A: No, not really. I was visualizing my coaches being near. And Marina Voitsekhovskaya [Maxim Kovtun’s coach] was constantly reminding me that Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov’s thoughts are with us. I was in such a good shape and was feeling so confident that I could have competed here without a coach at all.

 

A: She attends my practices, sometimes gives advice, but mainly she helps me psychologically, comforting me when something goes wrong.

 

Q: You did a mistake on the Lutz. Was it because you had changed its entry?   

A: Of course, I hadn’t had enough time to adjust to the new entry. It had been unstable in practices, and it was only here, in Canada, that I began to do it more or less consistently. But in the free skating I fell because I entered the jump too hurriedly. I had done it easily during the warm-up.  

A: It is sometimes hard to understand at once, why this or that element is given a low level, but when I watch a video of my performance I usually can see my errors.

A: Of course, all the things I’ve learned working with him for three years stick in my mind, and I prepare for each tournament following his techniques. We are living in different cities now, but I always can consult him, and he never refuses aid.  

A: It’s my result, of course! I am pleased with myself and with the fact that after the three GP events and feeling so tired I could skate decently here. As for the off-ice impressions, I liked the city. Quebec is looking very beautiful on the eve of Christmas. We were staying at a very nice hotel, resembling a fairy-tale medieval castle!