Elena Radionova: I want, I can and I will skate
Interview with Elena Radionova. About not getting to Olympics, ice shows and new season.
Lena, last season you had a real chance to be selected to the Olympic team. How do you think what went wrong?
– Yes, I know that I could get to the team. Together with the coaches we did really big and fruitful work. If I compare with the last seasons of my sports career, then I have never trained like that. I really worked hard and controled myself. But bad luck. It just did not work out. Although in trainings I was doing everything – combinations with half loop, flip, loop.
Before the Russian Nationals, I had a minor injury. I woke up in the morning and felt a pain in my leg. Under the knee a “bag” was formed … For a long time we could not understand what was going on. Of course, this threw me off balance. Although before the Grand Prix, “Shanghai Trophy” I have been already skating the program cleanly.
It is a pity, of course, that it did not work out to perform like that at the Russian Championships. Mistake on the loop in the short program. When I skated, I had thought that I should be careful, that I could get in the trace, which was left after the warm-up when I jupmed triple loop. And I got in it. And when you get in the trace there’s nothing you can do.
In general, after a short program it became clear that, no matter how I skate my free program, it would be difficult to get into the team. Of course, I fought to the end, but in my head I knew what was going on. One jump cost everything. Especially because a mistake was in the short program.
Of course, from all that happened I made conclusions. At first, different thoughts came into my head, to skate or not to skate. The state was so incomprehensible. I did not understand what to do, how to be. I didn’t want to train, to do anything. Devastation. No thoughts. Just lived a life without any events, some reasoning or reflection …
And then?
– And then began to get out of it slowly. I went to the show “Art On Ice”. The first exit on the ice was exciting, because after the Russian Nationals I have not performed and felt such an atmosphere for a long time. But gradually I got used. Every day I felt more and more confident. Even during the performance I could change something. I watched my performances, analyzed. And in the end I started to get real pleasure from skating, from public.
It was a useful experience for me. I began to think, what else I would like to do? But at some point I realized that I really miss training, competitions. I realized that I was not ready to finish with the sport. In any case, I want, I can and I will skate. Moreover, I have motivation, strength to improve my skating.
When did you start full trainings?
– After the Russian Nationals, all this time I more or less kept the shape. It was enough to perform in the show. Now we have started the usual trainings. At first we worked on skating skills, then restored jumps.
We are thinking about new programs. One of them, or maybe both, will be choreographed by Peter Tchernyshev. Although it is possible that one program will do some other choreographer.
We are in the process with the choice of music. We stuck a little bit, because there are different options, and we must come to a common opinion. One likes this, other likes that. But I think we need to find something new and interesting. Moreover, this is not an Olympic season, where everyone is afraid to try something new. Now you can experiment.
What artistic image would you like to try?
– Honestly, I do not have such. I’m starting from music. If I like music, then it’s possible to come up with an artistic image, a story … You need to find music that gets you right here and skate to it, because if you don’t like the music, then whatever you think up, you will not have such a connection with it, you won’t be a one whole.
Have you watched the Olympic Games?
– Yes. I even had to comment. But I had show at that time. So I watched last warm-ups of ladies and men in the breaks. Yes, it was pity that I was sitting on this side of the screen, although everything could have turned out differently. But, on the other hand, what to torment yourself, if it has already happened? I do not give up. I have a positive attitude. I really want to compete, because there was a long break. But I traveled the world. Got new acquaintances. New impressions. It is necessary to take advantages from everything.
New girls joined your group, what do you think about this?
– To be honest, I do not care. Apparently, I left the age when I was worried about new athletes in the group. Now I understand that everything depends only on me, my desire and my skating. I have good contact with Elena Germanovna. We understand each other. Need to work.
by Olga Ermolina and Tatjana Flade for fsrussia.ru
Related topics: Elena Radionova, interview
Good luck to Elena!