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A year ago, the French figure skater Adam Xiao Him Fa became the European champion. Before the start of the new tournament in Kaunas, the Sport correspondent spoke with the current winner. In an interview, the athlete explained why figure skating needs changes, what it’s like to compete without Russians, and why Alexey Yagudin is cooler than Evgeni Plushenko.
— I speak Russian, I know a few words.
—Really? Which ones?
— “My name is Adam,” “hello,” and “hello.”
— How do you know this?
— My roommate Denis Strekalin speaks Ukrainian and Russian. He taught me.
—Is it difficult?
—I only know a few small words, that’s not much.
—You have many fans in Russia, but there is not much information about you in Russian. Tell us about your home, family.
— My parents are from the island of Mauritius, but they are Chinese by origin. They have been living in France for more than 40 years. I was born in Bordeaux. I have an older sister and two older brothers. They all do figure skating.
— It turns out that you have a real sports family.
— Yes. My sister was the first among us to start playing sports — gymnastics and figure skating. Everything took a long time, so she chose ice, just like her brothers. And I wanted to repeat it and also became a figure skater.
— Among professional athletes, who was your first inspiration?
— Alexey Yagudin.
— What about Evgeni Plushenko?
— Yes, him too. In fact, I enjoyed watching both of them, but more so Yagudin. I also liked the way Brian Joubert and Patrick Chan skated.
— Plushenko and Yagudin had a real confrontation both on the ice and in the media. Did you follow this?
— No, I didn’t see this at all. I know only from the stories of my former coach Joubert.
“There is no point in discussing the topic of Russia”
— You are the European champion, but failed to get on the podium at the Grand Prix Final. What happened?
— Strong pressure. This is my first senior Grand Prix Final and the first time I went to the competition as a favorite. In some ways I couldn't cope with the stress. But this is a life experience, I learned a lot.
— Usually the Olympic Games become the most stressful moment in an athlete’s career.
— Yes, that is right. But during the Olympics I didn’t feel much stress. I was making my childhood dream come true, I thought a lot about whether it would work out or not, but in the end I said to myself: “It’s okay, you’re at the Olympic Games, just get everything from them and enjoy it.” And in the Grand Prix Final, a medal became the goal. And I also set a goal for the next Olympics: to win a medal.
— The Grand Prix Final is a huge competition. What is it like to go out on the ice mentally when everyone is the favorite?
— Personally, this doesn’t affect me that much. Every competition is always a struggle with yourself. The fact that there are other very strong athletes at the tournament gives an extra boost and more motivation than stress.
— For the last two seasons, Russian figure skaters have not participated in international competitions. Has the level of competition among men changed?
— Due to the fact that there are no Russians here, there are fewer skaters, this is a fact. But I can't say that this greatly affects the results. There is not much point in discussing the issue. After all, all athletes progress from season to season and can do it very quickly, regardless of citizenship. Or the next season for them may turn out worse than the previous one, depending on the circumstances.
—Over the past two seasons, you have significantly improved your results. What happened?
—After the Games in Beijing, I completely changed my training methods, changed the coaching staff, leaving only the choreographer. It was hard, but I improved.
— At the Shanghai Trophy they performed a backflip in the competition program. Why did you decide on this forbidden element?
“I want to go beyond my capabilities and see that I can do more every time.” And I decided because over the last 5 years our sport has become very complicated. We have a skater like Ilya Malinin, who performed a quadruple Axel. And the risk of performing it is much higher than a backflip, because you can break your ankle. I got this injury a long time ago on the axel. But I still believe that our sport needs a person who will give it a certain push and add freshness. The same backflip is the basis for many new elements that could be introduced into figure skating. If we could go beyond some limitations, it would add originality and creativity.
— The feeling that ISU with accepts new elements with great reluctance.
— Everything should happen gradually. I showed a backflip, but there are many other athletes who bring something new. A few years ago, Kevin Aymoz made a wheel without hands. It was as if he had no right to do this, but at the same time it was not stated anywhere that this was prohibited. Ilya does a signature somersault in a short program, this is also an element of gymnastics and acrobatics. Many other elements can be added to figure skating.
— Skaters in Russia have practically no life outside the ice. How is this situation in France?
— I am studying at university online, doing digital communications and graphic design , and besides, I have a hobby: I play the guitar and computer games. I have time for myself and to spend it with friends or family.
—What do you want to do with your life after competitive sports?
— I think I would like to become a coach and choreographer.
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