Jamal came, skated and impressed the whole world
Part I
by Helga Dobor &
CĂ©line Oreiller
photos © Dushenka
& Jamal
Othman
A skater from Switzerland – a homeland of exquisite
skaters, wonderful spins and fascinating performances.
Jamal Othman is a very elegant skater with amazing spins and
always a mysterious and inscrutable smile on his face. His
programs enchant you and for a little while, he invites you
into his world. We will try to bring you a bit closer to the
mystery of Jamal.
'Worst spiral, best upright spin' When did you start skating and has anyone in
particular inspired you? |
 |
Do you remember your first time on ice??
No, unfortunately, I don’t remember it at all.
But there is a funny story: when my mother was pregnant with
me, she went skating with her students -she is a sports teacher.
Somehow they didn’t have any “girls skates”
anywhere so she had to rent hockey skates. And then, when
she skated backwards and wanted to stop, she fell flat on
the ice because there were no toe picks! She was quite scared
because she thought it could hurt the baby… but I guess
I came through it in one piece! ;-)
Do you have any memories from your first competition?
Yes, my first competition was our Club championships in
1993. But the only things I remember, is that I made the
worst spiral, but the best upright spin, and that I won
the competition!
What was your most memorable competition?
The 2005 World Championships in Moscow! It was only my second
big senior competition, and my first senior Worlds, so this
made it my most memorable competition. I am very happy with
my performances and my result there (21st place), and on top
of it all it was a historical moment for Swiss ice-skating
when Stéphane won, it really was and always will be
an unforgettable experience!
'First European Championships!'
 |
How did you feel at the Swiss
Championships, when it was clear that you'd finally
get a chance to skate at Euros and Worlds? What was it like to compete at your first
Europeans? |
Do you think that maybe in the end it was a good
thing you didn’t get sent to Euros until this year,
and be very strong on the first try, instead of going last
year (or earlier) and finish lower in the standings?
I have had my thoughts about that, and maybe, maybe not. But
I don’t care anymore. It was great how it came and went
and I don’t want to think about what could have happened.
The new judging system obviously supports me, and I think
it’s good.
You skated great in the Junior Grand prix, you
placed 2nd in Harbin, first in Chemnitz and 7th in the finals
in Helsinki. But you also came in 5th in the Nebelhorn Trophy,
a senior competition with a very strong line-up. Did these
results increase the pressure for the rest of the season?
No, I think these good results even took some of the pressure
off. I knew I’d skated very well at 4 competitions
already, and no one can expect every competition to be perfect.
Of course I wanted to show my best at Nationals and at Europeans
too. But Nationals was not the most important competition
for me this year. I had an extraordinary good start of this
season, and everything on top of that became a bonus.
'It’s a beautiful
sport'
What is your favourite program and why?
Actually I like both of my programs very much, but if I
have to choose one I think it is my short (My Affectionate
and Tender Beast (Russian movie soundtrack) by Evgeni Doga).
I like the music and the choreography - it really fits me.
And it seems like the audience liked it too…
What is your biggest strength as a skater?
I think my major strength is the fact that I am a quite
well-balanced skater. I have jumps, spins, steps, and components
on approximately the same level. That’s something
very beneficial in the new judging system. In addition to
this it seems like I had have pretty strong nerves. I hardly
get nervous before skating at competitions. Even at Worlds
I wasn’t extraordinarily nervous.
 |
 |
What kind of off-ice training do you do?
I always take classical ballet classes, and one different
dancing style. Last summer it was hip-hop, and during the
season I danced salsa with a friend. I think this summer
I’ll attend a modern dance class.
And of course I have to do regular off-ice training like
everyone else: weights, physical conditioning and so on.
How much input do you have in the choreography/music/costumes
of your programs?
My coach, J. Kiefer, and I always choose the music. I think
it’s not so good when a skater brings the music and
the coach doesn’t like it at all. Or even worse the
other way around. For us it was always important that both
of us liked it, because then I could imagine skating to
it and she could see me skate to it as well.
Choreography is something that grows through a process.
It’s not that my choreographer just shows me the steps
and I learn them, we work together. The choreographer gives
steps and inputs, I give my ideas and suggestions, and step-by-step
a new program is developed.
I like to design my own costumes. I tell them how I want
them to be, and that’s how they are going to be. Maybe
sometimes I might agree with my coach’s objections,
maybe!
What do you like the most about figure skating?
Figure skating is just fantastic. It’s art, athleticism,
speed, elegance, aesthetics… it’s a beautiful
sport! I guess you agree. Besides that, as a figure skater,
you travel around the world doing what you love the most,
skate! One meets so many interesting people and learns so
much! It’s great!
'Structural changes'
What is your relationship with
other skaters from your National Team, are you friends
or rivals? |
 |
How much support do you get from the federation,
your family and from sponsors?
First off, my family gives me everything I need. They support
me in every single way, every single day. Without my family,
nothing I’ve reached so far would have been possible.
For a long time, our Federation was quite inactive. But now
there have been some structural changes and the Swiss skating
union is waking up. There’s still not a lot they can
do for us, but at least they try their best. Figure skating
is not so popular in Switzerland, and it’s hard to find
sponsors, very hard. I have two now; “Job & Jobs”,
which is a job agency, and “Modern Drive”, a driving
school. But of course they can only cover a small part of
my annual costs, so I am looking for more sponsors! Skater
can’t easily fund themselves in Switzerland. But now,
(with Stéphane’s victory) a new era in Swiss
male figure skating has begun, and maybe everything will change.
I’m optimistic!
