final part of the interview:
Z: Tell me, it was always unclear to me - why ТЩК? Did you agree with this or not?
A: I hated that acronym.
E: It seems to me that all three girls did not really like this abbreviation.
Z: Why? Is it because the K is the last letter in this abbreviation?
A: No, the problem is not at all in the order in which the letters are arranged. We are just very, very different people. We are so different that in no case should we be lumped together. Well, we just don't have anything common. We have different interests, different hobbies, a different way of building a dialogue - and so on up to thinking. We are just completely different. And how it was possible for us to stick together into something united just because we started performing at the same time in the same season - I don’t understand. This was done by such a narrow-minded person ...
Z: Not smart person...
A: It's just like VUKh - when I'm talking to these three girls...
E: VUKh is...
Z: Valieva, Usacheva, Khromykh.
A: When I talk to these three girls, they are as different from each other as we are. And therefore, an attempt to blind them into one lump just because there was already a ТЩК before is just ... this is insanity.
E: May I ask a question now? I don’t know if you still have questions about figure skating, but I want to talk about Alena. Alena, what do you like to do? We already know that you love quests. Tell us about these quests - they were scary or not scary. Tell us about what movies you like to watch, what movie you watched recently, if you like to read, about books, tell me which ones you like…
Z: About the music...
E: Yes, about music. Come on, tell me all about it.
A: Oh good. Everyone knows about my equestrian sport. I love show jumping. There is no dressage, but I love show jumping. I love jumping over obstacles, it's very interesting, but due to injuries and other circumstances, I have put it on pause for now. Next - about the quests. I was on a quest of horrors once - so I went with friends, with my company - and it was a nightmare. I got adrenaline, a charge of vivacity and energy for two nights in advance, and this was at 9 pm. I was afraid to go to the toilet at night. I have a studio apartment, and I was afraid to go to the toilet.
Z: Yes, you grabbed horror ...
A: We were three girls...
E: I haven't been to such quests and I don't want to.
A: Dasha Usacheva and Anya Frolova, Mark Kondratyuk and Artur Danielyan were with me. In general ... There was a horror quest, someone had to be saved, and we chose the easiest mode. This means that we cannot be touched.
It was scary. Already at the first moment a man with a chainsaw chased us. It was a nightmare. And here we are standing in the corner - Anya and Dasha are at the edges, I am in the center, and we are closed by the boys (laughs). And the boys stand like that and… Well, they have already been there, they have visited such quests many times, they knew what it was. And I went to this quest for the first time. And now I have a panic, I have a hysteria, my hands are shaking like this, I am pounding all over. Well, it was horror, but it was also interesting. It was really interesting, there was a cool actor, which we then found in all social networks (laughs). Moreover, Dasha was looking for this - and she found all the actors - and this despite the fact that we saw the face of only one of them. But she found everyone, she talked to everyone - in a word, the girl did not waste time in vain.
But in general, I prefer logical quests, that is, some ...
E: Some puzzles...
A: Yes. This is what I'm interested in. That is, in fact, there is a theme there ... I went through many quests, but one of those that I could not finish - it seems that it was about ancient Egypt. Yes, it is about Egypt. But it was a very difficult quest - the most difficult tasks had to be solved in the shortest possible time. And I didn't have five minutes. And if there wasn’t another group behind us, then we would still pass this quest. But it was difficult. The theme is Egypt. Well, of course, I passed the quest on the topic of Harry Potter - I passed without any problems at all. In my opinion, I did it then in half an hour, although I was given a whole hour.
The quest about knights also passed. Although it was also a difficult quest on the topic of the Middle Ages. And we passed it just a second before the end of the allotted time, at 59:59.
Z: So you are a gambler, very gambler, aren't you?
A: Yes. I love to play. I get excited during every workout. We often argue with each other during these training sessions. For example, I approach someone and say: “Look, if I don’t complete this element now, then I will owe you something.” I... Every day I lose something. No, then I try to recoup, of course.
E: So you can't visit Las Vegas?
A: Yes, that's right.
Z: Don't let Alyona [in the casino]!
E: Don't let her in!
Z: Can you forbid yourself?
A: Yes, of course.
E: So it's still controlled excitement?
A: Well, yes, it does not turn into fanaticism.
E: It's just that you haven't played for big money yet... So, now about movies.
Z (to Ekaterina): Well, you didn't play for big money either.
A: And I played for a lot of money!
E: Wow!
Z: But you won?
A: I will say this: in order not to lose, I tried so hard that I broke my arm!
E: Horror! That's it... What an interesting life you have. Let's talk about movies now.
A: About movies... It's difficult...
E: What do you like more - series, cartoons or ...
A: Fantasy, constant fantasy. And absolutely different, ranging from (pause) "Game of Thrones" and ending with the animated series "Adventure Time" and "Rick and Morty". I have a kind of love for Rick and Morty and Adventure Time. These are such cartoons, well ... peculiar.
E: So you prefer cartoons, if I understand correctly?
A: No, I love different things, but my father inherited my love for cartoons - he himself loved to draw comics. Therefore, I really like cartoons shot in this style.
E: Do you watch Miyazaki cartoons?
A: This is the one who...
E: Yes, Japanese cartoons, the most famous ones are Howl's Moving Castle for example.
Z: "Totoro"...
E: Yes, Totoro.
A: Yes, I watched several of these cartoons, I probably liked two of them, but not all of them.
Z: Not everything suits you?
A: Well, there was something wrong with that…
Z: What did you like about Miyazaki?
A: As for Harry Potter...
Z: "Totoro"?
A: Of course.
Z: Why "of course"? I liked this cartoon, I watched with my mouth open and said: "this is brilliant." I showed this cartoon to my friends, and they said: "Ugh, this is so primitive." I tell them: “Yes, you don’t understand, there ...”
E: I really like that Miyazaki makes cartoons that are suitable for both adults and children.
Z: It's... Because it's not really cartoons. This is an anime, that is, "Totoro" is ... That is, "Totoro" you liked, but some of his other films - not?
A: Well, for example, I started watching Naruto. It was interesting for the first two seasons (it's kind of an unrealistically long show). And I didn't watch until the end, because it's impossible. It's just impossible! But I watched the series “The Magnificent Century”, probably twice each episode, because at first my mother watched, and I listened, and then I watched it all myself.
Z: Excuse me, but when do you manage to do all this? You have training, study ...
E: Also quests!
A: It was a moment ... Now I will say ...
Z: Maybe it was during quarantine?
A: I think it was before the quarantine. But during the quarantine, I also watched a lot of things. About Harry Potter - this is my mother who loves films about Harry Potter and Twilight ...
E: I just wanted to ask if you love it all, or your mom...
A: These were my favorite films, they taught me from childhood, from about the age of seven. From the age of seven, if a Harry Potter movie was shown on TV channels, my mother and I immediately sat down on the sofa in front of the TV.
Z: Did you enjoy it? And what about "Twilight"?
A: Twilight too, all the time. By the way, I think it was in December, on some channel showed "Twilight". I can even name the exact date - it was from December 24 to 26.
E: Yes, I remember. Tell me, please, but what is more interesting for you ...
Z: Can we move on to the question about the program?
E: Now, wait a second, I just want to continue the topic for now. Did you watch the movie first, or did you read the book, or did it happen at the same time?
A: First I watched "Twilight", and then I got a series of books "Twilight" in English, I read them in order to improve my level of this language. These books were given to me, for which I am very grateful. And the same can be said about Harry Potter. At first I watched films about him, and then Olga Yermolina gave me books, also in English. I don't know where she found these books, but I was very happy. And then I also bought the missing books from this series myself and read them.
E: Was it more interesting for you to read these books in English or in Russian?
A: It's hard to read in the original. Because there I was more focused not on learning the story (which I already knew) and not on fantasizing, but on replenishing my vocabulary. I learned how this or that word is translated, why it was used, and not an approximate synonym. In general, I studied English rather than read.
Z: Do you have a good level of English now?
A: Well, to some extent yes, but to some extent no.
Z: Okay, now about the Twilight program - whose idea was it?
A: One thing is the junior competition. I then went out on the ice with my eyes lined with black mascara and in very thin pantyhose - 5 den. That is, I forgot the usual tights, there were only such, and under them - very white legs. It was winter, it was cold outside, there was no tan on the skin. At the same time, I performed with the Angel program - a white dress, white ice, white legs, black eyes. Daniil Markovich saw me and said: “You look like a vampire.” And I thought: “Exactly!”.
I also remembered that moment from Twilight with baseball - and I have always been delighted with this episode. Well, I said: "Let's...". And so we started staging a demonstration performance - it turned out to be so cool that we decided to make a full-fledged program.
Z: And you shined with this program!
A: I will say more - I still perform this program!
Z: Tell me when the 2020 World Figure Skating Championships were canceled [how did you react]
A: There was such a joke - “I'm at the peak of my decline” (laughs). That is, someone goes to the peak of form, and I was at the peak of my decline. I had an injury, I had an injury before the European Championships. And I had already begun to treat this injury, I was in this incomprehensible floating position. I forced myself as best I could, tried to bring this all to the end. And when the World Figure Skating Championship was cancelled, I didn't suffer from it. I then thought: “Great! Now I will continue to heal."
E: And everyone says: “Alena should have gone there and won gold!”
Z: I don't understand... Yes, everyone was sure that this was your season.
A: I was silent again, I sat and thought: “I am at the peak of my decline”
E: Can you imagine how things are going...
Z: How did you win the European Championship, I can't understand.
A: Everyone is surprised by this. I had a whole week before that… well, maybe not the whole week, I didn’t skate – at a crucial stage of preparation for the European Championships, because I had a problem with my back. I was doing the spins and at one moment I realized that I can’t sit, I can’t walk and I can’t do anything at all, I’m just a lying vegetable. I did not feel pain only when I lay down.
And so I didn’t train for several days, and my mother took me for several days in this lying position for physiological procedures, then the РФК began (Developing Physical Culture - a method for correcting minor curvatures of the spine). At some point, representatives of the federation came - and I walk something near the edge, trying to remember something. And so they come up to me and ask: “Why don’t you do anything?”. I think: “Well, you talked to the coaches, didn’t they really tell you that I had problems with my back.” They say: “Why didn’t you tell us about this? We would have cured you faster, we would have taken you for a special examination.” And I didn't know what to answer.
And at the European Championships, I skated just by some miracle, using my previous experience. Well, I told you that I am a plus start athlete. Here I have it. Adrenaline, drive + old luggage - and go.
Z: Well, you there, like in general in that season, triple axels did just one after the other.
E: Yes, it was very beautiful.
A: In fact, the triple axel is a very comfortable jump for me. I can’t always be sure of it, there may be some doubts, but if you get where you need to, this jump is very comfortable. That is, I can do a triple Axel even if I can't land 3+3 combinations. I'm underrotate these combinations, or fall during their performance, but I calmly do a triple axel.
Z: Maybe it was a result of how carefully you were trained to do the double axel?
A: It's just that I'm very comfortable doing this jump.
E: Well, you know how... Forgive me for the comparison, but now Trusova can't do a triple axel, she just falls, but she does quadruple jumps without any problems.
Z: The triple Axel is a special jump.
E: Yes, and that's why this detail is especially interesting... Look, I have such an important question for you. We talked with you, you opened up to me from a completely different side. It's one thing to listen to your interviews, read Wikipedia, follow the competitions, and another thing is live communication, looking into each other's eyes. You are a very extraordinary person, really very interesting and cool. And now I see: you are a European champion, you already have a name in sports. It is clear that you now have an excellent baggage of experience, it is clear that you can gain more, it is clear that there is still room for development.
But, as you say now, you still have some problems. Maybe it's health issues and so on. You perfectly understand that there are young girls who will now take the lead with quadruple jumps, you are changing coaches. At the same time, you are very smart, you want to study, you are already getting two higher educations, you want to study as a surgeon ...
A: As a neurosurgeon.
E: Yes, neurosurgeon, thanks.
Z: High medicine...
E: So you...
A: I am also studying in two directions at one of the institutes ...
E: So, that is, you already have grandiose plans, you are interested in being a coach, and students will run to your name, believe me - I know what I'm talking about. So what motivates you to keep going?
A: And I love…
E: What do you expect from yourself? What are you waiting for from yourself?
A: I love this sport. I once had an interview during which I said something like: “I will skate for another four years, and then stop.” But now I realized that I was not just wrong then - I'm bored of living without this adrenaline, without this excitement. I need that excitement of ice. That is, I like to go out in public, I like this kind of work. I just enjoy it. It doesn't matter if I succeed or not - I fall, roll on the ice, cry - I still like it.
E: When… Again, I'm not calling for anything, I'm just very interested, because I have already talked with athletes and I have my own experience. When this moment of the end of her career comes up ... Here is the amazing Alena Leonova, who was also at her peak, then her career began to decline a little, she continued to skate, but at some point she decided to stop. How do you imagine - when such a moment can come for you? Or do you not want to think about it at all yet, and will you skate until you break completely?
A: Probably, at some point I will feel one way or another - that's all. And this will not be due to the fact that I can’t get some element, or I don’t have enough strength to complete the program. The reason should be the disappearance of interest in figure skating. Perhaps this is how it should be.
Z: Well, well, now you have this interest. What does it mean - you are interested in making a new program, performing with it ...
E: Or are you interested in returning to the old skating, learning quadruple jumps?
A: It would be interesting for me to enter competitions, major competitions, I am interested in these ice performances that I can convey to the audience. Of course, I'm interested in new programs, working with new people. Well… No, not that the first place was the main motive, but it is still much more pleasant when you work hard and then take one of the places on the podium. At the same time, you understand: here I worked and received just such an award, here I also worked and also received, but here I could not work - and, accordingly, nothing will happen. Here is an interesting thing for me.
Z: You have already worked with different choreographers. Are there other people you would like to work with? Or is it pointless to think about it now?
A: Yes, it is useless to think about it now.
Z: Could you create a program for yourself?
A: Well, to some extent, maybe I did the Harley Quinn program for myself. That is, of course, coaches helped me, but, let's say, the main idea was completely mine. I made several mistakes there - for example, the musical fragments were not mounted correctly. But the main ideas are “here I will do this, and here I will do that, but for this moment such music will do.” They say to me: “but there are indecent expressions here,” and I: “this is muted.” The costume was also my responsibility, I did everything myself. More precisely, I brought a version of this costume, and they helped me develop this version.
I think it was a good experience, but I don't want to create programs for myself.
E: How did you work with Lena Radionova?
A: Oh, very interesting. At some point, the coaches were joking with us, because ... At some point, we are skating together, and if I get into music (and Lena always gets into music), then it seems that we are with her is two clones. At some point, Elena Germanovna came up to us and said: “Lena, do you see her? It's you". I said: “Of course, because I learned from her example when I was young.”
Z: And who else was an example for you?
A: Adeline.
Z: Yes, Sotnikova.
E: Would you like her to put on a program for you? Well, to work together...
Z: Is she doing this?
E: Adelina does it, she creates programs for her students, she already has some experience, and then she is an Olympic champion.
Z (to Ekaterina): You know, we seem to be forcing Alena to give some definite answer ...
E: No, I'm just asking if it's interesting or not.
A: It will be interesting for me to work with everyone…
E: With everyone?
A: Yes. Plus, now, when we were doing a common performance, Adelina noticed that we were somehow ugly standing, and began to tell us how to stand up and what to do. She corrected what had previously been unsuccessfully invented. In general, it was interesting, we all liked it.
I stopped there, because the song performed by Alena was further discussed, as well as the prospects for her training as a neurosurgeon. Nothing was said about figure skating.
