FIGURE SKATING

When I met Olympic Bronze medalist  Maxim Shabalin during the RFSF conference,  I asked him what he is doing these days: "Resting” - he answered with a shrug. But the following day, when we met for an interview, Shabalin’s status  had drastically changed – by then he had become member of the executive committee of the Russian Figure Skating Federation. We started our conversation with that.

Maxim SHABALIN :"I WOULD BRING BACK TO RUSSIA ALL THE COACHES WHO WORK ABROAD"

MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT VANCOUVER

- Мaxim, at the conference you had the chance to observe the very essence of what takes place behind the scenes of the figure skating world. Would you like to be a part of that environment?

- In order to answer to your question, I’d have to have been a part of that for a while. I attended the conference merely as the spectator. It was exciting, especially since it was all new to me: before the elections I did not even know who had applied for the position of president, and how things would develop from there.

- Don’t you find it strange that there are no young, or even remotely young  people among the leaders of the Russian Federation?

- Not anymore. Oksana and I are now members of the executive committee. I didn’t even know in advance that I would be nominated for that position, but during the conference when I was asked if I would be interested in that kind of work I gave a positive answer.

- Have you come to terms with the reality that your days as a professional athlete are now over?

- Yes, and quite easily. I can even say that I’m enjoying that: finally I have a lot of spare time to do the things that I never had the time to do before, like going to the theatre a lot, for example. It would make sense to hang on to the sport if there was even the slightest chance, but given the state of my knees even talking about such a possibility  is absurd.

- Were you ever worried at the thought of your partner continuing her career with someone else?

- If I was, it was only for a moment.

- Do you still dream of the Olympic Games?

- No, not anymore. It was quite hard right after the games: you don’t know what’s going to happen. Nobody calls you anymore, you don’t have to rush anywhere. You have to get used to that too.

- As you had to get used to the Olympic games result. To tell you the truth, I still find it hard to put into words my feelings in regards to your medals with Oksana. I realize that with the state of your legs, the bronze was the best you could have achieved. On the other hand, it was not for the bronze that you went to Vancouver?

- No, it was not for the bronze. That’s why I have mixed  feelings about this medal. It was really hard to get it. From that perspective, our performance at the Games was definitely a victory. But we went there for the gold. We were fighting for the gold.

- Really?

- Yes, we were. It was after the Original Dance that it became clear that we could have not achieved that.

-  It’s probably hard to estimate your realistic possibilities from the inside, as opposed to what people perceive from the outside. But let me say that:  even before arriving in Vancouver, it was obvious to those outside that the first two spots would go to the Canadians Virtue-Moir and the Americans Davis-White.

-  I have to disagree on that. I agree about the Canadians: yes, they are brilliant  and everyone can see that, although personally I was not impressed  with their programs. If Oksana and I hadn’t been forced to make changes to our programs to adjust to my knee’s condition,  I don't think Virtue/Moir would have had the chance to win . As far as the Americans, what they do doesn't look  like ice dance to me. I just see two kids who run across the ice very fast, and perform great acrobatic lifts. Had I been a judge for the Compulsory Dances, I would have definitely placed them outside the top three.

-  Am I right to say that in Vancouver the tactics decided with your partner and coaches were the same as during the Europeans in Tallinn, that is to build up the widest possible margin between you and your rivals in the Compulsory Dance, and then try to maintain that?

- To a certain extent, yes.

EUROPEAN MEDICINE IS MORE PROGRESSIVE THAN THE AMERICAN ONE

-  During all this time that you’ve been suffering from injuries, have you ever thought that participating in the Europeans 2008 in Zagreb, only a few days after your knee surgery, was a terrible mistake on your part?

- Yes, a thousand times, and I was terribly sorry I did. But at that point it didn't make sense to talk about it.

- In all your interviews you have always stressed that it was your decision to skate and compete. I still can't believe you made such a decision without the involvement of the people around you, without any outside pressure.

- It wasn’t my first surgery. The first one was performed on my other knee one year before. That operation was successful, but since I didn't have any previous experience, I was clueless about the great importance of the meniscus . It was way too late when I realized that I didn’t work  on my knee properly  following the operation.  But then again I didn't even quite know how to do it. That’s why I recovered only six months after the surgery – during the fall, when the season had already begun.

I also had no idea that when one knee gets injured, the pressure on the other knee increases dramatically. But I was soon going to have to face the consequences:  during the Grand Prix Final that Oksana and I  won, I injured my other meniscus. I was hospitalized, and after the surgery I had the impression that things were going far better  than the first time: a week after the operation I was already able to walk and put the weight on the leg. This is actually why I resumed skating so soon.

- And nobody tried to stop you?

- You probably imagine someone holding me back while I was fighting and willing to train? It wasn’t really like that. The only one who told me I should put the load on my leg gradually was the doctor who operated on me. But somehow I didn't take his words seriously. At first it seemed to me that everything was fine, but when the leg started hurting badly from all the pressure, I didn't want to see all my hard work go down the drain. Besides, I was sure I could handle the pain and that nothing terrible would happen to my joint.

- For some reason, it seemed to me that you were pushed to compete in those Europeans by your then coach Alexei Gorshkov, which caused the disagreement with him that eventually led you and Oksana to make the decision to move to America and train with Natalia Linichuk. I also got  the impression that you were not eager to leave...

- Oksana and I came to that decision together. It was a tough one. I knew very well how Gorshkov would take the news. I knew how much he would be offended,  and how he wouldn’t listen to any of our reasons and would cut us off completely. Despite all that, I also clearly realized that I did not want to remain in Russia. I felt that we needed some changes, some fresh ideas. After the third surgery, when I went back to the ice in Odintsovo, all of a sudden  I felt like I couldn’t stand that ice, those walls anymore. I associated all that with constant pain, problems, troubles. So we just left.

- Counting on what? The ever powerful American medicine?

- There were such hopes, but they soon disappeared. I realized pretty fast that European medicine is more  progressive. In the USA doctors are so afraid of being sued,  that they wouldn’t even dare trying anything innovative . They wait for the others to acquire enough positive experience, and only after that they would start to experiment. At least that's my impression.

- The doctors in the Russian team were not pleased with the change in your lifestyle that happened a couple of years before Vancouver. As far as I know they even related all your injuries with your becoming a vegetarian: according to them your bones and ligaments became weaker.

- I think that's an exaggeration. I became interested in yoga and consequently became a vegetarian after the first surgery. I spent that summer in Elbrus, attending a yoga seminar that I heard about on the Internet. Anyway,  I was a vegetarian only  for three months. Then I ended up in hospital with appendicitis, and after I was discharged, I felt like my body  was "craving" for  meat. That, and I also listened to the doctor’s advice.

SOMETIMES YOU MAY GET TIRED OF YOUR PARTNER AND COACH

- What did you gain from the two years you spent in the USA?

- First of all the impression of the country in general. My English improved a lot, and I realized that I don’t ever want to live there again.

- Why?

- It’s a difficult question. Let's put it that way: I would send my child to study in the USA. It's a useful experience. Moreover, I would never try to convince him that living in the USA is a bad thing. I would let him get his own impression of the country. But I was feeling uncomfortable there. For example: the lack of sidewalks. You get out of  the house and realize there is nothing to walk on.

It was hard to get used to people wearing slippers and weird robes in the streets. I was annoyed with the way they communicate: it seems like they are talking to you, but they are just hiding behind polite smiles and common phrases. And God forbid you should ever answer "bad" to the question "How are you?' They would get confused, even scared: "How come…"bad?"

- On the other hand it must have not been easy to remain within the same small Russian speaking group?

- Oksana and I were often asked what is the secret of our good relationship. I answered that the secret is that we go separate ways after training, and we get the chance  to take a break from each other.

- So you are familiar with that feeling of getting enough of your partner at times?

- Of course. And the same can happen with your coaches.   As soon as we moved to the USA we even met with Natalia Linichuk and her husband Gennady Karponosov  to discuss the terms of our relationship. Gennady warned us not to expect to become friends. Skaters and coaches should keep a certain degree of distance.  This is necessary because  the coach will often have to push the athlete to force himself to do things he does not want to do. When your coach is also your friend, you tend to expect some sort of support and understanding, and you get disappointed  when you don’t get it.

- Was your relationship with Gorshkov any different?

- It was definitely more friendly.

- Were there ever any moments when you were discouraged to the point of wanting to leave the sport?

- All the times. Especially during our first year in the USA. I was in constant pain. That’s how we arrived to the Europeans in Helsinki. And then I fell in the Compulsory Dance. Everybody thought we were finished at that point. The press, everyone…It was a very hard period.

- And what was Linichuk saying to you back then?

- She was supporting us. She was trying to convince us that it was all nonsense, that we were the best.

- And that’s with that attitude that you went to the worlds in Los Angeles?

- It was more like anger, and the desire to prove that it was too early to consider us dead and buried.

- Who is more fierce: you or Oksanа?

- I would say Oksana is more determined. In everything. The sport was more important for her. Anyway, there has always been a great understanding between us. During our career we only had one fight  when we first started skating together. It wasn’t even a real fight, it was more like the beginning of a fight, because just when things were about to turn ugly and it was clear that we would have started screaming at each other,  one of us – I can’t remember who now -  turned around and walked away. We haven’t had a fight since.

- Not even when one of you would make a serious mistake on the ice?

- Especially then. Though I must confess that when you are the one to make the mistake, it feels terrible. I fell twice during main competitions, and it was enough for me to understand what a nightmare that is.

I DON'T EXPECT MAJOR CHANGES IN ICE DANCE

- Have you ever tried choreographing  your own programs?

- No, but I would like to try.

- What do you think  will be the most interesting thing in store for ice dance next season?

-  I don't expect any major changes. Based on the judging of the first two couples at the Worlds in Torino, it seems like no one will be able to get anywhere close to them. So the first two worlds placements have practically already been decided.

I’d like to see what happens with Yana Khokhlova/Fedor Andreev, especially since I have never seen her partner on the ice. I have no idea about the young Russian couples: when you skate yourself, you simply don't have the time to pay attention to the others.

- But you must have paid attention to something when you happened to take part in the same competitions?

- Of course, when it comes to your rivals you try to determine their skating skills, evaluate their programs and how well they are executed from an emotional point of view . The most experienced couples can "kill” their rivals even during practice.

- Did you and Oksana learn to do that as well?

- Sure. Everything gets carefully planned in advance: what to show in practice and how. For example, we always won in confidence , even though I couldn't do much with my leg.

- How could you train in such a state?

- Ironically, in America we trained more than in Russia, and harder. Plus we were in constant competition with the Americans Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, and then with the Italians Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali. Working alongside the likes of them was of course hard, but nevertheless much better for the results.

- Two-time Olympic champion, ice dancer  Oxana Grischuk  stated in her speech at the RFSF conference, that all the coaches who work abroad should be brought back to Russia. How do you feel about that?

- If I had the chance to get those coaches back to Russia, I would definitely try to do that. Everyone around good coaches learns a lot from them. It’s a pity that Nataliya Linichuk, Igor Shpilband, Marina Zueva work abroad.

- How come you don’t want to coach yourself?

- Maybe one day I will. Right now, I really just want to forget everything about training. I don’t want go to the ice rink. I do not want to put my skates on. It's s been too painful the last two years.

Еlena Vaitsekovskaya