Serafima Sakhanovich

tulosai said:

In all honesty, I think her situation would probably be even worse now if she'd gone senior...

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sarama said:

We'll never know, but I think staying junior could have messed up with her confidence and motivation, which lead to many of her issues (I could totally be wrong of course). Had she gone senior and still had a very subpar season, she wouldn't be in a worse place than she is now:confused2:

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Q: Sima, the start of this season was difficult for you, and one could say even unusual, because everyone is used to you standing on the podium. How did you feel after the first competition of the season, which wasn't very successful?

Coming into the first competition (Grand Prix event in Spain) I felt completely prepared. Up to this point I always skated my FP clean, but in my SP I couldn't understand what has happened. There was a psychologically difficult situation with my coach and, and I don't know if that was the reason, I don't want to blame anybody, but I was completely prepared, yet in the end... At that moment I was disappointed with my work, since even though I trained and tried, I didn't get what I wanted.

Q: You didn't participate in the last Grand Prix event in Croatia. Was that beause of the injury?

No, due to my injury I withdrew from earlier events I was assigned to. I had three intermuscular hematomas, even walking was painful.

Q: After that, as everybody knows, you moved to Rukavicin's group. How difficult was that decision?

Not very difficult. I knew immediately where I was going to go, meaning I didn't even consider other options. I felt that this is exactly where I need to go and I wasn't mistaken, since firstly technique is very similar to what I was taught by Tutberidze, it's more comfortable for me, and secondly, skaters are treated the same was as in Tutberidze group, which is very important.

Q: Was it psychologically difficult to move from one group to another?

Not psychologically, since I was in good terms with other skaters there even before that moment. The difficulty was a collision between two techniques - one from Pisarenko and the other one from Rukavicin. This especially affected jumps. Back then I didn't even notice this, but now as I watch videos I see it. My jumps were somehow strange, and because of that not everything was working out.

Q: Nevertheless, despite all the difficulties you're moving confidently towards resolving them. What motivates you in such moments?

I'm motivated when I see that people like what I'm doing, when they say kind words, support me, watch my skating. Also my family, relatives care, feel for me. I feel this.

Q: What do you think is the most important quality in an athlete?

Audacity. Purely sportsmanlike audacity.

Q: You already told us about your character in FP. Now please tell us about your SP, what idea do you express on the ice?

Oh, that idea that I was told about initially as the program was choreographed by Nikita Mikhailov, I don't like it much, because it's more of a mature theme: I'm seducing somebody or some such. In my new group Olga Glinka told me to, instead of seducing, play a nice girl, like I'm all attractive here, but don't approach me (smiling). This idea is much closer to me.

Q: As far as I know, the costume from your FP is one of your favorites. Do you have any specific requirements for your costumes? Other than being comfortable.

I don't much like costumes with sleeves.

Q: Even mesh sleeves?

I'm ok with mesh. My current costume for SP is a little uncomfortable. In FP only one sleeve is on, but the fabric is flexible and it's fairly comfortable. And also, since I have short legs (laughing), I need my skirt, I mean my waist, made higher, so that my legs appear longer.

Q: Do you like experimenting on the ice? With music, transitions, jumps?

Yes, I like to jump different kinds of interesting combinations. You can't jump them in competition of course.

Q: Like 3-3-3?

Yes. Or, for example, 3-1Lo-3-3.

Q: Tell us how an exhibition program is usually made? What determines if there will be an exhibition program in a season or not?

That depends on what skater is set to do: if skater is set to win then he gets to have an exhibition program made for him. It also depends on the coach, whether he wants to.

Q: So the coach might not allow it?

Yes, it's possible.

Q: And who chooses the character? Coach or skater?

That depends on skater and coach. Usually your coach tells you to bring whatever music you like for your exhibition.

Q: Which means we might still see Metallica in your performance?

Maybe you will (laughing). But coach might not agree to skater's choice of music and ask to look some more. Sometimes your coach can tell you to look for music yourself, but then declines all your choices and ends up making an exhibition with his own.

Q: Does it happen that way in your group?

I don't know yet how exhibitions are made in Rukavicin's group. I only had a FP made for me, and it looked like this: we need music, we only have two days, music, we urgently need music. There was this kind of panic in the morning about the music and program, but as I turn up in the evening, Valentin Molotov tells me that he found music for me, plays it. I liked it immediately, since I also was in awe from Bobrova/Soloviev Olympic program. The music was already edited, so I couldn't understand what I was hearing initially, but then it was all explained to me and I liked it.

Q: In our country figure skating is fairly popular sport. Sometimes it seems that skater gets his fans immediately as he first steps on the ice. Do you remember the first moment that you felt especially high interest from the crowd?

Only in the previous season probably. Ever since Olympics there are more people interested in figure skating. But when I took second place in Junior Worlds, Grand Prix finals, nobody noticed this much. You did that? Okay. Nobody even payed much attention.

Q: There was no interest from the media after first international medals?

Mostly first place is covered, and I always take second (laughing).

Q: Many people keeping track of your performance right now. Do you feel comfortable being in center of such attention?

Sometimes when everything works out and I skated well I look up what other people write about me on the internet. But when things don't work out, I rather want to say "Forget about me! There wasn't me ever, don't write about me!", because as I read I get tears, start crying, just starting to panic!

Maybe this is true? Maybe this is how it is? But then I get back to normal and tell myself: "what is this nonsense?". You shouldn't read this, shouldn't listen to it.

Like how can you write "take this girl away from Rukavicin"? I read this before FP at Russia Cup finals, got so angry that I decided: need to skate everything clean.

Q: Do you think this can affect a human as a person?

It can.

Q: In what way?

Negative. This kind of attention and responsibility can make you fell that I'm so cool, everybody's watching me, I'm such a star. But I think narcissism is a terrible thing. It can end badly, since being so cool you don't need to train and everything will work out on its own. But if you don't do anything in training, you don't do anything in competition either. It might work for a season, but after that narcissism kills an athlete completely. I think people like a normal person more than a narcissistic hero. For example, everybody likes Yulia (Lipnitskaya) because she's just a normal person you can easily approach.

Q: As I understand it, you get in tune with other people quickly?

Yes (Smiling).

Q: Do you have a hobby? What do you do away from ice.

I like Anime, anti-stress coloring books. I like rearranging my cosmetics, clean brushes. I like foreign TV series, though Movies have less appeal to me. There is no continuation and I like to know what happens next. Recently I watched "The Hundred", and "Game of Thrones", and "Doctor Who", "Supernatural", "AHS Hotel". I like "Scream Queens" a lot.

Q: Do you walk around in city often?

Very rarely. First time I walked around in city when I was 12 specifically so I can see all the locations. But when me and my friends go out, I like to walk around Palace Square, take photos there, I like seafronts.

Q: There is a widespread notion that athletes have no childhood. Did you have one?

That's complete nonsense, because athletes have even better childhoods than normal people, they don't waste their time and have opportunities to see different countries. And for a successful athlete, member of the national team, everything is provided for. Very good childhood if you ask me! They also get paid, which is especially great (laughing). Any school kid would probably envy such childhood.

Q: As far as I know you started skating when you were 7 y.o., which is considered late in this sport. Why did your parents decide to bring you to skating rink?

Actually it happened completely accidentally, there is no super story behind this.

We had apartment far away from skating rink. Then some trouble happened and we moved to rented apartment. I wasn't attending school yet.

Father said: "So? You have nothing to do. Let's go to skating rink." That's how we ended up there. Of course I liked figure skating a lot.

I happened to watch TV once and saw Plushenko doing jumps. My mother said: "hey, look how he jumps!" Ever since childhood I hated when somebody is set for me as an example, even if that's an Olympic champion or a star of some sort. I would always answer: "so what, I can do that myself!" (laughing). Even now when coach asks me to watch somebody else's jumps I only do so through effort, because I hate to be set an example.

Q: Another reason to learn 4S: so you can proudly say "I can do it like Plushenko"?

Yes! Although that injury, when I had three hematomas, happened because of that very quad. I was coming out of salchow, underrotated, but still it was great. One day I fell and suddenly I was afraid to make that jump, I still am. At this point I'll probably finish this season and then get back to learning a quad.

Q: Do you get psychological barriers because of failed jumps in competition?

Not really, because you get a lot of adrenaline and feel almost no pain, since it's not the kind of pain I had with fracture or hematomas. Back then when I fell off lutz the pain was so hellish, I couldn't make any other jump at all.

Q: Do you like adrenaline, extreme?

Yes!

Q: Would you do a sky dive?

I would. I only flew before on, you know, that thing. It's so cool. Would very much like to sky dive.

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Pracygr said:

There was a long interview with Serafima in a Russian fan-made magazine recently...

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dorispulaski said:

Does anyone know what it is?

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RemyRose said:

Looks like Serafima's first competition will be Nebelhorn (Sept 22nd) :agree:
http://www.isuresults.com/events/cat00028769.htm

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Sam-Skwantch said:

Go Sima!!!!!

#KeepSimaWeird :dance2:

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