- Alena, what brought you to figure skating?
- Mom braught me when I was 4 years old. She said, we need to try to keep the bones intact and i have to learn how to fall. I started at "Umka" rink with coach Marina Cherkasova. She put me on skates, taught me a lot, I made the first steps on the ice there. About 3-4 years later my mother asked if I would like to continue my training. I answered: of course. By that time I liked figure skating. Although initially I did not want to go. Mom pushed me on the ice, and closed the board. I really did not want to. But then I got used to, I liked it. We decided that we need to move on and switched to another coach, Elena Zhgun, in Sambo-70.
- I was skating with her for about five years, and at the end of the last season, in February, I thought that I should go to Eteri Georgievna Tutberidze, because the girls who trained with her had strong results. And I also wanted to stand on the podium.
- So how it was after switching?
- I knew that Eteri Georgievna was very demanding. I came to her ring, skated a little bit, and when the ice time was over, they said that they may accept me. But I needed to compete at another start for the school "Tchaikovsky's Horse", after that we finally switched. I skated for a week with Eteri Georgievna, she watched and said yes.
- At first, when I just started training in a new group, I just jumped for about three months. I liked it. At that moment, I just did not understand much. I saw how girls are skating at training. Here they skated free, fixed mistakes. Eteri Georgievna did not like something, and they went reskating. It seemd like nothing special. And only in Novogorsk, when i got the new programs, I realized how hard it is to skate it and reskate it over and over again.
- Did you not train like that before?
- We trained before, but not like that when you need to skate programs every day and reskate them at a slightest mistake. In the past, for example, when we made a jump in the program, did not succeed, we repeated jump, and that was it - we finished. And here if a jump did not work out - you skate the whole program again.
- At training, you have to reskate programs many times. But after that you go to competitions, and feel like you are on a vacation: after a skate you are free to go, without even loosing you breath.
- What was the most memorable competitions for you?
- The championship of Russia among juniors last year. After that start, we decided to move to another group. Because at training everything was fine, and I did the short well, but failed a half of tue elements at the free. I don't know why. This was a complete surprise for me. Then there was the championship of Moskow older age. And almost the same thing happened there.
- What do you think, what was the reason?
- I just did not give 100% to my training. Then it seemed to me that I was working. And when I moved to the new group, I realized that I was not doing anything at training before. Everything i did was useless, because when you make a jump and then stand for 5 minutes you won't learn anything.
- And, coach Elena Vyacheslavovna told me: "Work, come on, do not feel sorry for yourself". But only at the end of last season I realized that she was right saying that, you should not stop after every jump, you need to go on and work.
- Do you like to compete, to perform?
- Yes. Very much. And it is not even excitement that is present before a start, but adrenaline, which helps in competitions. The main thing is to direct it in the right place, so it won't interfere. I really like the feeling when you go out on the ice alone, and everyone is clapping to you, everyone is looking only at you.
- This season you made your debut on the stages of the junior Grand Prix series. How it was?
- At the first Grand Prix in Poland, on the official training before the short program, I was nervous, because not everything had worked out. But at the competition i was confident, and even more confident after i jumped the first combo. Then I realized that i can go further on calmly.
- After the competition I said to myself: "I'm did well today, but tomorrow I have to start over. I need another clean skate so i won't go down."
- At the first Grand Prix, everything went well. On the second, you probably went on the ice with the thought: "Now i'll show you!"
- And that was a mistake. I had to be calmer. Of course, I wanted to win Grand Prix twice. Well, the main thing i got to the Final.
- Tell me, was your parents engaged in sport?
- Dad was engaged in athletics. Mom did figure skating when she was little. But then they moved with the family and the opportunity was no longer there. But my mother is very athletic.
- Mom is almost always with me. Papa is far from figure skating. And I have a brother. He is 9 years old. He tried figure skating, but did not like it. So he was sent to football and wrestling. He is mainly engaged with father, he takes him to training.
- When you returned from Grand Prix stages, your parents probably had a celebration at home?
- No. It's just a junior Grand Prix. A small part of what can be achieved in sport. I was actually brought up in a tough atmosphere, I have never come home and whine, that everything is bad, I can't, I'm tired, because I know it will not help. If you do not force, but only pity, you will not get a result.
- Do you have time to go to school?
- Sometimes in the morning for 2 lessons. And private tutors help. Actually, I'm on self-study. When i have a day off from training, I come to school and I show what I have learned.
- What is your favorite subject?
- Biology with chemistry.
- Are you going to enter the physical culture institute? They have biology as exam.
- Actually, I really want to become a neurosurgeon.
- Is someone of your relative a neurosurgeon?
- No. It all started 4 years ago. My mother watched the series about doctors, I sat down with her once and I liked it so much! I decided that I want, like them, to become a neurosurgeon, why not to try it?
- Interesting. But while university is far away, now all your time is occupied by training. Are the relations in the group good?
- Calm. Everyone here minds his own business, does not pay attention to others. Have a newcomer come, havn't, you have your own job. If you went out on the ice - do it, regardless of whether Eteri Georgievna left for the competition, or not, who is standing by the board. If you on the ice - work. This is for you, not for coaches. Coaches can only help you to fulfill your dreams.
- Adult reasoning. What do you think, what kind of person are you?
- Difficult. To communicate with me, you need a lot of patience, because I do not immediately get used to people, open up. I need to look at you first, to understand. I'm not one of those who will immediately come up, say: "Hello" and start to communicate. I have to see first how a man behaves, what he does and only then will I talk to him. But not everyone understands it. They think I'm arrogant. But this is not really the case.
- Will you tell about the programs?
- Short is tango. Here my task is to skate everything clean and work with the public - glances, movements, so that everything looked beautiful. Before that, I'd been skating Carmen for two years, so it's easier with tango.
- And Free is to the music of William Joseph. There's an interesting story. At the beginning of the program I meet a person, turn him in a hope that this is my friend, but it is not he. And then I suffer the of the program, thinking how well we were together.
- I really like both programs. But they need to be cleanly skated.
- What do you want to achieve?
- I plan to learn a quadruple. I tried it on a fishing rod (harness), but i need to learn it. Now in the season, there is not enough time for it. We decided to postpone it, but after that we will try.
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