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This interview is originally from www.vesty.spb.ru
EVGENI PLUSHENKO: ABOUT SPORT, POPULARITY, FEARS AND DREAMS Exhibitions of the world’s best figure skaters will be held in the Ice Palace of St. Petersburg during the 28th and 29th of May, and will be dedicated to the City Day. Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Siharulidze, Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostamarov, Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov, Irina Slutskaya and Alexei Urmanov will participate in this figure skating celebration. Of course, Evgeni Plushenko intended to skate too. But unfortunately, the previous week he was ill and was put to hospital in Moscow, and has come to Petersburg recently. That’s why we wish him to recover as soon as possible. After the end of the COI tour, where Evgeni Plushenko performed for a month along with the strongest figure skaters, a press conference was organized in Petersburg. There the three-time world champion talked to the journalists: Evgeni: This year was the hardest one for me. There were injuries. I lost the Europeans and the ISU Grand Prix. But I became the world champion, and I think that I succeeded in my quest. Q: How did you decide on a one-month tour? The old injury on your knee constantly lets you know about itself… Evgeni: I didn’t complain about my health in America because I guess professionals don’t have that much of a pressure and rivalry on them, like the favorite skaters do. Q: Does this mean you are going professional? Evgeni: I love competitions, but the professionals don’t have the competitive spirit. For them, the performance in front of the audience is a show. Maybe it may sound exaggerated but I can’t live without a fight. I know that the public loves figure skating and I want to please the audience, that’s why I perform both at competitions and at gala exhibitions with the same pleasure. I’m planning to organize shows in Petersburg, in Volgograd, where I lived till I was 11, and in other cities of Russia, and maybe even in other countries. But if my health is all right, I will skate in the favorites. Q: Don’t you think that figure skating is having a downward movement? Evgeni: I agree with you. First of all, this concerns the US. But the audience accepts my performances well; even better then the American sportsmen. Q: In how many cities did you perform? Evgeni: In this tour: 18 cities. But I performed only one exhibition. Q: Who now are your main rivals? Evgeni: French Joubert, Swiss Lambiel. The Chinese and the Japanese will be stronger, too. Q: On the ice you are one of the most inspired skaters, the journalists think that you are an emotionally controlled person, and the girls consider you as a sex symbol. What are you like in real life? Evgeni: Hot-tempered. But still I’m trying to control myself. I usually get angry with myself, because I ask too much of me. But generally I don’t like talking about myself because I often read that this person is smug, has snobbish manners, and all that kind of stuff. Q: You are a creative person. Where do you get this inspiration? Evgeni: I love skating and performing. I used to skate for the medals, for the first place before, but now I have got enough victories, now I skate for my own pleasure and at first place, for the others. Q: What do you admire? Evgeni: I look up to my parents, my coach. That coach of mine is a very original person; he always has some kind of jokes, stories and tales… I can’t think of any other person. Q: Your programs are pretty much eccentric. You look like you like tricks. Are you a fun person in life? Evgeni: Yes, maybe. I’m trying. Q: Do you often play tricks on others? Maybe you recall some kind of incident? Evgeni: Once we were in America and you know, there’s quite a big time difference. So we went to bed, and when we woke up it was still dark. And one of our friends was still sleeping. We woke him up and said: “Are you nuts? You will be late for practice!” The time was four in the morning. He got up, brushed his teeth, took a shower, dressed up and went to practice. Thank God the rink was close! Q: Do they lie to you often? Evgeni: You know what, I try to communicate only with people who are close to me, I have my own company. I don’t talk to strangers much. I don’t remember anyone close to me lying. Q: How do you react when girls ask to communicate? Evgeni: It depends on what kind of communication you mean… Q: Usual things: to meet, to talk, to get to know you better… Evgeni: Of course, they do these things but I try not to talk with people I don’t know. Q: So you don’t let strangers into your world? And what is your world like? Evgeni: Ordinary, simple, full of smiles and fire. Q: And what about critics sent to your address? Evgeni: There were, there are and there always will be. When you perform at big competitions, people of course will value your work: are you good or bad. But I react to this calmly. Before, they used to say, “He skates badly, he isn’t artistic…” many times. Q: And this is how you aren’t artistic? Evgeni: Yes, lots of things like that were written. You have to work, you have to prove that you are the best. Q: Is it easy to upset you? Evgeni: For the journalists: no. Close ones: yes. Q: You reached the top just like a professional. What would you like to achieve as a person? Evgeni: I want to go further as a sportsman. But not only in figure skating, I also like tennis, football, hockey. I want to learn how to play tennis professionally. I know how to play a little, but I want to play it every day, but I can’t allow myself to do this yet. I love playing golf. I have been interested in paintball for three years, I even bought myself a professional gun and all the equipment. I love riding cars and also want to learn extreme driving. Q: It is said that the person is the same in life as he is in the car. Are you extreme? Evgeni: Maybe, yes. Q: I’ve heard that you often may be seen in the urban rinks playing hockey… Evgeni: For me sport is important and I want to keep living in it. I like hockey. This winter I played it a lot in the Krestovsk Island and in Aptekarsk. I like it very much. Q: How did the public react? Evgeni: Of course, I tried to hide myself. But they still recognized me. At first lots of people were coming, taking autographs and were surprised by how I am in the same place as they are. Many sportsmen protect themselves from this, but you come to this world once, so why not… Q: Do you like being popular? Evgeni: This was my ambition. Many want to be popular of course, but not everyone can achieve it. But even if you achieved it, you have to remain a human-being. Many walk on the clouds, but we are earth people and we must be walking on soil. Q: Are you happy? Evgeni: Yes. I have got everything: parents, friends, I’m wealthy enough, I live in my beloved city, in Russia, don’t want to go anywhere else. I have everything I want. But I want this to be constant, and for this I need to work. Q: The adventures in your personal life affect your creativeness, right? Evgeni: Of course, everything happens, but you have to forget about everything when you step on the ice. It’s hard, it’s difficult, but you have to manage it. Q: You were invited to Moscow. You won’t betray our city, will you? Evgeni: I’m trying not to. If the city helps… I was promised to be given everything in Moscow: give a flat, insure me completely… But the material issues shouldn’t always be decisive. If I needed it, I would have already gone there. They invited me to the States too, to Florida for example, but we stayed here with my coach. Q: One part of your life is attractive and is in front of everybody. How do you think is the other part? Evgeni: Tons of injuries. Tiredness. When I came to Petersburg when I was 11, I lived without my parents. Thanks to Mishin and to Tatiana Anatolievna Menshikova for their help. It was very hard indeed: had to study, go to the championships… When I turned 12 my mother came and it became even harder: at that time only my father worked and there wasn’t enough money, and we lived in a flat with other families. Enormous amount of neighbors; one drunk, another one drug addict… It was very hard, I saw the police almost every day. They came and took the people away. Q: Times to remember… Evgeni: Yes. We went and collected bottles to buy bread. But when I was fifteen, I was the third in the World Champs and I earned pretty well. That was when I bought a flat, and we at last felt ourselves as citizens of Petersburg. There were pleasant problems like the decoration of the walls and stuff… After that everything went well. Q: Are you ambitious? Evgeni: Maybe. Q: Is it easier for you to compromise with yourself of with another person? Evgeni: With another person. I never compromise with myself. For instance, the practices: if I can’t manage something, I try it until I can finally do it. If there are some misunderstandings with a person, I rather take a step backwards and let it be the way they want it to be. Q: Are you capable in taking the first step? Evgeni: I am. Q: But what about pride or confidence? Evgeni: No, these are not my business. Q: Do you like loneliness? Evgeni: Sometimes, yes. Q: You are a Scorpio by the Zodiac. Do you believe in such things? Evgeni: I don’t know, maybe. You know, I didn’t even know what my sign was… Q: What would you never forgive? Evgeni: Betrayal. You trust someone and then..... Q: What are you scared of? Evgeni: I won’t tell. I have only one, single fear. Q: Do you have favorite places in Petersburg? Evgeni: I love Petergof. I would be nice to go there in the morning and strolling there till night, wandering around, to have a ride on the Rocket… I also like going to the suburbs for a picnic. Q: Which style of clothing would you describe as yours? Evgeni: It’s different. Usually jeans, sometimes I fancy the classics but I rarely wear a suit. Trainers and jumpers would be it. Q: You acted in a commercial. Weren’t you frightened that this would give harm to your image? Evgeni: Firstly, the offer was quite good. Secondly, it was interesting, as I had never acted before. And if they now offered me to act in a commercial of some soap, I’d go. I want to try different things and how they suit on me. Q: I know that you’ve been on the edge of quitting figure skating not once. What do you think you would be doing now if you had quit? Evgeni: I’d go back to Volgograd and would continue my education. I was a good student; all As till the fifth class. I would finish school. I was interested in football, karate and chess at that time… Q: What kind of dreams do you see? Evgeni: Different ones. But I haven’t seen anything recently. I used to see myself standing on the podium with a medal. Now it’s more dogs and flowers… Q: The dogs resemble your friends, and the flowers- love. Evgeni: Wow! Q: Do you think your lucky star will leave you any soon? Evgeni: Not anymore. Q: Sounds pretty confident. Evgeni: Maybe I am a self-confident person but I have got only one ambition left: winning the Olympic games. Even if I don’t win them, I still will be a fortunate person. The public loves me, and I love them, and this is the most important thing.
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