quiqie
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,017
Evgenia Medvedeva interview: https://russian.rt.com/sport/article/492281-medvedeva-intervyu-rt
Q: Your withdrawal from the World Championships was announced in the beginning of this week. Was it a hard decision to make?
A: Any time you have to miss a competition is hard. Unfortunately, this is not the first competition I am going to miss this season. And yes, it is hard. It will be even harder to sit on the sofa watching it live from Milan. People should understand, it is not that I'm tired after the Olympics, it's just that my foot hurts really badly. I'm physically incapable of skating full force in such condition. I can't even train properly. I've undergone a medical examination, and the verdict was two months recovery, period.
Q: The press release says: "to restrict high specific exertion of the foot." Can you clarify, are you going to stop skating altgether for two months or just stop doing jumps?
A: I'm not allowed to jump. I'm allowed to skate, but to take it easy.
Q: Are you going to train at all during these two months? It seems that everyone is really concerned about that...
A: The most important thing right now is to heal this old injury. It's been six months already, I want to put it behind me and forget all about it.
Q: When you first started feeling the symptoms, you must have understood you would have to make such a decision?
A: Nobody knew anything beforehand, that's why we postponed the decision until the very last moment. We hoped it wouldn't come to that. But there is only a week left, I wouldn't be able get in the shape for the Worlds even if I could.
Q: But you were ready to skate even with a bandaged foot, on painkillers?
A: I'm always ready to endure, because that's sport, it's an axiom. If you don't have it in you, you won't get any results. So if there is an opportunity and my condition allows and it won't harm my career that I hope will last for many years, I'm ready for such sacrifices.
Q: When FFKR published this news, the internet exploded. Suddenly everyone is an expert, everyone is discussing why you don't yet have programs for the next season. Can you explain for the audience why you don't have a long-term plan?
A: It's simple. The Olympics have ended, but the season isn't over yet. New programs are created during the off-season, when all the competitions are over. There are several months to create, choreograph, and polish the new programs.
Q: Were you able to take a breath after the Olympics? What did you do?
A: I tried to replenish my soul. I read books, listened to new music, uploaded a bunch of new games into my phone, tried doing something new. I do a lot of things. I have a feeling that I need to feel the vessel with something new.
Q: When you were flying out to Pyeongchang, you probably realized that when you get back, the world will be different. The whole country expected you or Alina Zagitova to win the gold, the first gold at these Games.
A: I guess, we were ready for that. Actually, you should always realize that today you live in one world, and tomorrow you will wake up in another. It is life, it changes like pictures on your screens.
Q: When you arrived, you went straight from the airport to your ice rink. Did you feel the support of other skaters? Wat does it feel like when a whole new generation is looking up to you as their role model?
A: They showed their support by staying at the rink until late. Everybody had their own plans, many had to be back at school early in the morning. Many parents asked their children: "Let's go home, maybe? You need to get up tomorrow at six o'clock." But the children said, "No, mum, I want to take a picture with Zhenya and Alina." This is the most precious thing. Children are our main audience, they are sincere and don't lie.
Q: Your success is the best ad for the school.
A: Figure skating gets more and more popular each year. I think, if you compare it to five years ago, there wasn't such hype.
Q: Will the changes in the rules that are being discussed in relation to your successes spike the interest to figure skating?
A: Our sport is not static. There is always something new, the complexity is always going up, the number of jump rotations is constantly increasing. You just had to watch the Junior World Championships to see that. Figure skating is making huge leaps forward. It is good, it's the way it should be. Because the humankind evolves. And the rules are always going to change. What can we, the athletes, do? Adapt to the new conditions and continue fighting. No one is going to say at the first opportunity: "I'm out." It is our favorite sport and we are not going to quit. It's even more interesting this way, there is new excitement, new motivation.
Q: So Alexandra Trusova's two quads is a new challenge that you are going to accept?
A: Of course. I'm not going to panic, there is no point in that. The most important thing is to sit down and analyze the situation. There is a fact that is a departing point for you to start working. It all comes down to the hard work, patience, and an enormous desire.
Q: You were praised to high heavens for two years, but ever since you missed the gold and after Trusova's triumph, there are rumors about you quitting, parting ways with Eteri Tutberidze and switching countries. Do they annoy you?
A: Everybody is entitled to their opinion. We live in a free country, everyone can voice their opinion. I personally think it's best not to put your words into other people's mouth and not to speak for someone else if there was no official information yet. It's better not to start panic and make these "leaks" in social media.
Q: Why does it happen, in your opinion?
A: I think that people just have very strong feelings about me, it's their emotional message. I am very grateful for their love and attention, but it seems that some people cannot conceive of the idea that I love my country and will represent only her.
Q: let's get back to the Olympics. After the ladies event, you said: I guess it happened the way it was supposed to happen.
A: I'm the person who tries to see the situation with other people's eyes. I think we will understand why the chips fell the way they fell only some time later.
Q: Have you re-watched your free program?
A: Yes.
Q: How many times?
A: Once.
Q: What was your impression?
A: When I was flying out to Pyeongchang, my biggest fear was that I will return feeling regrets, doubts, thinking that I should have skated my programs better. But I don't have such a feeling, and I an very glad that I can say: "I gave it my all."
Q: So you don't feel any bitterness towards yourself?
A: Why? I did everything I was taught, and I put all my soul into it.
Q: Everybody noticed your tears after the free program and your hearfelt hug with Aina after the scores were announced, but there was one episode that was left out. Eteri Tutberidze came up to you, hugged you, and started saying something. Can you share what she has said to you?
A: No, I can't.
Q: Were it the words you wanted to hear at that moment?
A: I guess.
Q: A little later, in the mixed zone, you said your program is too "cheap" and you have to add more difficulty. Do you already know how to do it?
A: I would like to keep it secret.
Q: What did you feel after winning two silver medals?
A: You know, the atmosphere around these games was very strange. Everything could have happened. So for me, the important thing was to keep working, and then to put it all out on the ice, to bare my soul and to show everything I could. I just wanted to perform.
Q: What was the most memorable part of the Olympics?
A: After my performance, I heard people speaking Russian. The audience chanted: "Zhenya, molodetz!" It was so strange because it was Korea, but all I heard was Russian speech.
Q: Was there a moment when you were ready to lose your spirit because of all the political problems and scandals affecting the Russian team?
A: I had a goal, and I worked for it. I think it can be said about any athlete on our team. But I felt the support and I could concentrate on my task. It is very difficlt to work when you hear all the time: "Russia this, Russia that, Russia will be banned from the Olympics." Sometimes it was getting really hard, but I didn't watch the TV, did not read the news, just concentrated on my work, and here is the result — two silver medals.
Q: What about your teammates? How did they cope with the pressure?
A: To be honest, I did not discuss it with them, because about a month before the Olympics, I have concentrated completely on my work. I talked only with my coaches and parents.
Q: Did you feel the support of the athletes from other countries at the Olympics?
A: Yes, of course. We don't see each other very often, so we try to enjoy every competition and we all talk to each other, because there might not be another chance. It is a wonderful feeling when the foreigners support you.
Q: You were hoping to attend the closing ceremony under the Russian flag, how did you feel about it?
A: I decided to attend the ceremony because I thought, maybe it is my only chance to take part in such event, although, of course, I hope to make the team in Beijing.
Q: Your last post on Instagram is from a backstage of a fashion magazine photoshoot. Is it more interesting to you than skating?
A: I'm a creative person, I like different things, I like new images, experiments with make-up and hairstyles. I like drawing even though I'm not very good in it. I adore music, I like theatres adn movies. I like all kinds of art.
Q: Would you like to try yourself as an actress after you stop skating?
A: No, I'm already stuck too deeply in the sports. I think the rest of my life will be connected with figure skating.
Q: You are a well-read, educated girl. Does it help you on the ice?
A: You cannot achieve the results with an empty head. Any sport needs cold calculations. You have to know many different things no matter what is your main specialization. You need mathematics, you need to be a good speaker, because if you speak in a disjointed manner, it means your head is in a disarray as well. Proper and eloquent speaking is an art, as is figure skating.
Q: There are no stupid champions?
A: No. Healthy mind is in a healthy body.
Q: They say there is a Japanese documentary being made about you...
A: Yes. It will be premiered on June 30, if I remember correctly, but I won't talk about it.
Q: And if there was a fictional film about Evgenia Medvedeva, who could play you?
A: Keira Knightley. I already played her on the ice.
Q: Where do you get ideas for your new programs?
A: I have a vivid imagination. Sometimes I get such wild ideas that I cannot even tell my parents or coaches, because they might think I've gone completely crazy.
Q: Wat was the last one of your crazy ideas?
A: That I want to learn singing.
Q: Where would you find the time?
A: That's the thing, I dodn't have time.
Q: You have unusual music tastes. You said that before the free program, you listened to four albums of your favorite band in a row. Why not classical music?
A: Because when you listen to the music you're skating to, you don't feel like flying anymore when you skate to that music. It wears you out, it makes your brain heavy. You probably hate the signal of your alarm, you don't put on your earphones and listen to it. Because you need to hear it and wake up. The same is with our skating music. I'm sure many skaters don't listen to their music. I don't even have it on my playlist. Because you have to put your soul in it, and if you listen to this music too much, then it starts sucking your soul out.
Q: What dod you think about when you skate? Do you look at the audience, watch their reaction?
A: For some reason, I never watch the audience, I ony look at the judges and inside myself. What I'm thinking about, usually it's if there is anything wrong and how to fix it. It's the cold calculation I was talking about. There is no room for romantic thoughts during the performance, unfortunately. Well, I felt a little something during the free program at The Olympics. It was a magical feeling...
Q: So it was the first time in your career when you were overcome by the emotions.
A: Yes. But it was the emotions and the atmosphere. My own skating doesn't make me cry.
Q: You said before the Olympics that it is a special event and that there is going to be electricity in the air, and after you came back, you said that it was more calm than at European or World championships.
A: Much more calm. I think it's because it happens only once or twice in your lifetime, and you cannot afford getting carried away by emotions. That's why I went out on the ice in full concentration. I understood that if let my nerves loose, it can spoil everything.
Q: You said that after the Games, you got about 400,000 new followers on the social media. How do you deal with that?
A: Now it's actually over 500,000. I'm getting used to it. Now almost everyone recognizes me in the streets in Moscow. It motivates me to achieve more.
Q: Fans got Alina Zagitova a puppy. What presents did the fans give you?
A: Their love. It is enough.
Q: After the closing ceremony you showed on the Instagram all the stuffed toys you got. How many bags?
A: Six! I kept them all. A toy collected from the Olympic ice is considered dear and sacred. Alina and I gave a portion of the toys to the children at our school, another was sent to an orphanage. The more toys, the more happy children.
Q: Have you got any unusual objects thrown on the ice?
A: No. But some skaters had. Some boys got women's underwear. It was very strange and unusual.
Q: People were discussing your plans to skate a program together with Yuzuru Hanyu?
A: I haven't heard anything about that. It is impossible, we train in different countries. To skate a show number together, you have to work on that, to choose the music, choreograph the step sequences, etc.
Q: Many skaters keep in shape and continue skating even after the ending their competitve career. Can you imagine yourself off the ice?
A: With difficulty, and only in a very, very distant future.
Q: Your withdrawal from the World Championships was announced in the beginning of this week. Was it a hard decision to make?
A: Any time you have to miss a competition is hard. Unfortunately, this is not the first competition I am going to miss this season. And yes, it is hard. It will be even harder to sit on the sofa watching it live from Milan. People should understand, it is not that I'm tired after the Olympics, it's just that my foot hurts really badly. I'm physically incapable of skating full force in such condition. I can't even train properly. I've undergone a medical examination, and the verdict was two months recovery, period.
Q: The press release says: "to restrict high specific exertion of the foot." Can you clarify, are you going to stop skating altgether for two months or just stop doing jumps?
A: I'm not allowed to jump. I'm allowed to skate, but to take it easy.
Q: Are you going to train at all during these two months? It seems that everyone is really concerned about that...
A: The most important thing right now is to heal this old injury. It's been six months already, I want to put it behind me and forget all about it.
Q: When you first started feeling the symptoms, you must have understood you would have to make such a decision?
A: Nobody knew anything beforehand, that's why we postponed the decision until the very last moment. We hoped it wouldn't come to that. But there is only a week left, I wouldn't be able get in the shape for the Worlds even if I could.
Q: But you were ready to skate even with a bandaged foot, on painkillers?
A: I'm always ready to endure, because that's sport, it's an axiom. If you don't have it in you, you won't get any results. So if there is an opportunity and my condition allows and it won't harm my career that I hope will last for many years, I'm ready for such sacrifices.
Q: When FFKR published this news, the internet exploded. Suddenly everyone is an expert, everyone is discussing why you don't yet have programs for the next season. Can you explain for the audience why you don't have a long-term plan?
A: It's simple. The Olympics have ended, but the season isn't over yet. New programs are created during the off-season, when all the competitions are over. There are several months to create, choreograph, and polish the new programs.
Q: Were you able to take a breath after the Olympics? What did you do?
A: I tried to replenish my soul. I read books, listened to new music, uploaded a bunch of new games into my phone, tried doing something new. I do a lot of things. I have a feeling that I need to feel the vessel with something new.
Q: When you were flying out to Pyeongchang, you probably realized that when you get back, the world will be different. The whole country expected you or Alina Zagitova to win the gold, the first gold at these Games.
A: I guess, we were ready for that. Actually, you should always realize that today you live in one world, and tomorrow you will wake up in another. It is life, it changes like pictures on your screens.
Q: When you arrived, you went straight from the airport to your ice rink. Did you feel the support of other skaters? Wat does it feel like when a whole new generation is looking up to you as their role model?
A: They showed their support by staying at the rink until late. Everybody had their own plans, many had to be back at school early in the morning. Many parents asked their children: "Let's go home, maybe? You need to get up tomorrow at six o'clock." But the children said, "No, mum, I want to take a picture with Zhenya and Alina." This is the most precious thing. Children are our main audience, they are sincere and don't lie.
Q: Your success is the best ad for the school.
A: Figure skating gets more and more popular each year. I think, if you compare it to five years ago, there wasn't such hype.
Q: Will the changes in the rules that are being discussed in relation to your successes spike the interest to figure skating?
A: Our sport is not static. There is always something new, the complexity is always going up, the number of jump rotations is constantly increasing. You just had to watch the Junior World Championships to see that. Figure skating is making huge leaps forward. It is good, it's the way it should be. Because the humankind evolves. And the rules are always going to change. What can we, the athletes, do? Adapt to the new conditions and continue fighting. No one is going to say at the first opportunity: "I'm out." It is our favorite sport and we are not going to quit. It's even more interesting this way, there is new excitement, new motivation.
Q: So Alexandra Trusova's two quads is a new challenge that you are going to accept?
A: Of course. I'm not going to panic, there is no point in that. The most important thing is to sit down and analyze the situation. There is a fact that is a departing point for you to start working. It all comes down to the hard work, patience, and an enormous desire.
Q: You were praised to high heavens for two years, but ever since you missed the gold and after Trusova's triumph, there are rumors about you quitting, parting ways with Eteri Tutberidze and switching countries. Do they annoy you?
A: Everybody is entitled to their opinion. We live in a free country, everyone can voice their opinion. I personally think it's best not to put your words into other people's mouth and not to speak for someone else if there was no official information yet. It's better not to start panic and make these "leaks" in social media.
Q: Why does it happen, in your opinion?
A: I think that people just have very strong feelings about me, it's their emotional message. I am very grateful for their love and attention, but it seems that some people cannot conceive of the idea that I love my country and will represent only her.
Q: let's get back to the Olympics. After the ladies event, you said: I guess it happened the way it was supposed to happen.
A: I'm the person who tries to see the situation with other people's eyes. I think we will understand why the chips fell the way they fell only some time later.
Q: Have you re-watched your free program?
A: Yes.
Q: How many times?
A: Once.
Q: What was your impression?
A: When I was flying out to Pyeongchang, my biggest fear was that I will return feeling regrets, doubts, thinking that I should have skated my programs better. But I don't have such a feeling, and I an very glad that I can say: "I gave it my all."
Q: So you don't feel any bitterness towards yourself?
A: Why? I did everything I was taught, and I put all my soul into it.
Q: Everybody noticed your tears after the free program and your hearfelt hug with Aina after the scores were announced, but there was one episode that was left out. Eteri Tutberidze came up to you, hugged you, and started saying something. Can you share what she has said to you?
A: No, I can't.
Q: Were it the words you wanted to hear at that moment?
A: I guess.
Q: A little later, in the mixed zone, you said your program is too "cheap" and you have to add more difficulty. Do you already know how to do it?
A: I would like to keep it secret.
Q: What did you feel after winning two silver medals?
A: You know, the atmosphere around these games was very strange. Everything could have happened. So for me, the important thing was to keep working, and then to put it all out on the ice, to bare my soul and to show everything I could. I just wanted to perform.
Q: What was the most memorable part of the Olympics?
A: After my performance, I heard people speaking Russian. The audience chanted: "Zhenya, molodetz!" It was so strange because it was Korea, but all I heard was Russian speech.
Q: Was there a moment when you were ready to lose your spirit because of all the political problems and scandals affecting the Russian team?
A: I had a goal, and I worked for it. I think it can be said about any athlete on our team. But I felt the support and I could concentrate on my task. It is very difficlt to work when you hear all the time: "Russia this, Russia that, Russia will be banned from the Olympics." Sometimes it was getting really hard, but I didn't watch the TV, did not read the news, just concentrated on my work, and here is the result — two silver medals.
Q: What about your teammates? How did they cope with the pressure?
A: To be honest, I did not discuss it with them, because about a month before the Olympics, I have concentrated completely on my work. I talked only with my coaches and parents.
Q: Did you feel the support of the athletes from other countries at the Olympics?
A: Yes, of course. We don't see each other very often, so we try to enjoy every competition and we all talk to each other, because there might not be another chance. It is a wonderful feeling when the foreigners support you.
Q: You were hoping to attend the closing ceremony under the Russian flag, how did you feel about it?
A: I decided to attend the ceremony because I thought, maybe it is my only chance to take part in such event, although, of course, I hope to make the team in Beijing.
Q: Your last post on Instagram is from a backstage of a fashion magazine photoshoot. Is it more interesting to you than skating?
A: I'm a creative person, I like different things, I like new images, experiments with make-up and hairstyles. I like drawing even though I'm not very good in it. I adore music, I like theatres adn movies. I like all kinds of art.
Q: Would you like to try yourself as an actress after you stop skating?
A: No, I'm already stuck too deeply in the sports. I think the rest of my life will be connected with figure skating.
Q: You are a well-read, educated girl. Does it help you on the ice?
A: You cannot achieve the results with an empty head. Any sport needs cold calculations. You have to know many different things no matter what is your main specialization. You need mathematics, you need to be a good speaker, because if you speak in a disjointed manner, it means your head is in a disarray as well. Proper and eloquent speaking is an art, as is figure skating.
Q: There are no stupid champions?
A: No. Healthy mind is in a healthy body.
Q: They say there is a Japanese documentary being made about you...
A: Yes. It will be premiered on June 30, if I remember correctly, but I won't talk about it.
Q: And if there was a fictional film about Evgenia Medvedeva, who could play you?
A: Keira Knightley. I already played her on the ice.
Q: Where do you get ideas for your new programs?
A: I have a vivid imagination. Sometimes I get such wild ideas that I cannot even tell my parents or coaches, because they might think I've gone completely crazy.
Q: Wat was the last one of your crazy ideas?
A: That I want to learn singing.
Q: Where would you find the time?
A: That's the thing, I dodn't have time.
Q: You have unusual music tastes. You said that before the free program, you listened to four albums of your favorite band in a row. Why not classical music?
A: Because when you listen to the music you're skating to, you don't feel like flying anymore when you skate to that music. It wears you out, it makes your brain heavy. You probably hate the signal of your alarm, you don't put on your earphones and listen to it. Because you need to hear it and wake up. The same is with our skating music. I'm sure many skaters don't listen to their music. I don't even have it on my playlist. Because you have to put your soul in it, and if you listen to this music too much, then it starts sucking your soul out.
Q: What dod you think about when you skate? Do you look at the audience, watch their reaction?
A: For some reason, I never watch the audience, I ony look at the judges and inside myself. What I'm thinking about, usually it's if there is anything wrong and how to fix it. It's the cold calculation I was talking about. There is no room for romantic thoughts during the performance, unfortunately. Well, I felt a little something during the free program at The Olympics. It was a magical feeling...
Q: So it was the first time in your career when you were overcome by the emotions.
A: Yes. But it was the emotions and the atmosphere. My own skating doesn't make me cry.
Q: You said before the Olympics that it is a special event and that there is going to be electricity in the air, and after you came back, you said that it was more calm than at European or World championships.
A: Much more calm. I think it's because it happens only once or twice in your lifetime, and you cannot afford getting carried away by emotions. That's why I went out on the ice in full concentration. I understood that if let my nerves loose, it can spoil everything.
Q: You said that after the Games, you got about 400,000 new followers on the social media. How do you deal with that?
A: Now it's actually over 500,000. I'm getting used to it. Now almost everyone recognizes me in the streets in Moscow. It motivates me to achieve more.
Q: Fans got Alina Zagitova a puppy. What presents did the fans give you?
A: Their love. It is enough.
Q: After the closing ceremony you showed on the Instagram all the stuffed toys you got. How many bags?
A: Six! I kept them all. A toy collected from the Olympic ice is considered dear and sacred. Alina and I gave a portion of the toys to the children at our school, another was sent to an orphanage. The more toys, the more happy children.
Q: Have you got any unusual objects thrown on the ice?
A: No. But some skaters had. Some boys got women's underwear. It was very strange and unusual.
Q: People were discussing your plans to skate a program together with Yuzuru Hanyu?
A: I haven't heard anything about that. It is impossible, we train in different countries. To skate a show number together, you have to work on that, to choose the music, choreograph the step sequences, etc.
Q: Many skaters keep in shape and continue skating even after the ending their competitve career. Can you imagine yourself off the ice?
A: With difficulty, and only in a very, very distant future.
for Medvedeva! Thank you for translating, 
