Sofia Samodelkina: “Another focus is body discipline. I’m the type that even a short break from training leads to immediate weight gain. That’s my reality, it’s something I’ve struggled with my whole life.”
Sofia Samodelkina discussed her coach Rafael Arutyunyan’s high expectations, her ongoing struggles with weight and discipline, and her journey toward a healthier approach to training and body image.
original source: Sports by Maya Bagriantseva
In an interview with Sports correspondent Maya Bagriantseva, Sofia Samodelkina spoke about her journey toward a healthier approach to training and body. Here’s a translation.
“Q: How did Rfael Arutyunyan evaluate this season?
Sofia Samodelkina: Rafael Vladimirovich is focused solely on first place. He doesn’t hide it: only victory, only success.
So I don’t think he would be satisfied with my assessment of the season: a 7 out of 10 isn’t his kind of number. But my journey is just beginning, I’m moving forward, and maybe in a year I’ll rate this Olympic season as a four.
He believes the main goal right now is to sort out my health so I can train normally, without worrying about injuries. Another focus is body discipline, but I understand that myself.
I’m the type that even a short break from training leads to immediate weight gain. That’s my reality – I won’t call it a “curse,” but it’s something I’ve struggled with my whole life. It’s the a “fly in the ointment” in my figure skating – deal with it, girl, keep fighting. But I know I’ll manage, we’ll find a way.
Recently, my sister and I were upset about this. Why are there girls who, no matter what they eat, stay small and slim – they don’t even think about it. But my sister and I have a different body type. So we cried about how unfair life is, then wiped our tears and started looking for the positives. We quickly realized it’s okay, it’s not a tragedy.
Of course, it’s not easy, and it really is a daily struggle.
But how can you explain this to people? Commentators have a simple recipe: just shut your mouth and don’t eat. But then how do you train, where do you get the energy? The “I just won’t eat” approach doesn’t work and never has. It actually has the opposite effect.
Q: Have you had periods like that in your life?
Sofia Samodelkina: Of course. But only as a child – I haven’t tortured myself like that as an adult. Back then, I could have cucumbers and radishes for breakfast, a piece of meat for lunch, and skip dinner altogether. But that’s how it was. If I met my younger self now, I’d definitely say that’s not normal and you shouldn’t treat yourself that way.
I’d go to practice, then of course not eat afterward, and then run for an hour and a half on the treadmill in a sauna suit. My body was exhausted – I’d wake up in the morning already out of strength, sometimes fainting, sometimes barely able to walk.
But I was a kid, 12 or 13, and at that age, no one thinks about what will happen to you at 19.
Now I try to approach food more mindfully, and I get a bit stricter before competitions. You have to learn this too, it turns out. It’s great if someone already knows how, but I’m still at the beginning of the journey.
But it’s definitely not a topic I refuse to talk about. I’m not embarrassed – it’s a normal question. Well I don’t look like the girls from Korea, but I’m not Korean! It’s strange when people compare us.
Q: Do such comments bother you?
Sofia Samodelkina: They used to, a lot. I could easily cry from hurt – why hit a sore spot? It’s my body, my story. Now I read less about myself, and even if I see something, I just laugh. After the Olympics, I remember seeing a comment like, “They gave the chunky a new apartment.”
It’s funny: someone sits there, writing with such malice about a girl they don’t even know. And then they’re proud of how many likes they got – what an achievement.
Q: What does Sofia Samodelkina need to work on most?
Sofia Samodelkina: Discipline. Not in my work – on the ice, I have no problems. But Rafael Vladimirovich explains that you can’t have sports without overall discipline. You have to understand that your lifestyle determines what you achieve in sports.
That’s still hard for me. I like hanging out with friends and making TikToks. There was one really embarrassing moment, awful. We posted a video—nothing special – but Rafael Vladimirovich saw it and said, “So this is how you spend your evenings at home, huh? Instead of sleeping and recovering.”
Related topics: Sofia Samodelkina
Leave a Reply