, . .
Interview with Rita and Povilas after the Olympics at the airport
Speaker:
Wednesday in the afternoon Lithunian ice dancers Margarita Drobiazko
and Povilas Vanagas, returned to Lithuania from the winter Olympic Games
in Turino. Our pair, which in the 20th winter olympics games has won
7th place, doesn't intend to stay in Lithuania for a long time. For their
fans, gathered in the airport in Vilnius, they brougth a joyful new,
that they will contest in the worlds figure skating championship in
Calgary Canada, in the 19 th- 26th of March.
Povilas:
For now, we're thinking only about the worlds championship, and what
will happen later .. will see.
Question:
When it will take place?
Povilas:
The competition will start at the 21st of March.
Question:
What are your plans for this month, untill the championship?
Povilas:
It's just tentative plans. To the worlds championship will go from the
Obersdorf, like we went to Europe championship and to Olympics. Maybe
this plan will change a little bit and for a week we'll go to prepare in
Detroit.
Speaker:
Listening the pair, it could be understood, that they put all their
expectations and hopes into this championship, after when they didn't
succeed in the Olympics. This Olympics games, which for them were already
the 5th, they named as especially 'uncomfortable' for all the
sportsmens. Thoughtless shedule of the trainings and competitions, other small
misunderstandings.
Povilas (smiling):
This olympic games i would call - 'uncomfortable' olympics. It was so
for a lot of skater, and not only skater, for sportsmen. The first thing
- we went to the winter olympics games, and there wasn't snow at all,
so what winter games can be without snow :) And this strange atmosphere
continued, also some other misunderstandings, like the quality of the
ice, and many sportmen weren't satisfied with food - for two days we
where feeded by fast-food agencies and afterwards we tried to go
somewhere else from the olympic village. Shedules of practices and
competitions were so uncomfortable too. We had three events - the competition
ends at 11 or 11:30 at nigth, then draws for the next competition. So when
we come back to the olympic village it's already 1 at nigth, and
practice starts at 7 in the morning. Till when you have to find time and for
some other necessary things, like to eat and etc, so you have 2 - 3
hours to sleep, then you, hardly alive, go to the morning practices. After
practices everyone goes to sleep, and in the evening starts
competitions again.. and so on. It was really big misunderstanding for all of us,
why shedules of practices and competitions were made in such order.
Maybe organizers of the olympics, don't really understands to the end all
the specific features of the skaters and they try to make shedules in
such way, that it would be convenient for televizion and people, who
comes to watch competitions, but for skaters it's not convenient at all.
Matgarita:
Competitions in Olympics always differ from other competitions: here 's
gathering more people from diffrent countries, bigger distances, less
comfort - skaters are used to more comfortable conditions of the
competitions. There are no such conditions in the olympic village, and here
you get more tired. On the one part there's good mood, excitement around
you, a lot of people, nations, competitions of various sports - and
people do like all this, but all these factors doesn't help to
concentrate.
Question:
So, italians, the organizers of the games, didn't do everything to
prepare for the olympics?
Margarita:
Not everything for sure.
Speaker:
There wasn't Lithuanian representative and in the team of judges. But
sportsmen don't think, that the fall in the original dance could have
the critical influence for the final results. When they speak of their
performances in Turine, they say, that they were prepared even better
than in the europe championship.
Povilas:
This olympic games just turned into an unfavourable way for us, not as
we wanted to. It was because of many objective and not objective
factors. And from the very begining, when we arrived, we felt, that we don't
succeeded as we want to, in one or another thing. We were really
prepared even better for these olympic games, than for europe, and we were
going there from Germany with a good mood, thinking that now we'll can
fight with all our strength. But on the other hand, as Margarita said,
to fight when we hadn't our judge in team, was very very difficult for
us too. We can say, that we were going without our main weapon - with
skates, but without ice ;)
Margarita:
All other pairs, which were on the podium, were lucky, because they
their falls had in the previous competitions, and that's all. And i don't
think, that our fall had a big influence for our final standing,
maximum we could be sixth, because.. no we don't have any complaints for
judges - they were selected by draws, just we were not so lucky, cause we
haven't our representative there. But still, and without it, we didn't
moved down strongly in the result table as others. As we were put in
place, we left were - no matter if we felt or not. And other two programs
- the first one and the third, we performed very good.
Speaker:
Margarita and Povilas say, that in Turine they and many other sportmen
just couldn't skate as good as they can. Already from the competitions
of pairs, everybody felt a big tension. New judgement system also had
an impact for that, because skaters tried to make more and more
difficult elements, to get higher marks. But most important thing - was the
quality of the ice. Therefore, all sportmen impatiently are waiting for
the world championship.
Povilas:
We didn't like the quality of the ice there, and not only we didn't,
many skaters were not satisfied with it. When we left Germany, we
sharpened our skates for the last time, and it seemed that everything is ok.
But when we came there, we found out that the ice was more tougher, that
we expected. That was because figure skating and short treck
competitions took place in the same skating-rink, so the temperature of the ice
wasn't the one it should be for the skaters. So one day it's ok, another
not good for me or for Rita... just don't know what to expect, and when
you have to do difficult elements, it's shown right away .
Margarita:
You all could see, what was happening in the second competition... it
could happen to anyone, but this time felt so many couples, even the
audience was suprised and didn't understand what was happening. If we
compare this olympics with the early one, for sure this time were much more
falls. One of the things, that could explain this situation, is new
judgement system, which changed a lot, and there are more difficult
elements now. Felt many very skilled skaters, and this time people event were
taken to the hospital after the original dance, that's not happened in
the early olympics.
Povilas:
Only several couples skated relaxed, if we compare with europe
championship or other competitions. And that terrible fall of chinese couple,
i'm talking about the pairs. After such falls people could even be
killed, nobody can remember such fall in previous competitions. And she
skated after that fall, and even they won second place, a lot of curious
things there were. Men's long program too... when they skated, sparks
were coming out of their skates. Only two of twenty four, skated as we
could say, more or less as they can. Even the olympic champion Plushenka
didn't skate his best. So, now everyone waits for the worlds
championship, where conditions will be as they should be for the skaters.
Speaker:
In january Margarita and Povilas has already won bronze in the europe
championship, when they returned into the sport after four years break.
Their debiut in olympics game was in 1992 in Alberville, and the
highest - 5th place, in olympics game, they won in 2002 in Salt Lake City.
