QUAD-RA-JUMPIA

Evgeny Pluschenko: I am going to jump quad!

Translation of an interview by Nikolay Dolgopolov (ND) a correspondent of Russian language publication “Rossijskaya Gazeta” printed on February 22, 2008

Evgeny Pluschenko (EP) Olympic Champion and three time winner of A World Championship is seriously getting ready to come back. Evgeny looks great, he is in a very good mood and has a lot of plans.

ND – Evgeny, you lost a lot of weight. Please share with us your secret.

EP – There is only one way – to run a lot. I am running almost every day for about 40 minutes.

ND – Are you practicing?

EP – Regularly. I participated in the shows in different cities in Switzerland. In St. Moritz, I jumped three turns and tried a quad Salhow. Slowly, without forcing myself, I am getting into my form.

ND – Were you traveling with your own show?

EP – Not yet, but it is possible that I will have my own show as well.

ND – How is your leg?

EP – I still have some problems. It never happens that there are not problems, they always are.

ND – This sport season you missed. What will be happening in the next season?

EP - I will start from the very beginning. In September, I will start with some small competitions. I don’t know yet which particular ones. Thrn I will take part in the Grand Prix, than Nationals, European and World Championships. You are looking at me funny. I am not kidding! It is the truth.

ND – Are you still with Mishin?

EP – With whom else? He says that in the summer we will go to practice abroad, in Tallinn.

ND – In the past Mishin would always go to summer training camps in Switzerland.

EP – Not always, sometimes we go to Estonia. The main thing now is to find good music.

ND – Are you looking already?

EP – Yes, but we are not finding anything yet. Everything begins with the music.

ND – I thought that the music was mostly important for the pairs and dancers.

EP – Music is extremely important. If you find the right music, everything will be fine. I was promised some help. Actually I need a lot of help – with costumes, medicines, rehabilitation. I have my hopes on our Federation.

ND – I assume that you are watching current skaters. How do you evaluate this season?

EP – Our couple won the European Championship. I watched the men’s single skating and I would say that Voronov is a great skater. I congratulate him and his coach Alexey Urmanov, who himself was a pupil of Alexey Mishin. If it would go on like now, Voronov will definitely win prizes. It is not as good in woman’s skating. I do not see anyone now. It is not a catastrophe, but we have to catch up a lot. I will come back and if I will be strong enough and will win the Worlds and possibly the 2010 Olympics, than the “Laureas” Academy would recognize me as the best sportsmen of the year, as they did with Federer.