Evgenia Medvedeva: Any competition is a great challenge for me
Translation of an interview with Evgenia Medvedeva. About her performance at European Championships, her dog and closing banquet.
Was you tired after such a triumphant performance?
– To be honest, I was more tired of the flight, I got a great pleasure from European Championships. Probably, there I got more energy rather than got tired. I won’t say that competitions turned out easy for me, but I got a great satisfaction from it.
The legendary coach Tatiana Tarasova admired your performance and said that she has never seen more stronger figure skater. How do you react to such praise?
– It’s insanely pleasing when such words are addressed to me. But I often don’t take the praise and I can’t agree with it because … (hides her face) I get flustered.
In the free program you even allowed yourself some naughtiness and did an extra element, though you knew it wouldn’t be counted by the judges. Was it done in order to show your superiority over rivals?
– Rather it was just a little fun for me.
So the European Championships is such a routine for you that you can have such entertainment during the official skate?
– I would not say that. Any competition is a great challenge for me. And I take it very seriously. But I never bother about the scale of the competitions, just want to go on the ice and show good skating. Because I knew that all my free program till the last jump was executed cleanly, I realized that I can afford some excess on the ice.
There’s an opinion that because of your wondrous jumps and combinations, the rules of figure skating should be changed. Do you agree with this?
– There are many elements that I do not do: combinations with triple lutz or triple loop. So I do not even think about changing the rules.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPKXzKBgLWD/?taken-by=jmedvedevaj
Two years in a row you come to each competitions and win. How to keep such shape till the Olympics in Korea?
– I try to live for today and won’t guess at the future. There are World Championships and two Russian Nationals ahead, one of which will be held just before the Olympics. Before the World Championships, which will be held in Helsinki in April, I will have a little break in terms of competition. Of course I won’t stop trainings. The main thing is to keep a good mood.
Is the Russian women’s figure skating strongest in the world?
– I think that it makes no sense to argue with it. Russian girls are one of the strongest skaters. But despite this rivalry, the competition is very high. Japanese, American, Canadians and others also perform great.
Do you still have time to study?
– Of course. I usually attend classes two or three times a week. But often I have to study with a teacher individually. Since there are not so many days off to go to school.
In addition to journalists, relatives and classmates from “Sambo-70”, who met you at the airport there also was a dog. Your?
– Yes, it’s my French Bulldog Jerry.
Why didn’t you take it with you to the European Championships?
– It is quite normal for figure skating. I know athletes who take their pets with them. But I have a bulldog not a lap-dog or chihuahua. I understand that during the European Championships I won’t have time to take care of it. All these days I lived on schedule: hotel – Ice Palace – hotel.
But what about the traditional banquet at the end of the European Championships?
– Yes, it was great, we danced a lot.
Who is the best dancer in our team?
– It is logical that all skaters dance very well. But most of all on the dance floor I liked Katya Bobrova.
by Nikolai Chegorskiy aif.ru
Related topics: Evgenia Medvedeva, interview
how can be two russian nationals ahead?
I think she did a wrong calculation)
Finally, the queen makes a mistake. But it’s not on a jump!