Once she was the main princess of figure skating. With her natural beauty, charm and gentle images on ice, she fell many people all over the world in love with her sport. Kiira Korpi has 5 titles of the champion of the country, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals of the European Championship. For little Finland this is a storehouse. But the point is not in statistics, but in image and energy. Kiira no wonder used to shine on the covers of glossy magazines. Since the time «Fay of the North» ended her career, she managed to move overseas, get married, star in a movie about the legendary Sonya Heni and write a revelation book about big sport. I have talked to Kiira Korpi about her sporting life and new interests.
The original interview is here, and today I publish the English version. Here are part 1 and part 2 of the interview in English.
The book-revelation
- Your autobiography came out recently. Tell us, how and when the idea to write it came to you?
- One Finnish publisher offered me. I did not agree immediately – I thought it was too early to write memoirs at the age of 30. But people asked, what was in my soul and what I was outside of the competitions. So, there are potential readers who are interested. And I described my story in sports – from childhood to the last performance. How I studied, searched for myself, was inspired and gave in spirit, was happy about medals. Around my personal experience, I made a research on the relationship between athletes and coaches. This echoes my studies, and I wanted to show the culture of big sport. Today in America and Europe they talk a lot about coaching methods: should a coach speak frankly about the problems of an athlete, praise or shout? What is the cost of success and is it the worth price? After all, when you are still young and learn the world, you believe everyone, glory tempts. The athlete is carried away and then runs the risk of breaking after the first failure. I do not know if this is being discussed in Russia?
- Yes, the topic is very relevant.
- In Europe, skaters have fewer hours of training than you, and coaches are softer. Therefore, some things that I got know about Russian coaches shocked me. My friend trained for some time at the Moscow school of figure skating and found out about the terrible psychological techniques of eminent trainers, who violate the rights of children. Cries, an authoritarian tone, a ban on food, punishments for not fulfilling a plan. There is still no scientific evidence that fear is the best motivation. A person must himself want victory and not be afraid to make a mistake. On fear you can achieve only an intermediate result. What else I explored – the «factory of athletes», when a crowd of leaders is on one ice. One «product» breaks, and the next one is on the way. But what about the person, who was discarded?
- Perhaps you were the only best skater in the group of Maaret Siromaa and Susanna Haaral?
- The coaches were like God to me, I trusted them more than my parents. We had a large group, but most of the attention was paid to me. I am very grateful to Maaret and Susanna for this. After all, when two strong athletes train together, the teacher chooses someone in his heart. Even if he does not voice the wager, usually there is no equal chance. But Finnish sports also has problems, psychological injuries, although not on such a scale.
- Did you write the book yourself, or the editor helped you?
- One sports journalist helped me: we just talked for many months, I shared my story and thoughts, he formulated words, and then we redacted together. Plus, I kept a diary when I was a teenager, and that teenager’s perception of life went into the book. Now I can formulate the text myself – thanks to the experience of scientific work and creative writing classes at the university.
- Tell us about the reaction of readers to your book.
- In Finland people know little about the inside of big sport, that’s why my research became a revelation for many people. Many contacted me, said that I awakened them to emotions (laughter and tears), they recognized themselves at some moments of life. Parents of young skaters thanked me for telling the truth. At the same time, some people from sports federations took offense at me for publishing negative things, «spoiling the reputation of sports». But I didn’t want sugary things, I wished a public discussion about figure skating and its wrong side. Hope it worked out. By the way, in a couple of years I plan to write a new book – about my life in New York, how I develop my brain after sports, how my life changed after emigration.
- It inspires to read. The first book is published in Finnish, and will there be translations?
- There was a talk about English version, but it all depends on the publisher. So far, I have translated 3 chapters into English myself, I will gladly send you to read.
About today figure skating
- Do you watch today’s women’s single skating?
- Rarely, only if I comment on a competition. I always cheered for Carolina Costner while she performed. I want Gracie Gold to return and realize her talent. I love Zhenya Medvedeva – both as a figure skater and as a person. She was right to come to Canada after a psychological injure. And in general, I like Russian girls, how they feel the music.
- Returning to Sonya Heni, the record holder in figure skating, I would like to mention Alina Zagitova – our Russian owner of «the golden helmet». How do you like her programs?
- She is super! But I’m not sure that Alina will last long. It is evident that she is often terribly afraid of making a mistake. She should have more freedom in her heart and relaxation, like Carolina! Understanding that she will be supported for any performance, but that might be difficult in her current training environment.
- Your competitive career lasted 12 years. Today for women’s single skating this period seems huge, according to the rivalry, seasonal arrival of young strong girls. How did you manage to be in sports for so long?
- The interesting question. There are several answers. The first is that I was not a fanatic, I skated only 2 hours a day. Sometimes I was treated as a «product», but not as badly as in some other countries, where skaters drop out of school and begin to train like professional sportsmen at 7 years old. Further, financial opportunities, family support, good doctors and sponsors who helped. But the main thing is love for my craft, happiness from each performance and the applause of the audience. It’s like a drug which is hard to give up. I was able to do this only when there was already a physical limit.
- There are poco champions in the history of Finnish figure skating. Do you plan to become a coach and raise a star athlete for your country?
- In recent years I realized, that I want more to be a mentor and consultant for coaches. To participate in training camps and apply my psychological and ethical skills there. In sports not only medals are important, but also a warm atmosphere, pleasure of the process.
Interview by Marina Chernyshova-Melnik
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