"Tutberidze said, 'Don't come anymore if your back hurts.' " Ex-Russian Samoilov about Tutberidze, Plushenko and problems with the head.
December 22, 2021, Alena Volkova,
sport24
Last weekend, the Four Nationals Championship ended, where the overall results are not as important as the final position of the participant in relation to his compatriots. So, the former Russian figure skater Vladimir Samoilov, now skating for Poland, took third place, but was higher than other athletes from his country. This means that Samoilov became the champion of Poland and will go to the European Championships.
After the start of Golden Spin of Zagreb, Vladimir told Sport24 about the difficulties of moving under another flag, as well as about training with Eteri Tutberidze and Evgeni Plushenko.
You performed at the first international start for Poland, what are your impressions?
I can't say anything yet, because I essentially have one international start - Golden Spin. Before that, there weren't even competitions. The only thing is, I really missed the performances. I'm such a person, I love to perform, for me two years just training is a horror.
You haven't performed at the international level for a long time.
Yes, I don't have a rating, I don't have a name from Poland. It will be difficult to work out all this, you need to perform as much as possible at international competitions and it is desirable to skate cleaner. Let it be content "on light" for now, you need to show yourself. Now the championship of Poland and Europe will be held, then we will talk in a different way.
Tell us about your transition from Russia to Poland.
Where to start...
From the beginning. Whose decision was that?
It was rather my initiative, it was even before my last championship of Russia (approx. in December 2019). I was casually asked: "Do you want to try for another country?" And I was like, "Well, why not?" — somehow, with doubts. In the end, I told Vika (approx. Sport24 – Viktoria Butsaeva, Vladimir's former coach) that I want to skate for another country, for Poland (because an offer came). Vika was just against it, she said that it was necessary to skate for Russia. There is a chance, but we need to work hard. I'm not denying that I have a problem with my head. Everyone emphasizes that "you can do everything, but you're a fool." I know I'm a fool, so help me with that. Everyone discounts the fact that everything is given to me, only I do not show anything. Thank you.
Vika was against it, but I finished it off. This is a better option than trying for Russia. Because our main start is the Russian Championship. In fact, if you missed the Russian Championship, you missed the whole season. And for me, the Russian Championship is a "favourite" start. I only performed well on one or two occasions. By the way, it took a very long time to make documents. We agreed with Poland almost three years ago – in fact, it was only this summer that things started.
The problem was that the federation wouldn't let me go.
Did they argue that in any way?
No, they just didn't let go. There was no argument: I was not in the Russian national team, I was not in the Moscow national team, I also did not perform at international competitions for a long time. And they had no right to just not let me go. It turns out that I should have been released back in January of this year, that is, I was supposed to perform at the end of last season. As a result, I was released only this summer - and then with grief in half.
Were you able to convince them in any way?
I'll tell you that, I haven't contacted them at all. Everything was through Vika, and the Federation of Poland participated. Very little information reached me. All I know is that I haven't been let go for a very long time, and there was no reason for that. The only thing I learned from the Polish federation was, "It was a tough conversation for an hour and a half." Actually, slowly I began to play for Poland.
That's why you don't train in Moscow, because Viktoria was against it?
I was banned.
Exactly with that wording?
Yes, that's why I went to train in another country. And then, I also learned this only in an interview (approx. Sport24 — interview with FFKKR President Alexander Gorshkov). My friends threw me a link. And there it was also written "for which country the athlete skates, there he must train." I then called Vika and asked what it was. She said "you were forbidden to train here." I often called her and wrote to her to talk to Kogan, I don't know if she talked to him or not.
So, where are you training now and with whom?
I am now training in Italy, in Egna with Lorenzo Magri and Angelina Turenko. I came here only in October, then I began normal training.
You've been to Poland for a while?
I actually had a very difficult season, because I rested for three months. I couldn't skate in Russia, I was forbidden to train everywhere except commercial schools. As a result, I did not train for three months, in August I just came to Poland. I was there for a month and a half, but there was one hour of ice a day and I was given new skates. I mean, I went out on the ice like a vegetable. I had one hour of ice a day five days a week, when I usually had 12 hours of ice a week. And then five a week. I skated for a very long time, as I did in the season. Only in Italy I began to train normally, because in Poland I was without a coach.
Because there was no coach in Poland?
There is one coach there - Mariusz, a former pairs skater. He is a very good person, he took me to Polish competitions. But it did not work out to train with him, he is still a pairs skater. I'd rather have myself.
What does your life look like in Italy now?
There is not such a schedule as in Russia, at first it was a little uncomfortable and unusual. Here, training begins at eight in the morning, when in "Moskvich" we have only a warm-up at 9:15. There are three hours of ice a day, which I like - the first ice is an hour and ten minutes (of which half an hour of sliding and 40 minutes of jumping), the remaining two ices for 40 minutes we always skate programs. I speak for myself - whenever the ice was an hour and 15 minutes, I train for 50 minutes, and then I begin to help the cleaners, wipe the sides. I don't hide it, I'm screwed up and just roll on the sides, go to bandage, talk to someone. It's 40 minutes here, and we're working that time. We all live together like in a dormitory. Several rooms, each with five people.
Are you complaining about the conditions, in general?
It's cool in Italy, very beautiful views, mountains, plus the weather is gorgeous. I lived in Moscow for 22 years, you will understand me now. In Moscow, people are always in a hurry somewhere, eternal fuss, I myself became such. I used to have training all day, then I have a roll, then I'll go for a walk with the guys, I go to the movies. I didn't have that training and went home. And then the working day ends early, at three o'clock in the afternoon we are all free. There is nothing to do, you can go to the mountains, but this is two or three times. Moreover, we train in a small town, we have to go somewhere. We have two or three grocery stores and one pharmacy. Outside of training, it's hard to have fun, so I'm sitting at home.
Let's talk about your career in general. You changed a lot of coaches while in Russia. What is the reason for such a frequent change?
I don't remember anything until I'm ten years old, so it's hard to say. They began to recognize me from the time of Inna Goncharenko. I trained with her, everything was fine, she is a very heavy person. But I am grateful to her for everything. She goaded me to the point where I easily jumped triples and cascades of three or three. And then I didn't go further, I tried to learn the triple axel from her for three years - no way. Outside of training, she treated me very well, always wished me the best. One day she called me to the coach's office and said that I needed to go to Eteri Tutberidze. She didn't kick me out, she thought I'd be better off there. Everything she could, she did. On her advice, I went to Eteri.
At Eteri Georgievna I began to have big problems with my back. There were very frequent exacerbations: I remember how I performed under injections in the final of the Russian Cup, I withdrew from several competitions. I trained for three days, couldn't train for three days. I could spend one day normally, the next my back hurt. I couldn't even ride for a month without back pain. Eteri Georgievna did not like it. She said, "Either you exercise or if your back hurts, stay home and don't come anymore."
I, accordingly, went out to train. And an unpleasant situation happened: I unsuccessfully landed from the axel in a quarter on a straight leg and fell back. My leg gave up to the point where I couldn't feel my left leg. I dragged it behind me, pulled up to the curb and went home. By the way, not many people know about this, but wanted to finish my career then. I walked away from Eteri and thought, that's it, I'm going to finish on health.
I did not skate for three months, I went to rehabilitation, procedures. My parents told me to decide for myself, they would accept anything. Honestly, I was very eager to make this choice, I sat at home for about a week, I was busy. I then gave 14 years to this sport, and in one moment – that's it. I tried to weigh everything and make the right choice, because without a back to stay at this age is also bad. I decided to try to go out in a public skating session and give it another try.
The first time I came out was at the end of July. To be honest, I don't like to slide, I don't know how to skate, but the first time I got high from sliding. I decided that if everything was okay with my health, I would continue to ride. I was then of transitional age, I went to training for a tick, and after this moment I went out on the ice with a different head. I immediately began to understand why I was doing this. I rode three times, on the third I jumped single, double. Then on the fourth day I myself went to a public session in the suburbs, rode for two hours, assembled a double rittberger, tired terribly. I come out of the rink, my mother calls me. She tells me: "Let's go home faster, we have a viewing with Plushenko in three hours."
I uang up and didn't know how to react. After two hours, tired, in the Moscow region, I had to go home for an hour and forty minutes. I think: I will come to him for a viewing and say: "Evgeni Viktorovich I have double jumps, good afternoon." Accordingly, I came, showed double, he asked to show triples, I explained to him the whole situation. He saw me at a previous competition and took me.
I recovered very quickly. I came to Evgeni Viktorovich in August, in September I went to the start and performed well. Why did I leave Plushenko? He very rarely appeared at the rink, he had shows. We were coached by Alexey Vasilevsky and his wife Yulia Lavrenchuk. Evgeni Viktorovich kicked out Yulia Lavrenchuk, and I trained with them. I, accordingly, left with her, and we were left with nothing. I then made the decision to skate with them.
We skated with Alexey Vasilevsky, but we didn't have ice. At first we tried to find a skating rink, there was a new one on Maryina Grove, but there were also problems there. As a result, we did not find a new lease, I was preparing for the Russian Championships on public skating sessions. I was freaking out, my fists were smashing. It was impossible to prepare: children come to the public session, people on hockey skates, who barely stand on them. For ice, I could try the quadruple once.
Accordingly, I performed poorly at the Russian Championship. The federation asks me why. I explained that the training took place on public skating - "no one cares." I do not deny, I missed the championship of Russia, but you will find out in what conditions we were. In the end, the ice was never found, and I came to Vika.
I know a funny story of how you first jumped a quadruple lutz.
That was just the case with Alexey. I had a good workout, I jumped rittberger with a step-out. And Alexey suggested trying Lutz at the second training session. I didn't want to, because I had never even entered it. Then Alexey put a hundred bucks on the side and said "a hundred bucks is five attempts." I screwed in the first two attempts, then two pops, and on the fifth I went in and thought that I needed to do something. I asked for a video because I'll jump in the video. That's how I jumped the quadruple lutz. That's cool.
You recently said you had 11 deductions at one start. How did that come about?
It was the fifth stage of the Russian Cup in Bibirevo (Moscow), that season I was with Plushenko.
So it was right before that successful championship of Russia? (Ed. note. Sport24 at the championship of Russia-2018 Vladimir became the 6th)
Yes, 11 deductions is a win. I didn't know how to go to the Academy. And Plushenko reacted well, said: "You, of course, are the record holder. It's good that this happened now, and not at the Russian championship." Well, I've never seen that before, I think I'm the record holder. I don't even remember what I did there. I roughly remember my skates, but here I don't remember. I counted that I had fallen four times, and I also had a hook on my skate come off when I went into the quad. As a result, the stop, it's five more deductions. It's legendary.
Which of your programs do you like the most?
I really liked
Hit the Road Jack free program. I was small then.
When was highlighting?
Yes. Well, there were mistakes in my youth, what can I do. I can point it out. I haven't given out the maximum in my short program this season yet. You can't even imagine how much I begged to skate the
Exogenesis by Muse. Everyone was against it because it's very rolled up [a warhorse]. And I myself do not really follow figure skating, I have enough of it in my life. I really want to roll it out normally, but the season is difficult, I want to show it at the main starts. You have to skate in such a way that you remember.
Did you have music that you really wanted, but it's already been taken?
It was. I skated with Vika, I then begged for
Exogenesis for short, and for free - Edwin Marton
Art on Ice. I really liked it, it was in my head for a long time, and so I pulled it out. But I wasn't allowed again because it's complicated and already rolled up. It's good that I was dissuaded then. Because in the same season, Yuzuru Hanyu takes this music. Can you imagine what that would look like? I didn't even know he was taking it.
Do you have an ultimate goal in sports?
Good question. Of course, all athletes will say that they want to win the Olympic Games, the World Championship, the European Championship. I do not like to guess, because everything planned does not work. Now I'm starting from health. I really enjoy performing, I get high from the audience (unless, of course, I'm dying in the program). Now there will be a small comeback, because I have not performed for two years, I want to show and prove to people that I am still alive.
Let's comeback now, good afternoon. I really want to. Prove to those people who didn't believe in me, guys, I'm still in the business. The main thing is that I do what I like. I don't know when I'm going to get involved with sports, it could easily happen next season. I'm still setting small goals and raising the bar.
If you were asked by someone how to fall in love with figure skating by showing them a single skate, what would that be?
It would be too trite, but I would show Kamila Valieva. To me, Kamila is a genius in every aspect. Program? Probably "
Bolero".
How can this even be questioned now? Zhenya was part of the guys who got Russia their third quota for the Olympics, didn't let the team down at WTT, and is the only Russian man besides Misha Kolyada to medal at a GP this season. As far as I'm concerned, I would already categorize that under Exceeds Expectations, what more could he have done? The Russian fans are really an ambivalent and hard-to-please community. They don't like it when their guys skate poorly, but they also complain when they do relatively well. Needless to say, I can't wait for what they have to say after Nationals. 
Would be awesome if that motivates him and he medals at Nats just out of spite. 
Usually, the picks are either because the scores tell the story, or wishful thinking choice, but here neither method works.
now I had a reason to add Yablokov and Erokhov, and there could be duplicates, I was too lazy to sort through my GP balloon bundle. mom wrote all the names in Russian, so i think it wouldn’t count as duplicates anyway. I low-key wonder if I should add the second balloon for Mozalev with Russian spelling. Who knows, maybe it will help 
However, someone, possibly the cat, stole my golden marker, so all the names are either in bronze, silver or black… 
