Tatiana Malinina: “We don’t go to California to work with Arutyunyan very often because Ilia attends school. But Ilia enjoys working with Rafael a lot.”
Translation of Tatiana Malinia’s comments about Ilia’s cooperation with Rafael Arutyunyan made in the interview for olympics.com.
original source: olympics.com dd.7th October by Tatjana Flade / cover photo Ilia Malinin’s Instagram
Here’s a translation of Tatiana Malinina’s comments made in the interview for olympics.com.
“Olympics: Ilia also goes to California to train with Rafael Arutyunyan.
Tatiana Malinia: We don’t go there very often because Ilia attends school like all kids. He comes to the rink in the second half of the day. So we can’t leave that often. But when there’s an opportunity, for example, during winter and spring breaks, we go to California. Ilia enjoys working with Rafael a lot. Besides, there are many boys on the rink there he can skate with. We only have two of them here. There used to be 8-9 of them before, but when Iloa started showing results, they started leaving. Although competitors, healthy competition, is crucial. It’s motivation, it makes the athlete work all the time. The work of others encourages you to work.
Olympics: How important is it for Ilia that you, his parents, have experience performing at the highest level?
Tatiana Malinia: At first, he didn’t understand the significance of it. To him, it was just a fact that his mom and dad used to skate. But when he started competing at the senior level, he realized that winning a medal at this level is not so easy and began to regard our achievements with more respect.
Olympics: Did he seek advice on how to conduct himself at competitions?
Tatiana Malinia: No. It seems like it’s in his blood. Although I share my experience with him, about how to prepare himself, what it takes to be ready for a competition.”
Related topics: Ilia Malinin, Rafael Arutyunyan
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