"sport.idnes.cz" October 25, 2004
By Barbora Zehanova

Blonde young man was walking through the corridor to the ice and back again, carrying a little suitcase on wheels. The most of its space took skates. Figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, a three time world and European figure skating champion, stopped in Prague for a few hours. He'd be here again on November 5th as a main star of the show Art on Ice.

- How do you deal with days in which you are just heading from place to place and give interviews?

- I like my life. Move, competitions, exhibitions, shows. It's like this.

- And can you be just at home?

- Sometimes I like it when I'm tired. I've bought a house for myself, where I spend my time with my parents, my friends. We watch TV, DVDs, play computer games, I play with dogs. I want to buy another dog, so they'd be four ones. And I have a cat, too. I like to relax. But a weekend is enough for me.

- How often do you let yourself to have such a weekend?

- That's hard to say. I can stay at home lots of time this season. I'll be competing only in Grand Prix in Russia, in world, European and Russian championships.

- That's because of your knee problems, isn't it?

- With my knees and my back. And I need some rest, too. The Olympics is forthcoming, that will be an important season for me. And I want to continue my work, do new quad jumps, combination.

- You don't want to compete a lot but still you are going to take part in the Prague show. Then why?

- I skated a European championships in Prague. I remember the audience which was great. In addition, Art on Ice is like a family for me. For example Oliver HЖner (creator of the show, author's notice) is my friend.

- Just because of this?

- Though I don't want to compete too much I still need to skate for my shape. Maybe I'll try a quad here, triple Axel. You have to be concentrated all the time during a competition. In exhibition, you skate for fun, for the audience.

- So a show only. You're not just a splendid jumper, but a showman as well. Are you like that in your common life, among your friends?

- Sometimes. But I spend almost whole my day on the ice, so I can't be a showman out as well.

- You say that whenever is there a possibility to win something, you want to manage it. It's like that for tennis which you like to play, too?

- Of course. When I started to skate in the age of four, my parents and my coaches told me that I should win over everyone because I am an athlete. So I do that. (laugh) I try to.

- How do you cope with losses?

- That's easy, it's a sport. Sometimes I have health problems, sometimes concentration problems. In the age of 15 I was shaking after a loss and started to work hard again. I didn't relax. Now it's different.

- You had to choose between figure skating and ballet when you were 11. Why did you choose the first possibility?

- I like figure skating. And I've had skated for seven years then.

- What do you like most?

- Step sequences and jumps.

- You're well-known for your jumps. But you have to be aware because of them, you cannot be heavy. When do you let yourself eat everything?

- Of course, I'm on a diet. But after the season, when I was on Champions on Ice tour, I ate everything. Then I had a holiday for a month. I gained on five seven kilo. I couldn't even jump after that. It was terrible.

- What aren't you allowed to eat?

- Sweet. And after 6 p. m. My practises are until 5 p. m., 5.30 p. m. Before I finish, it's 6 p. m. And I am hungry after that.

- You can do the hardest jumps. Have you ever been afraid to jump?

- When I was 15 I broke a thumb on my foot. I couldn't skate for a month, I underwent a surgery. Then I was scarred to jump even a double Axel, because it was the jump I got injured during. It took three months before everything was okay.

- It's possible to have all quads in a program? Is that your goal?

- I made it in practice some three years ago. I tried a quad-quad combination last year. It was almost good. I want to push figure skating forward.

- Figure skating is a rather individual sport. You don't get along well with the Olympic champion Alexei Yagudin, do you?

- (interrupts the question) No, no. We're not best friends but I like the way he's skating. He's a great athlete, a fighter on the ice.

- I just wanted to ask if it's possible to have friends among figure skaters.

- I have a lot of friends.

- You're young, you still can skate for a lot of time. But what will happen when you stop?

- I'd like to skate for another fifty years! If I'd be healthy, I'd like to remain in amateurs because I like to compete, to win, to kill my competitors on the ice.

Translated by Zuzana (Nougatte)