“Over time, it became clear that he was no longer a boy, as I used to call him, but a man. Yesterday after the free skate, I told him, “You know what? You’re a real man.”” Urmanov about Mikhail Shaidorov
Alexei Urmanov about Mikhail Shaidorov’s World silver medal.
original source: MatchTV dd. March 30th 2025 by Veronika Gabadieva
In an interview with MatchTV, Alexei Urmanov spoke about his student Mikhail Shaidorov winning silver at the 2025 Worlds. Here’s a translation of his comments.
“Alexei Urmanov: Yesterday we returned to the hotel late at night, I only slept four hours, woke up in the morning, and the pleasant messages and calls just keep coming. My emotions have settled down a bit, but we’re still reliving the entire competition. I’ve been recounting the inside stories of the World Championships to my loved ones because it’s so interesting. The little nuances that viewers wouldn’t notice from a broadcast — we continue to reflect on everything that happened.
Q: It was a packed season. Mikhail managed to qualify for the Grand Prix Final at the last moment. Did his confidence grow leading up to the World Championships, or did you simply focus on working hard without even vocalizing such expectations?
Alexei Urmanov: Confidence certainly grew over the season. In fact, I’d say he seemed more confident at the start of the season. I’ve been working with this athlete for a long time; I know him very well, and we understand each other completely, even without words.
I could see at the beginning of the season that he was improving, maturing, and slowly gaining experience. I knew this season would be challenging, as all seasons are, but things started to come together little by little. Making it to the Grand Prix Final, which we hadn’t exactly planned for, was great for us — it was an additional major competition and valuable experience.
Over time, it became clear that he was no longer a boy, as I used to call him, but a man. Yesterday after the free skate, I told him, “You know what? You’re a real man.” He continues to demonstrate his fighting spirit, his strong character. His skating is solid, and competition after competition, he proves that we’re not here by chance. A skater should speak through their performances, and that’s exactly what Misha is doing.
Honestly, I had a sense that we wanted to fight for a medal here. The American broadcasters were quite upset with me when I politely told them, “I’m sorry, but we won’t give any interviews before the competition.” After the competition — sure, we’re open to it. But maintaining the right focus and not letting that energy spill out prematurely is so important.
Q: It seemed like Misha was either extremely nervous and stressed before the short program, or perhaps dealing with some fatigue or just adapting to the environment. A lot of people were concerned. Was that perception accurate?
Alexei Urmanov: You weren’t imagining things. He wasn’t tired, but he was nervous — short programs tend to make many skaters more anxious than the free skate. This was no exception. He was very worried because, as they say, you can’t win a competition with the short program, but you can certainly lose it.
The first day is crucial — you could end up in 15th place or 1st place. The ice is slippery, as they say. For us, it was important to deliver a good short program so we could stay in the strongest group and aim for high placements.
On top of that, we can’t forget that in modern figure skating, especially recently, skaters don’t often perform in the arenas that hold around 20,000 people. Yesterday the arena was packed — there were 19,500 people at the women’s event. I think the men’s had a similar number, if not more. Even if there were only 12,000, it’s not every day that skaters perform in such an environment. So yes, there were nerves, and your impression was spot on.
Q: The internet never forgets. Yesterday, a photo resurfaced showing Misha and Ilia on a junior podium together, and we saw how warmly they congratulated each other. Everyone noticed how well they get along.
Alexei Urmanov: Someone sent me that photo yesterday — it’s such a great one. They look so funny, just boys, juniors. You can see it in their faces, their little costumes — total teenagers. We all have a good relationship. The boys have a wonderful dynamic; they communicate very well. Off the ice, there’s absolutely no negativity between them.
We coaches also get along well. I think that’s fantastic and how it should be. Let the athletes battle it out on the ice and prove who’s the strongest there.
Q: Packing a stadium like that — doesn’t this event serve as a great emotional training ground for the Olympics?
Alexei Urmanov: Absolutely. This competition provided valuable experience, and I always say this World Championships was phenomenal. The attendance levels, the intensity, the energy from thousands of fans — it was incredible. I haven’t seen that many people at championships in a long time.
For any athlete, it’s a huge experience. Even for seasoned skaters who have participated in major events on large stages — this kind of atmosphere is impactful. Leading into the Olympic season, it’s like a perfect masterclass in preparation.
Q: Do you have a plan for how to approach this crucial season? Will there be at least a short break for relaxation?
Alexei Urmanov: We’ll be discussing and finalizing everything today. I already have some plans in mind, but we haven’t had the chance to approve them through discussion yet — we were too focused on the championship itself. For the near future, though, we have an idea: Mikhail and Ivan Righini will start drafting and experimenting with new programs for the next season.
Then Mikhail will spend a week in Kazakhstan with his family and relatives. After that, we’ll finalize the detailed preparation plan for the season.”
Related topics: Alexei Urmanov, Mikhail Shaidorov
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