“I have a firework inside”

The men's tournament in the framework of the European Championship ended with the triumph of the Russians - Dmitry Aliyev won the gold, and Arthur Danielyan won the silver. Third place went to the 24-year-old native of Moscow, Maurice Kvitelashvili, who plays for Georgia.

Sharing his impressions of the competition, the winner admitted that during the training process he did not succeed at all, and this provided an additional reason for excitement. The atmosphere in Graz helped him partially overcome his nervousness, where he felt at home.

“But when the first numbers went off in the warm-up, my ears and elbows began to burn. I understood that this was not very correct, I began to get nervous. But I said to myself important and correct words that helped. The music also guided me and did not let me relax, especially in the second half of the program, ”Aliyev said.

After the rental, the skater could not restrain his emotions and burst into tears during the announcement of ratings. According to him, the number was given not only physically, but also emotionally, being on the ice, he thought about which way he had to overcome on the path to success.

“The soul cries with happiness. Insanely happy, I have a firework inside. For me it is a great day, victory over myself. The happiest day in my sports career. Such success inspires, ”Aliyev added.

Interestingly, Russia could not be counted as a talented solitary. While peers wanted to be like Evgeni Plushenko and Alexei Yagudin, he went skiing. But at a certain moment Dmitry had a choice: to stay in this sport or to go to figure skating.

“Everything was decided by fate. But skiing was not bad, at a very good level. I am not clairvoyant, but if I continued to study, I think I would show good results. Probably something from skiing was useful to me in figure skating. At first I rode with a stooped back, straightened it for me so that I was level, ”Aliyev recalled.

For 16-year-old Danielyan, the second place in the continental championship was the best result at the adult level. Yesterday's junior emphasized that his goal in Graz was to enjoy the rental, make a name for himself, and not to climb the podium at all. In this regard, silver was a pleasant surprise for him. The only thing he complained about was the lack of stability.

“The most beautiful moment of the rental happened at the end, when I completely went into the gap, began to have fun. It was hard to set up myself before the program started. I didn’t think about places, I wanted to demonstrate clean skating, ”Danielyan said.

One of the main losers of the competition was last year's vice champion Alexander Samarin. He was able to only slightly improve his position after a short program and close the top ten. According to the athlete, he was most disappointed with the fall from the triple axel and the “butterfly” on the triple rittberger.

“Many thanks to everyone who came here to cheer, support, to everyone who is experiencing from home. I want to thank my team for having prepared me and for their support. Hard to find words. I think everyone understands that everything was not right and wrong here. In the future, such rentals should not be, ”said Samarin.

Before the start of the tournament, it became known that, due to a breakdown, the skater had to change shoes. Some suggested that this could have caused him to fail, but Samarin himself refuted this assumption.

“We changed them after the New Year. I did everything in training, performed, in principle, the form is normal, the shoes managed to be rolled out. They do not sit like slippers, but still this is not the reason. I need to understand myself, ”concluded Samarin.

“I want to believe that we will not stop there”

Aliyev became the first Russian European champion since 2012, when Evgeni Plushenko won. The two-time Olympic champion himself noted the stubbornness of the winner and the stable performance of the silver medalist.

“Congratulations, this is amazing news, finally, after such a long pause, we have a new European champion. I want to believe that we will not stop there, the guys will go further and worthily perform at the championship of the planet. And two years later they will show the highest class at the Games in Beijing, ”Plushenko said.

Dmitry and President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) Alexander Gorshkov congratulated Dmitry on gold.

“Aliyev skated well in the short program, today he showed himself just brilliantly. After the performance, he told him that he always wanted to see him like that. Danielyan - there are simply no words, the debutant unexpectedly got to the European Championship and just as unexpectedly appeared on the podium, well done, ”commented Gorshkov, singles tournament results.

Two skaters will represent Russia at the 2020 World Cup in Montreal. If Aliyev’s presence in the national team is beyond doubt, then Danielyan, who has the right to speak at the junior championship, and Samarin can count on the second number. The head of the FFKKR emphasized that this issue has yet to be discussed, including with teams of athletes.

“Before the World Cup, another month and a half, there is no need to rush - the decision should be made by the trainer of Danielyan. As for Sasha Samarin, yes, this is a failure. We will understand the situation, ”concluded Gorshkov.

Honored trainer of the USSR Tatyana Tarasova said that Aliyev’s victory was not a surprise to her, and Danielyan earned the present silver with his hard work.

“Dima has done a lot lately, learned to control himself. This is the longest path to yourself, which will continue further. Outstanding performance and result. You can always do better, but I am very pleased with how Aliyev ordered his skating. It was evident that it was assembled, going upstairs and would not give anything back. He solved very serious problems for himself, ”Tarasova summarized.