Júlia
Sebestyén, the
2004 European Champion from Hungary, had a succesful season
with a brilliant 4th place at the European Championships,
and despite messing up the short program and having to start
in the last group at the World Championchips in Sweden, she
managed to fight back in the long program, ending up in the
11th place. Just outside the top 10 maybe, but still a great
accomplishment. The ladies’ competition in Göteborg ended
sooner than usual – the skaters had Friday and Saturday off.
So that's the first we asked about.
Compared to the usual time schedule,
you had your competition earlier in Göteborg – on Wednesday
and Thursday. Were you glad to finish your competitions earlier
than you are used to?
I felt like as if it was the weekend.
On the day of the LP I felt as if it was Saturday. I had my
usual pre-competition schedule. I arrived two days before
the competition, so there wasn't any difference. The only
weird thing was that we finished the competition and there
were still two more days we could spend in Göteborg.
How do you spend the days before
the competition? When do you start thinking about your programs?
I always arrive in the host city two
days before the competition to avoid spending too much time
with only getting stressed. We saw in Göteborg that almost
all the men came on Monday, although they had their SP on
Friday. I guess it was force of habit. But it's not too
good to spend so many days at the event before the competition.
You have less ice time, and you are getting more excited.
If I'm getting prepared at my home rink, despite thinking
of the competition I'm quite calm. I just feel only on
the day of the competition that this is THE day. I'm not
really excited before the competitions. The most difficult
moment is when you stand on the ice and you know that you
have to skate right now.
It's
widely known that you never watch your rivals skating. When
did you develop this habit?
Since I was young, I have never watched
the skater right before me. On one hand, not to get distracted
– whether she skates good or bad, I still have to do my best.
It doesn't make me happy if someone bombs. It doesn't
help at all if I mess up my program as well. The most important
thing is to focus only on myself. And I also have to say that
I can easily get tired when watching the performance of the
others. If I went to the rink at the beginning of the competition,
watched my rivals and then started to warm up, I would already
be very tired.
The event in Göteborg was your 11th
World championships. Have you been thinking about your first
one during this week?
Not really. When talking about years,
I always recall the Europeans in 1995 in Dortmund – I was
13 back then. I didn't even really realise it was a Europeans.
I remember when I finished second at the Hungarian Nationals
behind Krisztina Czakó, I was told: "Juli, you can go
to the Europeans." And I thought: "OK, so I can
go to another competition." I didn't really know
what it took, I was just amazed at how many spectators were
at the rink. When looking back, this is the competition I
always recall.
What
do you like more in this sport: to compete or to entertain
the crowd?
Both. I just love skating. I often
hear why I'm so nervous, it can be seen. However, inside
I know how much I can do on the ice at the practice sessions,
and now there is the chance to show all this to the fans.
I want everyone to see what I'm capable of, how nice jumps
I have, that my spins have improved. Because it's not
enough to skate just for myself in training. I don't like
when I hear that I'm nervous. Of course, everyone is a
bit excited, but I don't feel like: "Oh, my God…"
I have gone through many hard times. In the season 1996/97
I broke my leg twice. I had to overcome all this. I also had
a very tough period after the 2006 Olympics. It's very
difficult to get out of these and then just to stand on the
ice and do a flawless program. Maybe that's why some people
said I'm not a good competitor. But when I was a little
girl and attended junior competitions, I never failed, I always
did all my jumps, so I wouldn't say I'm such a bad
competitor. Moreover, I landed the triple lutz for the first
time at the age of 13 – at the practice I fell, but at the
competition I landed it properly.
You mentioned the hard times, what
helped you in such situations?
I always had a coach by my side and
he always supported me. After 2006 I changed coaches and now
I'm working with Gurgen Vardanjan again. We were working
mainly on the technical side of the skating, correcting some
wrong habits. He always strengthened in me that I'm a
good skater, I can do it and I have to believe in myself.
And of course, my family supports me as well. It was very
important to overcome the troubles. I also have a sports psychologist
- at first I worked with Márta Vura, now with Ágota Budai.
How can a psychologist help?
A psychologist is not enough to be
successful. It's necessary to have good off-ice trainings,
proper technique for the jumps, and good condition. The psychologist
can make easier the situation when you have to skate in front
of thousands of people. There might me different situations,
maybe I have to skate in the best group and I have to handle
that big pressure, or maybe I have to fight from lower positions,
like in Göteborg. A psychologist can help you to be able to
skate your best without your legs trembling. Of course, it's
very difficult and it's a long process. You need lots
of experience. If you skate well from competition to competition,
it gives you self confidence.
What
are you thinking about when you go on to the ice? Or are you
just on auto-pilot?
Right before my programs I'm focusing
only on certain elements. I try not to think of my program
as of a four-minute LP, because it seems awfully long. I always
focus only on the next element. If this works, I can skate
a flawless program. If I start to think of the previous element,
I usually make a mistake. Even if I fall or do something perfectly
I have to forget it for the moment.
You said you landed the triple lutz
for the first time at a competition, but during the last few
seasons the triple lutz was your unlucky jump.
Yes, I had a period when I permanently
fell on the lutz and maybe I wanted to land it too much, I
got cramped, because I wanted to show so much that I know
that jump! Luckily, in the last few events I had a steady
lutz again, even two of them in the LP! Everyone can see that
I can jump the lutz!
You
have exceptionally high jumps. Have you ever tried any quad
like the Japanese ladies do?
Once I tried to jump a triple axel,
but I think it's not really worth it in the new scoring
system. The Japanese are trying these jumps, and can earn
some extra points for them but if I do my program perfectly,
I could have points near them. I have landed a triple-triple
combination, even tried it at a competition. I think I would
be able to make it more secure. But even with my current programs,
if performed well, I can earn many, many points. I won't
start to work on a quad! (laughs)
You have competed a lot in the old
and also in the new system. What do you think about them?
It was very hard when they changed
the rules. It meant a lot of extra work for me. It took about
two years to understand the new system completely. For example,
learning a new spin was as difficult as learning a new jump.
Those difficult combination spins need as much energy as a
jump. I had to work on a spin for half a year to make it a
"usual spin" and not an extremely tiresome element.
When the new system came we had to learn many new elements,
so it's more difficult for the skaters. However, it still
has it subjectivity, because there are still the component
scores. Also, it is very important to have a good technical
controller. If they don't like you, you can lose many
points.
Don't
you think that due to the new system all the programs are
very similar?
It's a fact that both in the SP
and LP almost everybody has the same spiral sequence. Many
spins are very similar, too…
What kind of programs do you like
to make? The fans usually appreciate quicker music...
It's more difficult to skate to
quick music, maybe that's why lots of skaters rather choose
slower pieces. For example there are so many rules concerning
the step sequence that it's hard to skate it to a quick
music. I like to have both slow and quick part in my music.
It's easier to have your jumps in the slower part, because
you can go in your own rhythm into a jump. But the quick part
is needed because it spices up the whole program, also in
the eyes of judges.
When do you think you were in top
form in your career?
As for competitions it was year 2004.
I skated very good LPs and had very good results. But concerning
my self-confidence and jump technique I can say that I was
in top form at the 2008 Europeans and Worlds. Before a jump
takeoff I haven't even thought of the possibility of the
failure, I was so confident. All my triples were steady, even
the triple loop, although it wasn't in my programs.
You mentioned 2004 – that year the
Europeans were in Budapest and you became European champion.
It must have been a fantastic experience, but also a big pressure
to skate in your home country.
I still think about it a lot. I have
the tape and when the LP starts, even the commentators couldn't
breathe. I really don't know how I managed to deal with
such a pressure. I was so focused and the fact I did well
at the previous competitions also helped. I believed in myself,
I believed I could make it. It also gave me strength when
I skated at home. I'm very happy that I could take this
chance, because, if we take a look at the big competitions,
the home competitors can’t always do their best.
Irina
Slutskaya wasn't present at those Europeans – were you
happy about it or you think you would beat even her?
Before the competition I wasn't
thinking about my possible placement. In the previous year
I was third at the Europeans, but I didn't think of any
medal. I wanted to get a good result, but never thought about
a placement. I focused on my performance, and probably this
was the main reason that I could skate a good program. I read
the newspapers retrospectively – before the competition I
read nothing. We even traveled to Sweden and came back to
Hungary only a few days before the Europeans, to avoid that
enormous pressure – and when I read the newspapers I was surprised
that the people expected my victory that much, although the
field was very strong even without Slutskaya. If she had been
there, maybe I wouldn't have won, but she wasn't there
and I'm glad that I managed to win. (smiles)
Do you sometimes read the skating
discussion boards on the internet?
I have looked at them a few times,
but now I don't read them. If someone criticizes me in
a good manner, I can take it, but on the discussion boards
there are many anonymous people who don't really know
what skating is about, they don't know what's going
on in the background, they can criticize people but they don't
notice the success… If someone has a good result, they say
it was only a coincidence, but if someone fails, they are
very harsh and unfair… I'm listening to opinions of people
I admire, of course I want to be loved by fans but I don't
care about evil people.
Do
you know that some people call you Granny on the forums?
I have heard about it, but I think
everyone is as old as they feel. I think I have never been
in a better physical shape than now. Age is not everything.
I was fourth at the last Europeans and eighth in Göteborg,
and I placed ahead of the former world champion Kimmie Meissner.
I think it proves age doesn't matter.
You speak as if you were so old,
although you are only 27. You have been competing for so many
years, maybe that's why it seems you have been around
for ages.
I was thirteen at my first Europeans.
Today you are not allowed to compete at senior Europeans if
you are so young. People saw me many times, that's why
they might get an impression that I'm old. Michelle Kwan
started also at very young age and had a long career and someone
also told about her: "Is she still competing? Oh, she
should retire…" Although she was only 22!
How do you see the future of figure
skating in Hungary?
I hope that sooner or later we can
bring up skaters who could be at the top. We were in very
difficult situation when the Budapest Arena burned down in
a fire. Many young skaters quitted skating. Luckily after
the 2004 Europeans kids became interested in figure skating
again. We need a few years until we will have international
competitors, but I believe there are some skilled kids. I
also hope they will get enough support, because the sport
is in the difficult situation.
If you had children, would you want
them to skate?
It's hard to say, you can't
force it. If they liked it, if they wanted to do it, it might
be possible.
It was a pleasure meeting such
a cheerful and confident Júlia
and surely hope she will maintain this attitude in the new
season. Her new programs to Secret Garden and Bond certainly
hold much promise. Good luck Júlia,
and we hope you have fun and enjoy to watch the Summer Olympics,
to cheer on the Hungarian Athletes!
