Elena Ilinykh: I think that it was necessary to make two gold medals for our girls
Short interview with Elena Ilinykh. About Olympics, Medvedeva vs Zagitova and skating academy she opened together with Julia Lipnitskaya.
What do you think about the performances of skaters at the Olympics?
– The Olympic Games are always a grandiose event, which happens only once in four years. I was amazed with our girls. I was very worried for Alina and Zhenya. I really wanted them to cope with the pressure of responsibility, because everyone waited medals from them. And they coped excellently! I had tears in my eyes after the perаormances of each. I feel sad for Zhenya that she became the second, but if it had been Alina who stayed with silver I would have been sad for her also. I think that it was necessary to make two gold medals and award to them. Because they are our pride.
What do you think about ice dance event?
– It’s no secret to anyone that since childhood I’ve been a big fan of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. What a way they have passed from a young age! After two Olympics with gold and silver, they returned and showed such an heartwarming skating. Their victory was also my little victory.
But everything could have been differently if Gabriella Papadakis’ dress hadn’t got unbuttoned… Have you ever had such a thing and what to do in such situation?
– There were such situations, of course, zipper got unbuttoned. But it seems to me, it is not worthwhile to focus on this. Different troubles can happen at the Olympics…To win, you need everything to coincide: luck, full control, readiness, coach, favor of judges. If it happened to a French apir, then their time just hasn’t came yet. Silver medals – this is also very cool for people who are only three years in the world top.
Didn’t you have a slight thought “I could have also performed in Pyeongchang?”
– No, I did not think about it.
Is it difficult to comment on the performances of your colleagues, with whom you recently competed together?
– I know how unpleasant it is when people start talking nasty things on the air. After all, everyone who qualified and competed at the Olympics, has come a long way and much has gone through. This is the top 20 pairs of the planet. I want to support everyone, but I also point out the mistakes. If there is a fall, the dress is unbuttoned or I see the wrong edge, I will say this.
Did you notice that this season many people used your triumphant theme from Sochi – black swan?
– This is an eternal theme, all the girls have very beautiful artistic images. Perhaps, that my artistic image somehow inspired, but someone saw something of his own.
Now you are engaged in coaching activities, do you consider the option of returning to competitive ice?
– But I haven’t finished (laughs).
Does this mean that fans can expect a come back in the foreseeable future?
– Blessed is he who believes.
Whose idea it was to create an academy?
– We talked with Julia and decided to make such a project. I understand that there are doubts that we will become good coaches. People know us as the Olympic champions, but as professionals, we still need to prove ourselves. But we went through an incredible figure skating school and would like to share our experience so that children can develop in addition to ice training. We sat at night, puzzled how to organize everything best, even argued sometimes. We will differ because we will talk about sports psychology and innovations. It seems to me that psychology is generally an important part of coaching. If the coach does not understand the athlete, this is a very bad specialist. A bad coach is worse than a bad surgeon. I want to get known the children better with their fears and tell them what to do in extreme situations, for example, my lace broke once right before the performance. Julia and I will work completely on the ice, from warm-up to detailed analysis.
During the development of training methods did you consult with coaches?
– We have been communicating with coaches all our life, we have gone through a lot ourselves plus we will invite famous specialists who will help us.
It was always interesting how you started to be friends with Julia Lipnitskaya …
– With Julia, we began to communicate long before Sochi, we often met at competitions. I immediately noticed that she is a girl from outer space, like from another planet. With an iron core and a clever head. I haven’t seen a more reasonable person than Julia, in behavior and communication. Good relationships established immediately and then everything just got stronger and now we are doing a joint project.
by Ekaterina Bespalova for sport-express.ru
Related topics: Elena Ilinykh, interview
Thanks for this!. I wish them all the best at the Academy!