Na itt is van az angol fordítás:

Oksana Tonkacheeva interviews Andrei Griazev


The Europeans at Warsaw, beginning on January 22nd, will be a bit unusual because the Russian team that'll compete there will be practically all-new. In the most prestigious event, men's competition, Andrei Griazev, 22, took the leader spot that was held by Evgeni Plushenko for many years as he won the Nationals two weeks ago. We met with the skater before leaving for Poland.

- Andrei, are the National title and being the top skater on the team the burden or the wings for you?

I'm definitely calmer and more confident. It's good I won the gold at the Nationals but it was important for me to show everything I could do at the moment and make the team. It all worked! That's why I'm in a such mood now. However, if Plushenko would've staid as the top skater on the team, I would've been more comfortable. That was the guaranteed gold medal. On the other hand, I can't do anything about it and I know I have a huge responsibility but at the moment, it doesn't pressure me anymore.

- Was it harder before?

"Harder" is not a word for it, especially during the last year. I was very pressured by realizing that I have to make the team for the Games or the Worlds together with Plushenko. It was like someone put about 30 kg on my shoulders and made me skate. Many wanted to be in the desirable top three position at the Nationals. I burned out.

- We expected results from you last year and a year before, but you never skated as clean as you did at the Nationals now.

I trained a lot and I trained well. My coaches believed in me, and I fueled their faith by practicing well. We always worked a lot. I was told to do ten jumps and I would do twenty. Then, I would come to the competition and… it would be a downfall. We are spreading the pressure more evenly now.

- At times, it seemed that even when you didn't skate well, you always had some advantage, unlike others, only because you trained with Tarasova.

Maybe there was some help, but it was only to my benefit because sometimes, a skater needs to be pushed and from that point, he'll walk on his own. I think there is nothing bad about it. If I didn't go to Tarasova, it's unlikely I would've made it as a skater. When I left Alexei Mishin, I didn't skate at all for three months. Thank you, Lesha Yagudin, for telling Tarasova about me. He and I were friends since the time I was a little guy, coming to Mishin from Perm at 11.

- Was Plushenko's example infectious?

To be honest, I didn't like Plushenko as much as I liked Urmanov. He won the Lillehammer Olympics then and he was my idol. When I watched him skate on TV, the world around me just stopped. My mom saw it and said let's go to Piter to see Mishin. I didn't realize it all. I was just 11. To come a great coach like that is like giving a candy to a child - you'll be happy, you'll eat it, and that's all. We came there and I got sick the same day. I came to skate with the fever, being all green, little, and skinny… I was falling all over the place. I thought Mishin wouldn't take it anymore and would say that we wanted to laugh at him, but he offered me to stay for several days, get back on my feet and then skate in peace. Later, he brought joy to my mom when he said I was a good boy and we could stay. I have to give it to him - at that time, Plushenko and Yagudin were on the rise, but he worked with me too when he had time. So, I staid in Peter, living anywhere I could, switching between regular and communal apartments.

- So, it's just like Plushenko - the difficult childhood...

What skater, especially out of town, has it easy? At one time, Lesha Urmanov was helping me too. His apartment was empty so I lived there. All together, it's not that important. I still live in boarding school, but you don't notice your surroundings when you train twice a day constantly. I go train in the morning, rest in the afternoon, and then go back to the rink. I come back at night, call mom and dad, and that's it, the day is over.

- Why did you leave Mishin?

There were no results. Mishin said he won't work with me anymore and he sent me to his wife's group. My relationship with her didn't go well right from the beginning.

- They say Tarasova is the power and she has special relationship with her students. How does that affect you, the skaters? You say you didn't have the results. You went to her and became Jr. World champion.

It's hard to explain. She has special aura and the environment at practices. When she is not on ice, you can yawn and be silly, but as soon as she get there, you straighten up. She could yell or hurt your feelings sometimes, but then she would say, "Sonny, let's try this…"

- We've heard that it was not easy for you to get used to new coach, Elena Buianova.

No, it's not about that. When a new person comes, you feel it in everything. It wasn't like that with Elena Germanovna. She and Tarasova completed each other, like right hand and left hand. It was like they worked together their whole lives. It's just when we worked with Tatiana Tarasova in America, we lived in the same house, and naturally, I felt I got more of attention from her. At first, I was a little lost in Moscow. It's ok now, I got through it. That's why I say that it's good that the coaches believed in me despite everything. It's much harder for them, standing behind the boards, not skating.

- How do you know?

In America, I took a junior lady to the competitions. I worked as a coach a little. We were paying some for the house and pitched in for the food...

- Still, Andrei, Plushenko and Yagudin started winning right away, and we still haven't seen you win a senior event.

You know, I think everything is pre-defined for the Olympic champions. They have the talent and they always have the luck. I might have some gift, like many others, but people like me need to put in a lot more effort and believe in themselves. It's like I have everything except luck. I think I just have to keep working and not try to jump above my head like I often tried to do before. I'm 22 and I gave 17 years to skating. Sooner or later, there'll definitely be a result.