Denis Ten | Page 69 | Golden Skate

Denis Ten

Rina RUS

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Country
Russia
the translation of this interview:
https://ru.sputniknews.kz/society/20181024/7767393/alexey-yagudin-denis-ten-interview.html


I weep, remembering Denis Ten: Alexei Yagudin told about his friendship with the skater


Famous Russian figure skater Alexei Yagudin told "Sputnik Kazakhstan" correspondent how he became friends with Denis Ten, despite the big difference in age

ALMATY, Oct 24 - "Sputnik", Sergey Kim

An Olympic champion and one of the most famous figure skaters in the world, Alexei Yagudin, held a master class for young athletes in Almaty. For two hours he had been patiently explaining the subtleties of ice art to four-year-old children on the ice of the Halyk Arena.

The master class was organized by the Fund of the First President of Kazakhstan and the Denis Ten Public Fund which was established not long ago.

It is known that Alexei Yagudin and the talented Kazakhstan athlete whose life was tragically cut short several months ago, were friends.

Perhaps, this Yagudin's visit is symbolic: Denis wanted Kazakh figure skating to reach high level. Perhaps there are future stars who will glorify their country, among these thirty children who went on the ice with their idol today.

The open lesson had ended, Yagudin had signed autographs, had a photo with fans taken and had been talking for a long time with a well-known Kazakh documentary filmmaker Kanat Beisekeev. When Alexei had left the locker room to talk to "Sputnik Kazakhstan" correspondent, he had tears in his eyes.

"When you came out of the locker room, I saw tears in your eyes. Why?"

"This is the dumbest question, of course... Tears of loss... when I was undertaking an interview there (to the team of documentary filmmaker Kanat Beisekeev - Sputnik), I even asked Denis' mom to leave the room, because I can't... (tears reappear in my eyes). I am extremely cynical, I am a very hard-hearted person... complimenting is difficult for me, it is difficult to touch me with some life situations... Such is me. Yet I don't understand what is happening. Three months have passed. Three months is not one day. Yet it still happens on some days... I don’t understand why I still react so (weeps). There is a situation - we skate in the "Romeo and Juliet" theatrical. After this death it is still hard to skate. There’s quite a long piece when I'm "dying." Sometimes I even weep during a performance. I don't know why Denis was such a person - extremely kind, open-hearted, responsive. He is a person that still - after three months - evokes such emotions in such a hard-hearted person as me."

"Do you remember your first meeting with Denis Ten?"

"In 2002, I didn't know, that my sports career was over, but it was over. We never met on ice before that. Yet his coach Kolya Morozov could phone me quite often and ask: “Can you come to Denis?” It was a similar master class, but the child was older. It is an additional motivation, support, maybe a couple of words - words can either offend a person or inspire."

"So you met for the first time in his training, didn't you?"

"Where did we meet? I guess it happned on one of the shows. I don't even remember where it took place. I only remember Denis always liked to spend time with me. It doesn't mean I'm good - I can hate myself. Yet he liked to spend time with me, because I love humour, I'm very optimistic about life. It seems to me, he discovered something new for him, he learned from me, he always listened closely. He was saying - I still have these messages in my smartphone: “Father Alexei...” - it has nothing to do with church, but in another sense: I'm old enough to be his father. Or: "hey nice guy, where are you?" I always knew that, having arrived to Kazakhstan, I didn't have to make coffee in the room in the morning. He would always be waiting for me downstairs with a cup of hot coffee. He was such a person."

"It is striking: many friends of Denis Ten remember similar episodes..."

"Ilya Averbukh stated it very well. Ilya came here with an ice show, and Denis was invited to the show. Ilya says: “We are in Kazakhstan, I thought that now the star of the country would come with his whims. But I was stunned when Denis arrived, he said hello, he kept saying “thank you ”,“as you say”.” For Ilya Averbukh it was a discovery, because a lot of supposedly stars of figure skating come and make their demands. As for demands - Denis and I are alike. We don't care where we can change our clothes, where we can go for lunch. We almost didn't touch these issues. We had more important issues - master classes, work, thinking about music...
You know, it is unlikely that I would go to someone for a show when I was told that the cast was already collected. Once I said to Denis: "I really want to skate. Even without being paid. May I skate in your show just for fun, one number?” There was a year when the cast was already collected - I hosted the show and I skated a number for free, just for fun. Just because I treated him that way. It is unlikely that I would go somewhere to skate just like that."

"You have a big age difference. Many are used to think that friendship is a relationship of people, mostly coinciding in the age picture of the world..."

"It is often said that people need to keep in touch with each other to save their friendship, to phone every day, to communicate. No. For me personally, friendship is such a relationship when it's OK not to see the person, not to talk for a long time. There was some kind of invisible thread between Denis and me. First of all, I don't feel like I'm 38 years old, I hope I'm young either. By the way, Denis kept saying "vy" to me for a long time. I was saying to him: "Look, we are not equals in age, but we are similar.""

my comment:
"Vy" and "ty" are two variants of the word "you" in Russian. We say "ty" to all the children, to our friends, to our parents. As for other adult people, it is polite to say "vy" to them, especially if they are older than you (it is like "mister"). Yagudin says "vy" to Tarasova even now, Tarasova says "ty" to Yagudin. He likes, if TV hosts say "ty" to him. When Yagudin does interviews with athletes he prefers to say "ty" and to hear "ty" either.


"What was bringing you together besides figure skating?"

"I can tell honestly why he became a friend for me. I hate stupid people, people who have no desire to do anything in this life, people who are uneducated. As for him, even his messages were a pleasure for me. There were no mistakes, all the commas were in right places. Now many people make mistakes because of the T9 function. Denis could build a good sentence, could string two words together. Just an educated man with an enormous heart. I really respect many-sided people. He did so many things - he wrote scripts and music, he was a photographer. I like such people, I want to socialize with such people. As for him - I don't know why he liked me."

"What was the secret of his irrepressible energy? Sport is time consuming and challenging, that could be enough for him - he had done a lot, hadn't he?"

"You see a similar person in front of you. I don't know another way to live, I want to do something. Television, theater, movies. Why, actually? Yet I can't do without that. It is interesting for me, I have a desire. And he had a desire and interest. He had a rest, he had trainings, yet he wanted to try something else. I understand him. We don't know another way to live."
 

neraiselle

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 8, 2006
Thank you Rina RUS, for this interview and translation. Tears swelled up again as I read. Their relationship seemed to be really special, and Alexei seems deeply affected by loss of Denis.
 

Rina RUS

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Country
Russia
About competitions in memory of Denis Ten, about shows...

The director of management of sport in Almaty had a meeting with Alexei Yagudin and Denis Ten's mother. They talked on organising a competition in memory of Denis Ten and on development of figure skating in Almaty.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpWztKnlSvr/

Alexei Yagudin: I also talked to Ilya Averbukh. He wanted to do a show in memory of Denis Ten very much. Yet finally we decided, that many people - highly likely it would be so - many people would say: "they make money on their friend's death" - sorry. /.../ I'm sure, that the "Denis and friends" show will also have continuation a bit later. /.../ There will be a competition of a decent level - not a grand prix stage, of course, - kind of a challenge. It will take place here. I believe I will participate in organising it, it will be held every year in Kazakhstan. In memory of Denis Ten. Highly likely it will be held in autumn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSgt8a-NSGs

Alexei Yagudin: Denis and I held the previous master class together. I think... (Sorry.) I think it is not only the main job for me. I've been doing figure skating from that time when I was 4 years old. I'm 38 now. So if I will be called, I won't be thinking whether I'd like to go or not. One who has humane attitude to life, should do it. One shouldn't lose humane mind, humane face. First of all, one should remain a human being - even if I repeat myself: one should remain a human being. One should give what he can give, to the young generation - including kids which will represent your country. Not long ago it was three months since he had gone. I'm sure... my wife Tanya Totmianina is an Olympic champion as well, but she was in another country. Yet I'm sure noone will say: "I don't feel like it". Everyone will try to adapt their schedules, if this undertaking will have continuation.
Gaukhar Omar: He was fond of supporting young talents - small kids who just start skating - and developing of figure skating in Kazakhstan in general. All the master classes organised by Denis, all the events were free, he never had any commercial goals.
Denis Ten: We have many kids who do sport, they are talented, they have goodwill. We have ice arenas. We have everything to bring up champions. We don't have enough professionalism, coaching tradition, don't have a system. We try to develop such system through these activities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz3xaNOu_cU

Alexei Yagudin: I have another attitude to kids now, because I'm a father of two daughters. Last year I had a free school in Moscow in Gorky Park, it will work this year again. In spring more likely we will open our own school. So any master classes... (I always weigh all pros and contras.) A master class has no negative sides, only good sides. These are athletes who start their lives and their ways in sport, it's nice to spend time with them, to tell something. /.../ If you say constantly to someone, that he is ugly... (sorry) He won't care, when you say it for the first time. Yet when you repeat it again and again, he'll start to worry: "damn, I'm ugly!" The same works for master classes: we talk and talk, we let them see, that everything is possible. Here I am: my hair becomes grey, I'm 38 years old - yet here he is: a man who won the Olympic gold. So it is possible. We give them not only skating exercises, we also charge them, stimulate them. I'm happy, that... Unfortunately Denis and I held all the previous master classes together - and now I feel lonely on the ice. Yet I'm happy, that Oxana phoned me, invited me, and if this undertaking will have continuation... it doesn't have even a tiny negative part, it is a good deed. We should not only take, we should also give. If it will have continuation, I'm always happy to be in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln8M3b3OBDU
 

SarahSynchro

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
Country
Canada
Alexei Yagudin‘s raw emotion, his sadness, his anger, his disbelief - it tears me up inside to read. Such love and respect he has for Denis, who felt the same for Alexei, I am certain. I still can’t believe he’s gone. :(
 

neraiselle

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 8, 2006
Just wanted to write because it's going to be four months tomorrow since Denis is gone, and also Denis was originally assigned to the Rostelecom Cup this season. It brought sad emotions to see Denis' name not on the list of competitors.
 

Lechat

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 26, 2018
Country
France
I was shocked by the way he was you know.... he had the same age of my little bro, so young with a bright future. He will still remain in our heart forever.
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 12, 2014
Country
United-States
the translation of this interview:
https://ru.sputniknews.kz/society/20181024/7767393/alexey-yagudin-denis-ten-interview.html

[B Alexei Yagudin, held a master class for young athletes in Almaty. For two hours he had been patiently explaining the subtleties of ice art to four-year-old children on the ice of the Halyk Arena.

I've just now read your translation, Rina Rus, and thank you very much for it. I love the way Alexei speaks, putting everything in emotional terms; and just this one interview is a treasure of a tribute to Denis as a person.

The above sentence piqued my interest in particular. Explaining the Subtleties! of Ice Art! to four-year-olds! How wonderful. I must admit that I have no idea what most ice skating classes for 4-year-olds are like, but I certainly could wish for the art of figure skating to be as fundamental everywhere as how to do a 3-turn or whatever other technique they're learning.

"It is often said that people need to keep in touch with each other to save their friendship, to phone every day, to communicate. No. For me personally, friendship is such a relationship when it's OK not to see the person, not to talk for a long time. There was some kind of invisible thread between Denis and me. First of all, I don't feel like I'm 38 years old, I hope I'm young either. By the way, Denis kept saying "vy" to me for a long time. I was saying to him: "Look, we are not equals in age, but we are similar.""

I completely agree, Alexei. :)
 

4everchan

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 7, 2015
Country
Martinique
as we wrap up 2018... people make lists of those gone. It still hurts me deeply to think about Denis's death and its circumstances. Every time I see his picture, my eyes get filled with water. It is only as of late that I have stopped bursting into tears. The new year is about new beginnings : I hope that all of us still grieving Denis will find a safe place for him in our hearts and memory. LY4everD10
 

rnois13

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 4, 2017
They deserve more. They'll never feel the pain and sorrow Denis had when they put him down to his death.
 

anonymoose_au

Insert weird opinion here
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Country
Australia
Glad to hear that some justice has been served with these sentences, but it's still so very sad. The Denis Ten Official Instagram page has been posting updates and makes me miss Denis's posts so very much, he had so many plans and so much to give.

I hope the sentences can bring his family some peace though.
 
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