Have these interviews with the Aleksandra's parents and herself ever been publicised here?
https://vk.com/@eteritutberidze-vya...sha-v-pervuu-ochered-doch-kot?ref=group_block
Here is my take on " Vyacheslav Trusov: “For me, Sasha is first and foremost a daughter who loves her dad very much ”
Q: Many dads dream of their first-born son, with whom you can then go to the football and join him in male activities. Sasha has a strong character, did you bring her up in this vein?
A: My wife and I initially planned that we would have more than one child. And when Sasha was born, I was happy. Dads love their daughters, and Sasha is my favourite girl.
What about her character? I don’t know ... When Sasha was sent to sports, we first of all thought about her health so that she would be less ill. But we always tried to accustom both Sasha and our two sons to work, because a child from childhood on should understand that it is necessary to work in life. You won’t get anything without it.
Q: As far as I know, you yourself were engaged in wrestling, hand-to-hand combat, so you understand what professional sport is.
A: Therefore, I did not want my child, especially daughter, to choose this path.
Q: Why?
A: Because I went through it myself, I know how complicated this is. Of course, sport raises your character, accustoms you to order, hard work. But professional sport is a very tough job. And for me, Sasha is primarily a daughter who loves her dad very much. And looking at how hard she works, I sometimes become her ...
Q: You pity her?
A: Yes. I can not help myself. I understand everything about the trainers, Eteri Georgiyevna saying the right words, that you need to make a child work, fine tune her. But I will always be on the side of my daughter, and no one will convince me otherwise. If tomorrow Sasha suddenly says: “Dad, I want to rest”, I will not interfere. Figure skating, a professional sport - this is Sasha’s choice. I never forced and never will force her to train. She does it herself, because she likes it.
Q: When did you realise that your daughter’s desire to do figure skating is a conscious one?
A: When she was seven years old. Although at 5 and at 6 years old, Sasha said she would become an Olympic champion. Until the age of seven, she was figure skating in Ryazan, and after that we began to take her to Moscow for some rounds of skating, we looked for trainers, went to summer camps. For two years in a row over the summer, Sasha trained with Yelena Vladimirovna Konyukhova. By this time, I already understood that this was not just a hobby, but her conscious desire. And no matter how hard the training, Sasha never said - 'I don’t want this, I won’t go'.
Q: And for the sake of your daughter's future did you move to Moscow?
A: I have my own business, which is not tied to a specific city. Frequent business trips etc., Moscow is more convenient in this regard. It was not difficult for us to get here. But basically, of course, I did it for Sasha. Someone from the family discouraged, that we shouldn't, because Sasha is still a child, and we, the parents, are imposing our choice on her. But this is not true. It was
Sashino's desire, her choice. We just tried to help her. I don’t think that we sacrificed anything, because parents should help their children. This is normal. At one time, my dad and mom did the same when I was involved in sports. And then why live, if not for your children? After all, the point here is not even in the returns that you will receive later, but more in upbringing so to teach children to respect their parents.
Q: This season, Sasha won the Junior Grand Prix finals and the World Cup. What have you experienced? Pride?
A: Of course. And a huge stress ... When I myself was an athlete, I could not understand why my father was so worried about me. I still sometimes participate in amateur competitions. But neither before, nor now did I feel such excitement, jitters even, as at Sasha’s competitions. For some time now I just can’t watch them. It’s such a stress for me ... I went with Japan to the Grand Prix finals with Sasha, but I still couldn’t force myself to come to the rink. Sasha said that there were no tickets, that I wouldn't make it, but in fact I wandered around the city to cope with the excitement.
When Sasha started with skating, I went with her to the competitions. I understood that she needed support, because she still did not know how to properly configure herself, to distribute her powers. I remember that in 2015 we arrived in Velikiy Novgorod for the championship of Russia among junior men and women. The competition lasted 3 days, and all this time the kids had to keep themselves up, not to waste their emotions and strength in advance. It is difficult when there is no experience, and yet you lead from the first day. And I realised that Sasha is simply not good enough. I honestly said: “Sasha, you probably won’t win, but remember this day so as not to repeat this.” I added that this is an experience. And there is not a single Olympic champion who has never lost in his sports career.
Of course, when an athlete is still young and has no experience, then parents take on the role of psychologists. You should really talk to your children. Sasha and I talk a lot. She trusts me. She can call, complain, ask how best to do it, because "you, dad, as an athlete will understand me." It is clear that Sasha spends all day with her mother. I do not think this is right, because the child must be independent. But, apparently, everything has its own time and place. Perhaps they are right, since Sasha now needs it. (her mother's continuous presence?)
Q: After winning the World Cup, and even performing two quads in her program, did Sasha change?
A: Not too much. But to be able to survive your successes is also not easy, you need to prepare a child for this, teach it. Sasha, as I've said, from childhood on had a goal to win the Olympics and not one, but two. I often repeat to her winning a championship title, despite all the difficulties, is easier than holding on to it later. The main thing is not to “star”, but to continue working. Let's see what will happen next season.
Sasha is now at a training camp. Trains in a strong group where there is fierce competition. As an athlete, I understand all this, and the coaches are probably doing it right. There are moments with which I do not agree, but I try not to interfere. If the coach is successful, then so be it. Tutberidze is a person of crazy working capacity. She can fly from Japan in the morning and be in training at 9 in that same morning. She works hard, loves to work. It would seem that as a coach, she achieved high results? But the way she is applies herself at the training camp in Novogorsk! .. Her character is like that.
Q: As a person who was professionally involved in sports, do you give Sasha advice?
A: How otherwise? Sport affects various areas of life. Health, proper nutrition, scheduling, training, recovery, communication with the press, fans ... As in any business, an athlete can also have different situations, problems, but I’m sure that a person can achieves everything though his work and it all depends on his desire to work, his work ethics. Even if for some reason, something does not work out, there is no a reason to despair and spoil your life.
For example, I have always considered the Olympic Games the pinnacle of the career of any athlete. But after the recent events, what happened at the Games in Brazil and Korea, my opinion has changed a lot. How can athletes not be allowed into the Olympics without even explaining the reasons? And well done our skiers, who did not flinch, but continued to perform in other competitions. Professional sports, and especially figure skating - where you have a fairly short life span, is not all or your life. After sports, if you wish, there will be many opportunities to realize yourself in other areas.
But you must always remain a normal person. And I always teach Sasha to respect journalists, fans, because this is also part of the sport. Yes, sometimes there is no desire to take pictures and communicate with people before the start of the competition. But it’s also wrong to push people away from you, because, by closing yourself off you will receive a negative response, and 90 percent will not expect a victory, but your defeat. Figure skating is an occupation that should give the audience pleasure.
I will never forget the case when our famous skaters came to Ryazan and the kids ran to them for autographs. I will not give the name of the athlete, but he immediately cut them off, indicating 'do not come to me!', and left. You should have seen the faces of children. I hope that incident made Sasha think.
Sasha has a goal, a desire to win the Olympics. She works hard herself, wanted and jumped those quads. Although there was this risk. But I never stopped my daughter. I support her in everything. Sasha has a big plus. She loves to compete, to perform. Daily training for 6-7 hours is dreary, monotonous work, but Sasha likes it, because she does it in order to show the result of her work at the competitions, to skate well. Otherwise, why all this?
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Continuing with " Svetlana Trusova: “It’s important for Sasha to set a goal and achieve it” "
Q: When did you realize that Sasha’s fascination with figure skating was serious and not a flirt?
A: Probably, when we moved from Ryazan to Moscow. We planned to do this, because of circumstances - it’s more convenient for my husband to work in Moscow. We began to talk about moving with Sasha, because not all kids want to change school, friends, teachers. But this did not stop her. On the contrary, she immediately said that she would be better off in Moscow: “The athletes and coaches are stronger there, they will teach me.” At the age of 8-9, Sasha was already reasoning in an adult way. And when such things happen, it seems to me that parents should pay attention and try to help their child realize their plans.
In fact, I would never have thought that figure skating for Sasha is, as you said, serious and longstanding. We are used to living by the day. It your day turns out well - that's good. My task is to help, to make it even better, so that Sasha is at ease, comfortable, so that she does not feel impaired due to the fact that she practices a lot of time, and summer vacation, instead of 3 months for the usual schoolchildren, is limited to 3 weeks. Therefore, we try to relax better during these 3 weeks that someone does in 3 months. Everything goes exclusively by the desires of our children. Now there are three of them - Sasha and her two brothers.
Q: Why did you choose figure skating for Sasha, and not another sport?
A: When we lived in Volgograd, once I saw a girl on ice in a costume and thought: 'that's cool'. And then we returned to Ryazan, an ice palace opened there, and we started trying, began to take Sasha to classes. She was always serious about any business. I remember she was asking for roller skates, which we gave her. And she learned to skate by herself, she slept wearing her rollers, ate, painted, did everything in them. But she achieved her goal. She has such a character since childhood.
Q: Some parents, having given their child over to sports, set a goal for him to become a champion.
A: I'm not an athlete, my husband was in sports. I went with him to all competitions, so I imagined what professional sport was. But to give Sasha over to sport, to make her a champion - no. There was no such task implied. Even when she began to succeed, and I was advised to send her to a sports boarding school, I was against it. It seemed to me that while having a normal family life, sending a child to a boarding school is wrong. So afterwards she says “For what I am doing all this? Why have I been alone for so long?” No, I didn't want this. If we go, then all together, so that everyone would be happy. My husband is always of the opinion that, first of all, we do not raise a champion, but a normal person - their personality. Sport, as you know, helps to cultivate your character, but it’s important that a normal person grows out of a son or daughter, with a normal outlook on life. So it is for us.
Sasha herself really wants to skate. Good. In general I think that in big sports, without desire nothing can be achieved. You can, of course, force a child for some time, but this will not last long. My opinion is that a person who receives pleasure from his profession, from those things that are important in life, is doing things right. Regardless of whether he is an athlete or a doctor, a teacher ... Everyone needs to find his own specialty. And if Sasha has this figure skating - for God's sake. We have an ordinary son, he has normal abilities, everyone praises him, but he goes to the sports classes more for the game itself. And Sasha was different.
Q: Was it immediately visible?
A: Yes. She is a leader by nature. She always wants to be the best. And she will try, do it. She was always like that. She had to win all the competitions. I think that Sasha’s character is even stronger than mine, although I’m older and more experienced.
Q: Character for sports?
A: I think yes. Sport, of course, makes you grow up faster. And sometimes, as a mother, I feel sorry for my daughter. Especially at evenings, coming back from training, when you see her tired face. But in the morning you rise, you understand 'this is life', and children will have to deal with different situations. But now everything rests on the fact that she herself likes it. We never force her.
Q: There were times when Sasha displayed another, still unfamiliar side?
A: Sasha grew a little shy. At home she could recite long poems, but when someone came to visit, and we asked her to read, she was shy. And then the first competitions. She was then 4 years old, almost five. Before the competitions I'd ask: “Sasha, do you understand that you’ll go out on the ice alone?” She nods. Half of her friends in the locker room are fighting fits of hysteria, afraid to go out. And Sasha stands at the boarding and watches the athletes who perform in front of her. Next to her, I’m saying something and notice she doesn’t hear me - she is so lost in herself, that distant look. They call her, she goes on the ice, does everything. At that moment I was amazed that at that age Sasha could concentrate so well, she tuned herself in, went out and nailed it. I honestly did not expect this, till the last moment I thought that she would not go out, would be shy, would say: "Mom, close the gate."
Then there were more competitions. Sasha passed the selection at regional level. She was already over five years old. A program was prepared, a dress ready. And in the morning, on the day of the competition, Sasha gets sick. I wake her, I check: her nose is stuffy, hoarseness, tears ... I ask: will you go to perform? Because, you have to understand, she was prepared for the competition, she wanted to perform. But as a mother I worry, because my child is sick. We did not take her temperature then. Sasha immediately jumped up, dressed, sprayed her nose, we arrived, she went out and took 3rd place. We even have a photo: she is in a pink dress, happily standing there.
The most amazing thing is that the next day the cold went away. Probably, after these cases, I realized that Sasha has a strong character. Never, not once in my life, there were excuses like I was sick, it will not work, I will not go or I do not want to. No - I am prepared, I’ll get ready and do it.
Q: Do you watch her competitions? Your husband said that he was worried and could not force himself to come to Sasha’s performances.
A: I travel with her, watch, but only her actual skates. I come to the competition, set our things up and go watch her programs. It seems to me that by my presence I help her. Therefore, I try to travel everywhere. Thanks to my husband and grandparents who me give this opportunity, by staying with the kids. The Federation and our Sambo-70 school help with the paperwork and visas. Everyone comes to meet.
All the while Sasha is comfortable with me. But even if she grows up and does not need such support anymore, I will still go, because it is important, I'm interested. And since Sasha has long hair, we are doing her hair together. Sasha from childhood does not allow her hair to be cut. We only trim the ends. Moreover, she strictly monitors how much is cut off. God forbid, one of the hairdressers disobeys and cuts off more than necessary - we will not return to this hairdresser. When Sasha was small, she wore bangs. But since they were removed, her hair has grown, in figure skating bangs don’t look very beautiful.
Q: Sasha has changed after winning the World Cup?
A: We have such a large family that no one will let you feel like a champion for long. Sasha loves her brothers very much. On each trip she says: “We're done, let's go pick everyone presents.” The only thing that upsets her is that you have to buy not these beautiful toys but terrible spiders, which the boys like. I’ll say, “Let's buy this,” and she: “No, mom, you want to buy what you like, but they would like this better.”
I can safely leave her with the boys. True, she does not particularly likes to remain with the eldest, because she is very responsible. She needs everything to be the way I do. And the brothers do not always obey ...
After the World Cup, Sasha has not changed. Maybe she herself will be a little worried now, because she needs to live up to the title of Champion. It is always easier to be second, and then jump out from behind, than to set the bar in front of you and match up to it.
When we returned from Sofia, Sasha fell ill. High fever, muscles failing her. Apparently, a virus she picked up. Because of this, she could not even go to a banquet after the competition. Everyone was celebrating, and she was lying in our room under the covers. So that moment was not very noteworthy.
Q: After the World Cup, a discussion arose in the press about whether young athletes need to learn and jump quadruple jumps. What do you think?
A: But Sasha did not immediately began to jump the quads. She worked them out for a long time in training. How many times she came running towards me with joy, saying: “I did a clean skate with the quads ... Again I did everything in training. Great, great.” But in the competition, not everything worked out. And when she skated in Sofia without errors, I did not think that my daughter went down in history as the first with two quads. Seriously. I was just glad that she did what she could.
She always wanted to jump quads. And I think that when you tell her - don't learn quads, perhaps she will quit with figure skating altogether. She needs always to go further. She can't just skate and skate. Yes, she will fully perform all the elements, everything that is needed. But for Sasha, I think it is important to set this goal and achieve it. It’s clear that it’s difficult, that it’s harder each time to restore yourself from a rest. But she likes what she does. And I think that the new rules will not impair her - fewer or more jumps, she just wants to learn and learn. It is her choice, her path is like that. Let's see what happens.
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Now Aleksandra's own turn: " Aleksandra - beauty, long plaits"
Figure skater Alexandra Trusova is 14 years old. She believes in fairy tales. She loves Harry Potter stories. She herself looks like a fairytale princess - long hair that has not been cut since birth. She can wear the crown, because Sasha won the Junior World Championships and became the first athlete in the history of world figure skating to perform two clean quadruple jumps in competitions. But even after such a success, Sasha immediately took off her “crown”, because the new season and new goals are ahead.
Q: Sasha, what was the main objective for you last season?
A: The fact that I jumped two quadruples - Salchov and Toeloop. I trained them for so long, but I couldn’t do them at the competitions, and in Sofia I finally managed to.
Q: Has it come to your realisation that you became the first female skater in the history of figure skating to perform two quadruple jumps?
A: Until the end, I probably still did not understand this first thing that got me into the history of figure skating. All week after the World Cup I felt very good. I read on the Internet about my performances. They wrote a lot, put up a video. But then it all went away. I'm getting ready for the new season.
Q: There wasn't this feeling that now you’re knee-deep in the sea, you can do everything?
A: No. You shouldn't allow yourself such thoughts, because they interfere with training.
Q: What did mom and dad give you for your success?
A: From the Internet I chose a scooter, with an electric motor, that I could ride myself. Showed it to dad, he looked, said 'all right'. And when they brought the scooter, it turned out to be very large. Like a motorcycle. It can reach a speed of 45 km/h ...
Q: AND?
A: I ride it. Two minutes from home and I am at the rink. The three of me and my brothers fit on it. After my victory dad said: "Finally, you caught up with me." Although my title Master of Sports is equal to his, it has not yet been awarded to me because I did not participate in the Russian championship because of my age. But dad is very happy. And in general the whole family is happy. My brother Yegor, wherever we go, says to everyone: "My sister is the world champion." He even tells people in the elevator.
Q: At what point did you realise that the fanfare died down, you'd have to start all over again, switch into working mode?
A: At the end of the season, of course, everyone relaxed a bit. And now training camp has begun we immediately started training, because after our rest we need to get involved again, recollect ourselves to continue training.
Q: Do you think in the new season it will be easier or harder for you?
A: It's one thing when you are not known, and another when you go out on the ice with the title of World champion. Of course, there will be more attention. Now I'm working on new programs, with quadruple jumps. I will try to skate without errors, not thinking about what happened last season. You should always look only ahead.
Q: Do you plan to jump two quads in a free program?
A: See for yourself. New programs were staged. They were made by Daniil Markovich Gleikhengauz and Eteri Georgiyevna Tutberidze. It seems to me that the programs will be different, but I do not want to talk about this in detail yet.
Q: How did you relax, where?
A: In America. We drove with the whole family to Orlando. It so happened that Eteri Georgiyevna with Diana, and Artyom Frolov from our group were on holiday there. The boys and I went to Disneyland. We rode the rides. We wanted to ride all of them, but the park closed. Otherwise, Diana and I would have walked around.
This is not the first time I have been to America. Two years ago, my parents promised to take me to Disneyland, and we drove off. And now my brothers have grown up, it became more interesting to them. This time we examined almost all the parks. Both at Seaworld and at Busch Gardens we've been. We left in the morning, returned in the evening.
Q: What was most memorable?
A: In Universal, there was a corner about Harry Potter. They sold cloaks, brooms, and magic wands. You wave your wand, make the right movements, and the pen takes off or something else happens. We bought such a wand, although, of course, it does not conjure at home. And there was also a “Platform 9 3⁄4” where it’s possible to pass through the wall.
From the park, I liked the ride from Avatar - flying on dragons, Avatars, as in the movie, attached dragons to their pigtails. Imagine a huge screen, and you fly. My dad and middle brother “flew”. The youngest Vanya has not yet been allowed in, he and our mother remained behind. A very good trip as it turned out. I still remember it.
Q: Didn’t you take Tina, your dog with you?
A: No. We walked a lot in the parks, she wouldn't stand it. Although Tina is very worried when we all leave. I love her so much. Fans gave me a teddy bear in a dress - these same dress I skated in. I even thought: if only one could sew Tina could such an outfit. I asked my mother, maybe, ask our seamstress that does the costumes for us. But mom said she already has enough work.
Q: Your group has already begun preparing for the coming season, is it hard to recover from vacation?
A: The most difficult thing was to tune back in and continue to work and work. But I like to train, especially to jump. If the coaches did not stop me, I would always jump. They used to say to me: "Sasha, no more." But I really wanted and jumped. Now I also want to jump, but I understand that if you make too many jumps, you can injure yourself, so I listen to what the coaches say. And so I can jump without stopping.
Q: The main task for the new season?
A: I want to skate programs with clean quad jumps more often, so that in the future, at senior level, I can execute them error free with all the quads I'll jump.
Q: Do you read the press, what they write about you, about quadruple jumps?
A: After the competition I read, watch the video. But when they start to write that girls don’t have to do these jumps, that I’ll break myself, I immediately close the page. I don’t understand why they write this? I myself want to try, learn new things. Before skating the program with quads in competition, we work a lot in training, trying. I didn’t just want them, I went out and did them. I'm getting ready for this.
And if I am doing everything correctly technically speaking, warming up, rehearsing, training, then why should I get injured? If you talk like that, then you don’t need to try anything new, because everything new is difficult.
Q: I saw messages about a possible change in age in figure skating? What do you think about this?
A: It's good that everything remains as it is. I want to switch to senior skating faster.
Q: What is sport for you? Work, hobby ...
A: This is my job, because while competing I receive prize money. But this is a job that brings pleasure. Although some adults do not always enjoy their work, it agrees with me. However, money is not the main thing for me at this moment.
Q: Is competition a feast or stress?
A: I really like performing, especially when there are a lot of spectators in the hall. I liked the final of the Grand Prix in Japan. There, all the stands were completely filled, the warmth with all athletes were received. Adult skaters also performed in the finals. Scott Moir even tried to speak Russian with us. And Adam Rippon applauded me for my demonstrations, when I tried my quad and jumped lots of triples. It is good when at competitions juniors perform with the adults. We went to watch the training of the (male) senior singles. So many quads! They all jump them, just wonderful!
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