Rafael Arutyunyan: “I can imagine what the challenges of the next four years will be for Malinin, but he cannot quite see them yet. That’s the nature of youth – you feel like you understand everything.”
Rafael Arutyunyan shared his thoughts on the future career of three-time world champion Ilia Malinin, praising his talent and reflecting on the challenges that lie ahead.
original source: Sports by Maya Bagriantseva
Rafael Arutyunyan spoke with Sports correspondent Maya Bagryantseva and shared his perspective on the future career of three-time world champion Ilia Malinin. Here’s a translation.
“Ilia is a very talented and intelligent athlete. He clearly understands how to use his talent. Before this Olympics, he always knew exactly what he wanted to take from what I told him. Moreover, he always grasped the essence – he is very perceptive.
Undoubtedly, there is a genetic component to Ilia’s phenomenon: some people are more talented, others less so – it’s either given or not. From what I’ve seen in 50 years of coaching and believe me, I’ve seen a lot, including the best of the best – he is among the top three in terms of talent.
Talent is a combination of many factors. For example, agility and flexibility (which are two completely different things), strength, body morphology – all of it matters.
Your strength, work capacity, speed of perception, and the ability to analyze what you process – this all constitutes talent.
Another question is how he will manage this talent. God grant him the wisdom and health to preserve it. He has already gone through fire and water, but there is still the test of fame ahead, and not everyone can withstand that. They have only just begun to sound – literally a season or two ago. This is still just the beginning, even if it may seem to him that he has seen it all.
Sometimes it happens in just one day. When success comes, random people with their own interests appear around you. They may start telling lies that you might believe, leading you in the wrong direction.
I love and respect him very much, even though he is 20 and I am nearly 70. I wish for him to go through all this with dignity, to find the right people who will tell him the truth, even if it’s not always pleasant. I hope he will take it not as an insult, but as information to act upon.
The next four years – if he decides to continue skating – will be completely different. I can imagine what their challenges will be, but he cannot yet. That’s the nature of youth – you think you understand everything. If they realized what awaited them, they would probably refuse – ‘No, thank you, I’m done.’ But they dive in headfirst – that’s the beauty of youth,” said Arutyunyan.
Related topics: Ilia Malinin, Rafael Arutyunyan
be interesting to see if he can win Oly gold in 2030; Nathan did it