continue
p.50
And there I saw my idol live, near me. I liked him better than anyone else, he was musical, artistic, very effective. When he jumped the triple Axel I watched him like an enchanted one.
After the performance I went to him and asked for an autograph. I keep the flag with his autograph even till now. Four years later I participated with Petrenko for the first time in one and the same competition. And I won! What a shock it was! I felt so awkward. I was a mere lad, who had just began skating and he was the master.
He came to me after the competition.
- Zhenya, you are great! We have already done our work. Now it is your time, the time of the youngs.
Pleasure and awkwardness mixed in my heart. I did not feel any exultation from my victory. This is the only time when I did not feel it. May be it was Vitya, who suggested to me that my time had really come.
After that I won continuously : against the Canadians Elvis Stojko and Kurt Browning; the American Todd Eldridge, the French Philippe Candeloro. All great names, stars of figure skating. I admired them and it seemed to me they were untouchable. But when I won against them I did not feel awkward at all, just the opposite, I wanted to win over them like I did not want anything else on this world.
With Victor Petrenko we became friends. I know his family. He has a beautiful daughter, who is already skating and she is set hopes on. He has a wonderful wife and a remarkable mother-in-law, who used to be his pedagogue. Victor was at my wedding, later we participated together in many shows around the world, including my own show “The Golden Ice of Stradivary”.
p.51
With Alexey Urmanov we became competitors later, in 1999. Then, in the European championships we were three of Mishin’s students there : me, Urmanov and Yagudin. I have to say, that Yagudin was already an ex-student of Mishin, an year before he had gone to train with another coach, Tatiana Tarasova. The three of us competed with one another with no mercy. Yagudin became the first. I could become the first too, but I did a little mistake and lost the golden medal. Perhaps at that time I had not yet grown up completely – I could already do difficult elements, but my skating was still childish. And Alexey Urmanov – the Olympic champion from Lillehammer in 1994 – took only the third place. There he lost against us – the youngers in his group! The reason was his old injuries. This was the last championships in his career. After that he went to the professionals.
In sport it is very important at what point you will finish your career. You have to go away elegantly, so that no unpleasant memories are left.
Fortunately, Alexey became a very good coach. Now he participates in shows too and brings up his boys-twins.
After my first victories, I understood the real meaning of fame and money. All the ice palaces around the world open their doors for you! The hall applauses especially you, thousands of people keep their breath, when you rotate in a jump. One hundred people wait in front of the changing-room to take an autograph, to shake hands or just to be near you.
The attention, the applause, the enchanted eyes, the fan letters – this is always pleasant.
But popularity may go in your head.
p.52
Fame came to me very early. And because of it there appeared in me an excessive self-confidence. It was obvious in sport. It seemed to me, that no one can win against me any more, I nearly felt the crown standing on my head. Every time when I had such a feeling, mom made me go down to earth again. When she saw that I grew proud, she advised me :
- What, you have become a champion? This was yesterday, Zhanya! Now, forget everything and start anew- new life, new training and new victories. It is fantastic every time you achieve something, but remember not to get proud!
These were always her words – no matter if I had just started to achieve something or I had already achieved it. Sometimes I was offended and tried to prove that I am already a grown up person, a champion. But she immediately interrupted me :
- And never forget how hard it was and where you have started from.
I was not allowed to get proud by the people in the Palace of Sport “Yubilejny” too. There started rumours: “Plushenko has the illness of the stars! Plushenko got proud, he doesn’t greet any more!” I have to say this was not true. The only reason not to greet someone I knew was that I merely had not seen him, becoming thoughtful at that moment. But when I heard the rumours I started greeting everyone, sometimes even more than once, so that no one thought me proud because of this.
Fame is not only an attraction of notice, it is quite a money too. The expensive shops are open for you, you can afford much. And considering that you had nothing before, your appetite grows wild. As if you have put a starving man in front of a magnificent table, set out with marvelous dishes.
p.53
Such a man cannot control himself and will overeat. I needed time to become fed up.
In the times when I was a junior competitor I envied the seniors who wore golden chains, rings, bracelets. I had no money to afford this, but I wished so much I could wear some golden article. So I set myself a task – to buy a golden ring for my 16th birthday.
This dream was fulfilled when I was 15. I competed in the Grand Prix in the American town of Detroit and became second. When the competition finished I went to buy myself a ring..
I went in a jewellery and saw a very beautiful golden ring – a big one with innumerable diamonds. It cost no less than 1 200 dollars! At that day there was a discount and the price went down to 700 dollars. I was tempted, it appeared I could save money too. And I bought it and wore it for a long time. I keep it home even till today.
Since then I started buying all the gold I liked. It was all over me – I had chains, lavaliers, bracelets and I was shining on the sun. Fortunately, this passion passed over quickly.
I bought my rings a bit bigger, but after several months or not more than an year they broke! Exactly in the middle. It happened with the other jewels too – the bracelets and the chains broke without rhyme or reason! And they were expensive.
Why did it happen? I cannot find an answer even till today. Perhaps from my mighty energy, or may be gold was just not my metal.
p.54
After several of my rings broke by themselves I stopped wearing any gold and wasting money on it. This passion of mine came to an end.
When I got married and put the golden ring on my finger I started waiting for it to break down. And it broke, but in another sense – I got divorced.
I don’t think the passion for gold is a sign of the illness of the stars. When one buys jewels, it only means one can afford it.
Later on another passion appeared – the cars. Expensive, sporting, beautiful and very fast.
When I was eleven Mishin took me with him on a seminar in Paris. I had to show elements, which the others had to repeat. I was watched by coaches, senior sportsmen, kids from all over Europe. Everyday for six days I skated eight hours a day. And I got very tired. So tired that I could do nothing more. I saw only the ice rink and the hotel. Only once we with Alexey Nikolaevich went around the shops along Champs-Elisees and to look at the Eiffel tower. In general, I was not very impressed from going abroad. I just worked very hard and got very tired.
But it was in Paris where I sat behind the wheel for the first time.
I was very tired again after the training. I had to wait for the coach, but it was cold in the changing room and it rained outside. They wondered what to do with me and decided to put me inside somebody’s car “Opel Vectra”, pull down the seat and let me sleep. And I slept till the owner of the car came with a Russian boy, who spoke perfect French.
p. 55
- Do you want to sit behind the wheel?
- Of course!
I started moving the gearshift lever. First speed, second, third. I did not know anything about driving a car then, I did not even know that when you change the speed you have to press the clutch pedal. Luckily, I did not make any harm to the car, because it was not ignited. The Frenchman saw that I was interested and began to show and explain how the car works. Then I understood how to drive a car. It was great.
Thus “Opel Vectra” became the most impressive moment from my first traveling abroad.
When I was 14 I bought a car for my dad and after two years I bought a car for myself too. It was “Volkswagen Golf” and for some reason it was dark green, although my favourite colours have always been black and silver.
At this time father already lived with us in Petersburg and taught me how to drive. He sat beside me while I was driving to the Palace of Sport and instructed me how to go inside the next row of cars, how to keep a distance.
The next car I bought was “Lend Cruiser”. I bought it for the whole family. It was big, as if for journeys only. My parents traveled with it to Volgograd.
This passion of mine made me buy one car after another. I just went to the shop and if I liked some car I bought it without thinking it over.
The next car was a class sporting car, very fast and comfortable. Then a “Mercedes” appeared. Then I received some cars as presents from friends.
p.56
I still have this passion for cars, but now my appetite is not so strong. Once I had an entire car fleet with six or seven cars. A part of them stayed outside and a part in the garages. I liked to wake up in the morning and decide which car to take. It depended on my mood and my plan for the day.
My family did not like this passion.
- Zhenya, why do you need an entire car fleet?
- I need it!
- Zhenya, you should not do that!
- Mom, I am already a grown-up and independent man, I know what I am doing!
We argued, I was insulted and went away. But after fifteen minutes I always rang her up:
- Mom, forgive me. I was stupid, I was not right!
I realized that mom was right, but cannot get rid of my passion at the moment. In my life I had to find out everything by myself. It was just one of the cases. I had to realize gradually, that I did not need so many cars.
This magnificent experience did not last much. I understood that the cars, even the most classy and expensive ones, these are only metal, which rots and falls down in price. Today I have only two cars and I am thinking to buy a third one and that will be all.
Then another passion came – the watches. They gave me watches as a present and I bough them too. I had watches from the most famous trade marks in the world. Once they were so many that I could open a shop.
p.57
This passion faded too. It is true, I like watches till today and cannot pass by a watch shop without looking at the articles. Especially on the airports of Los Angeles or New York. But I try not to buy them. Now I have my problems, my difficulties. Also I have a family – parents, a sister with a niece, a son, I have a future. And when money appears, it had to be invested in serious matters.
p.58
IX – Admirer and Admiresses
At 18 I fell in love head over heels.
With my friends we were driving my „tenth”- this was a car of mine with a secret – it was simple from the outside, but the engine was such a beast, that I could win against any sport car on the way.
Driving along the Nevsky avenue we saw beautiful Moscow girls. We stopped and became acquainted with them. Then we brought them with the car to the Moscow station. It took no more than fifteen minutes, but in this short time something happened. As if all of the people in my “tenth” stopped existing and only Ulyana was left. Of course, I did not confess her anything then. Only when we parted at the station we exchanged our telephone numbers.
This telephone number became the meaning of my life in the next three weeks. I was ringing uninterruptedly and listened carefully to the ringing tone, but nobody answered. At one moment I decided that the girl lied to me and gave me a different number, which she made up at the moment. And when I nearly believed in that the ringing tone stopped and on the other side I heard the “Hello”, for which I yearned so much.
p.59
I invited her to lunch. She refused saying she was busy. Then I rang up again and invited her to diner. She could not come again.
I started ringing up every day, but every time she had a pretext to refuse the date. I decided that she just did not want to see me and it was all the same for her. But having been well-brought-up she felt awkward to say it straight away. Then I stopped troubling her.
After a while my telephone rang:
- Hello, Zheya! It’s Ulyana. I am free today and we can meet.
We met. From then on she answered the telephone every time. I did not ask her why she had not answered my calls at the beginning.
I was happy. And I could not imagine how I could live without her before. I fell in love head over ears.
Every day, through the whole town I was flying to her. I did not appoint her a date, she lived far. She lived at the other end of the town, in quite a dangerous region of Petersburg and I did not allow her to travel so much. It was me who traveled to her and we went somewhere to walk. After a while I invited her to live in my flat.
Ulyana was a model and I did not like that at all. I laid down a condition:
- I will fully support you, but you will leave the model business and never make photo sessions again.
Ulyana agreed. Then I convinced her to go and study in an institute. Perhaps she has already graduated it now. I would like that – after all she is clever and very kind.
Till then I did not travel much. But one year later all was changed. I started traveling ceaselessly to competitions and shows. Ulyana was left alone and she was much bored.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0I00Kd4qSo Plushenko, Portrait of A Star - Rise of the Champion (5) ( english subtitle)