Luka Berulava: “I’ve always dreamed of Georgia hosting a major event. I’ve never prepared for any competition the way I did for this one. I practically lived at the gym – honestly, it felt like I was getting ready for a wedding, I swear.”
Metelkina and Berulava on the Thrill of Competing in Their Home Country
original source: Sports by Maya Bagriantseva
Georgian figure skaters Anastasia Metelkina and Luka Berulava shared their overwhelming emotions after competing at the Trialeti Trophy in Tbilisi. They spoke about the unique atmosphere of competing at home and the preparation that went into their performance. Here’s a translation of their comments given to Sports correspondent Maya Bagriantseva.
Berulava reflected on the dedication he poured into preparing for this competition:
“I have never prepared for any competition in my life the way I did for this one. I worked on losing weight, practically lived at the gym – honestly, it felt like I was getting ready for a wedding, I swear.
“I knew I couldn’t afford to mess this up. My entire life, I’ve dreamed of Georgia hosting a major competition – I have no right to make a mistake here.
“The feelings from today’s skate were beyond incredible – our adrenaline was through the roof. For Nastya and me, that’s the best kind of fuel. It doesn’t disrupt us; it pushes us forward even more. And with the crowd’s amazing support today, it felt like we were flying,” said Berulava.
Metelkina shared her own emotions, emphasizing the significance of the event for her and her family:
“In the morning, I was a little nervous because I’m a super-responsible person. I understood perfectly well that performing well at a home tournament was important. But when I arrived at the rink and saw how warmly everyone here supports us, I relaxed. My mom, dad, and many relatives came to see me here – it’s the first time that’s happened. It’s convenient for them to travel here, and the feeling of having them in the audience is incomparable.”
Metelkina also spoke about the choice of music for their short program:
“Luka chose Bolero – he’d been dreaming of skating to it for years. He feels it’s a very powerful, aggressive piece, full of passion. Yes, Bolero is often used, but we tried to create our own version. For example, Kamila Valieva’s choreography was more fluid, but Sergey Plishkin emphasized broken lines for us,” Metelkina explained.
Berulava reflected on what the victory meant to them:
“Now we can finally exhale and simply enjoy the happiness of winning gold at our country’s first-ever international competitions on home ice. It’s such an incredible honor. It was so important for us to win this specific event because, in Georgia, a second-place finish isn’t considered worthy of a medal – haha. We’re extremely grateful to our coaches – they’re the best in the world.”
Metelkina shared how they took time to celebrate the win briefly: “Last night, we allowed ourselves to relax a bit. We had a delicious meal, and I met up with my parents, who traveled here to join us in Tbilisi – that was the most important thing for me.
But with the Grand Prix event in China coming up next week, we’ve barely had time to celebrate properly since we’re jumping straight into training.”
Related topics: Anastasiia Metelkina, Luka Berulava
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