"Sasha is doing the right thing": Harutyunyan on the similarities between Trusova's and Chen's training and the education of figure skaters in the USA

- On social networks and on the sidelines, they continue to discuss the Skate America tournament held in Nevada.

And not so much its results as the

- Frankly, I was amazed: never imagined that US Figure Skating (Federation of figure skating USA.

) will be able to hold the tournament in Nevada at this level.

There were no questions regarding organization and security.

Throughout the tournament, we were sitting in the so-called "bubble".

The competition was held in the same arena as a year ago, and all participants were accommodated in a nearby hotel.

- Did this greatly simplify the logistics issue?

- Of course.

It was possible to get from the hotel to the skating rink through a special corridor without going outside; accordingly, the organizers managed to create an absolutely autonomous space.

On the floor where the athletes and coaches lived, there was a separate elevator, where no one, including staff, could get, that is, people could get from the door of the room directly to the ice without contacting anyone from the outside world.

- Was food also organized in a separate restaurant?

- They fed everyone at the rink, and they fed them very well.

Before coming to Las Vegas, of course, I heard NBA basketball players play their matches in a pandemic, but there were concerns about figure skating.

I even bought and took some food with me in case I got into trouble buying it in Vegas.

But in the end, nothing of what I brought with me was needed.

- During the second stage of the Russian Cup, which took place in the Moscow Megasport, quite a lot of violations of epidemiological requirements were recorded.

- In this regard, in Las Vegas, everything was done very clearly.

The organizers explained the rules in detail to everyone, held special videoconferences, reminding them of the seriousness of the necessary measures, and then everyone was so grateful that the competition was nevertheless held that they did not perceive tight control as something annoying at all.

The main thing is that people got the opportunity to perform again.

- You returned from Las Vegas triumphant: Nathan Chen and Mariah Bell won singles tournaments.

In light of the fact that the Grand Prix streak turns out to be inferior this season, what is the significance of the student's victories to you?

- Victory is always valuable, no matter what level the competition is.

At Skate America, besides, both girls and boys had worthy rivals.

By the way, Audrey Sheen, who took third place, skated quite seriously in our group for two years.

But then I left for Colorado Springs for a jumping training camp and decided to stay there.

In principle, this decision is clear to me: an Olympic training center is based in Colorado, there is preferential ice for which the athlete does not have to pay, and some other preferences ...

- But did you still regret the loss of the athlete?

- I treat such things philosophically: I will only be glad if a new name appears in American figure skating thanks to my efforts as well.

It was a pleasure for me to work this year with Ilya Malinin, the son of Tanya Malinina and Roma Skornyakov.

In Las Vegas, he did two quadruple jumps in the short program and two in the free program.

There will be time - look how luxuriously a guy in his 15 years makes a quadruple sheepskin coat.

I also consider this to be my contribution to a certain extent, and I will be very pleased if Ilya grows up to be a serious skater.

- In women's skating, they start thinking about quadruple jumps much earlier

- In America, the situation with girls does not change: at first, no one demands anything from them due to the fact that they are too young, they are simply not trained as it should be.

And when the athletes themselves realize that they want to skate at a high level, it is too late to start serious work with them.

Therefore, when I hear from someone a phrase from the series: "She is only 13 years old", I always correct: "She is already 13 years old."

- A coach who has Nathan Chen in his students can afford not to think about women's skating at all, don't you think?

- Nathan from childhood clearly understood that he was already an adult.

From about 10 years old he began to appear on the ice in Lake Arrowhead, coming to training camps, and at 11 he told my mother: "If we don't move here, I will not achieve anything."

And they really moved, rented some very tiny apartment near the rink.

And at the age of 12, Nathan jumped all triples, and very skillfully.

Therefore, in fact, it was not difficult for us to turn all these jumps into quadruples.

What was your challenge for Chen at Skate America?

- You know, I do not like to open cards and give out secrets ahead of time.

From what you yourself probably noticed - we started moving jumps towards the end of the program, trying different options.

In the short, Chen jumped a quad flip in the second half, which is a big step forward for us.

In the team box office, which was organized as part of the tournament a day after personal performances, Nathan performed without me and tried to perform a quadruple rittberger in a free program and coped with it very well (he got 13.65 for a jump at a base cost of 10.50.

).

- Was it the organizers' initiative to arrange team competitions within the framework of the tournament?

- Yes.

To give the skaters an opportunity to compete once again.

This was doubly good for Nathan, because he skated the free program in the main tournament with two "butterflies".

I think I just didn't have time to recover: the schedule was drawn up in such a way that the skaters had less than a day between the short and free programs.

- When will you now have your next chance to compete in official competitions?

- Most likely, it will be the US Championship.

Plus, we regularly do test runs at our skating rink.

Without spectators, it is true, but now we will celebrate Halloween, it will be possible to use all the surrounding festive props: put skeletons on the stands, put pumpkins.

At worst, cut the little people out of cardboard, as was done at Skate America.

After all, we are still very lucky that at my rink I can let the same Nathan skate alone.

This is a great luxury.

On most American ice rinks, if people paid money, they would not release the ice.

They do not care deeply whether the world champion is riding next to them or who else.

- At the moment, Chen looks stronger than all his rivals and is definitely ahead of them in the technical richness of programs.

Isn't it more logical to decide now on the set of jumps for the Olympic season and roll it out without any experiments, achieving maximum stability?

“The fact that Chen is the strongest is a myth.

The more he swells, the more dangerous it is to believe in him.

It does not happen in sports that there are no rivals.

There is always someone who is able to jump out from behind.

So why are we going to stop?

So that those who are now behind your back come close?

To be honest, it is not in my plans at all for Nathan to wrestle with someone on equal terms at the Olympics.

Therefore, we use all the opportunities and loopholes to make maximum progress and go far ahead.

And it's never too late to slow down.

- It turns out that the most correct tactics in women's skating has now been chosen by Alexandra Trusova, who is about to show the quadruple rittberger at the competition and will perform all the existing quadruple jumps?

- Certainly.

I think that Sasha is doing the right thing.

The more money you have in your pocket, the more you can afford to spend.

In addition, one must understand: in order to perform a complex element more or less consistently, an athlete must have two or three years of experience in performing it in competitions.

Any risks at the Olympics increase the likelihood of a blockage several times, this is an axiom.

Therefore, they always try to place the most stable athletes in the same team tournament.

How the same Americans put Adam Rippon in Pyeongchang to skate a free program, and he, not having any super difficult jumps in his arsenal, brought the team a lot of points.

- Do you follow what is happening now in Russian single skating?

- Very thesis.

Much more attentively I follow what is happening in my group.