“Malinin has a crazy twist, absolutely fantastic.” Interview with Agent Zakarian

– I remember when they talked in Beijing, you already said then that Ilya could have shot in the Beijing Olympics, because he would be the main star of the next cycle. In the end, it all comes down to this.

– He brought a very serious rustle to a show in Japan now. Near his hotel, there are already huge queues of people for autographs, for photos. It is booming now.

– How come it was Ilya who jumped the quadruple axel? I saw him try out the show a while ago – it’s just wow.

“I can tell you, by the way, how it went. We have completed the first two rounds. The first one – Fantasy On Ice – was generally stunning, it was just stunning, there wasn’t a single free ticket. It was simulcast in all theaters in Japan, it was very cool. Well, he flew to the third round, immediately went to training. It was like that, you know, not even training, just setting up the opening/closing. The ice was already “killed” everything. And then, after all these rehearsals, when the guys had already skated everything, Ilya stood up, got up – and immediately did a quadruple lutz, a quadruple loop, a quadruple sheepskin coat – a greaser – a quadruple salchow. And then how he loaded the quadruple axle on the move! In general, without preparation, the first time.

The scene was unique, rarely happens. With such a wingspan, with such a height… It was incredibly beautiful. All the Japanese in the sub-rostrum jumped up to watch. Ilya is a unique person, of course. He jumped a lot of quadruple axes here, he showed them every day.

– What is its singularity from a sporting point of view?

– He has a crazy twist, absolutely fantastic. Technically, he prepared well for this element, his parents are quite athletic, with a good past, they train him. Also, as Ilya said in various interviews, Raf Harutyunyan helped him. This is also important.

– What kind of person is he? How does it live and breathe?

Oh, he’s a very nice guy! Kind, calm, very ambitious. With character he, with champion and. It’s very noticeable. He likes skateboarding, computer games – like any boy, in principle.

Do you think he can become more popular than Nathan Chen?

Well, he is only at the beginning of his journey. He has a bright future, it’s true, but popularity is linked to many things – you have to stay in shape, win competitions. Don’t make mistakes in the media space. And a lot depends on the coaching team you work with and the media team around you.

But I think he has great potential. In my opinion, over the next 4-8 years, his name will constantly be on the lips.

– It seems to me that there would be even more on the lips if Ilya began to compete with our skaters. It’s like a media publication.

– Probably yes.

But there will be no rivalry. At least for now.

“It seems to me that now he will have a duel with Hanyu, Uno and Kagiyama. The Japanese VS Malinin. For Ilya, in general, it is a great honor to compete with Yuzuru. He is his idol. Do you know that Ilya used to skate in a costume similar to the one Hanyu played in? It wasn’t like that.

Ours, of course, is not enough in this list. It’s a shame they don’t exist.

– How does the world figure live without our athletes?

– Of course, our skaters are of a very high level. Around the world, athletes are treated with regret. They regret not being, of course. But in this situation, no one can do anything. The same producers and promoters of the show cannot influence anything.

– How do you like the situation with the increase in the age limit?

– Our federation has proposed to set the qualification bar at 16 years. Because after that age athletes start a different life, many go to college, and with the current qualification they will start to wonder if it makes sense to wait another year. It seems to me that in this way we can lose a lot. But our offer was rejected.

As for the risk of injury – it is generally strange. I will say one thing: as a former skater and someone who has come a long way in this sport, I can say that an injury can be caused by poor warm-up, incorrect exercises and incompetence of the trainer. And no age, no hard jump matters here. It doesn’t matter which element to break. You can hurt yourself on ordinary steps – and it doesn’t matter if you are 15 or 25 years old.

– What do you think figure skating needs now, in order not to get lost in the current difficult conditions?

– We need a tour of ISU champions and winners to travel around the world and cultivate figure skating in countries like Argentina, Brazil or Mexico. I offered the ISU a model of how this can work financially. Now everything depends on the new composition of the organization. Skaters have to perform and earn money. If not, why would they give 8 hours a day on cold rinks? Performing an item and then bragging to the kids? It is very important that they are visible. I don’t know a single skater yet who would say touring isn’t necessary.

In addition, it is necessary to hold a price, which we have not been able to do normally due to the pandemic. I hope the new composition will realize that. Because not only me, but also a lot of people think it advances figure skating. This is very important for everyone. And everyone thinks so, except a few “friends” of Russian figure skating, who oppose it. And now, I’m not talking about the federation.