- Joined
- Jan 25, 2013
Svetlana Veretennikova, the first coach of Liza Tuktamysheva gave this interview to a local newspaper just before the Euro Championship earlier this year while she was home for Christmas from Italy where she is living now. Though not recent I thought it gives an interesting insight into figure skating world in Russia. I’ve translated most of it (sorry for inevitable mistakes English is not my first language, any corrections/additions are welcome)
http://izvestiaur.ru/sport/10036501.html
Sochi’s Deal
Adelina Sotnikova admitted later that that she was not selected for the team event generated a surge of anger in her which ultimately resulted in her gold medal – the first for the national ladies figure skating. There were a lot of rumours about the way the team for the Olympic team event was selected: confrontation of patrons and struggle between different factions. It looked like that the more powerful & with more influence were able to push their protégés through.
- Well, every strong skater today has patrons and we shouldn’t forget about the ever going confrontation and jealousy between two schools in national figure skating – Moscow’s and St Petersburg’s. That jealousy was, is and always will be there as well as intrigue & bitter rivalry.
The figure skating world is similar to theatrical circles and not only artistically?
- It is true. Adelina Sotnikova’s coach, Elena Vodorezova, once congratulated me on my birthday and wished me to survive in a ‘reptile cage’ of figure skating. That how she said it – to survive!
So it means that Julia Lipnitskaia’s patrons were more powerful than Sotnikova’s?
- I was not at the Olympics and so can only speculate, but why would I do so publicly? The decision of putting Julia into team event turned out to be a trump card for Adelina and in the individual event a strong willed Adelina performed brilliantly.
Meanwhile in Korea people still cannot recall February 2014 without emotion. Korean fans think that in a free skate the judges stole the victory from Olympic Champion of Vancouver, Yuna Kim by giving it to a home skater.
- I only can repeat that Adelina was great. She did everything she could. Though with all due respect to her, the judges’s final placements should have been different – Yuna Kim in first, Carolina in second and only then Adelina. It was obvious that both Yuna & Carolina were underscored in PCS. But don’t forget that Olympics took place in Sochi…
Ok, just as in the national rural sports games in Udmurtia with a few exceptions the owners always win.
- Any country would try to help own athletes.
But after Sochi we got many enemies in figure skating, but then again not just after Sochi and not only in figure skating.
The Road to the Top..
Do you think that the time of skaters like Kostner, Kim and American Gracie Gold is gradually passing? Today tiny little girls – these small flies – practically push tall ladies out?
- Yes the tendency is there. The figure skating is changing. Carolina Costner had started her career under a different system and then the rules changed and the younger skaters got a chance to get to the elite faster, to develop sooner and to gain skills quicker than the established skaters. Today little girls learn quickly in order to succeed while they are still small. When a girl turns into a woman she loses technically a lot. It is not by chance that in Europe and America a skater’s development is not forced for the sake of the result. As foreign coaches say they teach athletes in their actual present body frame which skaters got past puberty. But in Russia the figure skating is not even running but leaping forward. At the moment we are ahead of the rest of the field. But when the coaches come across puberty issues then out of the huge army only a very few are able to stay at the top. Liza and Adelina are good examples of that transformation, but Radionova, Pogorilaya, Medvedeva & Sakhanovich are still to go through it, and nobody knows how they will cope with this. Julia has already started puberty and it can be said that she was very lucky to compete in Sochi in time
You talked about giant leaps but these are result of very hard work of those tiny girls. They probably want to socialise with boys instead they must go to the rink to work on spins & jumps
- Those, who can see the goal clearly and work hard to get there, are able to restrict their wishes and they will succeed. The great example here is Adelina Sotnikova.
Strange Split
2 years ago before European Championship where Liza won a bronze medal nothing indicated a split with her first coach, but soon after your work together ceased. Could you tell about reasons for that split?
- Only partially. To reply diplomatically – I don’t want to speak ill and I won’t speak well either, she said calmly but with conviction. Pity that our parting turned out so odd. It is hard to express my feelings. It was neither insult nor devastation. I knew that that was going to happen sometime but I wasn’t ready for such sudden turn of events. In the end of the day we worked together with Liza over 10 years.
What was so odd about your parting? Liza didn’t ring to tell you?
- She rang Aleksander Gorshkov, president of the federation right from the airport and told him that she is not working with me anymore.
Was it her decision?
- Of course not, she was assisted in making that decision.
But for a coach of Mishin’s standing such feeling of jealousy to the colleague does not look credible somehow
- Well, I put it this way, in year time Olympics approached and why she would need two coaches? The Moor has done his duty the Moor can go…
Is Liza difficult to deal with?
I do not know what she is like now. When we worked together Liza was kind, good hearted, much disciplined and I had no problems with her. I didn’t need to push her to train harder – I explained what to be done she did it.
What kind of personality is Mishin?
- He is complicated
In what way?
- A world of top figure skating changes people. He knows what strings to pull in that world of big intrigues. I was very naïve to think I was working for Liza. I thought she could not do without me. But as it turned out she can.
However, the previous season was a series of disasters for Liza
- Apparently the mistake was that I was not pushed aside soon enough, said Veretennikova without any irony but the phrase hasn’t lost irony nevertheless
To Survive at the Top [summary]
Do you have an answer to question how and what’s to be done for Liza’s debut at Olympics 2018 became a reality?
- The only answer is to prolong her career for another three years. In 2018 in Pyeongyang there will be a lot of young hungry skaters.
Your opinion on who will get through to the Olympics in Korea
- I think Julia Lipnitskaia will regain her form. At the Nationals apart from Elena Radionova I liked Evgenia Medvedeva & Serafima Sakhanovich, both show beautiful skating & solid technical base. I would not disregard Anya Pogorilaya. She is too charismatic skater who also demonstrates a good taste in her choice of costumes.
All these girls also have very charismatic coaches. How free were you in communication with other coaches or it was the case of watching yourself all the time
- I did not mention a reptile cage without a reason. In the world of elite sport such relations are understandable. To survive at the top you need to have big teeth. Can’t bite? -Then you will be swallowed. When I realised all that I decided that such way is not for me. I am content with my present position. I never wanted to get into the big sport. But it happened so that with Liza we had a good interesting work in which I was developing as a coach. But today I do not want to go back to Russian figure skating. It seems that up to recently I just had too much of it
Italian Contract [summary]
After their parting with Liza, Veretennikova also lost her coaching position in hometown Glazov and the specialist was left without work for a while. At that tough time she got a support from some friends abroad and after working for a bit in USA and Hungary she landed in Italy. The best rink in Milan, Agora Skating Team, offered a contract to her.
How many students have you got now?
- On principle I am working now only with 2 young girls. Sometimes I give group or private lessons on technique & consultations
One of the students is 11 year old Olesya Tornagi – an Italian with Russian roots. [On the photo with Veretennikova & Stephane Lambiel]
Svetlana Veretennikova, Elisaveta Tuktamisheva & Aleksei Mishin worked as a team for 6 years.
http://izvestiaur.ru/sport/10036501.html
Sochi’s Deal
Adelina Sotnikova admitted later that that she was not selected for the team event generated a surge of anger in her which ultimately resulted in her gold medal – the first for the national ladies figure skating. There were a lot of rumours about the way the team for the Olympic team event was selected: confrontation of patrons and struggle between different factions. It looked like that the more powerful & with more influence were able to push their protégés through.
- Well, every strong skater today has patrons and we shouldn’t forget about the ever going confrontation and jealousy between two schools in national figure skating – Moscow’s and St Petersburg’s. That jealousy was, is and always will be there as well as intrigue & bitter rivalry.
The figure skating world is similar to theatrical circles and not only artistically?
- It is true. Adelina Sotnikova’s coach, Elena Vodorezova, once congratulated me on my birthday and wished me to survive in a ‘reptile cage’ of figure skating. That how she said it – to survive!
So it means that Julia Lipnitskaia’s patrons were more powerful than Sotnikova’s?
- I was not at the Olympics and so can only speculate, but why would I do so publicly? The decision of putting Julia into team event turned out to be a trump card for Adelina and in the individual event a strong willed Adelina performed brilliantly.
Meanwhile in Korea people still cannot recall February 2014 without emotion. Korean fans think that in a free skate the judges stole the victory from Olympic Champion of Vancouver, Yuna Kim by giving it to a home skater.
- I only can repeat that Adelina was great. She did everything she could. Though with all due respect to her, the judges’s final placements should have been different – Yuna Kim in first, Carolina in second and only then Adelina. It was obvious that both Yuna & Carolina were underscored in PCS. But don’t forget that Olympics took place in Sochi…
Ok, just as in the national rural sports games in Udmurtia with a few exceptions the owners always win.
- Any country would try to help own athletes.
But after Sochi we got many enemies in figure skating, but then again not just after Sochi and not only in figure skating.
The Road to the Top..
Do you think that the time of skaters like Kostner, Kim and American Gracie Gold is gradually passing? Today tiny little girls – these small flies – practically push tall ladies out?
- Yes the tendency is there. The figure skating is changing. Carolina Costner had started her career under a different system and then the rules changed and the younger skaters got a chance to get to the elite faster, to develop sooner and to gain skills quicker than the established skaters. Today little girls learn quickly in order to succeed while they are still small. When a girl turns into a woman she loses technically a lot. It is not by chance that in Europe and America a skater’s development is not forced for the sake of the result. As foreign coaches say they teach athletes in their actual present body frame which skaters got past puberty. But in Russia the figure skating is not even running but leaping forward. At the moment we are ahead of the rest of the field. But when the coaches come across puberty issues then out of the huge army only a very few are able to stay at the top. Liza and Adelina are good examples of that transformation, but Radionova, Pogorilaya, Medvedeva & Sakhanovich are still to go through it, and nobody knows how they will cope with this. Julia has already started puberty and it can be said that she was very lucky to compete in Sochi in time
You talked about giant leaps but these are result of very hard work of those tiny girls. They probably want to socialise with boys instead they must go to the rink to work on spins & jumps
- Those, who can see the goal clearly and work hard to get there, are able to restrict their wishes and they will succeed. The great example here is Adelina Sotnikova.
Strange Split
2 years ago before European Championship where Liza won a bronze medal nothing indicated a split with her first coach, but soon after your work together ceased. Could you tell about reasons for that split?
- Only partially. To reply diplomatically – I don’t want to speak ill and I won’t speak well either, she said calmly but with conviction. Pity that our parting turned out so odd. It is hard to express my feelings. It was neither insult nor devastation. I knew that that was going to happen sometime but I wasn’t ready for such sudden turn of events. In the end of the day we worked together with Liza over 10 years.
What was so odd about your parting? Liza didn’t ring to tell you?
- She rang Aleksander Gorshkov, president of the federation right from the airport and told him that she is not working with me anymore.
Was it her decision?
- Of course not, she was assisted in making that decision.
But for a coach of Mishin’s standing such feeling of jealousy to the colleague does not look credible somehow
- Well, I put it this way, in year time Olympics approached and why she would need two coaches? The Moor has done his duty the Moor can go…
Is Liza difficult to deal with?
I do not know what she is like now. When we worked together Liza was kind, good hearted, much disciplined and I had no problems with her. I didn’t need to push her to train harder – I explained what to be done she did it.
What kind of personality is Mishin?
- He is complicated
In what way?
- A world of top figure skating changes people. He knows what strings to pull in that world of big intrigues. I was very naïve to think I was working for Liza. I thought she could not do without me. But as it turned out she can.
However, the previous season was a series of disasters for Liza
- Apparently the mistake was that I was not pushed aside soon enough, said Veretennikova without any irony but the phrase hasn’t lost irony nevertheless
To Survive at the Top [summary]
Do you have an answer to question how and what’s to be done for Liza’s debut at Olympics 2018 became a reality?
- The only answer is to prolong her career for another three years. In 2018 in Pyeongyang there will be a lot of young hungry skaters.
Your opinion on who will get through to the Olympics in Korea
- I think Julia Lipnitskaia will regain her form. At the Nationals apart from Elena Radionova I liked Evgenia Medvedeva & Serafima Sakhanovich, both show beautiful skating & solid technical base. I would not disregard Anya Pogorilaya. She is too charismatic skater who also demonstrates a good taste in her choice of costumes.
All these girls also have very charismatic coaches. How free were you in communication with other coaches or it was the case of watching yourself all the time
- I did not mention a reptile cage without a reason. In the world of elite sport such relations are understandable. To survive at the top you need to have big teeth. Can’t bite? -Then you will be swallowed. When I realised all that I decided that such way is not for me. I am content with my present position. I never wanted to get into the big sport. But it happened so that with Liza we had a good interesting work in which I was developing as a coach. But today I do not want to go back to Russian figure skating. It seems that up to recently I just had too much of it
Italian Contract [summary]
After their parting with Liza, Veretennikova also lost her coaching position in hometown Glazov and the specialist was left without work for a while. At that tough time she got a support from some friends abroad and after working for a bit in USA and Hungary she landed in Italy. The best rink in Milan, Agora Skating Team, offered a contract to her.
How many students have you got now?
- On principle I am working now only with 2 young girls. Sometimes I give group or private lessons on technique & consultations
One of the students is 11 year old Olesya Tornagi – an Italian with Russian roots. [On the photo with Veretennikova & Stephane Lambiel]
Svetlana Veretennikova, Elisaveta Tuktamisheva & Aleksei Mishin worked as a team for 6 years.
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Is she saying that other countries don't rush to push triples/hard content on young skaters? Because as far as I know, that's not true. You hardly ever hear of someone learning a jump later in their career when they didn't have it pre-puberty.
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