by Olga Tarasova
2006 Olympic champion will compete for the gold in 2010
Evgeni Plushenko was born in 1982 in the town of Solnechniy in Khabarovskiy Krai, Russia. In 1985, he and his parents moved to Volgograd. He began figure skating at the age of four. At age 11, he moved to St. Petersburg, where he continued to train under Alexei Mishin. He won a Silver Medal at the 2002 Olympic Games and got the Gold at the 2006 Olympiad. He is a three-time world champion, five-time European Champion, and the Champion of Russia. He is truly a master athlete. Evgeny also holds the rank of Senior Lieutenant in the Russian Armed Forces.
- Evgeni, you started figure skating lessons when you were just 4 years and 2 months old. Your start, as I understand, was almost an accident. Your mom ran into a family friend, whose daughter had just decided that she didn't want to skate. But since there was such a shortage in skates at the time, the kind woman gave the skates to you so that at least, they wouldn't go to waste. The very next day you were in lessons. Can this mean that without this chance meeting of your mother's, such a magnificent figure skater as Evgeni Plushenko would not exist today?
- I think that was my destiny. If these mothers had not met, then I may have never come to figure skating. I'd have entered some other sport, perhaps soccer, hockey, or tennis. As a child, I was very active and physically advanced. I think I could have excelled at sports other than figure skating.
But as a rule, I don't like to muse or guess at what might or might not have been. I'm the sort of person who lives in the present.
- On November 3, you turned 25. You are a Scorpio. Astrologists say that a Scorpio's principal characteristic is the ability to rise from the ashes, to pick up and start again from scratch. In your sports career, have you seen this Scorpio characteristic in yourself, or is it all nonsense that you don't subscribe to?
- I know an amazing number of Olympic and World champions who aren't Scoprios. I think that here, it depends not so much on a person's sign, but on the person themselves, his character, his desires, and the ability to reach a goal, to overcome difficulties, to be higher and better than others in the field. The ability to pick yourself up and start again from the beginning helped me a lot. My parents also have this ability, especially my mother, so does my coach Alexei Mishin.
- If you were asked to name one person to whom you are indebted for your success in figure skating, who would you name?
- It's impossible to pick only one person. The people who have helped me the most are my parents and my trainer.
- Evgeni, can you say, what differentiates you now - the successful, rich, and famous Olympic and World Champion - from the 11-year-old boy who moved to St. Petersburg to train and live alone, who sometimes didn't eat enough, who traveled to the other end of the city to get to practices, where the older boys on the team made fun of him?
- Oh, these are two completely different people. But I have not forgotten who I was then. I haven't forgotten that you have to train a lot and work hard to gain something in life. I have more goals and more dreams. I haven't fully realized myself yet, maybe only 50% so far. When I was 11, you could say that I was a pup. Today, I've come to stand on my own two feet a little. But I'm not done yet. The future is everything.
- Are there many such “pups” in the sports world that grow into such experienced medal winners?
- The ones who are driven to win and who are ready to work for it don't spare themselves.
- Evgeni, after your victories in sport, you've suddenly jumped into the political ring with the party Spravedlivaya Rossia (Fair and Just Russia). You were even elected to the City Council of St. Petersburg. Why the interest in politics?
- Just recently I was in the town of Pushkin (near St. Petersburg). I conducted an event there. Over 400 students attended, and we just talked about “life.” It wasn't a press conference; there were no journalists, only students. They asked how I became an athlete, what further plans I had. They also asked why I entered politics.
When I started training, it was all free. There were no membership fees; we did not pay for our skates or other equipment. A lot has changed since then. I want for skating and all sports to be inexpensive, or, at least, less expensive. We must have social programs.
I want to build an Academy of Sport so that children will be able to train and then go to the next building for their academic studies - so that they will be able to study languages - English, German, Spanish, Russian - and, of course, literature and history. If they need to study geometry or physics, then these subjects should also be available. That is my vision. These young athletes will have more time, energy, and strength. They will perform better in their fields, while not forgetting about their studies. I know I had to skip a lot of lessons and that's not right. If there had been a facility like the one I want to create for our young athletes, then it would have been a lot easier.
- Evgeni, today you are performing with a show Champions on Ice that combines two completely different types of sports - gymnastics and figure skating. Is it a good combination?
- Actually, it's a great show. It's a new vision to combine gymnastics with figure skating. The producer, Steve Disson is fantastic. He's brought together famous gymnasts and skaters and made a fantastic production for the public. Within the show, there is a wonderful atmosphere too. I'm planning a similar production in Russia. I only started skating a month ago after an operation on my knee.
- Evgeni, your coach Alexei Mishin officially announced during the Russia Cup in Tver that you are returning to sports and will start training to prepare for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver…
- Yes, I'm coming back. This year I want to arrange my short and free programs and create the costumes. Right now, we are negotiating with Roberto Kavalli, and if we can agree, then we will visit him in Italy so that he can prepare the costumes for next season.
- Will you enter any competitions this season?
- This season, I'm focusing on getting into shape and improving my jumps. I might go to the Russian Championship, but not as a contestant. I will not participate in the World and European Championships until next season.
- Not that long ago, you and Alexei Yagudin were almost caught in a fire in Seoul. What really happened?
- It was an exhibition performance, and Alexei, and I were supposed to open the performance. We got on the ice and skated for about a minute, and, suddenly, we heard shouting. We skated over to the gate and the organizers were all in a panic Fire! Well, at first, I didn't believe it. I thought it was a safety drill. But I decided to get my things from the dressing rooms just in case. I had my laptop, costumes, and some documents there. I went outside and looked up at the roof it was burning. Smoke was curling towards the sky from all over and in a few seconds flames started shooting up. The Koreans were very orderly about it all. After a minute or so, about 15 emergency vehicles arrived - fire engines, police, and ambulances. The fire was put out quickly, but by then skating was out of the question.
- A frightening experience?
- Not so much frightening as disappointing. At the airport, a huge crowd of fans met me with welcome posters. In three days, they sold 30 thousand tickets for the show. But they ended up having to cancel the performance.
- According to some reports, you and Yagudin were dragging each other from the flames…
- That's all fiction. The organizers got us off the ice quickly. We didn't know there really was a fire.
- Good luck, Evgeni. We wish you many more victories.
- Thank you.