Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: “I wish to take the style of Mishin’s training work and also to convey certain thoughts to children so that they come to the rink with a smile and motivation. I had it that way, and that’s why I have been in sports for so long.”
Translation of the interview with Elizaveta Tuktamysheva.
original source: MatchTV dd.12th July by Maksim Khorenkov
In a big interview with MatchTV Elizaveta talks about the pause in her sports career, a possible return to professional sports, changes in her schedule and life rhythm; work as a coach, commentating, money and personal life. Here’s a translation of her comments.
“Q: It’ll be a year this fall since you announced taking a pause from competitive skating. How does time pass in a completely new schedule?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I can’t say that I miss figure skating, because I’m constantly on the ice. Even now we are talking at the ‘Yubileiny’ skating center, not somewhere else. I help Alexei Nikolaevich [Mishin], participate in shows, train to be in good shape for exhibition performances. Life has changed only in the direction of relief, there is no serious physical load, which cannot but please, because I had already begun to get tired of constant training.
Q: Has your diet changed dramatically? Can you allow yourself absolutely everything now?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I was already quite free in choosing my diet before, but I had restrictions in grams. Before the competitions, due to nerves, I would have a sharp shape, but the difference was half a kilogram.
Now I allow myself everything. But I’m still skating in shows, I need to take care of myself. I wouldn’t say that I have any restrictions. The more I restrain myself, the worse things go with nutrition. It’s not that I’m specifically on a diet.
Q: Are you training with the thought that you could fully return, or just for the shows?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: During training, different thoughts come to my mind. It’s too early to put an end, of course.
Q: Many athletes say that after a retirement they seem to relearn how to walk.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I didn’t have that. I thought in advance about what I would be doing. At the moment of my career break, shows, some projects, and commentating were ready. I was not left to the mercy of fate. I knew what could await me without competitions.
Q: When competitions were held last season, didn’t you have a thought: ‘It would be cool to break in there now?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Not yet, I haven’t noticed such a desire.
Q: Did your confidence in your own strength change, the perception of yourself?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I didn’t think about confidence, it appears when you become a professional. I have become more confident on air than before.
If we talk about shows and everything directly related to the ice, the confidence was already there. But even before exhibitions, big tours, there is anxiety. The show is a responsible business, the audience comes.
Q: You must have more free time now. How do you spend it?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Moments have appeared when I can switch and go somewhere. But I am still on a tight schedule – tours, projects, I don’t have more free time. This year, I have spent only a week in St. Petersburg without counting the New Year holidays, there were always some tours. But now I can adjust all projects to my time and then go on vacation. So, for example, I flew to Portugal. Now I’m going to Japan (the interview was recorded the day before Elizaveta’s departure. – Match TV note).
If we skip ahead and talk about coaching, then I won’t be able to do this. But at the same time, now is only the beginning of my professional journey in this area, and the opportunity to travel at different times of the year is still open.
Q: In Japan, will there be any projects related to figure skating, or is it just rest?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Rest, I’m going there with my sister. We recently started watching anime, we fell in love with this genre. My sister has never been to Japan, and I really love this country. Our adventurous spirit woke up, so we decided to go.
Q: Favorite anime?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: “Attack on Titan”, this was the start of my passion for anime. I will be rewatching it more than once. I also watched “Magical Battle”, “Demon Slayer”.
Q: By the way about Asia, recently Mikhail Kolyada went there to train. If you had such an opportunity, would you have worked in the East?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Of course, with pleasure. If it were possible to take my athletes from Russia, then wow! So far, I am not tied to one place, it is necessary to use all the opportunities that life gives.
Q: Did Mikhail tell you anything about China?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: No, we only talk to him in person. My friends Andrei Lazukin, Murad Kurbanov are training with him now. They really like it, pleasantly surprised by how everything is arranged, what kind of people. In general, when we traveled around China, everything was very attractive, especially the city of Chengdu.
Q: Do you like Chinese cuisine?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: In the end, I got tired already, but we ate exclusively Chinese cuisine, they wanted to show us the local assortment as much as possible, and at the end of the trip, it was already a bit heavy. In general, the food is delicious. Peking duck is amazing! I had never tried it before and I realized that this was a big mistake.
Q: Let’s return to the coaching topic. Is this your final, thoughtful decision or are you just trying?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I think that everyone starts by trying. Few people know in advance whether it will work. I had such a trial on the training camps of Alexei Nikolaevich’s group in Kislovodsk. I liked it, so far I am enthusiastically approaching the job. Even going to Japan, such a wonderful journey, I don’t want to leave the children, although I know that everything will be okay and there are many great coaches with them.
Q: Do you see the influence of Alexei Mishin in your love for coaching?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Of course. I always felt comfortable working with him, coming to ‘Yubileiny’, the atmosphere itself caused a favorable response. I wish to take over the style of Professor’s training work in the future if I decide to become a full-fledged coach. I also want to convey certain thoughts to children so that they come to the rink with a smile and motivation. I had it that way, and that’s why I have been in sports for so long.
Q: Jumping ahead, would you feel comfortable starting with children in Mishi’s group or would you like to create your own group?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: So far, I am comfortable in the current status. In the group there are guys of different ages, starting from nine years old and ending with adults. Age is absolutely different. You have to find an individual approach to everyone. I like that generations intersect, you can look at both and learn from them.
Q: Many of Mishin’s students later became coaches – Plushenko, Gachinski, Tataurov …
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: He teaches this, advises it. Even when we were skating, he would come up and say: ‘Remember, when you become a coach, this will be useful.’ You absorb everything, perhaps some of it gets absorbed on a subconscious level.
Q: In addition to coaching, you are actively training, even restoring elements. You don’t have to jump all triples in the show. Why do you need this now?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: There are workouts when you feel good, you understand that you can do it, and you go and do it. The passion wakes up, many figure skaters have this. Some even learn quad jumps in training before the show.
If we only perform what we already can it will be pure stagnation. Doing the same thing all the time for me is a boring life. And if there is inspiration and desire – why not?
Q: Do you follow international competitions now, does anyone impress you?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I follow, watch almost all competitions and disciplines. Ilia Malinin, Adam Siao Him Fa impress. It’s interesting to watch them – how they develop, what they do. Ilia with a quad axel — it’s something amazing!
Q: I’m sure you know about the pair Maxime Deschamps/Deanna Stellato-Dudek. They won the 2024 World Championships, she was 40 at the time.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Yes, it was a very emotional and cool moment when they won at home. I was happy for them, but I cannot say that they are my favourites in pairs.
The fact that Deanna won the main competitions of the season at 40 is very impressive. It’s cool. But let us not forget that they won when there were no Russian athletes. If our pairs participated, it would not have happened. But in any case, well done.
Maybe, in pairs, I could also win with some retired figure skater, but also in the absence of Russians.
Q: How to understand for yourself when it’s time to leave? I admire the phenomenon of Stellato-Dudek, but purely from a life point of view, I don’t think it’s cool to go to competitions at 40.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: No, it’s very cool. The person didn’t take a pause in her career in vain, she was engaged in another business, combines her activity with professional sports. Such an approach has a place in figure skating.
Q: Your path in the media… How satisfied are you with your progress?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I rarely feel satisfied, especially in the fields where I’m not a big professional. There’s some progress, of course, but I wouldn’t say it’s obvious.
Q: Is professional education important in this field?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Yes, and more should be said about this to the younger generation. I wish I was more pushed in this area. Although I studied myself, ideally I need more knowledge.
Q: In which role do you see yourself more – commentator, host, interviewer?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I’ve hosted a show, commented on TV, run a blog. Most of all, I get emotions from coaching. It’s very cool, time flies by unnoticed.
Q: You commented with Tatiana Tarasova. What’s it like working with a legend of figure skating? She’s very emotional.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: At first, I was worried, but then I really liked working with her. It was interesting to hear her opinion on performances, I think Tatiana Anatolievna was also comfortable. We looked at each other, joked. I enjoyed the process.
Q: Did you have ideas to create your own media project? Like a podcast.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: There were ideas, but they remained unrealized. To create a podcast, you need education, the ability to speak beautifully. I don’t want to create a one-day podcast, if it’s a global project, you need a large-scale idea. We are brewing it.
Q: Doesn’t it seem to you that the path to TV after sports is quite banal, and so many people do it?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Where there is demand, people go. People do not forcefully engage in this activity, they are invited. To get that ‘usual’, you still have to work well in figure skating, as this direction is not open to everyone. As a way to make money – this is good, but you need to prove yourself first.
Q: Have you already thought about preserving and investing financial resources?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Yes, you need to think about this. Though I’m far from it, you need to move in this direction. So far, I put money in the bank.
Q: Under a percentage.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Yes. I don’t see a big amount of free time to create something on my own. I had thoughts of opening a cafe or a restaurant, but it’s very risky, you can burn out financially, and it requires a lot of strength and again, time.
Q: How would you assess your financial literacy?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I wish it were better.
Q: But you’re not the person who went shopping with prize money to TSUM and stocked up on things…
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: No, but I can actively spend money.
Q: Did you increase financially after pausing your career?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I definitely didn’t decrease. A large number of shows compensate for prizes in competitions.
Q: In the conditions of an international ban, are finances the main motivation for current athletes?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I think yes. And the opportunity to fulfill oneself. In Russia, there are a lot of shows. If you achieve something and become popular – you’ll be invited.
Q: You’ve said that due to sport you’ve missed out on education. Are you trying to develop in all directions now?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Yes, I’ve started to read a little more books on child psychology. If I definitely like coaching, I want to delve into this, to better understand the moments of building communication with children. Plus, I had work on stage speech, went to two teachers.
In fact, it seemed that there would be more time after the break. I thought to enter a university or take a year courses. But I don’t even have time for it yet. I traveled around Russia all year with shows, projects, solved personal issues.
Q: Are sports psychologists needed in your groups?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Yes, especially for teenagers so that there would be fewer unpleasant situations. A permanent or periodically visiting specialist is needed. I’m not sure that they should be present every day, but a trusted person who can help will not hurt.
Q: You used to see a psychologist. Did you turn to a specialist after pausing your career?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I can call my psychologist once every few months to discuss something. If there’s an interruption in a professional career it doesn’t mean there are no more problems. I continue to work on myself. It helps.
Q: In one of the interviews a few years ago, you said you wanted to simply be a successful person. Have you succeeded?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Not yet, it’s too early to say. I need to succeed in something other than figure skating. Be a big coach, or a successful commentator. Or all together.
Q: Don’t you have thoughts of starting a family?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: No. It’s strange to think about a family without having a relationship.
Q: What’s important to you in choosing a young man?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Humor, kindness, responsiveness, intelligence.
Q: The financial factor?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: If I didn’t think about it right now, then it’s not that important.
Q: Is there a type of men that you like?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: It’s discernible. I started watching anime and started liking Asians, although I never could have thought about it (laughs). Okay, seriously, there’s no particular type. Probably, it all comes from temperament and my inner feelings.
Q: Would you like your children to do figure skating?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: I don’t know, we’ll see. The main thing is that they want it themselves. I will definitely not force them.
Q: Do you feel like a happy person now?
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Yes. I don’t feel depressed.
Related topics: Elizaveta Tuktamysheva
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