Artur Danielian: You need to use your chance, otherwise someone will use it instead of you

Interview with Artur Danielian. About Russian Nationals, motivation and Olympics.

by Veronika Sovetova and Vladislav Zhukov for tass.ru dd. 8th January 2020

Did you expect to get to the European Championships?

– Absolutely not. I went to the Russian championship with different tasks.

Turns out you did more than was planned.

– Showed what I can. True, only in only one program. But this is motivation to work even harder.

You didn’t succeed in the short program. Because of this, in a free program you had to skate on of the first. As an intermediate leader, you got a place in the green room and, as a result, you sat there until the end. What was going on in your head at this time?

– I was happy because of the clean skate, and the place was already unimportant. I understood that I failed a short program. What was I thinking about? I didn’t think too much, just cheered for the guys.

How did Elena Buyanova assesed your performance? Did she praised or scolded?

– She said that if the short program had been ok, I know myself how it whould have been. That such should happen for the last time.

Have you already compared your level with potential rivals at the European Championships?

– No, but the competition is serious. Kevin Amoz, Matteo Rizzo, Daniel Grassl, Michal Brezina, Alexei Bychenko. These are adult, experienced athletes, I competed with some of them in Zagreb. There are favorites not only at the European level, but also in the world. I just need to do everything clean and then the result will no longer be very important.

Do you remember your first competitions?

– I remember competition, where I was very upset. I came to Moscow, there was a boy with single jumps. And I had an axel. He became the first, I was third. Because of the spins. Although, mine were’t the most terrible.

Which jump is your friend for today, and which one is the enemy?

– Axel is my friend , best jump, probably. Since childhood, I have correct technique. And toe loop is my least favorite.

Toe loop? It is considered one of the simplest.

– The simplest is the most difficult. We are not friends yet, let’s say, colleagues. I hope to make friends with toe loop.

You were born in Volgograd.

– Lived there until 11-12 years. Three and a half years ago, we moved to Moscow. There are three children in our family. I am the youngest, I have brother and sister.

Are they athletes too?

– No, I’m the only one. Parents tried to engage my brother and sister in sports, but they were more interested in studying. So we have two smart ones and one athlete (laughs). Everything went well for me and the parents did everything possible so that it could develop. Dad always said – no matter what happens, you should at least try. I try to please them, I try to prove that all this is not in vain. After competitions or on holidays, one toast is always to me, so that everything goes well. And also to my brother and sister, so they achieve what they want. We have tremendous support in our family.

Have you already got an army of fans?

– People write me. I answer everyone.

Who are your skating idols?

– Probably Evgeni Plushenko, Alexei Yagudin. Then Yuzuru Hanyu appeared, then more and more.

Evgeni was always distinguished by relaxedness, freedom on ice. What do you think, how much time do you need to achieve this freedom?

– It’s necessary to work so that competitions are a pleasure. In order not to count how many more jumps remain and how much “alive” you will be after.

Are you aiming for a long career in sports?

– You need to use your chance, otherwise someone will use it instead of you. You need to focus and take what is yours, go to the goal.

Do you think about winning the Olympics?

– Of course. But I understand that time flies fast. It seems that the 2018 Olympics has just ended, but in a couple of years there will be the next one. Then the next one and next one. But which one I will go, I can’t say, because it is life, everything happens. It depends not so much on motivation as on other factors, primarily health.

You touched on an interesting topic – motivation. How much do you depend on it? And what do you think, how long will it last for you?

– At the beginning of the season, motivation was gone. The reason is simple – nothing turned out. But they kept me, said that I needed to get focused, come to sense, to think what I’m doing wrong. Anyway, this is not the moment when it is worth quitting, because so much has been done.

So, at that moment were you ready to finish?

– Yes. I wrote my mom, but she said that now was not the time. As a result, I gradually entered the season, got a motivation. After a relatively good start, there was a tremendous desire to work on and achieve goals. Now it’s necessary to keep this attitude.

It turns out that you need actual confirmation that you have chosen a right path?

– Probably yes. If there is a result, then there is the opportunity to continue to achieve something. Competitions are the same, the differences are only in names and ratings, but athletes are the same everywhere. And if I do my job, I get the result and motivation to work even harder.

As for the diet, do you have a special diet?

– Yes. Now it is necessary. Until some time, there were only bones in me, almost always I weighed less than our girls. But at some point there was a jump in my height and, accordingly, the weight also rose. But now I managed to come to a stable weight. Buckwheat, chicken, proper nutrition.

And what about sweets?

– I love sweet. I can eat a little, but if I ate it, then I need to spend these calories. Now everything is stable, because there is a load that I didn’t have before. And the jump in height has more or less stabilized. So now everything is fine.

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