- Before the start of the World Championship, you told me that you don't really like to make any judgments on the first training runs, because they are rarely indicative.

I saw your ward training on the eve of the short program, and it seemed to me that you were somewhat worried about the way he skated.

- The first two days Nathan trained very well.

And then the nerve went.

But I roughly understand what happened, since I have been working with Chen for more than ten years, I have studied him well, and I dare to think that I know sports well.

This happened for one simple reason: Nathan had not seen rivals for a long time.

This is not a very important factor, after all, almost all skaters did not see each other, it was just that Chen was invincible for too long.

After the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, he did not lose a single start, and this, whether we like it or not, imposes a certain burden on a person - a completely different responsibility appears.

But in general, I want to say this.

Now everyone admires how Chen performed the free program, but I have seen similar skates performed by him many times in training.

For some reason, everyone thinks that an athlete should show his best when he goes to the start.

And this is wrong.

This should be shown first of all in working rentals.

Nathan and I have it this way: if for some reason he doesn't skate to the maximum in training, then he goes and skates again.

We managed to prepare very well for the World Cup.

Therefore, when I saw that in Stockholm my athlete began to twitch a little, it did not scare me.

Rather, I understood that it was really hard for him.

Did the fact that Chen was left without a quadruple lutz in the short program really discourage you?

- You may be surprised, but no.

First of all, Nathan himself was uncomfortable - he clearly did not consider such a scenario.

But for some reason, my relatives were very worried about me after that rental.

Even my daughter called and asked in a cautious tone: "Dad, how are you?"

And when she heard from me that everything was fine, I didn't even believe it.

- Don't you dissemble now?

- Not at all.

When a person has such a long series of victories, and everyone is constantly promoting and warming up this topic in one way or another, there is nothing catastrophic in losing some intermediate rental.

- Does it help to relieve unnecessary stress and, in a sense, sink to the ground?

- May I not develop the topic?

You understand sports as well as I do, and you yourself will make the correct conclusions.

- In terms of your understanding of sports, you can probably be safely put on a par with Tamara Moskvina and Alexei Mishin, who celebrate their 80th anniversary this year.

Having such an example in front of my eyes, I would even say that you still have everything ahead.

- I won't work as a coach for so long, I just can't.

- Why not?

- I have 45 years of coaching experience this year.

I don't think, to be honest, that Moskvina or Mishin have much more.

After all, they finished skating very late, and I stood behind the curb and started at the age of 18.

- What did you say to Chen after that mistake, when they were waiting for grades together in the kiss-and-cry zone?

- Nothing.

It is better not to touch the athlete at such a moment, especially since I saw that internally Nathan is very "ruffled".

But before the free skate after the morning workout, I told him one single phrase: “I am absolutely sure that you will do everything.

There is even no doubt about it. "

I don’t know how much Chen took my words, but I can repeat: he did all this repeatedly in training and, most importantly, he did exactly the same quality as he skated the free program in Stockholm.

The decisive factor here is the issue of quality.

- Are there any signs that allow you to judge in the process of skating how well the student is able to cope with the task at hand?

- There is only one sign: the athlete is ready for the competition or not.

If you are ready, it makes no difference what is happening around, how many bears were thrown on Hania's ice, who got what marks, who said what, how they looked ... Yes, there are falls, as happened in our short program on the quadruple lutz.

What can I say to this?

Nonsense, of course, but it happens ...

- By the way, why did Chen make a mistake in the jump?

- Due to some circumstances, we trained Lutz very limited - we made a limited number of attempts in training.

I guess the reason could lie in this.

- Is the advantage that Yuzuru Hanyu earned in the short program over the main competitor - a trifle?

- For a very long time I have not dealt with the calculation of points and I can explain why.

Let them be counted by those who differ from their rivals by a point - two.

There is no need for us.

Do you remember how much Chen won against Hanyu at the last World Cup?

- More than twenty points, if I am not mistaken, simultaneously updating the world record.

- That's the answer.

If you go through the history of our performances and see how much and in what tournament Nathan won against everyone else, it will become clear that these are still not very comparable levels.

I put a lot of effort into making Chen skate exactly the way he does it now, so I probably have the right to say that.

In general, I think: you don't need to go to an expensive restaurant if you have a hundred bucks in your pocket.

Because it will not be a pleasure, but a tense calculation: will you have enough money to leave a tip to the waiter or not.