skating Federation, ice show producer, choreographer, and agent for Ilia Malinin, one of the top 2026 Olympic favorites, spoke with Metaratings.ru about the results of the [Russian] national championship and the chances of Russian Olympians in Italy."
Translation of the Malinin part at the end of the interview:
Ari Zakarian “I also read carefully what is written in Russian media. I’ve seen commentators’ statements who aren’t thrilled with Ilia. I’ve heard some not-so-pleasant reviews.”
Ari Zakarian on whether Malinin is ready for his first Olympics.
fs-gossips.com
ETA 2 auto-translated excerpts:
Gumennik has more points than Kagiyama. Did Petr skate better, or do judges in Russia inflate scores?
"The National Championships aren't a scale for measuring scores. Anything can happen at the Olympics. I'm very happy for my friend Rafael Arutyunyan; he's proven once again that he's one of the best specialists in the world. Gumennik himself said so. He came there specifically to work on his quadruple Lutz, toe loop, and loop. Judging by his work, these elements were executed well."
– How would you rate Gumennik’s form before the Olympics?
"It's clear he's improving with every competition. His peak should come at the Olympics. I think we're in for an interesting tournament. Gumennik's form clearly shows how much he worked with Arutyunyan. Rafa is a serious figure skating professional."
[...]
Adelia Petrosyan didn't skate entirely clean at the Russian Championships and has had an inconsistent season overall. Could this be a concern for fans?
"She's under tremendous pressure from all sides, plus a huge responsibility. Adelia has an inner strength that should be a plus. She'll be more resilient at the Olympics. The competition was tough at the Russian Championships, but compared to the world level, I wouldn't jump to conclusions. Don't underestimate the Japanese, American, and other athletes."
Many experts in Russia are confident that Petrosyan is heading to Italy for gold and will be the top favorite. Does she have the edge?
– Anything can happen at the Olympics.
– Will Petrosyan be in the same form as last season in February?
"I watched her training, and she looked good. A month and a half is a good amount of time to work calmly and correct any mistakes."
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Sylvia
Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
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Many in the world of figure skating know the name Ari (Ararat) Zakarian. Originally from Yerevan, Zakarian is a leading sports manager and producer of ice shows, the initiator of the ISU Skating Awards, and the agent of two-time world champion Ilia Malinin (USA). He combines his international activities with his position as vice president of the Figure Skating Federation of Armenia.
Zakarian spoke about the state of Armenian figure skating, its challenges, and its enormous potential. We also discussed the prospects of Armenian figure skaters at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan in February 2026, as well as Ari Zakarian's career.
sport.mediamax.am
Auto-translated excerpts:
- When the international situation changed in 2022, I made it clear that Armenia had the opportunity to create its own figure skating team capable of competing for Olympic medals by 2026. I came up with a program and guaranteed that I could make it happen. I didn't receive the necessary support. The time was lost. Why didn't Adelia Petrosyan, who is now the leader of the Russian team, compete for Armenia? What would she have had to compete with? There simply isn't enough support to pay for training at the required level. I brought Adelia to Yerevan back in 2017 and told her that she was a future Armenian superstar. Back then, no one knew about her or talked about her. I said this with an eye to the future, but that was it.
In the end, what happened? Georgia, which until recently didn't have a single skating rink, is now one of the leading teams because they have support and funding from the state. And I wouldn't be surprised if they win a bronze medal in the team competition at the Milan Olympics. A wonderful arena has just opened in Tbilisi; I was there recently for the Trialeti Trophy. There's a skating rink in Batumi, and 10 more arenas across the country are planned for the near future. Our other neighbors, Azerbaijan, also had nothing, but now have tremendous conditions they can count on to achieve their athletic goals. The development of sports, in its various disciplines, is especially important in the age of technology. We're concerned that children are spending too much time in front of screens, and there are threats from artificial intelligence. In this situation, sport is the one thing that simply can't be replaced. It's the health of the nation, the key to a healthy future for humanity. And yet, in Armenia, almost no attention is paid to this.
[...]
At the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan, Armenia will be represented by Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin, a pair who train in Sochi with Dmitry Savin and Fedor Klimov. Tell us about this promising pair.
I've known the guys for many years. Karina has long wanted to compete for Armenia. I want to thank, first and foremost, the Russian Figure Skating Federation for providing this opportunity and not creating any problems with the guys' transition to the Armenian flag. Karina and Nikita followed all the rules, sat through the quarantine from start to finish, and received Armenian passports. Of course, this wasn't easy for them. They hadn't competed for two years and had no guarantees whether Russia would let them go. They had their last chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in September at the tournament in Beijing, and they took it. I'm incredibly happy for them and grateful to their coaches.
The fact that they will now be competing at the European Championships in January and then at the Olympic Games is a huge step. For the first time in our sport, Armenia has athletes who have the opportunity not just to participate, but to compete for serious spots. Before, our goal was always simply to participate in the Olympic Games.
- And to qualify for the free skate.
- Yes, that was the main goal. And now Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin have a 100% chance to shine in the next Olympic cycle. God willing, their health will be fine.
[...]
Ari, let's talk a little about you. How did you get into figure skating, since it's far from the most obvious sport for someone from Armenia?
When I was four years old, the "Arachin Mas" figure skating school in Armenia announced enrollment. My parents brought me there. For the first two years, we had no ice at all: we trained on a parquet floor with skates. Then we got a small, terribly uneven 30x30 meter ice surface. But we formed such a fanatical group, which produced Armenian skaters and coaches who are still in demand and recognized in the world of figure skating. The Armenian school was becoming recognizable. We successfully competed in the USSR championships: we won the National Championship Cup and participated in international tournaments.
Then I moved to Leningrad to Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin, with whom I worked for eight years and achieved my greatest results. I won the Leningrad championship four times, won silver at the USSR Junior Championships, and was the first in the world to perform the cantilever in competition. I ended my athletic career early due to a severe spiral fracture of my leg. Returning to the ice a year later, I realized the road back to professional sport would be too difficult.
So, together with my friend Akop Manoukian, we became the founders of acrobatic figure skating. We became soloists with the Leningrad Ice Ballet and toured all over the world. Incidentally, we became soloists thanks to our signature Armenian dance, the Kinto. During difficult times, we moved to the United States and reached a new level, performing in leading ice shows. We began at the Ice Theatre of New York. In the Disney on Ice show, we were the only artists announced by name and with their country indicated. We skated the same "Kinto." This is a rare and perhaps unique event in Disney history, one that I remember with great honor. Later there were other shows, including Tom Collins' famous Champions on Ice, where we shared the rink with Olympic stars, even though we weren't even Olympians ourselves.
How did you transition "to the other side"—from a show performer to a producer and agent?
I was naturally quick to connect with people, and over time, figure skaters and artists from the former Soviet Union began contacting me asking for help finding a job. My first clients were the pair Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko, and later, acrobats Vladimir Besedin and Alexei Polishchuk. I was invited to work for International Figure Skating magazine as an International Liaison. There, I did insider reporting and found myself at the European Championships, where Evgeni Plushenko made his debut. Over time, I became his agent and manager.
After September 11, I began my career as an individual sports agent.
You've said more than once that potential commercial gain is secondary to you if a project could harm your athletes' athletic achievements. Why is this important to you?
Reputation is paramount in this business. I've been working for many years, and of the companies I started with, only IMG and myself remain afloat in the US. Of course, new players have emerged, but of the old ones, no one else is left. I always prioritize the athlete's interests, not quick profits. It's a systematic, smooth process. This path is long, but steady. Today, I'm at the very pinnacle of this path thanks to my athlete, two-time world champion Ilya Malinin. I'm incredibly happy to see his high-quality work in training and competitions.
Zakarian spoke about the state of Armenian figure skating, its challenges, and its enormous potential. We also discussed the prospects of Armenian figure skaters at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan in February 2026, as well as Ari Zakarian's career.
Ари Закарян: У нас замечательная арена – безо льда
Ари Закарян: У нас замечательная арена – безо льда
Auto-translated excerpts:
- When the international situation changed in 2022, I made it clear that Armenia had the opportunity to create its own figure skating team capable of competing for Olympic medals by 2026. I came up with a program and guaranteed that I could make it happen. I didn't receive the necessary support. The time was lost. Why didn't Adelia Petrosyan, who is now the leader of the Russian team, compete for Armenia? What would she have had to compete with? There simply isn't enough support to pay for training at the required level. I brought Adelia to Yerevan back in 2017 and told her that she was a future Armenian superstar. Back then, no one knew about her or talked about her. I said this with an eye to the future, but that was it.
In the end, what happened? Georgia, which until recently didn't have a single skating rink, is now one of the leading teams because they have support and funding from the state. And I wouldn't be surprised if they win a bronze medal in the team competition at the Milan Olympics. A wonderful arena has just opened in Tbilisi; I was there recently for the Trialeti Trophy. There's a skating rink in Batumi, and 10 more arenas across the country are planned for the near future. Our other neighbors, Azerbaijan, also had nothing, but now have tremendous conditions they can count on to achieve their athletic goals. The development of sports, in its various disciplines, is especially important in the age of technology. We're concerned that children are spending too much time in front of screens, and there are threats from artificial intelligence. In this situation, sport is the one thing that simply can't be replaced. It's the health of the nation, the key to a healthy future for humanity. And yet, in Armenia, almost no attention is paid to this.
[...]
At the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan, Armenia will be represented by Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin, a pair who train in Sochi with Dmitry Savin and Fedor Klimov. Tell us about this promising pair.
I've known the guys for many years. Karina has long wanted to compete for Armenia. I want to thank, first and foremost, the Russian Figure Skating Federation for providing this opportunity and not creating any problems with the guys' transition to the Armenian flag. Karina and Nikita followed all the rules, sat through the quarantine from start to finish, and received Armenian passports. Of course, this wasn't easy for them. They hadn't competed for two years and had no guarantees whether Russia would let them go. They had their last chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in September at the tournament in Beijing, and they took it. I'm incredibly happy for them and grateful to their coaches.
The fact that they will now be competing at the European Championships in January and then at the Olympic Games is a huge step. For the first time in our sport, Armenia has athletes who have the opportunity not just to participate, but to compete for serious spots. Before, our goal was always simply to participate in the Olympic Games.
- And to qualify for the free skate.
- Yes, that was the main goal. And now Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin have a 100% chance to shine in the next Olympic cycle. God willing, their health will be fine.
[...]
Ari, let's talk a little about you. How did you get into figure skating, since it's far from the most obvious sport for someone from Armenia?
When I was four years old, the "Arachin Mas" figure skating school in Armenia announced enrollment. My parents brought me there. For the first two years, we had no ice at all: we trained on a parquet floor with skates. Then we got a small, terribly uneven 30x30 meter ice surface. But we formed such a fanatical group, which produced Armenian skaters and coaches who are still in demand and recognized in the world of figure skating. The Armenian school was becoming recognizable. We successfully competed in the USSR championships: we won the National Championship Cup and participated in international tournaments.
Then I moved to Leningrad to Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin, with whom I worked for eight years and achieved my greatest results. I won the Leningrad championship four times, won silver at the USSR Junior Championships, and was the first in the world to perform the cantilever in competition. I ended my athletic career early due to a severe spiral fracture of my leg. Returning to the ice a year later, I realized the road back to professional sport would be too difficult.
So, together with my friend Akop Manoukian, we became the founders of acrobatic figure skating. We became soloists with the Leningrad Ice Ballet and toured all over the world. Incidentally, we became soloists thanks to our signature Armenian dance, the Kinto. During difficult times, we moved to the United States and reached a new level, performing in leading ice shows. We began at the Ice Theatre of New York. In the Disney on Ice show, we were the only artists announced by name and with their country indicated. We skated the same "Kinto." This is a rare and perhaps unique event in Disney history, one that I remember with great honor. Later there were other shows, including Tom Collins' famous Champions on Ice, where we shared the rink with Olympic stars, even though we weren't even Olympians ourselves.
How did you transition "to the other side"—from a show performer to a producer and agent?
I was naturally quick to connect with people, and over time, figure skaters and artists from the former Soviet Union began contacting me asking for help finding a job. My first clients were the pair Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko, and later, acrobats Vladimir Besedin and Alexei Polishchuk. I was invited to work for International Figure Skating magazine as an International Liaison. There, I did insider reporting and found myself at the European Championships, where Evgeni Plushenko made his debut. Over time, I became his agent and manager.
After September 11, I began my career as an individual sports agent.
You've said more than once that potential commercial gain is secondary to you if a project could harm your athletes' athletic achievements. Why is this important to you?
Reputation is paramount in this business. I've been working for many years, and of the companies I started with, only IMG and myself remain afloat in the US. Of course, new players have emerged, but of the old ones, no one else is left. I always prioritize the athlete's interests, not quick profits. It's a systematic, smooth process. This path is long, but steady. Today, I'm at the very pinnacle of this path thanks to my athlete, two-time world champion Ilya Malinin. I'm incredibly happy to see his high-quality work in training and competitions.
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