Interview with Sergei Dobrin
Russian Nationals 2007, Mytishchi

Q: Congratulations again, you just won your second bronze medal at Russian Nationals in January. How do you rate your performances in Mytishchi?

S: These Russian Nationals were one of the hardest competitions I’ve done, because I felt the six competitions that I’ve done already. Four of them were right one after the next. Nationals were hard, especially because they took place directly after New Year. I didn’t even celebrate. I think my performances were good, I fought.

Q: That’s true. Although you struggled in practice you went out there and landed the quad Salchow.

S: My practices were miserable, but I didn’t let myself down, because that doesn’t make sense.

Q: How are you able to pull yourself together in spite of poor practices and put out a decent performance?

S: I just believed in myself. We had one day in between the competitions. The short program was on the 4 th of January, and the Free Skating on the 6 th . I basically didn’t speak to anyone and just focused on myself.

Q: You train in Moscow, but you come from Lipetsk, about 400 kilometres south-east of Moscow.

S: I moved from Lipetsk to Moscow when I was eleven years old. My coach Zhanna Fedorovna Gromova invited me. We’ve been working together for seven years now. She knows me inside out, and I know her also very well (laughs). We have a good relationship. Of course, there are problems sometimes, as in any other sport, but we deal with it.

Q: You’ve trained for many years in the same group as Irina Slutskaya. What did you learn from her?

S: Irina Slutskaya is a great athlete. She had her problems that she overcame easily. No matter how difficult her situation was, she always managed to come out of it decently and to be a leader. Zhanna Fedorovna really is respecting her for that and uses her as an example. To be honest, I would take this quality from her if I could, because she is a fighter.

Q: You also proved fighting qualities in this competition.

S: It was nothing compared to her.

Q: Since this season, you’ve landed the quad Salchow several times in competition. How do you see your development this season?

S: Everything was different in this season from last season. I prepared very seriously and I forgot about everything that happened before. I was a completely different person, a completely different Dobrin. Irina has left, and something had to happen this season in our group. The coaches put a lot of efforts into me, not just into me also into Sascha (Alexandra Ievleva), who won the silver medal here. She was only 7 th at the Russian Junior Nationals last year and now she is second at the senior level which was a big step. I’m really happy for her.

Q: You have a little sister, Mascha. Shortly after she was born you said that you would like her to become a figure skater. How do you look at this today?

S: Now I don’t know exactly, what I want (laughs). This will not be my decision, but the decision of our mother. As everybody knows, the winter this year was very warm, and even in Russia we didn’t have much snow, let alone in the rest of Europe, and so she went a lot to the swimming pool. My Maschka really has talent for swimming. She can stay under water for a long time and she can hold her breath. When she was born we put her into the bath tube right away. That was my idea. She is two years and seven months old now. She can speak in sentences already, she wishes me good luck and asks if I brought home some presents.

Q: Probably all the stuffed animals your fans throw on to the ice go to her.

S: Of course, I have nobody else to give them to. So far I don’t have a problem with too many toys. Actually, she already got tired of them and doesn’t play with them anymore. She is playing with learning games, our mother is focusing on her a lot, understandably.

Q: So what happens now to the stuffed animals?

S: To be honest, I have them packed up at home in plastic bags and I want to give them to an orphanage or hospital.

Q: Where do you see your strength and your weakness?

S: (after thinking for a moment) The answer to this question is difficult for me. I’m afraid to say something that it not true. I don’t want to say anything that will change later. So I can’t answer this question. If I knew the answer, I would give it, honestly.

Q: How would you describe yourself as a person?

S: I think, I’m an open minded person.

Q: Where do you like to relax?

S: I have worked so much in the past time that I totally forgot when I had a vacation for the last time. I like to relax at home. I learned to appreciate tranquility. You have to be able to appreciate quietness and tranquility. Now I will go home, sleep and watch television. I don’t need anything else. My mother will cook for me. This is what I want right now!

Q: You have travelled to many countries. Where did you like it best?

S: I really liked Paris a lot. I have friends there and they showed me around, and I liked it.

Q: If you were sent to an isolated island, which three things would you take?

S: Three things? Oh… Do I have to decide on the spot? I would want to see the island first, think about what I can do with it and then I would start to act. This is what I would do!

Q: Thank you very much for the interview and we wish you good luck for the competitions to come.