 Only true and devoted figure skating fans can come to the Academy of Figure Skating early in the snowy Saturday morning. Last Saturday at 9.30 a group of such people met at the door of the Academy and then proceeded to the ice rink to watch Alena training for the upcoming events. The one-hour practice slipped away fast, Alena did all she was to do and immediately after changing clothes came to the Academy’s foyer to thank her guests, answer their questions and have a friendly chat with them. IT'S MORE DIFFICULT TO SHARE ICE WITH KIDS
- Alena, your practice took only an hour. Is it always like this?
- No, sometimes practices last longer, but today Alla Yakovlevna told me she liked how I worked and let me go. I’ve come to the Academy at 8.30, limbered up before coming to the ice, and after our conversation I will do some phisical training and then go to the massage therapist.
- What your phisical training classes are like?
- First, I jog for half an hour, then work on my stretch and do running exercises, sometimes with hurdles.
- Is there any difference between your practices in the beginning of the season and now, when it’s in full play?
- In August I used to skate for an hour and a half, and now only for an hour, in order not to get tired during competitions. Four times a week I have choreography classes, and if I have difficulty doing something at a practice I stay on the ice longer. But today Alla Yakovlevna was satisfied with me. When I repetedly fail to do an element well, she gets upset, and I notice it.
- Is it difficult to share ice with little kids? Or is it more difficult with grown-ups?
- It’s more difficult to share ice with kids. They can’t see anything, and I don’t like to yell.
Have you seen my Salchow-Toeloop?! I think I’ve done more 3T+3T combinations over the last two weeks than in the whole last season!
- Do you jump more when there are spectators watching?
- Idon’t know. I think I’ve just been luckyi n jumps today.
- Children’s practices in the Academy start at 7 in the morning...
- Yes. When I was a little girl, I had no such early practices, but I had evening ones at 10 p.m. I used to return home almost asleep.
- Your parents must have carried you in their arms.
- No, theyneverdid. I always walked home on my own feet.
MY MOTHER ALMOST GUESSED MY NEW PASSPORT NUMBER
- Next week I will compete in the Panin Memorial. The attendance of the tournament is usually bad, so it will rather be like a practice.
- It feels like I’m still celebrating by birthday. A girl gave me a present today. And yesterday I received my new passport. My mother and I took odds as to what its number would be, and she won. She missed only by one figure.
- I had my hair cut shortly before the Rostelecom Cup, because the Federadion insisted upon it. But now I’m going to let my hair grow again.
I WILL CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR’S DAY TOGETHER WITH MY FAMILY OUT OF TOWN
- Alena, is there a place where you like to skate the most?
- I like to skate abroad. It’s easier for me. I like Japan the best.
- Do you get tired of travelling by planes?
- No, I’m OK with flights. Mostly I just sleep. I’m not afraid of flying, though once our plane was shaking so badly in a turbulence zone, that I wanted to call my mother, but cell phones don’t work at such an altitude.
- What do you usually do on your day-offs in winter?
- Last weekend I did some shopping in a new mart, and this Sunday I’m going to have my finger-nails done.
- Which foreign skaters do you associate with?
- Lambiel, Johnny and Miki Ando.
- Do you get in touch with them over the telephone?
- Oh yes, Johnny has just called, but I didn’t answer (laughs). I send him a message saying I’m busy right now. No, in fact we usually communicate during competitions. I speak with Johnny and Miki in Russian.
- What are your plans for the New Year’s Day?
- I always celebrate it together with my family. This time we are going to go out of town to a rented cottage. I will return from Nationals in Saransk just before the New Year, on December 30. But we still don’t know what to do with our dog.
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