Q: How special are Olympic Games?

Mishin: One of my students used to say that there's nothing special about Olympics.What's the difference where to skate?It's not so.Only few people have an opportunity to participate.I'm not even talking about the importance of the title.There are no ex-Olympic champions.Olympics are very special and can not be compared with anything else.Preparation for the OG is turning into...

Q: War?

Mishin: Of course, war...But there is another nuance. Preparation is turning into magic, shamanism. When you are saying - Olympic Games, you can feel it...Do you feel it? Say-Worlds championship, Europeans ...you can' t feel anything like that.

Q: How is it going? The preparation.

Mishin: I'm focusing on Plushenko. By the way his preparation started in 1993 when he was 11 years old.

Q: What qualities are required to win Olympic Games?

Mishin: Knowledge, skills, spirit. No...the deepest knowledge, the highest skills, warrior spirits, and...happiness. Only god can bring happiness.

Q: Are you happy right now? Are you ready for the victory?

Mishin: Yes, I'm happy.I'm happy because I'm working with the skater who is really....Who is ready for the Olympic Games.

Q: Plushenko has not skated his new program yet. Why?

Mishin: Everything is going according to our schedule and our strategy.

Q: What kind of strategy is that?

Mishin: Olympics is the most important competition. To have success you need to show something original and unexpected.

Q: But there is an opinion-The earlier you show the program to judges, the better.

Mishin: We have been leaders for so long. Our rivals managed to keep up with us. They've been changing costumes, footwork, even music.We don't want to give them this opportunity any more.

Q: For the last few years men figure skating has been a rivalry between Yagudin and Plushenko, or between Plushenko and Yagudin, I don't know what's more correct. Now people are saying that Timothy Goebel is a contender as well...

Mishin: Rivalry is not accurate. For the last two years Evgeny lost only once, at Worlds in 2000.

Q: Someone did the math-7:1 for the last two years in favor of Evgeny.

Mishin: That's correct. There's no rivalry. You can talk about rivalry when one skater wins one tournament, and another skater wins the next one. That's not the case.Evgeny has serious advantage. But we respect all our rivals. By the way, our main task-not to lose ourselves. If Zhenya skates like he is capable of, nobody can beat him.

Q: If you coached Yagudin now, would he be able to beat Zhenya more often?

Mishin: That's speculation. I suggest he would be more strong technically. I think Zhenya showed Lesha that his technical potential is much more strong along time ago. And I even don't want talk about presentation. Comparing ideal Plushenko's skating with ideal Yagudin's skating,you can notice that Zhenya's skating is the future. His footwork from short program, Bielman spin and doughnut spin-nobody in the world can do anything like this. I'm revealing a secret-Zhenya can do 4-lutz.It's a huge question, if others can master it.

Q: Are you going include 4-lutz into Olympic program?

Mishin: I'm not going to answer because of our strategy. It's possible that you are going to see it soon, but not necessary in the free program.

Q: We forgot about Goebel. Has he improved?

Mishin: I have noticed the progress.

Q: Who else is a contender?

Mishin: Everybody who believes he is...

Q: Yagudin is working with a famous sport psychologist...

Mishin: I know Rudolf Zaiganov personally. He even worked with my students-Egorov and Serova. Say him hello for me.

Q: But what do you think?

Mishin: If a skater needs a psychologist, there's nothing good. At least, I don't see anything good.

Q: Do you remember match between Karpov and Kasparov?
There were a few scandals because of Zaiganov's provocative actions.

Mishin: I'm against everything that has nothing to do with skating. It makes the sport dirty.

Q: Can you say at least something about new program?

Mishin: "Pages from actor's life". You know Zhenya's creative and artistic potential is so huge that we can't present him in the same light year after year. That's not right. He's going to be different. Only Shakespeare was able to reflect on people's feelings like love,unhappiness,disappointment,treachery, devotion. In his new program Zhenya is going to be Shakespeare. Those two are talents of the same degree...