Raf interview:
https://rsport.ria.ru/20190325/1552068601.html
After the triumphant performance in Saitama, Nathan Chen, who became world champion for the second time in a row, winning the world record, his coach Rafael Harutyunyan told Elena Vaitsekhovskaya why he did not consider the result of the student a record, recalled the unwritten rules of figure skating and admitted that he two pipe dreams
- Is it true that Nathan was going to come to you on a vacation from Yale to be able to spend a week of training under your leadership, and that you refused him?
- Yes, everything really happened that way. Then Chen's friend told me in confidence that Nathan could not come to himself for a long time after our conversation, he really felt hurt. But then I realized that I was right.
- What exactly?
- The fact is that if he came to California, he would have left all of himself there on the ice. Put yourself in his place: a person trains most of the season on his own, receiving instructions on Skype, then comes to the coach, and ...
- And he climbs out of his way, proudly showing what a good fellow he is?
- Exactly. And I needed Nathan to keep it all in himself before coming to Saitama. But when we met him in Japan, he listened to me in training as never before. I caught every word, fulfilled all wishes. At one of the trainings, I forbade him to jump, and he spent the entire session, just riding. Imagine that? Chen, who did not make a single jump. Why it was necessary, I, perhaps, I will not say - let it remain my coaching secret.
- In my practice, there was a case when the coach in the same way forbade me to perform jumps on the warm-up before a responsible tournament. And later she explained that I was too close, in her opinion, crept up to the peak of a competitive form, and it was necessary to somehow “slow down” the process in order not to throw out the energy ahead of time.
-“You yourself have found the right answer.” Well, during the trainings in Japan, we made some corrections in the short and free programs, refreshed some techniques.
- It turns out that Chen's departure from California to Yale and his independent training there played an extremely positive role?
- Not. The athlete can be kept afloat, and can progress. What you see now in the performance of Nathan, is precisely keeping yourself afloat. He continues to do what he has long been taught, that's all.
- And you are a big insolent, as I can see. Your student beats the world record, winning what is called a "tram stop" at the two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hania, and this is called "keep afloat"?
-“It doesn’t matter who wins who and how much.” Many athletes have added very much this season. I think that Nathan and I could add, but this did not happen. Another question is that he has become more educated and psychologically mature through study. At university, Chen is studying statistics, when we met, he showed me some of his best practices and said: "Coach, I now understand why you forced me to do items a certain number of times." We at one time passed at the Institute of Physical Education and anatomy, and physiology, and the basics of training, and mathematical statistics, by the way. And in America, the guys in this regard are not too educated. Therefore, I was glad that Chen began to talk differently with me, began to understand things differently.
- It’s easier to work with an adult athlete?
- With the educated - yes. If a person is a fool, there is no difference whether he is small or adult.
- At the Olympic Games in Phenchkhane, Chen performed six quadruple jumps in a free program. In Saitam - four, in connection with which I remembered your words that you need to be extremely rational in approaching your speech. Where is the border of this rationality? And should we continue to pursue the number of ultra-complex elements in the framework of the new rules that are so severely punished for mistakes?
- I consider that it is necessary not to think about the rules, but to do what you yourself consider necessary. There are rules for breaking them. Do not break, then you are the same as everyone else. Why am I going to teach my athlete to be like everyone else? In addition, the rules are written by people who do not always understand the intricacies of our business. Nathan and I were reproached for quite some time, for example, that in a free program we had a run-jump. I asked another question. He asked: "Do you want Chen to cleanly perform all his quad jumps and at the same time wink to the judges?" Well, yes, we almost did it in the short program, but there you can afford it, because the program is short. There are jumps in it, which Nathan does with a very high degree of reliability.
- This did not prevent him to disrupt the short program in Pkhenchkhane.
- Uh, no, here you are wrong. In Pkhenchkhane Nathan jumped Lutz and flip, and this, I would say, mutually exclusive things. Because the combination of these jumps greatly changes the program. In an arbitrary easier, there is more time. And to insert a lutz and a flip into a short program is a disaster for any athlete. And you certainly won't dance at the same time.
- Is it even necessary to strive to achieve maximum complexity?
- I would answer this way: it became extremely dangerous to take risks in the current system of rules. But who does not risk, he does not drink champagne.
- I remember with what piety you treated Michelle Kwan, when she came to your group - you looked at her as if you were a celestial being. Now the whole world is looking at Yuzuru Hanya like that. You as a coach did not put pressure on him? There was no feeling that this does not beat, no matter how you fight?
- I'm actually a very big fan of Hania. I even have his autograph, which I took as a fan. It was at some competitions where Nathan won for the first time. Yuzuru is certainly very charismatic, but I have not and never have the feeling that he cannot be beaten. In Saitama, by the way, an interesting situation arose when in a free program after Khan’s speech and before Chen's going out the ice was thrown with toys and not cleaned for a long time.
- It is strongly confuses the mood of the one who will perform next?
- For this just need to be ready. But it's not that. At some point I glanced at Nathan, who was rolling in the center of the ice, and saw that he was smiling very eloquently at me with his eyes. I immediately understood what he was thinking. We had to skate three times in different tournaments right after Hania, and Nathan beat him all three times. In Saitama, I also understood that Chen and I had better quality elements than Haniah. Therefore, I was not surprised by the final result.
- Plans for further study from Chen have not changed?
- I offered him to take a sabbatical, starting in December, but I do not think it will be easy to reconcile at the university. If we manage to take such a vacation, there is hope that Nathan will progress. Do not take it - everything can be much more complicated. In the summer he will come to me for three months, but at the expense of only one summer job you will not go far. If we start work next May after the school year ends, there is too little time left to prepare for the Olympics.
“It seems to me that the current level of Chen allows him to hold out on this baggage for a long time.
- I do not agree. I would like to see in his interpretation completely different programs. According to the execution of elements, by construction. Now, what's the buzz? I went, jumped, left. He jumped again, rode out again. Well, yes, jumped cool. But get tired of looking at this skating.
