5 Olympiad and 1 victory: the phenomenal history of the Ukrainian-Olympic champion. VIDEO
'15.02.2018'
Source: Insider
Alena woke up at 4 am. Because at 4.30 the child needs to leave the suburb of Kiev, Obukhov, for training in Kiev in order to be in time for 7 hours. And so for 9 years - without skipping workouts. She understood early on what motivation is. Alena Savchenko started skating at the age of 3, her dad taught. And she took up figure skating in Kiev at the age of 5, says the journalist Yury Butusov.
She did it. She and no one else. Alena Savchenko became the Olympic champion from Germany. This was her fifth Olympiad. In the previous two, the girl twice became a bronze medalist, although she had to take her gold back in Vancouver. 15 years ago, she left Ukraine, because she was the best pair skater on the planet, and in Kiev she had only one “worthy” partner, who did nothing but break jumps, writes Insider.
The Ukrainian federation, which was still a nest of corruption - which ultimately killed this species - let the skater go with a scandal and forced the girl to return even the money for the dress.
In Germany, Lena was paired up with Robin Szolkowy, and they immediately had their first successes. Everything would have been fine, but here the information got into the press that their trainer Steuer had collaborated with the Stasi during the GDR. After that, the German government refused to finance the couple.
To continue training, the athletes had to create their own domain on the Internet and sell the “pixels” of the site to fans in exchange for funding. The government obstruction did not prevent the couple from becoming 5-time world and European champions. The Alena Savchenko-Robin Sholkovs pair were able to shake the Russian hegemony in figure skating and offer modern choreography, different from the pretentious Russian school. For ten years they have been the locomotive that pulls other skaters with them. Their "Foam" and "Schindler's List" have already become the history of figure skating. So they reached the 4th Savchenko Olympics.
“Once I heard this: to become a champion you have to think about winning for 24 hours. It's true. And not a minute less! I don’t believe that you can go to a disco after training and then win the competition. Usually, people who are spreading their strength will fail. I gave up the pleasures of life, but I do not regret it. I can't imagine how you can live without ice and almost daily workouts, ”Alena told the secret of her success.
In Sochi, Alena had no chance for political reasons. Russia at that time had already bought another talented Ukrainian partner Tatyana Volosozhar, and her couple with Maxim Trankov was the leader. Their scores were off the charts by the season, and even more so at the Olympics. Savchenko and Sholkovs were losing their nerves, and they made mistakes. As a result - only the second Olympic bronze.
After Sochi, Szolkovs hung the skates on a hook. And she did not give up.
Nobody believed in her anymore, but she found a partner - the Frenchman Bruno Massot, and began to train again. Her trainer Ingo Steuer, because of whom she raked all these years, asked for such money for their training that the skater went into hysterics. He reassured Massot - he said that we need to look for another specialist, because this simply does not care about Alena.
They found a coach. It was Alexander Koenig. But in fact, the head coach was not he, but she. During this four-year period, the couple did not win a single world championship, twice were second in Europe. But Savchenko did not give up. In January, the couple did not go to the European Championship - it was not part of her plans to lose at the competitions in Moscow to the Russians.
But the Savchenko-Masso Grand Prix was won over all the strongest. It was only one bid - victory.
And yesterday, Bruno Masso tore a triple salchow. As the German commentator said, if Alyona had broken his head with his horse now, the court would have acquitted him at the crime scene. They were in fourth place after the short program, losing 7 points to the leaders, 5 of whom was eaten by Fucking Salcho Bruno.
But she would not have been if she had not done everything for victory. And Savchenko-Masso played everything in the arbitrary. She skated like never before. And Bruno did not disappoint.
In the end, she lay down on the ice like a cat, realizing that this day is hers. Bruno simply bowed to her. They improved the staff by 2 points in the free program. And this was the best result of the Olympics. And the rivals lost their nerves, and the torn elements went. She had another 20 minutes of waiting and tears.
The girl from the town, where there is still no ice skating rink, at the highest stage of world figure skating. She did all this with her willpower and phenomenal dedication. And how painful that she could not find her realization at home, writes Butusov.
And even if you did not believe, she won.
It seems that even if I lost, I would not have given up and would have fought further, but ... I won.
