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What are your first impressions of the Olympics?
On the one hand, everything around creates such a festive atmosphere and everything is very different from our usual competitions. Here everything is different at once, and it cannot be compared with any experience I have. On the other hand, I try to restrain all these emotions a little, because I want to keep my concentration, keep my spirits up for the competition and not burn out ahead of time.
For us, this is largely a new experience - we come and train for quite a long time, and it is possible to realize all our capabilities at the competition only after a long time. Usually we come to competitions already “charged”, with new emotions that help us to show all our best qualities on the ice. And here it is better to save these emotions, not to waste them prematurely. Of course, I understand that the emotions received at the Olympics will remain with me for the rest of my life, but at the same time I want the main impressions to be received during performances, and not before.
Probably the first thing that impressed me the most, what I will remember is when I saw the sports arena itself. There you had to get out from behind the curtains. And then this curtain opens, my breath stops, goosebumps, because, as it seems to me, the Olympic arena is always different [from the usual]. This impression arises not only because of the large scale. This is a colored ice rink, very beautiful, and to be there not on the side in the stands, but right in the center of events - this is the most incredible emotions. And of all the training sessions, I remember the very first one, which took place on the main sports arena, the most. Around - an incredible number of cameras, the scale [impressive]. As soon as I raise my eyes, taking my eyes off the ice, everything is different. One senses the globality of what is happening.
A training that many people watch is still noticeably different in feel from a regular home workout. I always think that any attempt can get on the Internet, that everyone is watching every jump. Probably, the fact is that when one day passes like this, I tune in to it, as if it were a real competition. It close emotions, energy costs. And here I try to take it more calmly, because in such conditions I need to train for about two weeks, and it is important to save my strength. And if I treated every training session like a competition, it would be difficult for me.
At the very first training session, of course, I felt that I was giving my all, as in competitions. Perhaps this is how the main Olympic arena affected me - I wanted to immediately show all the best. Now we are on another, training rink - and it has become a little calmer. Throughout the day, I try not to experience any emotions. I want to pretend that everything is at home, everything is calm, we just train as usual.
Maybe cameras should be installed in Khrustalny?
Do not! The last training days went very well for me, I started to get in shape. Now we are skating in the training group with three of us plus our coaches. Probably, all these factors create the feeling of a “normal training”. If we hypothetically imagine that I came here absolutely alone and I am at the rink with strangers, and all this is shown on the Internet, I would probably worry more before each training session. Here, when, as I said, we practice at the training rink, I'm already used to it, everything goes more calmly. Of course, just like at home, I try to put maximum effort into every training session, but the mood is still different. It's one thing when I'm calm and another when I'm nervous and on adrenaline, which is actually good, but only at the right moment.
Here I try to forget about time altogether. Once I got ready to jump, out of the corner of my eye I saw a clock - it was 9 o'clock in the morning - and for some reason, already at the entrance to the jump, I began to count what time it was in Moscow. I already knew that I should not do it, because if I count, it will be more difficult for me to jump (laughs).
In fact, physically we are very well prepared. Before going out on the ice, we warm up in order to prepare our bodies. Here's another chart. In "Khrustalny" we usually start at 11-12 noon, but here all training sessions are at 8-9 am plus the time difference. Well, it's probably best to just forget about it. It's such a local feature. These are not even difficulties, not troubles, just the features of the competition.
Do you think coaches are more worried than usual?
The coaches are more experienced [than us], so they are showing complete calm so far. This is all new for us here, and the coaches already have experience, they know how to deal with it. I think that they are also nervous, but so far they don’t show it.
Some advice was given to us in advance, even when we were discussing training and performance schedules. Eteri Georgievna told us about how everything works in the Olympic Village. Now she also gives us a lot of practical advice. In training, everything is the same as always - as we were trained there, so here we continue. Eteri Georgievna gives us [advice] regarding everyday life - how to behave correctly here. She began to tell us about it in advance so that we would be ready. This happened gradually, smoothly, from the beginning of the season, so it cannot be said that we were given any instructions directly on the day of departure. No, just periodically during the season, she already told us a little about how everything happens at the Olympics.
Expectations from the Olympic village coincided with reality?
Something different from what I imagined. It's just like a real apartment, a residential complex, but I imagined it a little differently. On the other hand, I am very satisfied with my housing. We live together with Sasha in a large room, we have a lot of free space.
Firstly, we have a huge hall where we sometimes even train. We only have one workout in the gym, but we are free to train in this hall as it is really very big. Each of us has a separate room, which is very convenient. Inside this room, I feel very comfortable, there is everything I need.
There are a lot of Olympic symbols everywhere here, both at the airport and around the village, and I see the same thing inside my room, which is very pleasant for me. I have a pillow with a panda, various souvenirs, gifts - all this adds to pleasant impressions, creates an Olympic atmosphere.
Do you and Sasha feel like superstars here?
All the people I see here are athletes. And each of them is one of the best in their sport in their country. I often think about this. I come to the dining room, walk around the village - and when I see some athlete, I think - but he is one of the best in his sport, he got to the Olympics! The idea that each of them has already achieved a lot, often occurs to me. So no, I don't feel like we're some kind of superstars here, but it's still very nice.
In any case, I feel incredible support. Firstly, here everything that I see in my free time, I try to show it on social networks. You can call it my hobby. And since I don’t forget that emotions must be protected, when I see something incredible, I don’t just admire it, but I shoot it on video and upload it to share with everyone so that it remains in my memory. Maybe someday I will watch these videos and get more vivid emotions.
I try to share everything that happens here, and I get a huge amount of messages and support in response. I see it all, and I am very pleased with it. In addition, here we often see volunteers who often take pictures of us, ask for an autograph, say that they are following us, that we are very popular here. It's always so unexpected and nice. I feel a lot of support in social networks and I hope that this will help me a lot, because this factor really energizes me in competitions.
