#WeAreNotFishInTheAquarium😂

[wanderlustinwonderland18]

BOIKOVA AND KOZLOVSKII: “We Strive To Reach Our Maximum And Beat The Maximum Of Others”

Having won the European Championships, you have established yourselves as the main contenders for the medals at the World Championships in Montreal. Do you think so?

Dmitri: Contenders? Let's take example - With the results of the Grand Prix Finals, who was predicted to win at the European Championships? The Frenchman Kevin Aymoz. What was the result? He did not even qualify for the free program. So, the ice is slippery and the concept of “main contender” is very blurry. Even before the European Championships, we knew that the competition was going to be intense. There are very strong Russian couples in the highest level, plus Italians. We tried to do our job and focused on just that.

So you think that there can be no favorites in figure skating?

Dmitri: We are well aware that there are athletes who will win if they have perfect skates. For example, Nathan Chen - if he does everything, then it is clear... The same case with Yuzuru Hanyu. Everyone else fought for second place, but the ice is slippery. Based on past results, there are favorites, yes. But everything can change with just one skate.

With clean skates, how do you view your chances at the World Championships?

Alexandra: It’s not up to us to decide. Everything will be decided there.

Dmitri: It is a fatal mistake for an athlete to calculate results. “What will happen if” does not lead to anything good, the focus begins to shift from oneself to others. The athlete must be in a vacuum, focused on himself. We have such an individual sport. We have no direct interaction with our opponents. We do not go out to fight, as in boxing. This is all indirect, we perform - we get points. That's why when we skate, we compete with ourselves.

But, this is still a competition.

Dmitri: We understand this very well. We have coaches. We have a large team that analyzes all the leading couples in the world.

Alexandra: We are not fish in the aquarium.

Dmitri: Exactly. We perfectly understand what our rivals are capable of, what they do, and what they can do. When analyzing the skates of others, we don’t take their bad performances as an example. We analyze their maximum, and we strive to reach our maximum to beat the maximum of others.

Alexandra: The most important fight will be with ourselves.

Dmitri: The most important feeling is the feeling of overcoming oneself. We analyze other athletes as our rivals, opponents. We see what and how they do, and try to compare our own capabilities with this. We watch the Chinese, Russian, Canadian, and American couples - if you look at last year’s World Championships, this is the whole top ten.

You train with Tamara Moskvina, whose previous students Kavaguti and Smirnov were at the forefront of world figure skating, performing a complex quadruple throw. Do you discuss the possibility of doing something like this with her?

Alexandra: Of course. It’s an ongoing discussion. We hope to do it someday.

Dmitri: But Kavaguti and Smirnov skated at a different time, with different rules, with a different judging system. Now, there is no need to insert ultra elements that break the entire structure of programs. These are very risky elements. If you can’t perform it to the maximum level, it’s not worth it. And how much power will that take? Is it healthy? The same with the quadruple twist - the level is lost if you don’t do the splits, hands up.

Alexandra: The maximum for the quadruple twist is level three. You get less, and the risk is too great.

So it turns out that it is better to skate without these ultra elements?

Alexandra: It’s not a fact. We want to develop. We want to entertain. Why is there so much attention on the girls now? There is a risk factor, there are quadruple jumps. The development of an athlete is always interesting to watch.

How do you work on artistry? I see you guys constantly going to theaters, ballets, and exhibitions.

Dmitriy: This is not work, we like it.

Alexandra: We put a lot of work on the relationship of our characters in the programs. A wonderful specialist Alexander Alexandrovich Stepin works with us on this.

Dmitri: He works in Vaganovsky (Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet) as a leading teacher in acting.

Alexandra: This is a special person who sees things from us that we do not even see ourselves.

Dmitri: He shows us possibilities. It is difficult to explain.

Alexandra: You know, it is a real gift to see what another person can show, what emotions he can play. When we started working with him, we had master classes in acting - with movements or facial expressions, we had to depict anything: a jellyfish, a wave, a toothbrush. At the same time, fantasy, body and facial expressions develop.

You are very educated and deep young people. How do you develop this intellectual ability?

Dmitri: Our parents. When we do not understand where to go, we direct our energy to them. They tell us which direction to develop. As with skating, we have to constantly practice our brain to maintain its function.

Alexandra: Look at Nathan Chen. At the Grand Prix Final, I talked to Dima on this subject - as soon as he entered university, he began to skate very stable, won every competition, made his programs more complicated. At the same time, he did not lose control, he followed his emotions and technique. He learns a lot, he develops his neural connections, the connections between the brain and the muscles of the body. That's why he manages to withstand such pressure. The more you develop your brain, the more you discover yourself, the more opportunities you have to control your body and your thoughts.

Do you have time to read?

Alexandra: I actually have a literature exam soon, I need to read a lot.

Dmitri: Books, especially non-modern ones, are an opportunity to talk with people who lived before you. It seems to me that the education of people who lived 100-200 years before us was higher. They didn’t have gadgets but their thoughts are still relevant today.

How did you start working together?

Alexandra: I went to the Figure Skating Academy of Elena Klimova, and showed good results. After some time, my mother and I decided to go to Igor Borisovich Moskvin - Tamara Moskvina’s husband. It lasted for about a year. Igor Borisovich really helped me - my double axel and triple salchow became stable. Then, we realized that we need to move on. I switched to Alexei Mishin, trained under the guidance of Oleg Tataurov and Tatyana Mishina. Of course, these people taught me a lot. Communication with Tamara Moskvina began at the age of nine, when I worked with Igor Borisovich.

Dmitri: I started skating in Yubileiny, then I ended up at the Zinaida Alekseevna Ryabinina Academy of Figure Skating. I later moved to the group of Alexei Mishin. It was a very productive season, after which I realized - I want to develop myself, and pursue this career seriously. I spoke with Tamara Moskvina. She explained to me the path of development. I realized that I had the opportunity to work with a leading coach not only in the world, but in history. It would be a sin to ignore this opportunity. Moreover, such a coach was interested in me. And that is why we are now sitting here and talking.

When you started working together, did everything click immediately?

Alexandra: We were friends in the academy.

Dmitri: We had no problems in interaction. Yes, there were difficult moments, but this is normal - this is work in difficult physical and psychological conditions. But we always showed respect and support to each other.