“It’s better to try and end the career if it doesn’t work out than regret not even taking the challenge” Ioulia Chtchetinina and Michal Wozniak
Translation of the interview with Polish pair Ioulia Chtchetinina / Michal Wozniak.
Original source: sport.tvp.pl by Mateusz Gorecki
Ioulia Chtchetinina and Michal Wozniak finished 10th at the 2024 European Championships which became a truly remarcable result.
The article says that “If an average fan were asked about Polish figure skaters, they would undoubtedly mention the names Dorota and Mariusz Siudek. This pair brought Poland the most success – a bronze at the World Championships and four medals at the European Championships. However, after the Siudek’s era, a true decline ensued. Since 2014, the national championships in this discipline have been held only three times (!). On each of these occasions, only gold medals were awarded because no more pairs appeared at the start. Attempts lasting for many years to create a pair ready to compete internationally have finally borne fruit.”
“To achieve such a result in our debut would be great, but we don’t want to focus on specific placements. The most important thing is to concentrate on delivering two clean programs. It should also be clear that the level of the European Championships was quite weak in the previous season. Now we have, among others, three strong pairs from Italy, two from Germany, and the Georgians, who showed during the Warsaw Cup how much we still lack. We would be satisfied if we could place just behind these big names,” admit Ioulia and Michal ahead of their short program at the European Championships.
Ioulia was born in Russia, but she emigrated with her parents to Switzerland when she was three. However, her greatest successes came while competing for Hungary. Together with Mark Magyar, she reached the sixth place at the European Championships and fourteenth at the World Championships. The pair even qualified for the Olympic Games, went to Beijing, but ultimately had no chance to perform on the ice.
“After arriving, Mark got an ambiguous result of the coronavirus test. The second attempt gave a positive result, although he had no symptoms. I myself had a negative result. The test took away all the work we had done for several years and the dream of participating in the Olympics,” she says. “Those were extremely difficult days. I won’t pretend that the next day I was running around and smiling as if nothing had ever happened. I was helped by receiving tremendous support from family and friends. I think I am lucky because my mom is not close to figure skating, so she supports me as her daughter, not because I skated well or poorly,” she adds, recalling the events of 2022.
A moment later, Magyar announced the end of his career, and Chtchetinina… damaged the ligaments in her knee. “It happened literally three days after returning from the Olympics. I went skiing with friends in Switzerland. It ended with a fall, ACL rupture, and surgery,” she recounts.
“During the injury, I started working as a coach. The first thought that maybe I would skate again came up in the summer of 2022. But I made the final decision while watching last year’s European Championships. I sat in front of the TV and cried. I realized that I want to try again. Now, after this time, I know that I needed it. A year ago, I wouldn’t have been mentally ready for competition. Now I’m hungry for good results.”
Michal was persuaded to try pairs by Iwona Mydlarz-Chruścińska, a true legend of Polish figure skating and coach of Siudeks and shortly afterward, he formed a promising pair with Anna Hernik. Pair showed a rapid progress but interrupted by the Olympic qualifications in Oberstdorf. During a lift, Anna fell from a considerable height and suffered an injury. A long battle to return to health and other factors led her to the decision to end her career. Michal had to start searching for another partner.
“In my sports career, I had three partners. I skated with Anna for the longest, then there were short attempts with Ola Malinkiewicz and Wiktoria Pacha. However, I never reached the point where I had enough and decided that I didn’t want to engage or put effort into something that could end soon. My motivation never depended on whether training was going well or poorly. I really love what I do; pairs skating fascinates me and gives immense joy. All the elements are so enjoyable to perform, even if they are not at some cosmic level,” he explains.
Wozniak’s career might have gained more momentum if not for the difficulties he faced when skating with Hernik. The pair had huge problems with access to the ice. They usually started training around midnight when amateurs, hockey players, and other groups of skaters stopped using the rink. After about 60 minutes of training, they had to return home, a moment of sleep, and waking up for classes at school and university. There were often no additional activities, such as ballet or dance.
“I don’t want to sound immodest, but I have always been hardworking and adapted to the conditions we had. However, there is no hiding that these night training sessions were closer to recreation than serious sports. Now, with Ioulia, we train in Berlin – here, big thanks go to the Polish Figure Skating Association (PZŁF), because without the support of the association, we wouldn’t be able to afford it. We got into a system that is normal worldwide. We train seven hours a day, and I still work extra to have funds for my livelihood. But it’s really a big step forward, and I am incredibly grateful for it,” Michal says.
“How did it start? I knew she was looking for a partner, so I messaged her on Instagram. After exchanging a few messages, we arranged try-outs in Berlin. After a week of training, both of us thought there might be something in it. However, we agreed on another try-out in Katowice to check more elements,” recounts Wozniak, recalling the beginnings of their collaboration.
Ioulia, on the other hand, doesn’t hide that Michal was one of her last options. Other try-outs she participated in before the season ended in failure. If she hadn’t found him, she would probably have ended her career. “Honestly, I was a bit desperate. I knew I didn’t want another empty season where I neither compete nor retire as an athlete. You can’t function like that in the long run. It would be something like mental suicide for me. I wanted to give myself another chance. I wasn’t happy with the fact that the final acts of my career could be those fateful Olympics and the injury. As my coach says: it’s better to try and end the career if it doesn’t work out than regret not even taking the challenge,” she explains.
Taking on the challenge paid off, as evidenced by this year’s results. “Everything clicked quickly; we started getting along very well. I won’t hide that it was a new situation for me because usually, the skaters I partnered with had more experience than me. But Michał turned out to be very strong. I was surprised by his motivation and commitment. I felt like he would prefer to spend the whole day on the ice and train. I think this work ethic is our greatest strength.” Ioulia compliments her partner.
“We have a lot of work ahead on the thrown jumps, but also on skating itself, speed… The goal for this year is solid, consistent performances and eliminating situations where we perform great at one competition and poorly at the next. I think it will all come with experience. Ioulia had a year and a half break, and I haven’t competed at such a high level until now,” Michal responds when asked about the biggest areas for improvement.
The main goal for the pair is to qualify for the Olympics in Milan. Ioulia will still need Polish citizenship to go to the Olympics. “I can reveal that something has already started happening in this matter. I am grateful to the Polish Figure Skating Association, which has been very involved in this matter. Now we need to focus on the best results and qualifying for the Olympics. This will be proof that we truly deserve this opportunity,” says Chtchetinina.
Translation of the interview with Polish pair Ioulia Chtchetinina / Michal Wozniak.
Original source: sport.tvp.pl by Mateusz Gorecki
Ioulia Chtchetinina and Michal Wozniak finished 10th at the 2024 European Championships which became a truly remarcable result.
The article says that “If an average fan were asked about Polish figure skaters, they would undoubtedly mention the names Dorota and Mariusz Siudek. This pair brought Poland the most success – a bronze at the World Championships and four medals at the European Championships. However, after the Siudek’s era, a true decline ensued. Since 2014, the national championships in this discipline have been held only three times (!). On each of these occasions, only gold medals were awarded because no more pairs appeared at the start. Attempts lasting for many years to create a pair ready to compete internationally have finally borne fruit.”
“To achieve such a result in our debut would be great, but we don’t want to focus on specific placements. The most important thing is to concentrate on delivering two clean programs. It should also be clear that the level of the European Championships was quite weak in the previous season. Now we have, among others, three strong pairs from Italy, two from Germany, and the Georgians, who showed during the Warsaw Cup how much we still lack. We would be satisfied if we could place just behind these big names,” admit Ioulia and Michal ahead of their short program at the European Championships.
Ioulia was born in Russia, but she emigrated with her parents to Switzerland when she was three. However, her greatest successes came while competing for Hungary. Together with Mark Magyar, she reached the sixth place at the European Championships and fourteenth at the World Championships. The pair even qualified for the Olympic Games, went to Beijing, but ultimately had no chance to perform on the ice.
“After arriving, Mark got an ambiguous result of the coronavirus test. The second attempt gave a positive result, although he had no symptoms. I myself had a negative result. The test took away all the work we had done for several years and the dream of participating in the Olympics,” she says. “Those were extremely difficult days. I won’t pretend that the next day I was running around and smiling as if nothing had ever happened. I was helped by receiving tremendous support from family and friends. I think I am lucky because my mom is not close to figure skating, so she supports me as her daughter, not because I skated well or poorly,” she adds, recalling the events of 2022.
A moment later, Magyar announced the end of his career, and Chtchetinina… damaged the ligaments in her knee. “It happened literally three days after returning from the Olympics. I went skiing with friends in Switzerland. It ended with a fall, ACL rupture, and surgery,” she recounts.
“During the injury, I started working as a coach. The first thought that maybe I would skate again came up in the summer of 2022. But I made the final decision while watching last year’s European Championships. I sat in front of the TV and cried. I realized that I want to try again. Now, after this time, I know that I needed it. A year ago, I wouldn’t have been mentally ready for competition. Now I’m hungry for good results.”
Michal was persuaded to try pairs by Iwona Mydlarz-Chruścińska, a true legend of Polish figure skating and coach of Siudeks and shortly afterward, he formed a promising pair with Anna Hernik. Pair showed a rapid progress but interrupted by the Olympic qualifications in Oberstdorf. During a lift, Anna fell from a considerable height and suffered an injury. A long battle to return to health and other factors led her to the decision to end her career. Michal had to start searching for another partner.
“In my sports career, I had three partners. I skated with Anna for the longest, then there were short attempts with Ola Malinkiewicz and Wiktoria Pacha. However, I never reached the point where I had enough and decided that I didn’t want to engage or put effort into something that could end soon. My motivation never depended on whether training was going well or poorly. I really love what I do; pairs skating fascinates me and gives immense joy. All the elements are so enjoyable to perform, even if they are not at some cosmic level,” he explains.
Wozniak’s career might have gained more momentum if not for the difficulties he faced when skating with Hernik. The pair had huge problems with access to the ice. They usually started training around midnight when amateurs, hockey players, and other groups of skaters stopped using the rink. After about 60 minutes of training, they had to return home, a moment of sleep, and waking up for classes at school and university. There were often no additional activities, such as ballet or dance.
“I don’t want to sound immodest, but I have always been hardworking and adapted to the conditions we had. However, there is no hiding that these night training sessions were closer to recreation than serious sports. Now, with Ioulia, we train in Berlin – here, big thanks go to the Polish Figure Skating Association (PZŁF), because without the support of the association, we wouldn’t be able to afford it. We got into a system that is normal worldwide. We train seven hours a day, and I still work extra to have funds for my livelihood. But it’s really a big step forward, and I am incredibly grateful for it,” Michal says.
“How did it start? I knew she was looking for a partner, so I messaged her on Instagram. After exchanging a few messages, we arranged try-outs in Berlin. After a week of training, both of us thought there might be something in it. However, we agreed on another try-out in Katowice to check more elements,” recounts Wozniak, recalling the beginnings of their collaboration.
Ioulia, on the other hand, doesn’t hide that Michal was one of her last options. Other try-outs she participated in before the season ended in failure. If she hadn’t found him, she would probably have ended her career. “Honestly, I was a bit desperate. I knew I didn’t want another empty season where I neither compete nor retire as an athlete. You can’t function like that in the long run. It would be something like mental suicide for me. I wanted to give myself another chance. I wasn’t happy with the fact that the final acts of my career could be those fateful Olympics and the injury. As my coach says: it’s better to try and end the career if it doesn’t work out than regret not even taking the challenge,” she explains.
Taking on the challenge paid off, as evidenced by this year’s results. “Everything clicked quickly; we started getting along very well. I won’t hide that it was a new situation for me because usually, the skaters I partnered with had more experience than me. But Michał turned out to be very strong. I was surprised by his motivation and commitment. I felt like he would prefer to spend the whole day on the ice and train. I think this work ethic is our greatest strength.” Ioulia compliments her partner.
“We have a lot of work ahead on the thrown jumps, but also on skating itself, speed… The goal for this year is solid, consistent performances and eliminating situations where we perform great at one competition and poorly at the next. I think it will all come with experience. Ioulia had a year and a half break, and I haven’t competed at such a high level until now,” Michal responds when asked about the biggest areas for improvement.
The main goal for the pair is to qualify for the Olympics in Milan. Ioulia will still need Polish citizenship to go to the Olympics. “I can reveal that something has already started happening in this matter. I am grateful to the Polish Figure Skating Association, which has been very involved in this matter. Now we need to focus on the best results and qualifying for the Olympics. This will be proof that we truly deserve this opportunity,” says Chtchetinina.
Translation of the interview with Polish pair Ioulia Chtchetinina / Michal Wozniak.
Original source: sport.tvp.pl by Mateusz Gorecki
Ioulia Chtchetinina and Michal Wozniak finished 10th at the 2024 European Championships which became a truly remarcable result.
The article says that “If an average fan were asked about Polish figure skaters, they would undoubtedly mention the names Dorota and Mariusz Siudek. This pair brought Poland the most success – a bronze at the World Championships and four medals at the European Championships. However, after the Siudek’s era, a true decline ensued. Since 2014, the national championships in this discipline have been held only three times (!). On each of these occasions, only gold medals were awarded because no more pairs appeared at the start. Attempts lasting for many years to create a pair ready to compete internationally have finally borne fruit.”
“To achieve such a result in our debut would be great, but we don’t want to focus on specific placements. The most important thing is to concentrate on delivering two clean programs. It should also be clear that the level of the European Championships was quite weak in the previous season. Now we have, among others, three strong pairs from Italy, two from Germany, and the Georgians, who showed during the Warsaw Cup how much we still lack. We would be satisfied if we could place just behind these big names,” admit Ioulia and Michal ahead of their short program at the European Championships.
Ioulia was born in Russia, but she emigrated with her parents to Switzerland when she was three. However, her greatest successes came while competing for Hungary. Together with Mark Magyar, she reached the sixth place at the European Championships and fourteenth at the World Championships. The pair even qualified for the Olympic Games, went to Beijing, but ultimately had no chance to perform on the ice.
“After arriving, Mark got an ambiguous result of the coronavirus test. The second attempt gave a positive result, although he had no symptoms. I myself had a negative result. The test took away all the work we had done for several years and the dream of participating in the Olympics,” she says. “Those were extremely difficult days. I won’t pretend that the next day I was running around and smiling as if nothing had ever happened. I was helped by receiving tremendous support from family and friends. I think I am lucky because my mom is not close to figure skating, so she supports me as her daughter, not because I skated well or poorly,” she adds, recalling the events of 2022.
A moment later, Magyar announced the end of his career, and Chtchetinina… damaged the ligaments in her knee. “It happened literally three days after returning from the Olympics. I went skiing with friends in Switzerland. It ended with a fall, ACL rupture, and surgery,” she recounts.
“During the injury, I started working as a coach. The first thought that maybe I would skate again came up in the summer of 2022. But I made the final decision while watching last year’s European Championships. I sat in front of the TV and cried. I realized that I want to try again. Now, after this time, I know that I needed it. A year ago, I wouldn’t have been mentally ready for competition. Now I’m hungry for good results.”
Michal was persuaded to try pairs by Iwona Mydlarz-Chruścińska, a true legend of Polish figure skating and coach of Siudeks and shortly afterward, he formed a promising pair with Anna Hernik. Pair showed a rapid progress but interrupted by the Olympic qualifications in Oberstdorf. During a lift, Anna fell from a considerable height and suffered an injury. A long battle to return to health and other factors led her to the decision to end her career. Michal had to start searching for another partner.
“In my sports career, I had three partners. I skated with Anna for the longest, then there were short attempts with Ola Malinkiewicz and Wiktoria Pacha. However, I never reached the point where I had enough and decided that I didn’t want to engage or put effort into something that could end soon. My motivation never depended on whether training was going well or poorly. I really love what I do; pairs skating fascinates me and gives immense joy. All the elements are so enjoyable to perform, even if they are not at some cosmic level,” he explains.
Wozniak’s career might have gained more momentum if not for the difficulties he faced when skating with Hernik. The pair had huge problems with access to the ice. They usually started training around midnight when amateurs, hockey players, and other groups of skaters stopped using the rink. After about 60 minutes of training, they had to return home, a moment of sleep, and waking up for classes at school and university. There were often no additional activities, such as ballet or dance.
“I don’t want to sound immodest, but I have always been hardworking and adapted to the conditions we had. However, there is no hiding that these night training sessions were closer to recreation than serious sports. Now, with Ioulia, we train in Berlin – here, big thanks go to the Polish Figure Skating Association (PZŁF), because without the support of the association, we wouldn’t be able to afford it. We got into a system that is normal worldwide. We train seven hours a day, and I still work extra to have funds for my livelihood. But it’s really a big step forward, and I am incredibly grateful for it,” Michal says.
“How did it start? I knew she was looking for a partner, so I messaged her on Instagram. After exchanging a few messages, we arranged try-outs in Berlin. After a week of training, both of us thought there might be something in it. However, we agreed on another try-out in Katowice to check more elements,” recounts Wozniak, recalling the beginnings of their collaboration.
Ioulia, on the other hand, doesn’t hide that Michal was one of her last options. Other try-outs she participated in before the season ended in failure. If she hadn’t found him, she would probably have ended her career. “Honestly, I was a bit desperate. I knew I didn’t want another empty season where I neither compete nor retire as an athlete. You can’t function like that in the long run. It would be something like mental suicide for me. I wanted to give myself another chance. I wasn’t happy with the fact that the final acts of my career could be those fateful Olympics and the injury. As my coach says: it’s better to try and end the career if it doesn’t work out than regret not even taking the challenge,” she explains.
Taking on the challenge paid off, as evidenced by this year’s results. “Everything clicked quickly; we started getting along very well. I won’t hide that it was a new situation for me because usually, the skaters I partnered with had more experience than me. But Michał turned out to be very strong. I was surprised by his motivation and commitment. I felt like he would prefer to spend the whole day on the ice and train. I think this work ethic is our greatest strength.” Ioulia compliments her partner.
“We have a lot of work ahead on the thrown jumps, but also on skating itself, speed… The goal for this year is solid, consistent performances and eliminating situations where we perform great at one competition and poorly at the next. I think it will all come with experience. Ioulia had a year and a half break, and I haven’t competed at such a high level until now,” Michal responds when asked about the biggest areas for improvement.
The main goal for the pair is to qualify for the Olympics in Milan. Ioulia will still need Polish citizenship to go to the Olympics. “I can reveal that something has already started happening in this matter. I am grateful to the Polish Figure Skating Association, which has been very involved in this matter. Now we need to focus on the best results and qualifying for the Olympics. This will be proof that we truly deserve this opportunity,” says Chtchetinina.
Related topics: Ioulia Chtchetinina, Michal Wozniak
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