Evgeni Plushenko - 2011.12.26 - Russian nationals - Interview after the fs - Part 2

We're doing it at once, right? Right. Who starts? Me. Evgeni, yesterday I was sitting home, wondering which Olympic cycle it is for you 5th, 6th, 7th? How many years have you been in the sport? Oy. Do not reminisce. A long time. So what is motivating a person, when there are all the laurels, the titles, the fame across the world? What? To achieve something new. Just to prove... Our Olympic champions and our great athletes said, that it was impossible to still skate. I remember my return in 2010 for the Olympics, many idols and my favorite skaters of the past that it was simply impossible to do. I said that it can be done. And to not skate at my native Olympics, at home - that's not me. I really want to compete in Sochi. I was in Guatemala, as an ambassador, and there was a presentation of the Sochi Olympic Games. And I wanted it already then. I had these thoughts: "What if I compete there..." Well, it'll be interesting. The results won't even matter.. the results won't matter. Just to skate well, of course, not to disgrace oneself. So there is a dream. A dream, that will be very difficult to achieve. But possible. So, even though there's still a long time until Olympics, the work has to begin now. Of course I also drew conclusions after I returned in 2010, in the Olympic season. Maybe something was not enough: in a physical condition as well as in the still raw programs. That's why now I want to come back 2 years before the Olympic Games, to keep skating, to be in the current figure skating loop, so as not to forget how to compete. Just today, I skated next to last. It was hard, I forgot how to get ready. There's a warm-up, then you leave the ice, remove the skates, you must run, you need to warm up, you need to sit down, relax - the whole process. I started recalling all this. But here, today, once again I have this feeling, that I was born for the sport, to compete. I like competing, I like the adrenaline, I love this ... the atmosphere, I like how the fans support you, applaud. The courage, the spirit. It is great. I like it. And you have been that determined since childhood. When you moved to St. Petersburg as a little boy, when A.N.Mishin believed in you.. did you learn to dream since childhood? Since childhood, yes. I always dream. I still dream about many things. And one has to continue to dream. And you, dream too. If you have a dream, you need to pursue it and it will come true. As a child, of course, I always wanted to, probably already at 5, 6 - I do not remember - I wanted to be an Olympic champion. I watched Victor Petrenko, Elvis Stojko, Kurt Browning, Boitano, then Urmanov. I looked at them and I thought: "I would love to be like them..." And of course Victor Petrenko was my idol, he is a legendary figure skater. I always watched his amazing triple Axel, his amazing charisma, amazing choreography and I said that I wanted to be the same, I looked up to him, I always aimed to be his equal. And finally, I met all these guys. I arrive - I am 15 - and I meet Kurt Browning, Todd Eldridge, Elvis Stojko, Philippe Candeloro... in a competition, with Urmanov... And they are legends! They are simply the greatest. And then I started catching up with them. And I was pleased that I can already match such skaters. So, therefore, I have always been determined. Evgeni, before the tournament you said, that we have a very strong youth. After these two days what can you say? The youth is indeed strong. Today, for many, something perhaps did not work, but I have to say, in my opinion, Sergei Voronov skated today very decently. And he did a quadruple jump. I haven't seen his skate, but I have heard. From Nikolai Morozov, by the way. So, bravo, I congratulate him, because he also had a little decline, he could not find himself for a while. Congratulations, well done. Artur Gachinski. I train with him every day, so I know what he will represent in a year or two. Once he gets stronger, once he becomes a more experienced athlete, more confident, of course the competition will be very strong. So it will certainly be tough for me. It would be insanely hard, but I must work, work... And what about your injuries, your knee hurts? It hurts Is it a constant pain? A constant pain. Actually I have a tear in the meniscus. So the leg does not work 100%. It works 30-40%. If it works 100%, you can perform crossovers differently, you can have a different footwork, you can spin differently on the left leg, you can also do a quad differently. That's why I only started jumping quads a week and a half ago. So there will be one more operation - on my knee, but I think it will be the last one. I do not want more.. But for now there is a tear.