#frankly i rarely watch anything but figure skating during the olympics

[hopeheartfilia]

Watched couples rhythmic ice skating, was fun

[chocktaw-salchow]

TRANSLATION: Bruno Massot: “I would have never had that in France”

Original: https://www.lequipe.fr/Patinage-artistique/Article/Bruno-massot-je-n-aurais-jamais-eu-ca-en-france/885594

Crowned Olympic Champion in Pairs with Aliona Savchenko at the Pyeongchang Games, the Norman skater has no  regrets having taken German nationality.

By Sophie Tutkovics

Born in Caen 29 years ago, Bruno Massot competed last month for Germany at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, where he won the Olympic title in pairs figure skating with his partner of Ukrainian origin Aliona Savchenko. Since then, he has done a series of galas in Switzerland before returning to training in their German base of Oberstdorf to prepare for the World Championships that start Wednesday in Milan. “We will not really be ready, we are very worn out,” he explained, “it’s sort of a bonus competition for us…”  Meanwhile, in this grand hotel in Zurich, he is pleasantly surprised with the continuing interest from the French press.

When you were on the podium in Pyeongchang and the German anthem started playing…

(He cuts me off with a smile) Needless to say, it’s necessary to drop this question!

…What were you thinking?

Frankly, I had the same feelings, the same emotions as if it were the French anthem.  But regardless, French anthem or German anthem, I was incapable of singing because the emotion was to great.  I feel really good in Germany, I am very happy here and I am more than proud to bring them this medal because they gave me a chance. And they still helped me even when we weren’t allowed to skate (in competitions and galas) for a year and a half (waiting for a letter of release from the French Federation).

But what were you thinking on the podium?

I can’t really say what I was thinking in that moment. There were so many emotions.  There must have been a million things that went through my head.  I saw the German flag rising and I was truly happy.  But I think I would have had the same emotion if it was France.  There are still a large number of people who follow me in France, especially in Normandy, in my city of Caen.  I was happy for all those people too and, of course, my family.

Conversely, did you get a negative reaction from people who did not understand your change of nationality?

Certain people told me that I disowned my country, that I left my homeland.  In my opinion, people act like that first of all because it’s Germany, in relation to the past.  But we must grow, the war is over, we are in 2018, we need to stop the madness!

But you are from a generation that did not know the war…

(He cuts me off) No, but my family suffered from it.  My grandmother had 8 sisters and two of them were killed during D-day (the Normandy landing in 1944).  So I come from a family that talked about that.  And actually for my father, this medal for Germany is very important.  It shows that despite everything that has happened, now we have formed a continent.  There are no more borders.  I know that it’s important for my family and I think it’s great.  But there are always people who are not happy that I left my country.

What is your response?

I try to explain that life in sports is not that simple, that there are a lot of politics around us and that kills us.  I try to explain my history to them so that they understand why I left France.  Even if I don’t like to say that.  I didn’t leave [t/n: abandon] France… There are many things I would like to say, but I’ll leave it there.  I don’t want to get hit later.  I will just say that, when I had to choose between France and Germany, I listened to the offers from the French federation and the German federation and I went with the country that offered me the better living conditions, above all, and the best training conditions.  And by living conditions, I’m also talking about financially because I was living with nothing.  I was living on 200 euros a month during those 18 months where I was stuck.  But the (German) federation paid for my apartment, gave me money to eat too because with 200 euros, I couldn’t do very much.  They paid for my training, my ice time.  I never had that in France. Never.

When you have 200 euros a month, what do you eat?

The benefit is that in Germany things are a little cheaper, so that was already a big plus. But I ate lots of pasta and rice.  I had to pay attention because, as a skater, we cannot eat like that.  We have to watch our weight.  My fiancée also had some savings and my parents helped me.  I can still hear my mother crying on the phone when I asked for money.  Because at 20 years old, I wasn’t able to live on my own.  She was sad to realize that I was living in such bad conditions.  I was staying in a tiny studio apartment. The president of the Oberstdorf skating rink gave me all my furniture because I arrived in Germany with nothing. Just my car.  At one point, I even thought I was going to sleep in my car…

At that moment, you said to yourself : It’s not normal that I am being reduced to this?

I didn’t have very much, but I was not unhappy.  Because of the federation there, because I discovered that it was for the athletes.  I had never known that.  In France - now I’m going to throw something out there - to get something, you have to give something first. They work completely opposite to the French federation.  In Germany, they help us to get the results.  Whereas in France they do the opposite. They help the people who already have the results, it’s not logical.

Then your letter of release did not arrive, month after month, were you discouraged?

Very. Eighteen months in total, it doesn’t seem that long, but when you do the same training routine every day without knowing why, it becomes extremely long… I skated like a lunatic, I worked like crazy to obtain the level I have now, but I never kept asking myself: but why I am doing this? Perhaps I’ll never be free… Perhaps I will never be able to go the Olympics…I will never be able to show everyone what I am capable of… What’s the point? And so, inevitably, the days when training didn’t go as well, each time we discussed with Aliona and we said: what’s the point? Just to go pro, do shows and earn money.

Are you saying that you almost didn’t go to the Olympic Games?

Oh yes, we almost quit. Completely. When an athlete is stuck, lots of things cross their mind. A great deal.

The president of the French federation Didier Gailhaguet, congratulated you for your olympic title?

Yes. Twice. For the medal of course, and also for what I said in the media.  It’s for that reason that I’m not sure if he will congratulate me after this interview… But hey, at some point, I am going to stop lying.  It’s important to talk about these things.  People have to open their eyes.  That’s what I don’t understand: everyone knows Gailhaguet, everyone knows what he is like, but why is he still here? Now I am with Germany, so I am no longer scared of anything anymore [t/n: repercussions].

He demanded money from the German federation for your letter of release…

It was initially 100,000 euros, from what I know, then 70,000€, 50,000€ and finally 30,000.  But the thing is that when I went on October 26, 2015 to get my letter of release, I didn’t know it was in exchange for money.  Me, I thought that he gave me my letter and voila, I was free. But no it was subject to payment, I was not aware.

Did you think about your partner, Aliona Savchenko, becoming French?

It was not just a citizenship problem.  We had to find out if it was possible for her to compete at the Games for three different countries (after Ukraine and Germany). We never got a response and for that reason we chose Germany: we didn’t want to take the risk of skating for France and then two weeks before the games, find out ‘Oh it’s not possible you can go’. Besides that, it would not have been a problem to skating for France if we had the right conditions.  We just needed that.  To start with, Aliona was ready to skate for France. But since we never had a response to our questions, we chose the country that gave us the answers.

It’s the first Olympic title for Germany in figure skating since Katarina Witt, in 1988 (for East Germany), and the first title in pairs in 66 years. You made the newspaper headlines?

We saw many journalists in Pyeongchang and, apparently, it had the effect of a bomb in Germany.  We were on the front page of all the newspapers! Our return to Frankfurt was magical. We had an airplane with Team D written on side, we met the pilots, we took photos with them, it was great! I know that it’s rare nowadays, but it was them who wanted to met us. And after landing, there was a huge crowd out on the tarmac.

They easily adopted you, you the French and Aliona the Ukrainian…

What they are looking for above all is the potential.  What do they want? Results, medals! And voila, they do what they need to get them.  And they do what they do in the right direction, quite simply.  In France, they also accept foreigners.  But they don’t let the French leave… For them in once sense it’s normal but in the other direction, no.

When Aliona, 5 time world champion, chose you, did you not think that the world would think that your results would be thanks to her?

There are plenty of people that still say that. Many congratulate Aliona and pretend I was not there.  But I know what I do and how hard I worked to get there.  And I also hear the people that tell me: “You did exactly what you needed to do, you equaled it.  And you became stronger than her old partner.”

Aliona is 34 years old. At first glance, this is her last season…

For the moment we haven’t talked about that.  We still don’t really know what we’re going to do.  We plan to talk about that right after the World Championships.  Because we also need to think about our health.  I have back problems, she had other problems with her knees and ankles.  So we need to think and see what will be best for us. But, frankly, if Aliona decides to retire, I will retire too.  I don’t think I could find anyone better. And what’s more, Olympic champion, what better result could you have? I have had a long and difficult career.  I’m exhausted physically, but also mentally

A NEW IDEA FOR PAIRS

Since a Frenchman and a Ukrainian can become Olympic champions for Germany, why not propose another type of innovation to the ISU, the very conservative international skating federation? When will there be pairs of two women or two men competing?  Bruno Massot did not evade the question.  “In shows, two French skaters have already done that.  They perform incredible acrobatics and it’s really very impressive.  From there to see it in competition, I don’t know… That would be something completely different for certain, it would have a different artistic effect… But hey anything is possible. I am a person pretty open to everything.  Why not? But it would take time for it to appear in competition and to see it at the Olympics, that would take even more time”.

[wherespacepooh]

ARTICLE: Yuzuru Hanyu’s legendary masterpiece. Reason for challenging SEIMEI once again in Olympics (2017.08 Number Web)

“First, let’s change the starting line.” –– Y.H.

“Although he himself holds the world’s highest scores, he does not plan to remain in the same place, not at all. He has retained the exact same hungry spirit as before.” –– Tracy Wilson

An in-depth look into the thought process behind SEIMEI as an Olympic strategy and an unflinching take on the season’s challenge, focusing on the performance itself. Plus a more extended quote from Tracy Wilson \o/ - gladi

Translated by gladi. Feel free to repost with credits. Image belongs to Asami Enomoto/Number. Source: http://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/828692

Yuzuru Hanyu’s legendary masterpiece Reason for challenging SEIMEI once again in Olympics

Text by Akiko Tamura. Photo by Asami Enomoto (<3).

August 8. Yuzuru Hanyu’s open practice and press conference, now a regular annual occurrence, was held at the Cricket Club in Toronto.

Given the arrival of the long-awaited Pyeongchang Olympic season, the event attracted a total of about 80 people in the Japanese press, ranging from television outlets to magazines and other print media.

The Cricket Club, which houses a training rink, is a prestigious sports club with a long history. Its members gather, not only to skate, but also to enjoy many other sports such as tennis, cricket, and swimming.

To avoid bothering other regular members at the club, the press were gathered at a reception hall on the second floor, and filming and photography at the rink were also split into slots with a limit on the number of people each time. [Through these measures,] one could sense Hanyu’s consideration toward other people at the rink during the open practice.

SEIMEI once more

Although the SP for this season, Chopin’s Ballade No.1 from two seasons ago, was previously unveiled, in Toronto, the announcement came as expected for the free program. [Hanyu] will be challenging the Olympics with SEIMEI from the 2015-16 season.

Regarding the reasons why, Hanyu explained, “As soon as I came to achieve great performances with SEIMEI in the 2015-16 season, I decided that I wanted to use this program once again in the Olympic season. I decided almost without any hesitation.”

Would it leave a stale impression for a top skater––one who is aiming to defend his title––to bring an old program into competition?

“There is no such worry, not at all,” said coach Brian Orser, who gave [these choices] his seal of approval. “SEIMEI, in particular, was a successful program beloved by many. Fans will definitely be happy––oh, I can watch this program again!”

As everybody knows, this was the program that led Hanyu to best the world’s highest scores twice in a row. It had also been the key that brought about his breakthrough into new frontiers.

Done by Shae-lynn Bourne who was filled with inspiration after watching Onmyouji, the choreography completed a program of Wa sensibilities and was also a perfect fit for Hanyu’s clean, refreshing presence.

If asked to choose a single program to represent Hanyu, many fans would probably pick this one, wouldn’t they?

Aiming at a high level of completeness with the same program

It is not a rare occurrence for top skaters to return to their old programs halfway through the season when the programs produced for the Olympics turn out not to be a good fit.

Turin Olympics gold medalist, Shizuka Arakawa, went back to music that got her the world title two years ago––Nessun Dorma from the opera Turandot, with rearranged choreography for her free program right before the Olympics, and won gold with it.

But it is somewhat unprecedented (in recent years) for a skater to challenge the Olympics with old programs in both SP and FP right from the very beginning.

Hanyu himself explained the reason very clearly, and quite frankly:

“There is something quite difficult in choosing new music and trying this, doing that. Each and every year. Especially with this [Olympics] season, there is no time to do such a thing. I would rather focus my attention on the very performance itself.”

"Let’s change the starting line"

Last season, Hanyu not only worked with new programs in both SP and FP, but he also tasked himself the great challenge of adding the 4Lo (t/n a new quad) to both SP and FP.

Although, in the end, he defended his GPF title and won the World Championships after three years, it was also true that it took time to bring the program to completion, and it was a struggle.

It was probably because he had such experience in the last season, that he decided, without any hesitation, to challenge the Olympics with past programs that he felt were the best fit for him.

“I think there is a feeling at the first competition in the season, or at the very start, of it is still new, so unpolished. When you watch the program. Oh, it’ll get better from now on. For this season, that situation must not happen.

"(Accordingly) First, let’s change the starting line.

“As I am at a ‘plus' right from the start, if I could properly avoid ‘minuses’, building up from that [‘plus’] point, acquiring more and more…” 

He will not spend energy on creating new programs, memorizing and digesting choreography. Instead, he will bring high-level performances, with a great degree of completeness.

An upright, resolute, victory-driven strategy.

Incorporating 5 quads, with an eye on the ultimate difficulty!!

Although the program is something from before, the planned jump layout is anything but recycled. Compared to two years ago, it has evolved by a whole level or two.

Naturally, there is the 4Lo right off the bat. The 5 quads in total too, including 3 in the second half of the program, make up the ultimate level of difficulty.

The upgraded SEIMEI he showed in the open practice had overwhelming impact.

That’s right! As one might expect from choreography that was as thoroughly mastered as it felt good, the spins, the steps… no matter what you looked at, the remarkable “power-up” compared to Hanyu from two years ago was evident.

And then, 4Lo, 4S3T, 4T1Lo3S…all cleanly landed with an astonishingly light touch. Being in such great shape from this point on, and with jumps so sharp that one was inclined to wonder if it were really okay.

Although the choreography itself had barely been touched, if he were to perform this jump layout, maintaining speed until the very end, wouldn’t it become a new SEIMEI, one on a whole different level compared to the original?

Many writers had described Hanyu, when he'd skated this program to perfection two years ago, as [having given a] “god-like performance.” But with further “power-up” happening this season, it seems that we will be seeing something quite tremendous.

Orser: Pretty much fine even if competitions were to be held next week

“Yuzu has been adjusting [his condition] really well. Even if the actual competition were to be next week, to say that he is all but prepared would hardly be an exaggeration, everything is in great shape,” said Coach Orser, looking pleased.

Tracy Wilson, who trains Hanyu alongside Orser, said this regarding the outlook for this new season:

“I am very optimistic about it. Yuzuru has gotten much stronger both physically and mentally. He’s not only training hard each and every day, he is also enjoying the process. Although he himself holds the world’s highest scores, he does not plan to remain in the same place, not at all. He has retained the exact same hungry spirit as before. This, I think, is a truly wonderful thing.”

Men’s figure skating has evolved at an amazing speed in these four years.

Yuzuru Hanyu, who has driven [this evolution], starts out again with a new challenge.

The first battle is to be at the Autumn Classic held in Montreal, Canada in September. (fin)