Alexandra Trusova: “It’d be cool to be remembered not only for being the first to jump all quads, but also for doing it well.”
Alexandra Trusova told about lack of communication at the World Championships, dreams of mastering a quadruple loop, which jumps are easier to perform with raised arms, and explained why she does not like to simplify her programs.
source: russian.rt.com dd. 28th March 2021 by Elena Vaitsekhovskaya
Alexandra, your first senior Worlds has passed. How will you remember it?
Alexandra Trusova: This was a strange competition, not at all like the World Championships that I imagined. Firstly, there were no audience, so the feeling that we had came to the main competitions of the season was a bit blurred. On the other hand, I constantly reminded myself that this is not just a competitions, but a tournament of the best of the best. It made me a little nervous. Last year I was looking forward to it so much, I wanted to perform so much, but it was canceled. So now I was just happy that I had the opportunity to perform.
I saw the practice where you performed all five quadruple jumps from the free program, and even thought that perhaps it could be a mistake – to spend so much energy on the training run-through.
Alexandra Trusova: I had no such thoughts. That practice was no different from my usual ones. I warm up in the same way, I do all the jumps. I understand that I must skate cleanly at competitions, and for this I need to jump always, no matter if it is a regular training session or an official one.
Skaters like to say that the fight for medals in major competitions begins right at the official training session. Did you feel it in Stockholm?
Alexandra Trusova: Probably no. Although I was more nervous than usual. But overall I felt comfortable. After all, I had already competed with all the senior girls last year, so I understood what and how could happen and what I needed to be prepared for.
Before, your mother was always with you. Now, for the first time, you were left without parental care at a competitions. Was it difficult?
Alexandra Trusova: Very unusual. I really missed my mother. As well as Dmitrii Sergeevich (Mikhailov – ed). And even dogs. I’ve never really been alone for so long in my life. This is a very strange feeling. It seems that we talked a lot, I constantly called them between trainings and performances, talked with my parents, with the coach, but when you end the conversation, you feel very keenly that there is no one next to you. Although I can’t say that I was not ready for this. I was warned in advance that only one coach can go with me to Stockholm.
Did you get upset when you found out about this?
Alexandra Trusova: Yes, a lot. I wanted not only Evgeni Viktorovich to be there, but also Dmitrii Sergeevich, to which, I admit, I was used to.
The first feeling after a short program, where the combitanion did not work out – shock?
Alexandra Trusova: Even before the World Championships, I told both coaches and parents that if I didn’t do anything difficult in the short program, I would definitely make a mistake on something easy. In this respect, I know myself very well. Well, it never happens for me to remove all the complexity and skate perfectly. It’s easier for me set my mind on performing a difficult program.
When did you first realize this?
Alexandra Trusova: Well, from childhood I learned this: if the coaches make my task easier, I immediately start making mistakes. This was the case at ten years old and later. Then I learned to skate a program with triple jumps more or less clean. When we started to add quads, everything repeated itself: complex programs turned out much better.
After you mastered quadruple jumps, did triple jumps become easier or more difficult?
Alexandra Trusova: You know, I remember well how I learned to jump triples and completely stopped understanding how to jump doubles. When I jumped with quad lutz with the arms above my head, I almost lost the triple – I started to overrotate it often.
Is it more comfortable to jump with your hands up?
Alexandra Trusova: Lutz and flip – yes. In my opinion, raised arms help to enter the axis of rotation more correctly and more accurately. They seem to pull the body up, so it becomes more convenient to land.
Compared to the way you skated at the beginning of the season, has the feeling changed?
Alexandra Trusova: It is difficult to compare during the competition, the sensations are always different. But in training, I definitely became more stable. I began to understand better what I do, to feel the program better, the music. It is a pity, of course, that in Stockholm not everything turned out as we wanted, but I think that sooner or later it will work out.
What were you thinking before the free skate?
Alexandra Trusova: Well, nothing interesting. I slept well, without dreams about figure skating, although sometimes it happens to me. I was setting up my mind, I wanted to skate as well as possible.
What do coaches usually tell you before the skate?
Alexandra Trusova: Different things. Basically, we don’t talk much. I have very complex content, so the coaches try not to distract me.
When you start skating, do you keep the whole program in mind or go, as they say, step by step – from element to element?
Alexandra Trusova: The second option. In the program, you do not even have time to rejoice when you have done a good jump, you need to focus on the next one. All emotions are only after.
What do you want most when the competition is over?
Alexandra Trusova: Also different things. Speaking of this Championships, what I wanted most of all was to see the boys skate live. Fortunately, we got such an opportunity: we were allowed to watch the competition from the stands.
Did you like it?
Alexandra Trusova: I was impressed. It was very cool.
What would you like to be remembered by your fans?
Alexandra Trusova: I will not talk about the desire to win the Olympic Games – everyone wants it. But I often think that it would be cool to do a quadruple loop and be remembered not only for being the first to jump all quadruple jumps, but also for doing it well.
Related topics: Alexandra Trusova
Ms. Trusova, you have been blessed with extraordinary athletic prowess And you are willing to work Very hard to master the most difficult aspects of figure skating.
Your time will come. You will be called on to show the world just how amazing you truly are and no doubt you will be prepared. So, don’t let up in your training even for a second. And, don’t get discouraged. The toil and sweat you’ve poured into achieving your goals are paying big dividends and you will shine like never before.
Quad queen indeed