Figure skater Popov: “I didn’t expect to make it to the final. Due to illness, I only prepared three days for the national show jumping championships.

Figure skater Ivan Popov after participating in the Russian Show Jumping Championship, he said that reaching the final of the competition was unexpected for him, because due to illness he had only been preparing for the tournament for three days.

On Saturday, Popov took second place at the Russian Show Jumping Championship. Arseny Fedotov won, Lev Lazarev became third.

— The prints are very cool. It’s a cool competition format: competing to see who can do what. It’s the second time I’ve played, it’s the first time I’ve managed to reach the final.

— Did you think you would reach the final?

– Very unexpected. Before this start, I was only able to prepare for three days due to illness.

— What was the most difficult? Meet him in time?

— It’s not particularly difficult to meet the deadline if you prepare for just one attempt. There is even time to rest between jumps. In fact, it turned out that there was enough time.

— How do you rate the sounds that accompanied the jumps during qualifying?

– Actually, it’s funny.

— How did you perceive this tournament?

– Like a show. Everyone came here to show stunts and complex elements. Some did three axes in a row. This will never be in the programs.

— Is it harder to jump with age?

– Of course, it’s more difficult. The growth is greater, the fall is more painful. Little guys recover faster.

— You don’t want to participate in the show program tournament?

“We have to live until the tournament of television programs,” reports correspondent, according to Popov’s words.