The heat is on - comments from the ladies

And an update on Attila Elek's injury

By Helga Dobor and Titanilla Bod

 

Ladies Short Program:

 

Jenna McCorkell, Great Britain

What do you expect from this competition?
I don't worry about places, I'm trying to do the best I can, for me not for anybody else, just for me. I wanna try to make a good comeback.

 

Lina Johansson, Sweden:

How do you feel about your short program performance?
Well, I'm sad about doubling the flip, but the rest was ok.

What do you expect from the competition tomorrow?
To skate clean, tomorrow is another day.

 

Valentina Marchei, Italy:

What were your expectations from the short program?
I expected it to be perfect; I did it last week, so I tried to keep the positive feeling throughout this week. But something went wrong and I really don't know what... I'm looking forward to doing better tomorrow, because I really don't want to fall again.

So what is your expectation from the long program?
I will do two triple Lutz', and I would like to have five triple jumps and two double Axels like I did at the Universiade. I needed more points and my coach was trying to tell me something during the program, but I didn't understand what happened. But now we're changing, we're adding another jump, one triple more than I had at the Universiade. I'm sure it will work.

 

Viktória Pavuk, Hungary:

What is your opinion about your short program?
Well, except for the Lutz everything was good, or at least I think so. I didn't start out so well but it got better. Seven elements out of eight were perfect, only one didn't succeed, the Lutz, it was very hard. Last year my performance at Europeans went all wrong and I was out of the top ten. My primary goal now was to prove that my place is in the top ten. That's why it was so hard to skate, but I believed in myself. And there is still the long program, which is very important; I will try to do my best. I hope it will be better. I never thought about how many points I would get, my goal was skating the best way I can and showing how I can jump too.

But you didn't get very high points, and even the audience protested.
Yes, but such is the sport and we have to accept it. I can't say much about it other than that we also thought the points were too low. It's a sport with judges and scores...

What result would you have been satisfied with?
I never think about results, I just keep in mind to do everything I can do in practice - beautifully and cleanly.

What can we expect for tomorrow?
I will skate to the Seherezade from Korsakov.

And will it be perfect?
I will try for perfect!

 

Radka Bartová, Slovakia:

How did your short program go?
It was super! I felt very good on the ice, I even tried to smile - laughs -. The only problem was the spin at the end, I "flew out" of it. But other than that I'm happy!

This is your first major competition. How does it feel?
It's great except for all the cameras; they make me a bit nervous.

Do you have any tricks to calm yourself down?
I listen to the music, take some deep breaths and sit down for a while, even just before my routine.

Whose style do you like, which skaters inspire you?
I find some inspiration in every competitor. All of them have something I like.

What is your goal here in Warsaw?
I'm already satisfied to have reached the free skate.

 

Ice dance injury update with the Elek teams:

Nóra Hoffmann comments Attila's injury
It was a simply fall, you can fall at every practises. We didn't do anything special, it was a simple element, but his blade got stuck in the ice. He has broken his splinter-bone and wears a cast. I can't believe it happened to him, we invested so much in our skating this year. This came at the worst time, as bad things usually do...

And it wasn't your first injury.
Yes, when I was young I broke my leg and last year we also had an accident at Worlds. But we hope for the best.

 

Zsuzsanna Nagy and György Elek, Hungary, after the free dance:

Congratulations! Are you satisfied with your free dance?
Zsuzsi: It was very good, thank you, I think we skated very well. We had a small mistake in the first part, we missed a pose, but it's not so important, you couldn't see it. It was before the second lift. But it usually happens at Europeans that we put an “extra element” in the program - laughs.
Gyuri: Perhaps the judges gave us more points for this - smiles.
Zsuzsi: We improvise a bit, and the program sure becomes more exciting! - laughs - But I really think we skated well.

Are you satisfied with the points too?
Gyuri: We aren't too satisfied with the levels we got, it's high at one competition and low at another, much like the points from the judges, sometimes better, sometimes worse.

How is your brother doing?
Gyuri: Attila's leg hurts, and he is devastated because they are not able to participate in the free dance. They are in very good shape and this might have been their best result. But that's life, and health is more important.
Zsuzsi: Unfortunately bad things happen...

Is he here now?
Zsuzsi: Yes, he is here. And it's a good feeling for us, however injured he is he still came here to see us.

What are your plans for the future?
Gyuri: We don't know if we will go to the World Championships or not. We will see, Attila can recover or not. If he recovers then of course they will go, if not, most likely we'll go.