Is a person from a poor family able to take place in figure skating? Sergey Mozgov, who gave champion hopes, in an interview with Sport spoke about «a partner with a fool», raising money for America and his health killed by the age of 20.
«Temperature up to 39, swollen legs, could walk»
— You ended your career due to serious back problems. Did you manage to solve them for a normal life?- When they didn’t give me admission to the Russian championship, they said: “God forbid you fall, your legs will fail at all.” They made a blockade, but it was still a categorical «no». In fact, two of my spinal discs burst. The vertebrae grow together in the lumbar region. Now diagnosed with Bechterew's disease. It's second-degree spondyloarthrosis, something like that. I'm used to pain. Sometimes the legs fail a little, they stop working. But I still try to lead an active lifestyle. I train, I participate in cycling marathons.
— In the New Year, my temperature rose sharply to 39. My legs and arms were swollen. Couldn't walk for a week. I went to the Institute of Rheumatology, where they said about Bekhterev's disease. Not hereditary, but acquired due to injuries. Why did I not know about her for so long? Probably a high pain threshold. The disease is not cured. On an ongoing basis, I drink six to eight tablets a day to keep myself in shape.
— What exactly led you to this, doctors do not say?
— Most likely, support and work with large weights in the hall. Because of this, the discs failed. It doesn’t affect life so much, only I can’t raise my arm above my shoulder, it just hurts further. Doesn't stop me from doing lifts with the kids, they're all easy. You can't lift more than 60-70 kilograms. pair up with an easy girl and continue a career, meaningless.
— Firstly, it is difficult to find a partner with whom there will be development without degradation. Secondly, all the same age. Although it was a shame that as soon as we finished skating, we significantly increased the prize money for the athletes.
— At the same time, access to international competitions was closed.
— This is sadness. The main blow falls on the athletes of my age category. They don't have time to go to the world, Europe and so on. There is still hope for the 16-17 year olds that I am coaching now. jpg»/
— What do you do now, where do you work?
— I have a group of dances on ice together with Anna Yanovskaya. He started working with Svetlana Lyapina as a second coach, but she moved to Australia. So the group came under my command. Last year we had sports categories, now we have candidates for masters, basically. There are two pairs of sports and one pair of masters.
— Your last junior seasons with Anya were accompanied by a wide opinion among the fans: «Now Mozgov will burst out and endure everyone.» You and your couple were perceived by many as potential leaders. How did you feel?
— I knew what I was worth at that time in junior sports. Perhaps there was some kind of arrogance, but it's just age. Now I would say that I did not go to every start with confidence in victory. There was a need for such a boring thing that skaters often talk about, but journalists do not like it — in tournaments to become better than yesterday. This gives much more growth than blind faith in one's own superiority. Understanding worked to a lesser extent then because I was a teenager who craves competition to prove superiority. And also meet friends and then have a great time. >— You said that your grandmother put you on skates. Was she then the engine of progress?- Entirely and completely throughout my life my grandmother was engaged in sports. I lived with her. Mom is at work all the time. There were no big opportunities. Grandmother was like a mother.
— People, I know, apartments are being sold so that children can practice figure skating.
Oh yes, it's expensive. Many thanks to my parents, all the relatives who helped me. Not only grandparents. The whole family participated — both mother and aunt and uncle. Everyone collected money, for example, so that we could go to America to train. I will owe them my whole life. I don't know how much work you need to do to somehow repay.
Is America an internship with Platov? How old were you then?
— We arrived there on my birthday, when I was 15 years old. Together with my grandmother. We lived for three months, all this time we trained. Then they did not match with the partner, the fifth or tenth, they left. Because America is expensive. Straight expensive. Couldn't pull any more.
Evgeny Platov is a brilliant teacher. I still consider him one of the best among those with whom I had a chance to work. Style, presentation of material, creative approach to everything. For me it was a wow effect. If there was such an opportunity again, I would never refuse in my life.
— How is he so different from the rest?
— Impossible charisma. Able to show, explain, support. Plus played the fact of moving from Russia to America. I saw that people can work at will, and not under duress. They want to come and pay huge money for every hour of training.
I was also struck by the fact that he did not separate the older and younger groups in any way. Equally invested, often worked together. I then found myself on the same ice with the British Kerrs (sister and brother of Sinead and John Kerr — ed.). They are incredible, amazing. Hard-working and at the same time simple and light.
— You first crawled onto the ice on all fours, then you ate this ice, as you said before, but how did you end up in dancing?
— When I was nine years old, in the group of singles, where I rode, they offered to go to the training camp in Bulgaria. My family is poor, they said we can't afford it. I was automatically kicked out of the group of single skaters and enrolled in dancing. Said I didn't want to. During the year with my grandmother, they still tried to return to singles through rolling. We tried in greenhouses — they didn’t take me, they said that I was small. In the end, all the same, they came to dance. So I am grateful to Lebedeva (Yulia Lebedeva, Mozgov's first coach — ed.).
— With Anya Yanovskaya, you got results pretty quickly. What supported the couple?
— I would say that we looked very good. Visually, physically and on horseback suited each other. Learned complex elements quickly. I am grateful to Anna for the six years of our career. This is one of the best periods of my life. If not for her, I would not exist as an athlete. It helped a lot that her parents supported our couple, invested financially. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been able to figure skate for a very long time.
— Why did you decide to leave Yanovskaya? Or was it her decision?
I won't say much. I can only say that in that situation there were many ugly things, including on my part. By and large, the proposal of the coaching staff to change the partner happened. I agreed. After that, they did not communicate for a long time. Now we are working wonderfully, two equal teachers, there is no hierarchy.— And what was the ugliness of the situation?
— The idea came from the coaches, even though I agreed with it. They said: come to Anya, talk, she already knows everything. It turned out that she did not know anything and, of course, was shocked. It is impossible to fix, he remained extreme in a stupid position. We had a good relationship before, but that, of course, then greatly undermined the trust. jpg» />
«Partner with a slight foolishness»
— How did you pair up with Betina Popova? Many then had the feeling that you, how to say, were forced by a love spell. they also like to say: «We bought a partner.» Betina belonged to that part of the figure skating society that does not like me. I treated her like an athlete. The character is fighting, the skate is good, the parameters are suitable, what else is needed.
The rubbing is good. For some time I had scratches on my hands, abrasions. She was so emotional, what can you do. But it passed pretty quickly, we got used to it in about a month. result. And they worked well.
— Yes, they worked hard and well. My health and Betina's now is a vivid proof of this (smiles).I would not say that Betina is straight crazy. She just has a slight quirk. As one of my teachers said, urine hit the wrong hemisphere. Eccentric, unpredictable, can react differently to the same situation. But it added to the interest. It was easy for her with emotions on the ice.
— But I thought that you probably couldn’t find cool dance partners without a fool.
< br>— Let's start with the fact that a normal person, in principle, will not engage in figure skating. We are all a little bit bo-bo.
— There is such a moment. We did not look like a couple that meets the generally accepted standards of dancing in Russia. We went to competitions in pajamas for training and warm-ups, did not attend theaters, demonstrations also did not really understand. We, roughly speaking, ruined the image of beautiful stately dancers.
— They were also stately and beautiful, just a little punk. Unformatted. But the audience fell in love with you so quickly! Although at first many were negative, especially against Betina. It seems like she influenced you with her eccentricity.
— But it seems to me that they hated me more. I'm a traitor, how could I do that and all that.
—Heit was enough for everyone. But they accepted you really very quickly.
— Boom effect worked: bright, emotional. Well, we liked it because we didn't have to play. We were ourselves.
— Quote from your interview: «You can't have many friends in sports. Sports are quite a conflict environment, at least within the category you compete in. I have the exception is Alyoshin. Can you elaborate on the nature of conflicts between skaters from your own experience?
— We just have a lot of near-sports currents. Friendship is friendship, but they like to walk on their heads here. Individual sport. Every man for himself, survival of the fittest. Someone only rides, someone is strong under the carpet. This is normal, also rivalry. But that's why I don't have any friends in sports.
— Five years ago I asked you in an interview how you see yourself in the future. You then joked: «I hope I will not go bald.» Now how will you answer?
— Ha ha, not bald here. I would like to see the growth of athletes. Not only in terms of ranks, but in general for the future. Personal growth as a coach — now there is still a lot of ignorance and shortcomings in the work. I don't want my health to get worse. This is perhaps the most important thing. For me, honestly, it was a huge stress what happened on New Year's Eve, when I couldn't walk for a week. As a disabled person was taken on a chair around the apartment so that he could eat and so on. It's hard and painful. But, as my rheumatologist told me, «for a disabled person, you are active.» Therefore, we live.