“I went to the side with the thought:“ What have I done? ”: Samarin about the failure at the European Championship, relations with Sokolovskaya and the quadruple axel Chania

- Until now, I take it as absolute nonsense that you lost the chance to go to the main start of the season already in the short program of the European Championship in Graz, taking intermediate 13th place. And what were you experiencing at that moment yourself?

- Of course, it was unpleasant. But I have already learned to deal with such things. Already had a similar experience - in the Olympic season, when in the same way after the European Championships I did not get to the Games in Pyeongchang. I didn’t lower my hand in Graz, I tried to recoup in any, but the start turned out to be difficult.

- In the arbitrary you locked the top ten ...

- Yes. And it was a good kick and very, I would say, timely, because the next two seasons will be very important to me. We discussed everything with my coach Svetlana Sokolovskaya, put everything on the shelves, set goals, and these goals are more than serious. So once again I can say thanks to both the coach and all those who supported me and continue to support me even when not everything works out. It gives strength.

- How much was your failure due to a problem in Graz with shoes? And could this problem be avoided?

- I do not want to write off the result on shoes. I'm not a complete "zero" went to Graz. He did all the jumps in training, rolled programs ... Yes, it was harder to perform than in rolled shoes. Probably, this condition can be compared with how to buy new shoes in a store and go through it all day without taking off. This is compounded by the fact that the figure skating boot is much tougher, and as long as it is stretched to the desired state and “gets used” to the leg, it takes time.

- Maybe you should take a chance and hold the championship in old shoes?

- I thought about it. Perhaps I could have skated better. Or maybe, in the course of an arbitrary program, he would have broken shoes to the end. And what would I do then? They did what they did - what to talk about now.

- You already had a similar negative experience at the Russian Championship in St. Petersburg, when the boot broke during an arbitrary program. Did not think about how to solve the problem radically? Switch to another model, for example?

- It is unrealistic for me to roll two pairs per season, since the rolling process is always difficult. I’ll start cooking two pairs at once, in general, I'm afraid I’ll be left without legs. As for the model, Edea is just the only one that I have tried that fits under my foot. I used to skate Risport, then my leg grew, but remained narrow. Therefore, we, in fact, settled on those boots in which I have been riding for many years. We must pay tribute to the representatives of the company, they are always interested, asking if it is necessary to change something, to redo it to make it easier to ride, they always meet any wishes.

- I know that you have never been a supporter of the easy way in sports, but when you failed the short program at the Russian Championship in Krasnoyarsk, having failed to cope with any of your quadruple jumps, there was no thought that this difficulty was not justified? Was it worth it to remove the second? Still, a short program is not the kind where a skater of your level is allowed to make mistakes.

- I agree. That is why, right after the New Year, we still eased the content, leaving the quadruple lutz, but replacing the quadruple flip with a sheepskin coat. This bunch of jumps in training turned out quite stable for me. It did not cause concern, so to speak. And still, at the right time it didn’t work out.

- What prevents you from concentrating? Maybe the trainer should take away all mobile devices from you before the performance?

- I don’t sit on social networks during competitions, if you are talking about this. I don’t read anything that they write on the Internet. I think about the upcoming performance a lot, well, and everyone thinks about it, as it seems to me. In general, I would not really like to talk about it now. For me, my inner mood is a rather personal moment.

But I’ll say that the trainer and I are constantly working on concentration. After the European Championship, we rethought a lot of things.

- And after your speech in Graz, were you not afraid that you would approach the board and hear from Sokolovskaya that with all the love and trust she was tired of fighting for the result, tired of too frequent failures, tired of working with you?

“I never thought that such a thing could be possible.” It is clear that I went to the side with the thought: "What have I done?" But Svetlana Vladimirovna and I took so much time from the bottom, so many times we stumbled and rose again and went forward ... It seems to me that she will never leave me. Like me - her. The fact that the coach believes in me and always sets his shoulder, I feel constantly. After all, we have one goal.

- Is it difficult to force yourself to train when you realize that the season is actually over?

- It's hard, yes. A couple of days after returning from Graz, I came to my senses: I had to calm down, let off steam, exhale and clearly lay out the entire subsequent plan of action in my head before going on ice. Now I am very charged at work. We have a very busy schedule. We learned a lot of things, at the last start in Tallinn we tried a new jump - the fourth Rittberger. I learned it fast enough.

“You are now jumping Lutz, Flip, Rittberger.” Could you explain why several previous generations of skaters tried to jump exclusively in a sheepskin coat? If this is really the easiest of the four jumps, why is it now less and less popular?

- This primarily indicates that everyone wants to win, to do something that others do not. The sheepskin coat is really the easiest. I would even say that few people perceive it in men's skating as a really complex element, rather, it is somewhere on the same level as the triple ones.

For example, I don’t even need any special training or warm-up to jump a sheepskin coat in training. Came out - done. Other quadruples require much more serious efforts and serious preparation. The same lutz takes a lot of energy. Therefore, in training, I am now learning to properly restore strength during skating, breathe correctly, and be able to relax between the elements so that the muscles rest.

- Skiers usually say that they relax on the slopes. What elements can a skater rest on? Are there such elements at all?

- More likely, no, than yes, but even the most difficult jump or bunch can be learned to perform less costly. It’s just that such things come with experience. You begin to understand how best to build a program, in what order to perform certain movements, so as not to suffocate in the middle of the program and not finish rolling like red tomato.

- Girls often say that an extra 500 grams of weight can become an insurmountable barrier in order to perform quadruple jumps or a triple axel. How is your weight?

- 500 grams will definitely not stop me from jumping. But a kilogram already changes feelings: everything turns out more slowly, I would say viscously. In such cases, the first thing you go to the scales.

- Yuzuru Hanyu unexpectedly returned to his old programs this season, each of which he had already shown for two seasons. Do you understand why he did this?

- Probably because he is so comfortable: the programs are dashed, they consist of accumulated bundles. But I myself see no reason to return to what has already been done. I think that the skater should constantly develop, do something new. When you show the same program for the third season, it seems to me that it will not cause a strong impression and will not produce a crazy effect. Accordingly, the response of the hall will no longer be what it could be. Although I also had programs that I wanted to leave for a longer period.

- For instance?

- Take at least the "Showman." But to return this program in the form in which it once was, means to take a step back.

“There is another option regarding Hanyu: perhaps he is trying to return to the most comfortable environment for himself in order to realize the idea that has already become obsessive for him - to be the first in the world to execute the quad axel. Believe that perspective?

- The quad axel is, of course, a symbolic element, but will Chania make it? If so, that would be cool. But, I'm afraid that even in the case of successful execution, the quad axel will remain a one-time action. Trying to jump at all costs simply does not make sense: the rules now encourage clean skating, not excessive complexity.

- Does it disappoint you?

“It's not for me to judge that.” Of course, I would like the quadruple jumps to be more expensive, so that there is no feeling that you are working in vain. On the other hand, to make five quads in the program according to the “run up - jumped” pattern is also wrong.

- Why did you need to change the music in your free program before the final start of the season?

- I really liked the program that Nikolai Morozov, Good News by Apashe, put on. It's cool, but as I rolled that program, I realized more and more that I just couldn’t cope with this music. Therefore, for the performance in Tallinn, we decided to take the Keeping me Alive accompaniment that was more understandable for me. Just before that start, we did not have time to change the arrangement of elements and choreography, but now we are doing just that. And we are actively looking for music and an idea for a short program. In May there will be a short rest, then we will continue to work at the summer camp.

- If I ask you to recall the most positive moment of your unsuccessful season, what will you answer?

- What such a moment was, and not one.

I began to train differently, learned what I did not know how to do before, and most importantly, the failure that happened at the European Championships rallied our entire team even more, gave my trainer and I a very big charge of the right energy, and I hope this mood is not enough season.

- You are now training at CSKA on your own, as your coach was at the junior world championship in Estonia for the first week of March. Have you ever been able to compete when Sokolovskaya is off the board?

- No never. In training, by the way, it is more difficult: sometimes it is very necessary that someone nudge you, shout, and help you quickly get involved in the process. But in competitions I don’t even know how I would have felt without a coach. On the one hand, I’m already old enough to understand without a hint what to do and how, and on the other, it’s always calmer when I have “my own” people on board.

- What are you ready for the sake of your coach?

- For all.