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Post by leana on Mar 16, 2008 3:46:47 GMT 1
Thanks, good news! These are very impressive jumps of his. Incidentally, not so long ago when I watched his flamenco, don't remember in the off-hand which one it was, it struck me that there was still some space left for another rotation in his 3 loop (R). It set me wondering at the time.
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Post by chaerae on Mar 16, 2008 4:21:13 GMT 1
I cannot get the most recent Stephanie2006 article to translate anything other than the first paragraph. If someone has time, would it be possible to make a summary? Thanks. --Sheila I translated (or tried to anyhow!) the first half or so of the interview. It probably full of mistakes, though. (German-speakers: please feel free to correct anything! ^^) I'll see if I can get to the rest later. "It is beautiful to lose control of oneself"Stéphane Lambiel before the World Championships in Gothenburg in the NZZ InterviewAfter his second place recently at the European Championship in Zagreb, the figure skater Stéphane Lambiel wants to now become the three-time World Champion this coming week in Gothenburg. In the NZZ Interview, he expresses his annoyance over unmusical competitiors and sees his retirement as not all too far off.Interview: Ruth Spitzenpfeil and Jost Auf der MaurHow does your Portugese grandmother explain to her neighbors her grandson's profession?She doesn't have to explain that. She has Eurosport, and they all come together to watch my competitions on the television. In Portugal, figure skating is actually not popular, but in Santo António da Charneca [it is] already. It is a small town, about 30km away from Lisbon. Do you sometimes get the feeling that your sport is not taken seriously as should be?I don't know many people who see it that way. In the group I do my fitness training with are rugby players, soccer players, judo artists. We all need the same physical basis. Even when I was in school, my colleagues respected what I do. They could play after school. Me - I had my mom fetch me for 'work.' Is there another sport in which you could have been successful?I think not. Why did you not become a ballet dancer?The adversary/competition was lacking there for me. Again and again one hears the prejudice, "but all figure skaters are gay." Does that irk you?Actually, no. Sexuality concerns my private life. That has nothing to do with the sport. Such demarkation - that is gay, that is not - accomplishes basically nothing. When I was little, my mother also said figure skating is for women. But I said to her that I know it is right for me. So it is also something for men. I have often been to bull-fighting in Portugal. The Toreros also have gaudy, colorful costumes, and no one claims they are gay. In Sweden, where the World Championship now takes place, the audience is deemed to be rather cold. Is that a problem for you?My memories there are completely different. At the European Championships in Malmo five years ago, they were really crazy. One woman even wanted an autograph on her bosom from me. Do you know what you do to cause this enthusiasm everywhere?I have recently received a lovely compliment; someone said, "When you perform, one just wants to watch - regardless of whether everything succeeds." The people are on the ice with me. And I can sense this energy from the audience. The worst is if the rink is half empty, like during the short program at the European Championship in January in Zagreb. Do you believe a "Latin gene" is needed to have these movements and such feeling for the rhythm as you possess?No, a Swiss-German can also have that. One can learn the line that the body must characterize, and also the right attitude/posture. But how one brings out his innermost [expression], this ability is probably innate.
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Post by morganlefay06 on Mar 16, 2008 4:59:27 GMT 1
Haven't been on here in a while, but thanks as always to everyone for keeping us posted with all of the new articles! Looks like we're getting more and more interesting news as Worlds approaches. I'm so psyched!!! A quad loop? Whoa...intense. I wonder if we'll ever see that...it would really be something. Again and again one hears the prejudice, "but all figure skaters are gay." Does that irk you?Actually, no. Sexually concerns my private life. That has nothing to do with the sport. Such demarkation - that is gay, that is not - accomplishes basically nothing. When I was little, my mother also said figure skating is for women. But I said to her that I know it is right for me. So it is also something for men. I have often been to bull-fighting in Portugal. The Toreros also have gaudy, colorful costumes, and no one claims they are gay. This is a really smart, thoughtful comment, and it seems he made his point very eloquently. I completely agree with him. It's really annoying when people judge a person's sexuality by their sport or even their fashion sense, because like Stephane says, these things have nothing to do with who a person is dating.
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Post by chaerae on Mar 16, 2008 6:50:19 GMT 1
Here's the rest of the interview. Hopefully, I got the gist of most of it! Athletes from other sports speak of an ideal performance state, the so-called "flow." Do you know such a thing, too?I experienced it during my freeskate in Moscow and almost stronger still in Calgary. Those were my two World Championship victories. In such a state, you don't need power anymore [you don't need to force things anymore?] You body on its own knows what it must do. You're no longer there. Time moves slower, and you see yourself as if from outside. It is very special and beautiful to lose control of oneself. Those are two high points in your career. But there have also been, again and again, dramatic setbacks and crises. How do you deal with it, and do you sometimes wonder how those around you experience it?Yes, for example, my mother. If anything, it's worse that she can only experience it from a distance. Above all, however, I myself must live with the ups and downs. When it's going well, it's simply fantastic. But in the meantime, I can better accept it if, once, it doesn't work. You freeskate is the Flamenco "Poeta," already for the second season. It has still never come off without error.That is my last competition with the Flamenco, and I hope that in Gothenburg I can deliver it perfectly, as I've already done a few times in training. Perhaps it's good that the judges have now seen it more often. Every time, it gets higher artistic marks. Meanwhile, perhaps they've noticed how challenging it is. It is not a simple program. There is a whole special atmosphere to create - as in a Corrida. It contains so much harmony of movements and music. There are so many skaters who understand nothing of their music, but rather only present the elements. That makes me furious. I find that if one has no feeling for the music one cannot be a figure skater. However, the judges often look only at the details and are unaware of how they really arrived at it. [unaware of what's really important] Are there still other things that bother you about the judging system?The jumps must be evaluated according to their actual difficulty. A quadruple jump is an enormous achievement. Yet, today one receives more points with a much easier triple-triple combination. In training, I've now already done a very good quad loop. (Note: A skater has yet to land this jump in competition.) But as long as the rule is not changed, it's not worth the risk. Other athletes earn their money from their competitions. You must also appear in shows for it. Would you sometimes like to do without one or the other?It's true that I won't go far with the $45,000 I receive, at most, for a victory. Nevertheless, I need the adrenaline of the competitions. It is my drug. But when the shows were over in February, that made me truly sad. I had received so much applause; the participants were like a family. In a normal job one can never have such a wonderful experience. Are you more athlete or artist?I must be both in the competition as well as in the show. I would call myself an "artist-athlete." It is your biggest goal to become the 2010 Olympic champion. What comes after that?I believe the limit for the competitive sport for me is attained with Vancouver. I am certain there is still much to come thereafter. But what exactly, I still cannot say. I would very much like to attend a good theater school. But perhaps, at age 25, I'll already be too old for it. Someone who had announced his retirement after his Olympic victory is Evgeni Plushenko. From October, he wants to challenge in competitions again. What do you expect from him?It is certainly good for figure skating that he returns to take part, but it will not be easy for him. Once you get out of the daily training, it is very hard to return to it. He would have to approach it in such a way as to skate as if he had never won anything yet. Could it be that you also fall in a hole if and when you quit? Then there is no more all-around support.I think that my supervisors will still be here for me afterwards. There will also be new activities with new people. In life, one is not necessarily always bound to the same people. Are there important experiences that you perhaps missed out on due to your early sports career?No, I've done everything; more than most. I've missed out on absolutely nothing - also no party. ----------------------- I'm always so impressed by how grounded and thoughtful he comes across. I wish I'd been half as mature at his age, or even now!
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Post by chaerae on Mar 16, 2008 8:04:06 GMT 1
No big deal, but I'd love it if someone would be willing to translate the Peter Grütter interview. I've read the google translation, so I get the gist of it, but a real translation is always so much better! Like I said, no big deal, though....
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Post by lutik on Mar 16, 2008 8:13:51 GMT 1
chaerae, thanks for the translation
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Post by leana on Mar 16, 2008 9:56:56 GMT 1
Many thanks, chaerae!
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Post by amandine on Mar 16, 2008 10:34:14 GMT 1
Thanks you so much for all theses news articles! And thanks you for the translation Chaerae ! These articles are so nice ! Those with Peter Grutter too ! It is right that Stéphane seems, in his words, mature....But, I believe that, when you have a life a bit different as other people, as he had, you grow and mature a bit faster than the other... But, for Stéphane, I think it is really an advantage !
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Post by strawberry92 on Mar 16, 2008 11:00:36 GMT 1
thank you chaerae for the translation! this made me feel sad... he's right... at the SP there wasn't the right atmospehere.... it's sad that there aren't too many people at these events... beautiful words! i can only agree!
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Post by Charlotte on Mar 16, 2008 11:05:28 GMT 1
Thank you chaerae!*kiss and flowers* Mmm...I guess if half of one's life was exposed to public, and to deal with journalists, judges, fans and many other strangers becomes a routine to him, no wonder that he'll be much more matured than others in his age. Anyway I am just amazed by how St¨¦phane handles the social activities perfectly while holds his simplicity...He's matured yes, but different than the ordinary 'matured' people I see in life...
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Post by Najík on Mar 16, 2008 11:43:24 GMT 1
wow I cant believe 4Loop it is simply gorgeous!!! Stéphane is champion!!!! Great, great, greaaat, Stéphane go on!!!
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Post by reut on Mar 16, 2008 11:53:39 GMT 1
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Post by reut on Mar 16, 2008 11:55:00 GMT 1
this made me feel sad... he's right... at the SP there wasn't the right atmospehere.... it's sad that there aren't too many people at these events... Yeah, this made me sad too. But we were there for him and we tried to do our best. He couldn't not notice that there were lots of Swiss flags. Of course with his official club on LP it looked different...
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Post by Najík on Mar 16, 2008 12:06:44 GMT 1
thank you chaerae for the translation! this made me feel sad... he's right... at the SP there wasn't the right atmospehere.... it's sad that there aren't too many people at these events... me too... on my side, above kiss&cry sit only me like a Stéphane fan... and I remember that he waved at me I dont understand it because Zagreb was quite cheap.. but rink was though empty thank you so much chaerae
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Post by Najík on Mar 16, 2008 12:10:07 GMT 1
thank you ;D ;D haha... this one where Stéphane is hiding is so funny ;D
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