source – http://nvspb.ru/tops/evgeniy-plyushchen
… eeva-42709
translation – "aboutademongirl" from
http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_s
… #t85487383
17.06.2010
Evgeni Plushenko: “My disqualification is Piseev’s revenge.”
2006
Olympic champion and Vancouver Olympics vice-champion Evgeni Plushenko
has begun training after a short break, however, he does not rule out
the possibility that he will only perform in shows this season. He
blames the leaders of the Russian Figure Skating Federation for this. He
talked to a NV correspondent about this.
– Evgeni, are you already preparing new
programs for the upcoming season?
– So far, only on the level
of ideas. I have begun training, but I’m already behind in the
schedule; I can’t say which competitions I’ll start with.
– Why are you not fulfilling your training
plan?
– I had planned a sports meet in Italy, starting on
June 14th, which, unfortunately, I had to turn down – the Federation
refused to pay for it. My trainer, Alexander Mishin, was told: let
Plushenko go and buy the tickets himself, and during the meet we [Mishin
+ Plushenko] would be paid 21 dollars a day. But how can we exist on
that sum in Europe? And it’s incomprehensible, why on earth should our
daily allowance should be paid in dollars, and not in euros? Think about
it: how much a hotel room costs, and we need to eat well. These are all
trivialities, of course, but they cause unpleasant problems. That’s why
I said I wouldn’t go to the sports meet if the Federation’s position
didn’t change. I’m ready to slave without weekends for three years until
the Sochi Olympics, but only if our whole system of figure skating
changes. I want bureaucrats to finally start treating trainers and
sportsmen with respect.
– In
your opinion, will anything change with the election of Alexander
Gorshkov as the new President of the Federation?
– I wouldn’t
want things to stay as they were before, so no one asks: “Why didn’t we
win the Olympic Games?!” I’m not hiding that, right now, in our vein of
sports the situation is lamentable, and, while it’s not too late, a
change is needed.
– Are you
still bothered by the trauma, because of which you couldn’t take part in
the World Championships in Turin?
– I had two
micro-operations in Germany: my spinal nerves were cauterised. Then 8
injections were made into my ankle joint, and I still need to have
injections done in both my knee joints. Nevertheless, I feel good and
ready to train.
– You were
threatened with disqualification, because you didn’t go to the WC. Has
this problem been resolved?
– A meeting will soon take place
in the ISU, and, just maybe, I will actually be disqualified. I mean, I
don’t know who will be defending my interests. We have talked about this
with Anton Sikharulidze, we thought that he would become the Federation
President, and the problem could be solved. But Gorshkov was chosen,
and I have not yet talked with him. It should not be forgotten that the
General Director of the Federation is Valentin Piseev. To all intents
and purposes, he is still the one who makes the decisions. That’s why I
think that things will stay the same as they were before the Vancouver
Games. We need to put young, energetic people at the wheel, people who
understand what they are doing and why they are doing it, who are not
just wearing out the seats of their pants. We need to keep pace with
time. Everyone moved on to computers and cell phones a long time ago. I
mean no offence to David Avdysh, who is not only my choreographer, but
also a very close friend, when I tell the story of how I taught him to
use a mobile. I bought him a phone, paid for the connection, and made
him carry it all the time. Avdysh kept forgetting it at home, until he
understood what a convenient thing it was. I repeat once again: we need
to develop, to progress. By the way, I don’t know a single sportsman who
likes Piseev.
– You’re not
afraid of saying such things, even though you know that Piseev begrudges
criticism of himself?
– And he’s punishing me for my words.
You think they want to disqualify me for nothing? It’s revenge, because I
asked the President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, to take the work of our
Federation under his control. Moreover, I myself hold grudges for a
very long time. And I haven’t forgotten that no one fought for me in
Vancouver.
– It is thought that
[Russian] figure skaters ought to get two golds in Sochi.
–
Seriously?
– One of the golds
is planned to be yours.
– Oh, I don’t know. I’m aiming for a
fight, but we’ll see when we’re there.
– It’ll be a shame if Evan Lysacek doesn’t go to Sochi, and you
won’t be able to get your revenge on him for Vancouver.
–
For me, the important thing is to win a medal in Sochi; what quality
[type] medal is unimportant. If I end up with a medal, I’ll become
unattainable for other sportsmen for many, many years, and that is
indeed what I want. I dream of doing what no one has ever done in figure
skating.
..." ZHENYA WAS SECOND, FIRST, AND THEN THE ONLY 