Alina Zagitova

[flanker]

Hi guys, I have been a lurker in this thread for some time now, and Alina's fan for much longer. There is an article in Russian from "FS World" magazine (look at the last teamzagitova post on IG, I can't post a link as it's my first post). Would you like me to translate it to English? I found it interesting.

You are welcome. And yes, please, translate it if you can.

 

[egoshina]

Here we go! First batch

When dreams come true
The Olympic season got to be the most successful in Alina Zagitova’s career. Victories in GPF, Russian Nationals and Europeans, gold and silver medals at the Olympics, if it weren’t for unsuccessful performance at the Worlds in Milan, she would have collected all the titles in the season. But, as the figure skater said herself, the performance in Milan only increased her motivation for the future.
After the success at the OG, Alina confessed that she had one more dream – to have Akita-Inu dog, sincere, touching, slightly naïve wish of a teenager. On 26th of May, the president of Akita Inu preservation society Takashi Endo, in presence of prime-minister of Japan Shinzō Abe and his wife, presented Alina with 3 month old Akita Inu puppy, who the skater named Masaru, which means Victory in Japanese.
Q. Alina, please tell how this story with Akita Inu began?
A. After the Olympics I told about my dream of Akita Inu in the interview. My parents started receiving calls and were offered puppies. There were about 25 various offers, and among them there was an offer from the offer from the president of Akita Inu preservation society Takashi Endo. The Japanese picked a female dog (“girl-dog”) of calm temper, not large, not to fluffy so that there is no much wool, especially for me. First, they sent photos of the dog, and then the video. And when in April I came to Japan for a show, I met with Mr Endo-san and we talked. They showed me several puppies, and I liked Masaru at first sight. I always choose like this, my first impression never fails me.

tbc...

 

[FreeSkater]

Alina Zagitova in Japan. 02.08.2018. Interview Mezamashi TV Show. 1080p 60fps Full Version
https://youtu.be/igvwqC2OEsU

 

[egoshina]

Alina's interview, part 2 (more to follow)

At the end of May Masaru came to Moscow. Before that, at Akita Inu festival in japan, she was presented to everyone and she was presented as a dog for me. I recorded a video message and mailed it to Mr Endo-san, thanked everyone for such a nice gift. By that time I had already read a book about Akita Inu breed which was given to me by the staff of consulate of Japan in Moscow. I learnt a lot about how to deal with these dogs, what to feed them, how much to walk them. After they gave me the dog at Metropol, my parents and I also talked to Mr Endo-san for an hour. He gave a very detailed overview. He gave me a ‘house’ for Masaru, her toys, medicine, food – everything what was needed for the first time. He explained who to contact if there were questions, as there is Akita Inu society in Moscow too.
Q. Who will take care of the dog, as you are going to be often away for competitions?
A. My grandmother and I. Mr Endo-san said that there was no need for Masaru to have a cynologist (dog-handler). We can teach her everything ourselves. The main thing is to feed her at the same time, walk her, half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening, follow the schedule. Masaru won’t grow up big. He said that these dogs can easily live in a flat. It’s some kind of Akita Inu. They are calm, communicative and kind by nature. In our family we love animals very much, so Masaru will be taken care of.
Q. You also have a cat and chinchillas, don’t you?
A. Yes, we have a cat, her name is Iriska. We used to have two chinchillas –Dymka (this is the mother) and Tatoshka (her daughter). The granny’s friends, when they found out about Masaru, offered to take the chinchillas. At first, granny agreed, but then changed her mind at the last minute. But then we had to give the chinchillas away, though it was hard. You get very attached to the animals, they become family. And how to live without them? Can’t imagine. Iriska is always sensitive to my mood. If I come home tired, she follows me everywhere, lays beside me – tries to calm me down. Last spring, the Japanese journalists came over. It turns out they have TV programmes about unusual animals, and they picked Iriska. Maybe because she cures, calms down.
Q. Maybe, there will be films about Masaru now.
A. They have already filmed her. Masaru is used to cameras and mics. She reacts calmly to those. I took to my puppy immediately. Finally, I have a true friend.

 

[dante]

Hi guys, I have been a lurker in this thread for some time now, and Alina's fan for much longer. There is an article in Russian from "FS World" magazine (look at the last teamzagitova post on IG, I can't post a link as it's my first post). Would you like me to translate it to English? I found it interesting.

Google Translate is mostly adequate nowadays, so personally, I only translate short quotes and make English subtitles on youtube. But anyway, translating whole articles is a great practice and there is nothing wrong with it, if you like it.

 

[flanker]

Here we go! First batch

Alina's interview, part 2 (more to follow)

I'm very thankful for that:agree:

 

[egoshina]

... and part 3

Q. Speaking about the Olympic season – how was it for you?
At the start of the season I thought a lot – it’s Olympic cycle, Olympic season, but did not truly understand what that was, because I hadn’t even competed at the international senior level yet, let alone the Olympics.
Now I can tell that the Olympic season got to be long and hard, and I was tense all the time. Skates, pre-season tournaments, GP, championships… We had often people from the federation visiting us during the training, it was like a competition for me, I was nervous as much at the competitions. There was no opportunity to relax during all season. With each competition I had to ‘increase’ performance. I can tell that I gained a great deal of experience over the last year. It’s a pity that the Milan championship did not turn out how I wanted it to be. But all athletes experience that. We are not robots, to win all the time. Anything can happen. So someone else needed this medal more than me. And so someone above (my remark - referring to ‘higher power’, not politicking) decided that way. Also, had I won Worlds, who knows what would have happened? But now I have motiviation to go further.

 

[Finley]

Google Translate is mostly adequate nowadays, so personally, I only translate short quotes and make English subtitles on youtube. But anyway, translating whole articles is a great practice and there is nothing wrong with it, if you like it.

Any and all translations are appreciated I love Google Translate but sometimes you get some mystifying (and hilarious!) translations from certain phrases. It really helps to have a native speaker explain it and clear up misunderstandings.

 

[caballe]

... and part 3

Q. Speaking about the Olympic season – how was it for you?
At the start of the season I thought a lot – it’s Olympic cycle, Olympic season, but did not truly understand what that was, because I hadn’t even competed at the international senior level yet, let alone the Olympics.
Now I can tell that the Olympic season got to be long and hard, and I was tense all the time. Skates, pre-season tournaments, GP, championships… We had often people from the federation visiting us during the training, it was like a competition for me, I was nervous as much at the competitions. There was no opportunity to relax during all season. With each competition I had to ‘increase’ performance. I can tell that I gained a great deal of experience over the last year. It’s a pity that the Milan championship did not turn out how I wanted it to be. But all athletes experience that. We are not robots, to win all the time. Anything can happen. So someone else needed this medal more than me. And so someone above (my remark - referring to ‘higher power’, not politicking) decided that way. Also, had I won Worlds, who knows what would have happened? But now I have motiviation to go further.

Wow. The talk of “higher power”;and someone else needing the gold more, it motivating her further - it all sounds so mature. She obviously thought a lot about the failure at Worlds, and it seems she came to a conclusion that is both wise and productive. Exactly what I hoped she would take away from it.

I don’t think I will ever stop being impressed by Alina’s poise and thoughtfulness!!

 

[NoNameFace]

I think they are rebranding and Alina is part of their global campaign - yay! In my impression, I always thought of it as a more mature brand, and reinforced by the fact that it was Eteri which introduced Alina to it. [emoji16]

Exactly, from my impression Shiseido is a class, well-established brand, a 'mature' one - such rebranding process, to target it for younger audience may start with Alina as ambassador. And I have to say that she might me a perfect choice - I've had a chance to met her in Milan, she graciously signed my flag, very beautiful young woman; she has that beauty that makes her as more 'mature', being youthful at the same time. She's very photogenic with great smile. I will await some campaign photos

 

[lesnar001]

Exactly, from my impression Shiseido is a class, well-established brand, a 'mature' one - such rebranding process, to target it for younger audience may start with Alina as ambassador. And I have to say that she might me a perfect choice - I've had a chance to met her in Milan, she graciously signed my flag, very beautiful young woman; she has that beauty that makes her as more 'mature', being youthful at the same time. She's very photogenic with great smile. I will await some campaign photos

I am happy that you got the chance to meet Alina.

 

[TheBallerina]

Q. Maybe, there will be films about Masaru now.
A. They have already filmed her. Masaru is used to cameras and mics. She reacts calmly to those. I took to my puppy immediately. Finally, I have a true friend.

This. Oh my god, it melted my heart. :luv17:
Thanks, egoshina, for the translation. :luv17: As usual, our mature, wise Alinka, with positive attitudine towards the future. And her review about the World Championship is really encouraging and shows just how strong her character is. :agree:

 

[lesnar001]

Any and all translations are appreciated I love Google Translate but sometimes you get some mystifying (and hilarious!) translations from certain phrases. It really helps to have a native speaker explain it and clear up misunderstandings.

Imagine if they used "google translate" at the UN....

World Wars III, IV, and V would be starting any minute.

 

[NoNameFace]

I am happy that you got the chance to meet Alina.

It was a sheer luck to be honest - it was on Saturday, I had no ticket for Men's FP, so I planned to go see the city before going to FD later. But then, during breakfast I saw that one of GS users wants to sell Men's FP ticket and I could afford it, so I decided I'd go for it. I arrived to the arena before 2nd warm-up group of skaters and had to wait a bit to collect my ticket. when I got to the inside and started to search my sector, I saw Alina and Danill getting ready to go from one of sponsor's stalls. So I started maniacally searching my bag for Russian flag and black sharpie, following them. Caught them just before exit, praying inside that they will be not much offended. So I have my signature

 

[Finley]

Exactly, from my impression Shiseido is a class, well-established brand, a 'mature' one - such rebranding process, to target it for younger audience may start with Alina as ambassador. And I have to say that she might me a perfect choice - I've had a chance to met her in Milan, she graciously signed my flag, very beautiful young woman; she has that beauty that makes her as more 'mature', being youthful at the same time. She's very photogenic with great smile. I will await some campaign photos

She is in some very illustrious company - Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Connelly, etc. And I have to say Alina carries it off beautifully.

Having a Shiseido make-up artist do her make-up for her skating programs is a fantastic idea. Perfect marketing campaign to demonstrate product versatility in the different looks required for each of her programs. Soft and romantic for Christine in POTO and dramatic for Carmen. Not to mention a light, natural 'fresh-faced' look for Alina off the ice. Three very different personas with guaranteed international television coverage for the major skating competitions. Well played, Shiseido!

 

[NoNameFace]

She is in some very illustrious company - Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Connelly, etc. And I have to say Alina carries it off beautifully.

Having a Shiseido make-up artist do her make-up for her skating programs is a fantastic idea. Perfect marketing campaign to demonstrate product versatility in the different looks required for each of her programs. Soft and romantic for Christine in POTO and dramatic for Carmen. Not to mention a light, natural 'fresh-faced' look for Alina off the ice. Three very different personas with guaranteed international television coverage for the major skating competitions. Well played, Shiseido!

The company could even use Alina's program choices/characters being portrayed as an inspiration for day (Christine) and evening (Carmen) looks. I think that such campaign would be different and appealing.

 

[Finley]

The company could even use Alina's program choices/characters being portrayed as an inspiration for day (Christine) and evening (Carmen) looks. I think that such campaign would be different and appealing.

Exactly. It's brilliant. Normally heavy, dramatic, make-up on a 16 year old isn't my favorite thing, but creating the right look for Alina to portray the character of Carmen and stand out from center ice provides the perfect vehicle for that!

Based on the photos I also think the Shiseido artist got her make up just right for the POTO routine. She glows. Can't wait to see the look for Carmen!

 

[lesnar001]

off topic a little bit....

Watching the video of Alina on the Japanese talk show, at the top of the screen they kept showing temps for different cities and they were all very hot (35-40 range).

Japan has been mired in a heat wave for about 3 weeks! Kyoto spent 7 days in a row over 100F.

I hope the heat wave breaks very soon for them.

 

[dante]

Imagine if they used "google translate" at the UN....

World Wars III, IV, and V would be starting any minute.

No one here has started a nuclear holy war because of mistranslation; at least, most people are already used to reading "sheepskin coat" as "toe loop" and "rental" as "skating".

Maybe FS fans should represent their countries at the UN... :think:

 

[egoshina]

further bits of interview (apologies it is in bite size, I had to work )
Q. The Olympics’ victory obviously took a lot of energy. But you probably did not expect such a performance in Milan?
A. No, I did not. At the Olympics , I did not do the first combo either, but I managed to attach the second jump and did the combo at the end of the programme. In Milan I didn’t manage to do that. And it was not because I fell, got upset and the rest followed, as many said. It is not true. I already had similar experience in this season, when I fell at first jumps and then managed to skate the programme clean. I can’t tell that in the free programme I just let it go. Just that day it was like I didn’t skate, it was like a dream. I wasn’t nervous, absolutely. And it was a shock to me – how’s that possible, I’m not nervous before the competitions? And then there was a thought that something’s was off.
Q. Just empty inside?
A. Yes. Physically I was ready. The trainers and I – we were skating the programmes in full. I was doing everything OK during the training. But… such things happen.
Q. After the FP you had a day off before the Ex gala. Surely, you thought about a lot of things?
A. I can’t even describe what went through my head. Seriously, it was like a dream. I couldn’t understand what was going on. And I had to do doping tests after the performance. I am crying my eyes out, the head’s killing me, and I need to do doping tests.
Q. Did it take long?
A. You know. If I could do it within an hour that’s great. That day it took me until 3am in the morning. At the end I calmed down, accepted it. In the morning I woke up, cried again. And then started analysing, become myself again. I realised that tears wouldn’t help. And started trying to understand what went wrong? Why? Then trainers, our school administration and I went for a walk in Milan. They helped change my mood. They know how to do it. They could scold/tease , and cheer me up. And all in all, they managed to do that. For gala I had a completely different mood, I was in a good mood.

there are some further bits (about Milan, Sabina and so on) - let me know if I bored you, and I will stop