Interview with Julia Golovina and Oleg Voiko
by
Helga Dobor
Photos © K.
"bird" N.
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In a country where figure skating is popular and
known for its champions, like in the Ukraine, it’s not
unusual for a child to start skating. How did you get started?
Julia: I started when I was 7 years old, because my grandmother
loved to watch figure skating and she took me to the rink.
She was hoping that I would enjoy this sport too, and I did.
Oleg: When I was four, my parents brought me to a rink during
the summer and I loved it!
What are your memories from the early years on the
ice?
Julia: I skated with my younger brother and he did a good
job on the ice, but I didn't. After that he never skated again,
but I continued.
Oleg: Oh, I only remember how cold it was in the rink, especially
in the summer when it was so hot outside! I also have a funny
memory of the Junior Grand Prix where my former partner lost
her skate on the ice.
How did you feel when you went to your first competition?
Julia: I was very excited! And later too, because I always
won.
Oleg: And I was very scared!
What was the best decision you ever made?
Julia: I think I have made many good, small decisions in my
life, that have resulted in who I am now and where I will
go in my life. On the whole I think my life is wonderful because
of all these small decisions.
You both started as single skaters,
but later switched to ice dancing, right? |
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How did you two team up?
Oleg: We teamed up in 1999. We were both looking for new partners
and a friend advised me to contact Julia.
Julia: We had a tryout to see if we could work together, and
as we fit well both mentally and physically, we decided to
give it a try. Since that moment, we’ve never felt like
giving up, even if our first year together was very hard,
because we couldn’t compete. Dreams and results have
always kept us motivated. The Olympics in Salt Lake City are
our best skating memory, so our goal this season is to skate
well at the 2006 Olympics in Italy. Our goal is to be at least
in the top 5 at the 2010 Olympics.
What are your strengths and weaknesses as a team?
Julia: We understand each other well and we know when and
where the other moves. Moreover, Oleg leads me very well.
Oleg: Time and experience will help us in the areas we have
to work most on.
And how is it to skate together?
Julia: It is fun to be with Oleg; he is a very funny guy and
very inspirational as partner. He handles things hand over
fist while he pushes both of us to do our best!
Oleg: Julia is a very kind and sweet girl. She is also very
beautiful! When you add all this to her skating abilities,
I feel I am very lucky to skate with her!
Julia: We are very close friends. We always support each other,
but we keep our private lives separate.
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This Olympic season will be tough for you, like for
all skaters, but that doesn’t mean previous seasons
were any easier…
We were very happy with our Grand Prix results last season,
so we’ll try to keep it up and we are very focused on
this season. We started to work on our new programs after
a short vacation in April. When we came back refreshed and
ready to get back on the ice, we started to work on the compulsory
dances – we really like the Tango Romantica! That also
gave us time to listen to various kinds of music and to get
an idea of what we wanted to skate our free dance to.
Since 2003 you work with Rinat Farkhootdinov, who
was a competitive skater and then coached a friend of Oleg’s.
Can you tell us more about him and about your training?
Rinat Farkhootdinov is a young talented coach who improves
from year to year, just like us. We don't train in the Ukraine,
but in Euless, Texas. We are not allowed to work in the USA,
so we stay busy learning English and getting to know more
about the American culture. Sometimes we skate in shows which
benefit local charities, and we like that very much.
Julia: We love traveling and I’m very excited about
going to Paris soon.
Oleg: I prefer to compete in the Ukraine. We don’t see
the other members of the national team very often, but we
have good relationships with them and we often call each other.
So it’s nice when we can meet at competitions.
Do you ever watch yourselves on TV?
Yes, we like to criticize ourselves.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Oleg: I love sports.
Julia: I love driving and swimming.
Thank you Julia and Oleg, we wish you a lot of success
during the season!
Let’s finish up with some fun:
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How would you live without… - music? - a credit card? - friends? - dreams? |
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