Skater Murashov: “I would like to run until I am 37, like Grishin, but now there is so much uncertainty around! »

The speed skating season is in full swing and despite the fact that Russians are excluded from international competitions, not having the opportunity to race on the fastest rinks, Ruslan Murashov is still in the top 10 of the “500”. We spoke to him before the start of the Russian Championship about his motivation, his media visibility, his abandonment of veganism and the most difficult moments of his career.

— Ruslan, what makes you stay in sport now?

“I’m here for the idea, for the love of skating, but it’s also work: I have to be able to feed my family. » Now, when everything is changing so much and there is no certainty in many details, questions arise about the logic of the competition schedule, we don’t even really understand what prize money is being played out and where. I would like more information from the federation on this subject in advance. Constantly being at the peak of your physical fitness affects the nervous system, body and health. When you don’t know what you’re fighting for, you just have to always be ready, like a gladiator, and go out to fight.

—Last year, all your winnings came from the all-around competition, or am I wrong?

— There was a different distribution this season. Last year in the all-around competition 100,000 rubles were awarded for first place, this year – 20 at the Russian Cup. I just don’t know what the Spartakiad prize money will be for the strongest.

— Is the level of competition higher this year? Was there some kind of movement in Chelyabinsk?

— I wouldn’t say there were many people – the children’s parents, the skaters themselves. Apparently no tickets were sold. Of course, I wish there were more people at the departures.

— The short track attracted us to the Russian Cup with “Greetings from Africa”. How are speed skaters prepared to respond?

— I think that as an athlete, first of all, I must show my class and win, and the fact that the guys launched such a video is a compliment to them, they are trying to make their contribution to the popularization of their sport.

— Do you roughly understand which news stories about Ruslan Murashov have been the most cited and viewed during your career?

— This question did not interest me. That doesn’t interest me, I do sports and I’m not what people say about me.

— I think your words during the Olympics about “seven years” are at the top. Unfortunately, no one is interested in pure sport.

“I understand that, but if you make people aware so that they understand what skaters do in general and what contribution is made to this work… It’s a constant overcoming of pain, it’s a psychological self-improvement. Such stories will be interesting.

— What is your most serious overcoming story?

— Just the home stretch before the Olympics, which turned everything upside down. We talked about this recently – Covid, cytokine storm.

— Before that, there was still no access to Pyeongchang.

– Of course, it was also hard, it was a shock. I arrived for equipment and we were informed. I am not a politician who can understand the essence of what happened to us in 2018, so it is difficult for me to say anything.

“You can tell how difficult it was to go through all of this. » What were you thinking then?

“I thought that everything was in advance, that I still had a lot of time to prove myself, to realize my Olympic dream. She appeared after I had already started skating. I fell in love with this sport myself. Nobody forced me to go there.

—And the Olympic dream remains?

“And that will remain as long as I have strength, as long as I have arms and legs, as long as I have the support of my family.”

— Speed ​​skating is a very age-appropriate sport. Do you understand the limits of practicing a high-level sport?

— I always set the bar for myself – to beat the feat of Evgeny Grishin, he stayed in sports until he was 37 years old. I studied the story that sprinters retire at the age of thirty, maybe another two or three years, but now the situation is such that there is no certainty. I talk to my father about the future, about finances, he works in construction, his heating engineers earn more than me. And that bothers me a little.

— Thoughts arise, why not go to work as a heating engineer?

— Yes, but the love for my sport always wins.

— What are you willing to do to further monetize your career? For a long time, you and Viktor Mushtakov were the most quiet athletes on the team. The number of publications about you was very low.

– About us or about us?

– Both.

— But imagine: I am a top athlete and I have to publish something about myself on social networks before departure. And it’s not about wasting time. Just to run social media you need to advertise, but do it the right way. If they made me such an offer, I would accept professional help from a manager, for example.

— In this regard, you have the most “moving” — Artem Arefiev. What was your favorite shoot for his YouTube channel?

— I can’t name anyone in particular. In general, I thought that Artem would take part in the popularization of speed skating, but he decided to follow a different path.

— But have these activities freed you at least a little?

— Yes, especially out of season, when you want to relieve yourself and turn to another activity. Laugh, joke – why not.

— One of the recent striking publications about Murashov is a photo where meat from Kulizhnikov’s dog is taken. Explain yourself! What is going on?

– Nothing special. I came to meet Pasha’s dog. He just received his second. But the one in the photo is already older.

— I was also intrigued by the meat thing – you were vegan for a while, and then this… How did you get out of it?

— I moved away from veganism after an unsuccessful season, where I lost 10 kg. Little by little, I began to include meat in my diet, starting with chicken. I got back in shape, gained weight and my results came back. Veganism is a separate topic, I am ready to advise anyone that it is better not to get involved in this topic.

— Dmitry Anatolyevich Dorofeev (trainer) was not happy with your veganism?

“I remember his facial expression in the first month. Of course, he was categorically opposed to it. In principle his attitude was understandable, but I picked up on the excitement. Although now I perfectly understand that meat is necessary in an athlete’s diet.

— So Denis Yuskov became vegan at the same time.

– Yes, all this happened almost in one day. I watched something about animal cruelty, which influenced my choice.

– What are you eating now?

— I eat everything, but rarely pork. For an athlete, this is the most useless meat.

— By the way, do you have enough money to buy beef? Ready to announce your salary? Can you buy chicken and, above all, eggs at the new price?

— The amount barely exceeds 100,000, plus the holidays to which we are sent twice a year.

— As I understand it, ISU prize money cannot be reimbursed by Russian competitions?

— There were costs of another order. It’s just not comparable.

— Will you send your children skating?

“We are happy to see him – he is almost four years old, he plays different sports, he skates, but where to give him, my wife and I will have serious conversations more than once.” It seems to me that this point needs to be thought about if parents want their children to succeed in a certain area.

— Do you feel like a successful speed skater right now? There is even a world title!

— I feel successful when I win competitions with good results. But lately, even that isn’t enough to feel successful.

— Are the psychological practices “sit down and write down on a piece of paper everything you have accomplished” already used?

“I haven’t resorted to such methods yet and I don’t think it will suit me at all.”

— Basically, Wikipedia has everything about Murashov, a successful athlete. A successful athlete in the international ranking of the season. Do you feel like no? For what?

— There are several factors. If I don’t catch at least one, I can’t feel like one. Now I’m worried about the financial factor.

– New Year’s question. Vitya Mushtakov once said that he flew under a Christmas tree while falling while running. Do you have any such stories?

– Eat. I remember Vitya fell under me in the Cup final as I tried to catch up and pass him.

– That is, this story with the participation of Mushtakov!

– Yes! We joke among ourselves that he did that on purpose. There was also a story where Pasha Kulizhnikov was skating on a Dutch canal and fell – they decided to go for a ride after the competition.

— The Dutch didn’t recognize you?

“It was next to the hotel, no one told us anything.” But it was fun.

—How are you going to celebrate the New Year?

— I invited my grandmother to visit me, all five of us will sit at the table as a family – for some it is an ordinary and boring New Year, but for me it is a family and traditional year . I bought some firecrackers, we can light them. We haven’t discussed the menu yet, but I think Grandma will definitely bring us some salads.