EVGENI PLUSHENKO: AMONG THE ATHLETES AT THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS I DO NOT SEE ANYBODY WHO COULD BE ABLE TO DEFEAT ME  
Evgeni Plushenko, Olympic champ at Turin 2006 and deputy in the legislative assembly of Saint Petersburg, was present as a guest during the first day of competition at the Russian national championships and released a brief interview to the correspondent of Allsport, talking about his projects for the return to competitions on the next season.

- After the Turin Olympic Games you said that you wouldn’t have excluded your return to competitions after taking a break and you motivated your decision with your will to show new elements and new choreographies.

- The motivations are exactly the same now. But now I can’t jump quadruples. They are not necessary for the shows I’m doing now. And I will not compete in the next weeks or months. Right now I’m preparing two new short programs and also some exhibition programs. As soon as I will be in the right good shape I’ll start again to jump quads and I’ll learn some new ones.

- Alexei Mishin is working with you, training you individually and as a consequence giving less attention to his other students. Don't you think this could eventually stop in some way the progress of Russian figure skating?

- Beside me, in the group of Alexei Nikolaevich there are other young guys:  Arthur Gachinsky, Elizabeth Tuktamysheva. Well, Andrei Lutai is older. With Mishin we meet from time to time when it's necessary to work on new programs.  We will soon start working on the new season. As always, the first stage of the next season will be the training camp in Jaca, Spain, on August.

- What kind of training are you doing now, what are its components?

- I'm engaged in learning kickboxing under the supervision of one of the best experts in this kind of combat, and I run 10-12 Km a day. Then I play tennis, football, hockey. It's necessary for me to get back to my old training regime, so I don't even drink a glass of beer or champagne, never.

- At one time under Mishin's care there were three future Olympic Champions skating together, later, before Olys 2006, Alexei Nikolaevich has just focused on you and forgot about the others.

- And on whoever else he should have focused? This was the right approach and it was done not only  in our group. On one hand you have a leader who can win Olympics and on the other you have youngs for the future, as reserves.  Obviously you have to chose the first. When Elena Sokolova asked to train with Alexei Nikolaevich I asked a restriction, that we did not have to share the training time. This is normal. For example Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze insisted before South Lake City Olympics that Tamara Nikolaevna Moskvina would only work with them. I don't know how some of our great trainers managed to work with almost 10 people from different countries.

- How much time do you spend for the exhibitions of the contracts you had already signed?

- This year I skated very little. Due to my health problems I had to reject almost all of the offers I had.

- Did you forget about your projects for proposing yourself as candidate in the Duma?

- Actually at the beginning I did not have these projects, even if many people gave me trust to obtain the mandate of deputy. But in this case I should have moved to Moscow and spend much of my time in politics, while I want to live in Saint Petersburg and combine my sport with my political activity.
 
- In the Duma there are now 10 Olympic and Paralympics champions.

- Olympic Champions are the best of the best and talented people is talented in everything. Somebody who became champion reaching the gold at the Olympics is somebody who saw so many things, who learned how to deal with difficulties, so it is right that this kind of people are demanded in other  spheres beside sports.

- You said that you would participate in international competitions next season. Is the idea of being possibly beaten by someone you have already beaten, on  previous Olympic cycles or in the Olympics itself, scary for you?

- I do not think I can possibly lose or being beaten. My return will happen only if I’ll be in perfect shape and with the goal to win. Me and my staff will work hard so that anybody will be able to beat us.  But in general I don’t want to think about winning or losing, I just want to demonstrate that I can skate at the best level.

- Would it really be effectless on your personal pride to see a new national champion on your behalf?

- Of kickboxing?

- No, of figure skating.

- This won’t happen. Among the athletes in this national championships I can’t see anybody that could beat me.

- As a working athlete do you think you can keep going on tour with you own show again?

 - No, the opposite. I will refuse any proposal that will interfere with my preparation for the next European and world championships and more importantly with the Olympics in Vancouver.