“I wanted to ride more emotionally”
Mark Kondratyuk was the only one among Russian figure skaters who coped with the stress of the European Championship and showed two clean skates.
After the short program in Tallinn, three Russians were in the lead at once, which could not but leave an emotional imprint on their performance.
As the 18-year-old Kondratyuk, who occupied an intermediate second place with a small gap from the leader, admitted, he was very worried during the break between the two programs, but then “got tired of being nervous”.
At the same time, the free program was also difficult for him physically: after the fifth jump, his strength dried up, and the rest of the program had to be skated to the moral-volitional.
Therefore, the athlete noticed that he was satisfied with the technical side of his performance, but not with expressiveness.
“I am happy with my elements, but not very happy with my skating.
I wanted it to be more emotional, probably, like at the Russian Championship, but I failed to show this.
I don’t know how it looked from the outside, I start purely from my feelings, ”said the skater after the skate.
At the same time, he admitted that the victory was a pleasant surprise for him.
“It was unexpected.
I was just hoping to get into the top three.
At the Russian Championships, I had the same hopes.
A miracle happened!
It's great that I was able to perform at a higher level than before, ”Mark said at a press conference.
He also noted that he does not think about the possibility of getting into the team tournament at the Beijing Olympics, even despite two victories in a row - at the championships of Russia and Europe.
The skater emphasized that his job is to skate, and “people will decide for themselves” whether he deserves an additional opportunity to prove himself at the Games.
In addition, the newly-baked European champion, answering a question about improving the stability of skating, noted that this is a difficult topic for him.
“To be competitive at the global level, at least you need to skate the same way and complicate the content.
But I can’t say if I’m ready for this season, ”he admitted.
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"Kondratyuk is a giant!"
Russian experts agreed that a native of Podolsk in Tallinn demonstrated a truly champion skating: strong, confident and virtuoso.
Honored coach Tatyana Tarasova recalled that Mark won the title, being the debutant of a tournament of this level.
“Kondratyuk is a giant!
Won the European Championship the first time.
Congratulations to Mark, his coach, and the whole team!”
- quotes the specialist "Championship".
Natalya Bestemyanova called the skating of the pupil of the CSKA Moscow school "fantastic", and Elena Buyanova, in turn, said that an outstanding single skater had finally appeared in Russian figure skating.
“I congratulate our Mark and Svetlana Sokolovskaya!
Having won the Russian championship, he proved that he is the leader of our men's team.
We haven't had such an emotional and virtuoso single skater for a long time.
Bravo, Mark!
- said the coach of the Olympic champion Adelina Sotnikova.
Unlike pair skating, where the leadership of the three Russian duets was undeniable, and the only question was in what order they would be placed on the podium, there were no clear favorites in the men's tournament, thanks to which an uncompromising and unpredictable fight.
“I am very pleased that Mark won in such a high competition.
Because the European championships are usually boring, and in Tallinn this time there was a real rivalry.
Therefore, Mark is doubly well done, ”Buyanova emphasized.
Her colleague Yevgeny Rukavitsyn admitted that he enjoyed this "feeling of struggle, which inspires further work."
“It was a fight of men.
The fight against nerves, the fight against the elements, ”RIA Novosti specialist quotes.
In addition, he noted the high contribution to Kondratyuk's victory of his coach Svetlana Sokolovskaya, under whose guidance the skater has been practicing for many years.
“This is a brilliant job, and it was done in all directions - and everything was great in the elements, and the psychological work was carried out.
Mark came out fifth in the group of the strongest after two brilliant rentals of his opponents, he could not help but know about it, and to make two quadruple salchows in the second half of the program is worth a lot, ”said Rukavitsyn.
And the former figure skater Katarina Gerboldt stressed that Kondratyuk withstood the pressure and proved to everyone that now he is the best skater in the country.
“No one had any doubts that he was number one in Russia today,” she said.
“I don’t know if I worked out or not for the Olympics, but I gave all my strength”
Two more Russian skaters, Andrey Mozalev and Evgeny Semenenko, who were in the top three in the short program, did not perform brilliantly in the free program and took the final fourth and fifth places in the tournament, respectively.
Both athletes were dissatisfied with their performances and final results, especially considering that it was at the European Championship that the fate of the last, third trip to the Olympics was decided.
“I’m upset that I didn’t even make it into the top three.
Apart from Salchow, he rolled well.
I will continue to work and improve.
If you watch the Russian Championship, I also don’t have a good time there.
Now I skated almost the same way, only I didn’t make a salchow, ”Mozalev, who took first place after the short program, shared his impressions of the rental.
According to him, in the fight for getting into the Olympic team, he would like to do more, but now nothing depends on him.
“I have no thoughts about the Olympics.
Everything will be decided by the federation.
Of course I want to go to the Games.
I didn't do everything to get to Beijing.
Maybe everything you need, but not everything you wanted, ”said the 18-year-old athlete.
Semenenko, in turn, after the performance, said that for a good performance he lacked "just a little bit."
According to him, coach Alexei Mishin, in hot pursuit, has already pointed out to him “certain things” that need to be worked on in order to avoid such mistakes in the future.
In addition, the skater, like Mozalev, noted that he spoke with the hope of qualifying for the national team.
“Everyone here is thinking about the Olympics.
Who doesn't want her?
I don’t know whether I worked out or not for the Olympics, but I gave all my strength.
I coped with the short program, but not with the free program, ”said Evgeny.
Natalya Bestemyanova, assessing the performance of the Russians, stressed that, despite the result, the European Championship would be a good experience for them.
“I always said: you can’t expect anything, they have to get together and roll back - this is a difficult process.
All the same, our guys have very high places.
This is a huge experience for such young athletes,” she said.
Now the coaching council of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) faces a difficult task: to decide who to give a ticket to Beijing.
The results of this season are on the side of Kirill Davydenko's ward - he beat a competitor twice in a full-time confrontation, and a little more experience speaks in favor of Alexei Mishin's student.
“If we compare them in terms of experience, then Semenenko participated in the World Championships.
But now I would not like to argue who is better, who is worse.
In this way we can sort out many of our boys.
I would prefer Semenenko if there was no such performance on Friday.
I was sure that at the right moment he would gather, he would catch jumps with his teeth, and today he is a “butterfly”.
Worse than ever, better fall.
It's a shame for him, ”honored coach of Russia Inna Goncharenko shared her opinion.
FFKKR Secretary General Alexander Kogan immediately after the end of the tournament refused to discuss the composition for the Olympics.
“Will there be more headaches in determining the trio for participation in the Games?
This is not a question for the present moment, ”he told RIA Novosti.