Figure skating Kovtun. Maxim Kovtun - a promising Russian figure skater

In an interview with RIA Novosti special correspondent Elena Vaitsekhovskaya, he spoke about what the failed Olympic season taught him, explained why he returned to his former coach, and admitted that he regrets nothing.

Pragmatic calculation

Two and a half years ago, I talked with your coach Elena Buyanova, not yet knowing that you would leave her at the end of the season, and she said the following phrase: “I know for sure that in a year or two Max will probably begin to understand a lot of what which he refuses to understand now.” It turns out that the coach was right, since you returned back after working for a year and a half with Inna Goncharenko at CSKA and a few more months with her at Evgeni Plushenko’s academy? What explained these throwings?

I wouldn't call it throwing. After Inna Germanovna left the club for Plushenko’s academy in January of this year, I simply followed her. At that moment I had absolutely no choice. More precisely, I was in no position to choose anything. I never treated sports as a business, but at that moment I reasoned very simply: perhaps I still have a chance. And if it really is there, why not try to grab onto it? To do this, there must be people nearby who can give me everything I need in order to achieve results.

- Why then did you have to leave Buyanova? To then return, as they say, with a guilty head?

Shortly before I decided to go to Goncharenko, somewhere in the depths of my soul there was an understanding that Elena Germanovna and I just needed to talk openly about a lot of things. But somewhere I was too proud and stubborn; in my understanding, Elena Germanovna should have paid attention to some things, and since she didn’t, it began to seem to me that she was not interested in me at all. Now time has simply passed, and all these things have become obvious. In general, it seems to me that I have matured a lot, and Elena Germanovna began to treat me somehow differently. In any case, I like the way our relationship is developing now and the work is going on.

- As far as I know, you parted with Goncharenko on good terms. What about Plushenko?

Zhenya and I discussed everything calmly and in a businesslike manner. In fact, I am very grateful to him for supporting me at that moment when I had already actually decided to end the sport and did not think that anyone would be able to return me to my previous course. Plushenko understood my mood, my desire to realize myself in this life, to show my maximum, which, if you look at it, I never showed, despite the fact that some performances were not bad. As for leaving, in general it was, as I said, an absolutely business conversation, with a minimum of emotions. There were too many reasons that prompted me to take this step.

- What became that click in your head, when you heard it you realized: hop! We need to go back!

You formulated it very precisely - it was just a click. Hop - and the picture came together clearly. I clearly realized that I was in the wrong place, and in such cases it was not in my nature to waste extra time on further reflection. So ten minutes later I was in action.

- Weren’t you afraid that you would come to the coach to ask to return to the group, but she wouldn’t accept you?

It turned out that Elena Germanovna first agreed, and only then it dawned on me that she really could not accept me - there were much more prerequisites for this than reasons for consent. I don’t know why, but when I went to the conversation, I didn’t even think that Buyanova would drive me away. Maybe this is just our fate? But I'm glad everything turned out this way. I think that now our alliance with the coach will play even stronger than before.

- What has changed in your relationship?

What plays a big role here, first of all, is that I myself have changed. I began to approach work differently. When I first came to Buyanova in 2012, that was the case, I reasoned like this: okay, I’ll ride for a while, then I’ll finish with the sport, I’ll be able to get a job everywhere, everything will be great. Then, when different life circumstances made me a little , let's say, "pushed to the ground", I began to understand that not everything in life is so simple. That you need to constantly fight for your place in the sun. For example, there are moments at work that could easily have disrupted a workout before. Or I'll calculate, Let's say that Elena Germanovna said something to me in the wrong tone, or I get offended by something else, I freak out, I say whatever I want in response to the coach, I stop doing the elements. Now I don't even notice such situations. That is, they have become so important to me insignificant... Such a thing that I would allow all my training work to go to zero just because I’m in some kind of wrong mood cannot happen even theoretically. Probably, I’ve just become much more mature. And the coach already treats me as more to an adult. The main thing is that there is mutual understanding - I think you yourself have noticed this.

"Carmen" and Plushenko

In your training, do you already have the feeling that you are moving forward, or is it still necessary to restore the condition that you once had?

I can say for sure that I have never achieved such a form as now in my life.

Can you decipher what this means? In higher quality jumps, in higher difficulty or in something else?

I don’t want to reveal any technical aspects of our work yet, but it is very important for me that there are almost no mistakes in skating. I learned to consciously create discomfort for myself and deal with it. I need this to grow, to become stronger, to go to the start line in any condition and skate as if nothing had happened.

- Did you already have any thoughts about future programs when you returned to Buyanova?

No, we staged both programs from scratch with Pyotr Chernyshev. He also suggested music for the short program - such a light American style, jazz. Performed by Nat King Cole, "L-O-V-E". And Sing, Sing, Sing. And my free program is “Carmen” by Rodion Shchedrin. It turned out interesting. In any case, she did not leave a single person indifferent from those who saw her live.

Can you explain why Carmen is so attractive to skaters? Sometimes it seems that there is not a person in figure skating who does not skate “Carmen” or does not dream of this program.

Well, this will be my first time riding her. I don’t know what the attraction is, I can’t explain it. I myself ignored this music for a long time. That’s probably why it didn’t even occur to me that she was somehow hackneyed.

- So it was your personal choice?

It happened like this: I was working with Chernyshev at the skating rink, it was already the dead of night. At some point we stopped at the side, and I asked Petya if he remembered Plushenko’s program, which he skated in 2002, and whether it was even possible to take it, what if there were some restrictions on this? Somehow I get the feeling that no one has used this version of Carmen since the Salt Lake City Olympics. Naturally, I couldn’t check this while standing on the ice in the middle of the night.

Petya thought for a moment and replied that he also wouldn’t remember whether anyone took this particular music, but said that he was ready to try to make a program. To be more sure, we decided to call Tarasova directly from the ice - she was in America then. Tatyana Anatolyevna immediately picked up the phone, I remember I was even surprised at such a quick response. Accordingly, I began to tell her that I really like this music, that I am ready to listen to it all day, but I don’t know if I can take it. She replies: “Son, I set programs for my dancers to this music. Take it and don’t think about doubting anything, I’m in favor with both hands.”

Elena Germanovna, when she learned about our choice, was also interested. In general, somehow suddenly everyone became very interested. Everyone thought Carmen was a good idea. And we started working... It’s interesting that before that we went through a bunch of music, shoveled it, and nothing would work. And “Carmen” came right away. You know how it happens: you start driving around the rink, making some movements, and everything fits perfectly. In short, this year I am more pleased than ever with both programs. I really like the work we did.

- What changes have your programs undergone from a technical point of view?

Productions in general have certainly become more complex, but we paid the greatest attention not to complexity as such, but to the quality of the elements, their accuracy. From the point of view of the new rules, this is a fundamental issue. Together with cool programs, I think it will be very good to play.

"Work, son! There will be money..."

-Are you now losing more weight than usual or is it just me?

I've just been on a good, healthy diet for a long time. During my downtime, I gained fifteen extra pounds, which I had to lose when I returned to sports. He was still a bun. And I can honestly admit that it was very difficult to put myself in order.

- Who helped develop the nutrition program?

My friend from Chelyabinsk. He is a qualified fitness trainer, boxing coach and creates nutrition programs for his clients. Personally, I really like the way it works in this regard. He draws up a diet for me every day, describes in detail what I should eat, what vitamins I should get with what foods, and I eat exactly as he tells me. I’m not particularly hungry, I just don’t have any excesses. That is, every time I leave the table with a slight feeling of hunger, and satiety comes in a few minutes. It’s not like I sit on lettuce leaves and suffer around the clock because of this. It’s just that if someone dips meat in sauce, then I eat it without any seasonings. I can eat buckwheat with mushrooms, in the evening a fish steak with vegetables, if suddenly I’m not full, I can always add a bowl of rice and avocado. Plus a big mug of tea. I feel simply wonderful. Much better than after I allow myself a kind of fasting day, when I eat something for pleasure.

- Do you mean a fasting day in the opposite sense of the word?

Well, yes. When you constantly eat right, sometimes you really want to swallow some nasty thing like fast food. I feel bad every time after this. That is, in contrast, I have already felt that I like living the way I live now. Simple and no frills.

- Did you have to rebuild the muscles again?

Absolutely. From scratch. And not only muscles, but also all other qualities.

- How did you withstand all this?

I have already partially answered you. I just became different, rethought a lot. There are many things that are pushing me forward now. They are like endless fuel. And I hope they will continue to push me until I go all the way to the end. Of course, I don’t always succeed, sometimes my muscles hurt completely unbearably, but even in these cases I constantly think that with every failure I still move forward. And I am sure that everything should work out.

Is it important to you how you will look at the beginning of autumn, when you appear on the ice again? Or is the goal a December selection for the main competitions?

Of course, I would like to look decent right away. I don’t have any Grand Prix stages this season, and I kind of find myself in a position where all the autumn starts are a kind of preparation for the December Russian Championship. This is the main tournament of the year for me this season. Before this, there will be either some internal Russian competitions such as the stages of the Russian Cup, plus some series “B” tournaments. Possibly Finlandia Trophy. There are other goals, but they are not designed for one or two seasons. This is a long-term strategy for the next four years. There is no such thing that the result is needed at any cost immediately, here and now. Everything has its time.

But there is also a purely everyday side: the Grand Prix stages are a good opportunity to earn some money. How sad is it for you to lose this chance?

You know, Tatyana Anatolyevna likes to repeat this phrase: “You, son, work, and the money will come.” So I try to stick to this rule. I still have my own home, I have a place to train, and this is the main thing. My main task now is to achieve my goals. And then everything else will come on its own. As for the Grand Prix, I didn’t really count on them.

- Did you realize that you didn’t work?

Well, where could I earn money? I haven't skated for about a year and a half. It’s also not easy to start training after such a serious break. Therefore, the very fact that I am skating now, and skating well, I also consider it an achievement.

- Do you regret anything that has happened in your life over the past four years?

I don’t regret anything at all. I remember how you came to our training some time ago, and then told me in a cafe that absolutely everything in my life has now come together in order to achieve results. This is really true: my age allows me to skate for many more years, there is a coach with whom we understand each other, there are people who are ready to help professionally, and most importantly, I have come to understand what and why I am doing on the ice. But it turns out that everything that happened to me before, even mistakes, led me to this state. All this has borne fruit. If so, then I have absolutely nothing to regret.

Sverdlovsk figure skater Maxim Kovtun not going to the Olympics. This time, unlike Sochi, he has no one to blame: it’s not about Plushenko. It's not even a matter of doping (although now this is the most popular reason why this or that athlete does not go to the Games). This time everything was in the hands (and feet) of Kovtun himself. At the Russian Championships, held in St. Petersburg, Maxim became 16th in the short program, after which he withdrew from the competition.

Thus, this season the skater performed in only one tournament - the Skate America Grand Prix stage, where he withdrew after the short program. According to his coach Inna Goncharenko , it’s all to blame for injuries that 22-year-old Kovtun still can’t heal.

"Regional newspaper" was with the skater throughout his entire career. If you re-read the interview with the skater, you will notice the general intonation: “Yes, now I can’t do it, but I’ll definitely succeed, I’m just worried.”

For example, in 2015, after the Russian Championship, Kovtun: “In general, my goal is to perform five quadruples freely... I did them literally in one breath. Well, then... I got worried. Hence the ridiculous mistake on the triple axel.”

“Now I really have such a period... I believe very strongly that it is to some extent transitional. I'm performing unsuccessfully - at least for my level it's a failure. The streak of instability has been going on for two and a half seasons now. I’m disrupting one program, then another... But I’m not going to give up. I know my capabilities and I know that if I get back to the same level, everything will be different.” It's already...

They believed in Maxim and expected a miracle from him. Firstly, because physically the skater can show results (sometimes we saw this). Secondly, in Russian men's skating the situation is much sadder than in women's, and there was no one to pin hopes on.

Perhaps this affected Kovtun’s attitude towards sports: he understood that even if he fell and jumped almost nothing, he would still remain first in Russia, which means the road to international competitions was guaranteed.

But the situation has changed. Kovtun was not just behind the top three - he became 16th (!) after the short program. Out of 18 participants. So you understand: ahead of him were the boys, whose names only their coaches know so far.

For the Sverdlovsk athlete, this is a failure, which could become a point of no return to big sport. And although 22 years is not the limit for men in figure skating, Kovtun, it seems, is no longer psychologically able to fight. Sometimes this is worse than lack of physical fitness.

Perhaps he will decide to find himself in something else... After all, he writes good songs.

By the way

Won victory Mikhail Kolyada , becoming a two-time national champion. Sverdlovsk playwright Nikolay Kolyada wrote on Facebook that he was rooting for his namesake and was following his successes. A year ago, Misha himself knew about the existence of Kolyada in Yekaterinburg, but he has not yet been able to attend the performance, although he really wants to.

• Published in No. 241 of December 26, 2017

Maxim Kovtun is an outstanding Russian figure skater, star of men's singles skating.

Maxim Pavlovich Kovtun is a native of Yekaterinburg. He was born on June 18, 1995 into a family of athletes. Dad Pavel Alekseevich devoted his whole life to figure skating: in his youth he went on the ice in pairs, and later became a coach at the Lokomotiv children's sports school. Mom Elena Alekseevna completely devoted herself to her children and their sports careers: Maxim has two older brothers who are figure skaters.

The first time Maxim set foot on professional ice was when the boy was barely 4 years old. Following his older brothers, his mother brought him to the stadium of the Lokomotiv Youth Sports School and sent him to Marina Voitsekhovskaya’s section.

It is noteworthy that figure skating was not the only goal of the younger Kovtun. On the contrary, as a child he dreamed of a hockey career. However, by the age of 10, having felt his potential as a skater, he had finally made his decision.

Around that time, truly intense training began - the boy spent all his free time on the ice with a coach, getting what he needed from his father’s training sessions. And success was not long in coming: at the age of 12, Maxim Kovtun won an unconditional victory in the Crystal Horse competition.

Figure skating

The second significant award for the young skater was the Russian Cup 2009 (first place among youth). Immediately following her was a silver medal at the European Olympic Festival in 2010. And in the spring of 2011, the family decided to move to Moscow. There Maxim began training under the guidance of Nikolai Morozov.

The period 2011/2012 was marked for the Ural athlete with a victory at the Junior Grand Prix in Romania. At the stage in Estonia, Maxim took silver, and by the end of the competition he took 4th place. Already at this time, a tendency towards “uneven” performances began to emerge: taking first places in some competitions, the skater found himself among the last in others.

This happened in 2012, when the “bronze” won at the Russian Championship was replaced by twelfth place at the World Team Trophy in Japan. Not seeing a reliable, stable athlete in his ward, Nikolai Morozov expelled Kovtun from his group. However, the famous Elena Vodorezova immediately took him under her wing.

With her, Maxim achieved great success:

• mastered the most complex cascades;
• took 5th place at the Russian championship in December 2012;
• was among the winners at the European Championships in Zagreb.

It is worth noting that it was at this time that he was noticed, who later actively became involved in the athlete’s preparation for the Sochi Olympics.

Experts noticed obvious progress in Maxim’s skating in November 2013. In two programs, Kovtun masterfully performed four difficult quadruple jumps. This gave him the opportunity to take 2nd place at the Grand Prix stage in China, win the short program at the stage in Moscow and reach the final. Since our skaters had not shown similar results 9 years before, the achievement was considered a great success.

But the real sensation was the performance of Maxim Kovtun at the end of 2013 - at the Russian championship he took 1st place, beating out the champion who had held the championship since 2003. However, this did not in any way affect the Federation’s decision to send Plushenko to the Sochi Olympics, and Kovtun went as a reserve.

During 2014, Maxim's skating was again unstable. It was even compared to the controversial speeches of a fellow countrywoman: one school - only problems.

Obvious failures and setbacks were followed by successes and outstanding performances:

• at the Chinese stage of the Grand Prix, Kovtun took first place;
• at the stage in Bordeaux he made two serious mistakes and ended up in sixth place;
• took fourth place in the Grand Prix final;
• won a gold medal at the championship of his country and silver at the European Championship;
• shared third place at the Barcelona Grand Prix with Sergei Voronov;
• dropped to 7th place at the championship in Shanghai.

All this time, Kovtun trained under the guidance of Elena Vodorezova and was considered Tatyana Tarasova’s ward.

Change of coach

The 2015-2016 season started quite successfully for Maxim. The first success was victory at the tournament in Saransk, the second was silver at the Grand Prix in France. Kovtun also skated brilliantly in his small homeland - he won the national championship in Yekaterinburg, performing 5 quadruple jumps.

Failure befell the athlete in April 2016, when he uncertainly took only 18th place at the world championship in Boston. And already on May 16, all the news was full of news that Kovtun had changed his coach. Having left Vodorezova, who once believed in him, Maxim asked to join Inna Goncharenko’s group.

The popular skater did not even reveal the reason for his departure to his Instagram subscribers, although it is with them that he most often shares his thoughts and plans. The only thing he noted was the need for further growth.

Army

On May 19, 2014, Maxim Kovtun was drafted into the army. He was to serve in Balashikha, near Moscow, where the sports company was stationed.

The popular athlete's first Twitter posts on this matter were full of optimism: he wrote that he was extremely interested in how the service in sports companies proceeds. However, later the optimism disappeared. In his interviews, the recruit often complained about high workloads.

Kovtun spent several weeks in the army, completing a crash course as a young fighter. He was later released to continue training.

Maxim Kovtun now

With Inna Goncharenko, Maxim prepared for the Finlandia Trophy, where he took 3rd place and became the best in the short program. The next competition was the American Grand Prix stage, where Kovtun fell in the free program and ended up seventh. And at the very end of 2016, he won a bronze medal at the next national championship.

Personal life

For the first time they started talking about Maxim’s personal life in 2012. Then he was noticed in connection with 19-year-old figure skater Ekaterina Puskash. The young people dated for quite a long time, and Maxim’s mother even said that her son considered Katya a bride. But the couple was not destined to stay together. The reason was distance - Puskás decided to train in the USA.

More recently, pictures appeared on the Internet where Maxim was captured with the Olympic champion. It turned out that young people relax together, go to ski resorts, and celebrate birthdays. Numerous rumors were not long in coming. Fans' fantasies quickly grew to an imminent wedding.

However, this information is categorically denied by both the skaters themselves and their parents. According to them, Maxim and Adeline have known each other since childhood, often crossed paths at various competitions and now simply maintain warm, friendly relations.

Now his girlfriend is gymnast Chilita Baggi. There are rumors that he not only devotes all his free time to her, but also sacrifices training for meetings. Whether this is true or not, we can only guess, but on the skater’s microblog you can find many joint photographs taken at different times of the day.

Kovtun Maxim - figure skater, two-time medalist of the Russian Championship (2014, 2015). He performs in men's single skating. Repeated winner of the Grand Prix finals. The article will present a brief biography of the athlete.

Childhood

Maxim Kovtun was born in 1995 in Yekaterinburg. The boy's future was predetermined, as his father and both older brothers performed professionally on the ice. Maxim first skated at the age of four. The mentor of the future skater was Marina Voitsekhovskaya. The first success came to Kovtun in 2007. The young athlete won the Crystal Skate competition.

Carier start

In 2010, Kovtun Maxim mastered one of the most difficult jumps - the triple Axel. After several high-profile victories, including a silver medal at the 2011 Junior Olympics, the skater moved to the USA. So Maxim began studying in Nikolai Morozov’s group. In the 2011/2012 season at the Junior Grand Prix, Kovtun won gold (Romania) and silver (Estonia).

In 2012, at the national championship, the athlete took only twelfth place. But Maxim became third at the Junior Championship. Then the skater went as part of the Russian national team to Japan for the World Team Trophy. There the national team managed to take twelfth place. The athlete’s further career was replete with both disastrous performances and steep climbs.

Change of coach

Moscow is where Maxim Kovtun returned in mid-2012. Coach Nikolai Morozov expelled the skater from his students. The athlete moved to the group of Elena Buyanova. And then the legendary Tatyana Tarasova, who trained several world and Olympic champions, took over the promising young man.

The joint efforts of Kovtun and his eminent mentors led to the fact that in the 2012/2013 season the athlete won the junior Grand Prix in Germany and Croatia. And at the JGP Final in Sochi, the skater won gold, ahead of Joshua Farris by as many as eleven points.

In 2012, Maxim Kovtun took fifth place at the domestic Championship. After this, the coaching staff decided to send the skater to Europe for the first adult competitions in his life. Typically, athletes who are in the TOP-3 are sent to such championships. But in the case of Kovtun they decided to make an exception. And Maxim fully justified the trust placed in him, ahead of all Russian skaters. He finished fourth in the free program and seventh in the short program. As a result, Kovtun ended up in fifth place in the standings. Then at the 2013 World Championships in London (Canada), the skater took seventeenth place.

Last years

Maxim Kovtun started the 2014/2015 season with a victory at the Cap of China, the third stage of the Grand Prix. There the skater was able to win against the American Richard Dornbusch and the Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu (Sochi Olympic champion). Then came the competition stage in France, where Maxim again became the first. The skater’s final place in the tournament is fourth.

The 2015 Russian Championship was very successful for Kovtun. The athlete won his second national gold and received the right to defend the country’s honor at international tournaments. Having gone to Stockholm for European competitions, Maxim won a silver medal. However, at the World Championships in China he ended up only in seventh place. At the team World Championships in Japan, the skater performed inconsistently - successfully in the free program and weakly in the short program. The athlete returned to Russia with a silver award.

Personal life

Maxim Kovtun is not married. While living in the USA, he dated figure skater Ekaterina Puskas. The athlete was then 16 years old, and the girl was 19. Maxim called her his bride. But distance separated the lovers - in 2012, Kovtun returned to his homeland, and Puskas remained in the USA.

The skater's second choice is gymnast Chilita Bagji. Previously, the girl had affairs with Arthur Yusupov (football player) and Igor Shesterkin (hockey player). Maxim regularly gives the brunette beauty her favorite flowers - peonies. Some media and experts believe that it is romantic adventures that are the reason for the skater’s violation of the regime. Because of this, his unsuccessful performances on the ice occur.

Hobby

Kovtun Maxim is seriously interested in music. At the end of 2014, the skater posted his first album “Neglyant” on the World Wide Web. The group in which Maxim performs is called “Dirty Thoughts”. Tatyana Tarasova approves of the student’s hobby and believes that music lessons have never harmed anyone.