Rescue of the skating rink, the conflict of world champions, “rustic ice”, a bursted roof and tennis on ice. Former Krylatskoe leader Mikhail Zagainov, World champion Ivan Skobrev, World Cup winners Evgeny Lalenkov and Alexander Kibalko, Russian champion Olga Tarasova and, of course, Moscow World Championships triumph Shani Davis talk about a historic event.
Speed skating is the most medal-intensive sport at the Winter Olympics - 14 disciplines. At the European Championships in January in Heerenveen, Russian team won 17 medals (5-6-6), losing to the Dutch skaters only in the number of gold medals (8-5-3). But in the history there was a period when our team was far from the podium.
The World's First Indoor Speed Skating Rink in Leningrad
Today in Russia there are three indoor speed skating rinks - in Moscow, in Kolomna and in Chelyabinsk. An arena is being built in Irkutsk, the construction of a stadium in Kemerovo has begun, the possibility of restoring the Olympic oval in Sochi is being discussed, Nikolai Valuev and Svetlana Zhurova are planning to build a skating rink near St. Petersburg, an arena is being designed in Perm.
Few people know that the skating rink named after Lenin which was opened in Leningrad for the Olympics 1980 was the first indoor speed skating rink in the world. The oval had a non-standard length - 333 meters. At that time the USSR championships were held there and even foreigners came to train. The skating rink worked mainly in summer, but during Olympic seasons the team prepared there in winter as well. However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the complex lost its speed skating functionality. A few days ago, the building was demolished with the aim of constructing a new arena for hockey SCA in its place. During the dismantling of the skating rink, due to non-compliance with safety regulations, one of the workers died.
They started talking about the construction of an indoor ice rink in Leningrad in the middle of the last century. Layouts were made, a place was chosen for the arena, but all ideas remained only on paper and the words of officials, one of whom was Olympic champion in skating Evgeny Kulikov, who worked in the nineties as chairman of the city sports committee.
New Palace for Two World Championships
At the 1998 Games in Japan, Nagano, the best performance of Russian skaters was the ninth place of the leaders of the national team - two Svetlanas - Bazhanova (1500 m) and Zhurova (500 m). Such a failure was easy to explain. Firstly, there was a revolution in the design of skates, and the Russian team began to use hinged skates (known as “clap skates”) one of the last. Secondly, there were no conditions for preparation. The whole world began to train on indoor ice-rinks, but in Russia there was not a single indoor ice rink and the country's championships - the selection for the Olympics, had to be held in Berlin.
Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov remembered very well how, in 1962, in Luzhniki 107 thousand spectators (a record of attendance in speed skating) witnessed the victories of the great ones: Evgeny Grishin, Boris Stenin, Victor Kosichkin. These memories contrasted sharply with what they saw in Nagano. During the Games, Luzhkov had a conversation with President of the International Skating Union (ISU) Ottavio Cinquanta.
“Then Cinquanto told me that they made an agreement with Luzhkov - Russia was to build an indoor ice rink, and ISU was supposed to give the country the opportunity to hold the World championship in speed skating. Initially, it was only a question of speed skating, but then Yuri Mikhailovich asked to entrust Moscow with the World championship in figure skating as well. As a result, we agreed on two tournaments,” recalls the winner of the World speed skating Cup, the head of the ISU tech committee, Alexander Kibalko.
Almost four years have passed since then (we remember the Russian crisis that thundered in August 1998). The final decision on the construction of the rink was made only at the end of 2001 during a repeated meeting of the mayor with a sports official.
Zagainov Answered Luzhkov: “I Can Say a Lot About the Construction but All the Words Will Be Obscene”
For the construction of the stadium, a place was allocated in Krylatskoye next to the cycle track and rowing canal, since this area was considered to be a sports area. But the location of the skating rink caused a lot of complaints among skaters and coaches because of the remoteness of the facility. But then no one even thought of consulting with sports schools.
Foreigners with experience in the construction of such facilities were not involved, and Russian designers at some point ceased to understand what they were creating. Yury Luzhkov came to the construction site every Saturday and during one of his visits, workers revealed that they did not understand how to build the country's first indoor speed skating stadium. Then the mayor of Moscow told the chairman of the city sports committee Sergey Korol that if he did not find a competent person in a week, Korol would lose his job.
“Sergey Korol called me and asked: “Do you understand anything in ice preparation? Fly here urgently!», recalls the former chief engineer of the high-mountain skating rink “Medeo, ” the former general director of Krylatskoe Mikhail Zagainov.
“At a meeting in Moscow, Luzhkov asked my opinion about the construction site. I replied: “I can say a lot, but all my words will be obscene.” He cursed and then asked where the designers should go to learn construction technology,” adds Zagainov.
As a result, Mikhail went with the working group to Nagano to the M-Wave Olympic Oval.
“After this trip, construction went more actively. But there were many difficulties. Starting from the equipment supply and ending with the launching of the rink. We realized that Moscow was at zero level (the fastest ice on high-mountain skating rinks) and it would be difficult to make good ice. I kept on telling Yury Mikhailovich that a beautiful building would not solve the problem, we needed technology, we had to understand what “fast ice” was. He stood against for a long time, but then agreed. He created a scientific group, which was working on making high-speed ice during the whole construction period. I went to Medeo, picked up the archive, started collecting materials for ice preparation and, in the end, we came to a decision how to make ice for the World championships. ”
“There Is No Roof Yet, Sparks Are Flying, Athletes Are Skating”
“In the fall of 2004, Luzhkov arrived at the next meeting, and I said: “Yury Mikhailovich, I have some questions to discuss. We need to meet in the arena.” And he replied: “But what would I do there, I’ve already been there. I do not want to go there again". I persuaded him. Workers were doing the welding, sparks were flying from the ceiling, athletes were skating along the paths. I invited Sayutin (vice-champion of the World Vadim Sayutin), Kibalko (winner of the World Cup Alexander Kibalko), Bazhanov (master of sports Nikita Bazhanov, brother of Olympic champion Svetlana Bazhanova). Before Luzhkov left the arena, they put on the song “Moscow, the Bells are Ringing”. There was no roof yet, sparks were flying, athletes were skating”. Yury Mikhailovich even shed a tear and said: “Well done! I knew that we would erect the building, but I was not sure if we would manage to make the ice,” Zagainov recalls.
“Between the training camps, we turned up in Moscow, and Mikhail Vladimirovich, as a friend, asked us to skate. There weren’t even any safety boards yet. Around was a construction site, everything was in the dust. But the rink was iced. We approached a delegation led by Luzhkov, and he asked us about the ice. It was still not quite even, but generally good, ” says Kibalko.
Already in September, the rest part of the Russian athletes who came from all over the country, from Khabarovsk to Murmansk, were able to test the ice of the new stadium. The author of the article was among the lucky ones. While the schedule had not yet been established, we skated in an inconvenient daytime. But after open-air skating rinks, where I had to resist the wind and snow, run in a thin racing suit at minus 25 degrees Celsius, it was a real paradise - in the arena +13 degrees, the ice was fast, you could skate in a thin racing suit on a body and without gloves.
But the first international competition in the new arena was not skating competition. At the end of November, tennis cover was laid on the ice of Krylatskoe for the final matches of the Fed Cup. The Russian team won its first title in history then, being stronger than the French team (3:2). Two weeks later, the European Junior Ice Skating Games became a test check before the World championships.
“The Dutch then did not expect that such fast ice could be prepared in Moscow and they began to fly away at bends. After that, they began to look for flaws in the ice cover. But, together with German Mikhailovich (German Panov, member of the Council of the International Skating Union (ISU), we defended our technology, ”says Mikhail Zagainov.
The competitions were shown live in full (and it were several hours) on a federal channel. Speed skating had never received so much airtime on television before.
“Grey Ice Gave the Rink a Rustic Look”
At the first world speed skating championship in Russia, the seven thousandth arena filled to capacity was painted in orange colors by the Netherlands fans, there was a separate sector for Norwegian fans who traditionally wore red skating hats, Germany was represented in the stands by fans dressed as “nuns”. And, of course, famous veterans of Soviet skates met in Krylatskoe. The winner of the 1962 Moscow World championships, a great athlete Evgeny Grishin, was also in the box of honored guests. The Russian team, accustomed to competing abroad, experienced additional pressure at home.
“The coaches tried to set us up so that we focused only on our distance, not paying attention to the surrounding atmosphere. After five hundred meters, it became psychologically easier while doing the last 5 km I could feel, how home stands supported me,” says World Cup winner Evgeny Lalenkov.
To watch this event, I even ran away from the Chelyabinsk camp. At 6 am, I arrived at the Kazan railway station and bought two Sport Express newspapers right away. On the cover of one of them there was a photo of World champion Shani Davis, the future championship winner. To the question of Alexander Lyubimov, who would win the world championship, he answered: “I will”.
“I don’t know if I was so confident in myself then. But I thought that I needed to answer that way. I believed that I could. I don’t think it would have sounded good if I had said that someone else would win,” the two-time Olympic champion recalls today.
The main favorites of the tournament were the Americans. In addition to Davis, Chad Hadrick, 50-time World champion in roller-skates, arrived in Moscow to defend the title. Both athletes were exotic for skates. Davis - went to the start, yawning, ran sprinting and classic all-around in one season and admitted that he liked the short track more. Chad had a double push technique, which he was the first to use on roller-skates and then transferred to the ice.
Foreigners were shocked by the Russian arena. In Europe and the USA, the skating rinks were small, demountable, as economical as possible, but here was a real palace. “The Russian mafia built the stadium,” - they said then.
“Krylatskoe was one of the most beautiful skating rinks. It was one of the first where I saw security and metal detectors. It created some concern. But everything went safely and successfully. The ice rinks were usually white, but here the ice undercoat was not painted. It gave the ice such a rustic look, ”said Davis.
The ice of the new stadium for the first time had a grey tint due to the color of concrete, which was under the ice mass. But these are the requirements of the icing technology - in the first year, salts and chemical elements should come out of the concrete slab, so you can not paint over the pores of its surface.
Shani Davis Woken Up for Autograph
Back then the Russian athletes could not please the home stands with prizes, but they remembered this start for life.
“The Italians went to Arbat to buy nesting dolls at an exorbitant price, and Nicola and I (Italian speed skater Nicola Mayr) agreed - if she liked the nesting doll, she said nothing but nodded. As a result, we bought them at a reasonable price for rubles, and Fabrice (Olympic champion Enrico Fabris) paid much more in dollars, ”says Russian champion Olga Tarasova.
At that time, there were no signs in English in the subway, and many people ordered a taxi. It was not far from the International Hotel to the arena. Hedrick decided to take a taxi. When we arrived at the place, the driver asked a startled American several hundred dollars for the trip. The world champion refused to pay such an amount. Then the taxi driver got out and blocked the door. Chad was not at a loss - he kicked out the glass and climbed out.
But in general, the atmosphere during that championship was friendly.
“After the start, I was recovering after my 3 km distances. My 12 years old daughter, Ira, was with me at the stadium. She knew English well and fell into conversation with her namesake Ireen Wüst (Olympic champion, Dutch, Ireen Wüst) and eventually left for the hotel with the Netherland team. When I arrived, the Dutch were entertaining my daughter. That was one big family. But the funniest episode happened right during the competitions. Ira approached Shani Davis when he having a nap, preparing for a decisive distance of 10 km. She woke him up, introduced herself as the daughter of Olga Tarasova and asked for an autograph. He laughed and signed, ” Tarasova recalls.
To become a world champion, Davis needed not to lose out to Hedrick for the longest distance for more than 5 seconds. A year before, in Norway, the stock of Shani was twice as large, but he could not hold the lead and allowed Chad to win gold.
“I was better at running middle distances and at ten I always had to do my best. I remember I promised myself that I would not miss the 10 km advantage, as it was a year before at the World Championships in Hamar. I prepared a lot for this distance, learned how to choose the right pace and distribute energy rationally. I then gave all my strength and was able to win. This is probably one of the happiest moments of my life! ” the American recalls.
“Back then Chad was so upset that he even left his silver medal in the locker room. Shani didn't like it. It was one of the seeds of conflict between the skaters. I communicated well with both. Then I talked with their partner in the national team Casey Butiet, and understood why they could not run the team race together, ” says world champion Ivan Skobrev.
The best among the Russians at the World Cup was Skobrev, who finished in total in ninth place. Evgeny Lalenkov became the twelfth, Olga Tarasova was placed in the fifteenth position, and Svetlana Vysokova became the nineteenth.
“The competitions were organized at the highest level. Of course, we were worried at home start. I was not a leader then, and it was difficult to be on the podium. I fought for getting into the top ten (12 people were selected for the last all-around event),” Skobrev explains.
The world champion in Moscow was the German Anni Friesinger. Her compatriot, five-time Olympic champion Claudia Pechstein, who continues to perform at 47, was the third, and Canadian Cindy Klassen won silver.
Shani Davis became the first black world champion, Chad Hedrick won silver, and 18-year-old Dutchman Sven Kramer who won his first medal at the World championships closed the top three winners (then he won the World Championship 9 times).
"Russia was very different from America. Different culture, food, language that sounded more aggressive. People were not so friendly and sociable. But as soon as we started training on the ice and participating in the championships everything changed. We were accompanied by a police escort who helped us to navigate the rink. I am proud that I was able to be in Moscow and become a part of the history of that World Cup. Russia is rich in its history and culture. Usually I'm not very interested in sightseeing, but when I had the opportunity to be in Russia, I was happy to get acquainted with the history of this country. Most of the highlights of my career are associated with Russia, and I hope that in my coaching there will still be an opportunity to be back again,” says Shani Davis.
Closing of Krylatskoe and the Second Life of the Arena
After three years of operation, a loud Bang was heard over the dome of the arena. As it turned out later, in one of the shrouds that was holding the roof of the complex, a connecting part burst and the Krylatskoe was closed for almost a year.
“The design was well calculated by the designers, and the complex did not go into an emergency. It was just necessary to repair this node. It was a production defect, which is officially confirmed. The Ural plant, which originally manufactured these parts, quickly made a replacement and in a short time the safety shrouds were designed,” explains Mikhail Zagainov.
In October last year, due to the demolition of the Olympic stadium, the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament moved to Krylatskoe. At this time, skaters were in the middle of the season, and for a whole month, Moscow athletes had to look for another place to train. The nearest indoor skating rink is a hundred kilometers away in Kolomna.
“Initially, in the center of the arena, an exit for athletes from the locker rooms was made, which excluded holding ball hockey at the stadium. We sealed it up and provided a cold supply. This arena can host up to sixteen sports. Such structures are multifunctional all over the world. You can’t selfishly assume that this rink is made only for one sport,” Zagainov believes.
Over the past fifteen years, Krylatskoe has hosted several world Championships and stages of the World Cup in speed skating, the World short track championships, the World bandy championships, the Fed Cup and the Kremlin Cup in tennis. Today, apart from skaters, three-time winner of the World Cup in bandy club Dynamo trains in the complex, there are classes in figure skating and even billiards, and at the weekend, all interested muscovites can slip on the best skating rink in the city during mass skating. Therefore, major international speed skating competitions were last held at the arena eight years ago. Only time will show whether big skates will return to Krylatskoe or not.
Author: Dmitry Mirsky
Translation: Sofia Musulbes
Original article: https://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/speedskatingtalk/2719070.html
Foto: Gettyimages.ru/Oleg Nikishin / Stringer, Friedemann Vogel; RIA Novosti / Anton Denisov, Yuri Somov, Dmitry Korobeinikov, Vladimir Pesnia; ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingvar-fed; vk.com/icesportcenter; Vsevolod Tarasevich - MAMM/MDF; Evgeniya Gorobets - Skating.kz; russkating.ru