Today ladies’ competitions of the Russian Championships start at the Ice Palace of Saransk. Short program is due to start at 14:00 (Moscow time). Alena will skate second in the first warm-up.


Right after the early morning practice Alena gave a short interview to her official website.

Alena, tell us, how did you get to Saransk? Have you settled in well?
The journey wasn’t a tiring one. I’ve been told that it would be hard because of all the trasfers, but it turned out not so bad at all. I think that it would have been more fearful to go by plane in a weather like this. I’ve settled in pretty good and share my room, just like I’d wished, with Masha Artemieva, who also trains in the Academy of Figure Skating.

What did you do yesterday after the practice?
I came to the hotel, had rest and then went to watch Jana (Khokhlova). I liked their skating. It is very good and smooth. Of course, I liked it better when she skated with Sergey (Novitsky), but the thing is maybe that I’m just not accustomed to seeing her skate with such a tall partner.

Did you watch ice dancers only?
I watched the first ice dancers, then came to a hairdresser’s to have my hair set. I don’t know what it will look like in the evening, but now it’s still OK. Then I came back to watch our pairs and guys. As for the latter, I saw the first two skaters from the last warm-up (Vladislav Sezganov and Arthur Dmitriev). 

Say a few words about your morning practice. You didn’t skate your program to the music, why?
The practice went off well. I didn’t skate my program because I’d got tired and done everything I wanted by then. Today I’ve woke up at 5:50, but still I’ve slept myself out, because I’d come to bed unusually early, at 22:30.

Yesterday a Japanese fan gave my a present: an album with my photos and one photo in a frame. It’s so nice, I liked it very much!

On-line results at the Russian FS Federation’s site
Video translation (with a 15 minutes delay)