Mikhail Kolyada Q&A: I want to be creative. I want to get up in the morning and go to work with fire in the eyes

Having switched up his training regime, figure skating veteran Mikhail Kolyada is hoping to seal a second Olympic appearance at Beijing 2022.

The Russian placed eighth on his Winter Olympics debut at PyeongChang 2018, before rebounding weeks later to win bronze at the 2018 World Championships.

Since then, the powerful skater has switched coaches to the legendary Alexei Mishin, the man that mentored former Olympic champs Alexei Urmanov and Evgeni Plushenko.

But Kolyada remains coy on how he has evolved from one Games to the next: “There is no difference at all. The only difference is that you will have one more competition. That's it,” he told Olympics.com.

He competes this weekend in front of a home crowd at the Rostelecom Cup in Sochi, where he is among the favourites to win gold in the men’s field and – he hopes – book a spot at the Grand Prix Final in December.

Mikahil Kolyada spoke exclusively to Olympics.com in Russian, translated below and edited for clarity.

Kolyada on switching to legendary coach Alexei Mishin in 2020

Olympics.com (OC): After working with Valentina Chebotareva for many years, you switched to another coach, Alexei Mishin [in 2020]. How quickly did you get used to another training system? And what was new and different for you?

Mikhail Kolyada (MK): Everything was new and different for me. A different group, a different practice regimen, the training process, run-throughs, choreography, off-ice training - literally everything! And when I am asked can you name any major difference, I can say, "Everything! That's the major difference." [Laughs].

OC: Was it hard to get used to? And how quickly did that process go?

MK: It was difficult. Very difficult at first. But then I got used to it little by little. I'm probably still getting used to the system.

I feel like I've grown emotionally, professionally. And I don't want to flatter myself, but I just started to work better and more.

OC: What do you particularly like about working with Alexei Nikolaevitch? He's already 80 years old, a legend in the sport.

MK: It didn't scare me at all, because Alexei Nikolaevich has huge experience. He's been through so much, you can only learn from him. He's really very young at heart! The numbers in the papers, in the passport - it's all nonsense. What matters is how a person feels. He feels great, and God bless him for many years to come.

OC: What do you particularly like about working with him?

MK: Probably the way he gives specific tasks. That is, he tells me clearly what to do, how to do it and how much to do. And this makes it easier for me, because I do not have to think of any challenges. Everything was already invented by Alexei Nikolaevitch a long time ago.

OC: You have a large training group and a lot of high level skaters at your rink. Does that motivate and help you?

MK: Of course it does. Because when several high-level athletes skate on the same ice, there is competition anyway. And we skate in practice in order to compete. Sometimes we have little competitions between ourselves. And it's very cool.

Marriage, pair skating and artistry in the sport

OC: You married your childhood sweetheart. What does Daria [Beklemisheva] mean to you, in your life?

MK: Literally everything! You could say, the meaning of life. For her sake I want to be creative. I want to get up in the morning and go to work with fire in the eyes, keep going further and further.

OC: Dasha was a pair skater. You said that you find pair skating interesting, but you are too short. But could you imagine to skate pairs with her?

MK: That's very difficult. I guess even psychologically, because we have different approaches to the training process. And I honestly can't even imagine how it would all work out yet [laughs]. But it would be interesting to try, of course.

[If I tried] pair skating, it would be with Dasha [laughs]. I don't want to skate with anyone else.

OC: Is Dasha is very nervous when you compete? Does she watch or not?

MK: Of course, she is nervous. She doesn't watch [live]. She only watches the video later. And she only watches after I've skated and I have told her how it went, so that there are no surprises. So she can watch like a spectator or a judge.

OC: There is discussion around changing the competition format to a technical program and an artistic program with limited jumps, even to have separate medals. What do you think about that?

MK: I think it's a really cool idea. If that's really how it's going to happen. First of all, the interest will grow in the sport. Because some people are interested in watching people skate, and some people are interested in watching people jump. So that's where the audience will be divided. I think it's going to be great.

OC: What would you like people to remember about the figure skater Mikhail Kolyada in ten years from now?

MK: What would they remember ten years from now? Well, probably just that I'm a great athlete [laughs]. That's really a very good question, because I don't even know what to answer.

It's probably the same thing as when someone has a job interview - what do you see yourself as in ten years? So that’s also not clear – maybe I will be a production director, maybe I will be a top manager. There are a lot of factors that influence the rest of your life. And you can't say right off the bat. I personally will do everything that I can, and then the audience will decide. Will they remember me or not, well, life goes on anyway.

Man of the music: Mikhail Kolyada

OC: For your programs, in your own words, can you tell us how the selection of The Nutcracker went? What was the process like and what exactly is important to you in choosing a program and music?

MK: It was a very interesting, long process. What is important to me? It is important how I feel about the music. I have a certain image in my head, and then taking it from there I realize whether I can convey this image or not. I think I succeeded with The Nutcracker. And Schindler's List [free program] too.

So this year's programs are very successful. I understand, I feel them and I can deliver that emotion accordingly.

OC: And what exactly do you like about the music of The Nutcracker?

MK: I really like the sound - the orchestral sound. I like... I don't know, literally everything! Every instrument that sounds like that, I love it. It gives me goosebumps!

OC: How did you work on The Nutcracker character and program?

MK: We worked with different choreographers. And I think that each of them made their own contribution, that is, added some kind of zest. In other words, as [coach] Alexei Nikolaevich [Mishin] said, the program we have now is all three programs that we did before [laughs]. So we took a little bit from each person and used it in The Nutcracker.

OC: In the free program, you take the role of Oskar Schindler, right? That's a very different character emotionally compared to your short program. How is that for you?

MK: As you said, in this program I have this vision and idea that I'm Oskar myself. I am expressing how he lived, how he experienced this story, that there was pain, suffering, but in the end he was able to help a lot of people. It's more of a heroic program. It's about one man's great deed, who tries to break the system, and succeeds in some ways, but fails in others. There may even be some kind of internal conflict. That's how I see it. And this is exactly what I show.

OC: What role do costumes play for you in your presentation?

MK: They play a very important role. [Laughs.] I have two criteria: The first one is that the costume should be comfortable. The second one is that the costume should be beautiful.

So, if I feel comfortable in it, then I can bring across the emotions we have in mind.

OC: You are a very expressive figure skater and bring across each character well. Have you ever thought about choreographing, as well?

MK: For someone in the future? Well, just as you said that, I started to think about it [Laughs]. Well, why not? It could be interesting. That's a direction I haven't tried myself in yet.

OC: Is there anyone else's program that you like, that you watch over and over again?

MK: No, there's no such thing [laughs]. There are a lot of very good programs, and some I do watch many times for several reasons. The first reason is I'm just interested in watching, just as a spectator I sit down all [folds arms in front of me] and watch. The second reason is to find all kinds of interesting connecting elements, all kinds of tricks.

OC: Can you name some examples, which programs are particularly memorable for you?

MK: The last one I liked was Javier's [Fernandez] Spanish program (“Man of La Mancha”). It's very good! I've watched it many times. I've also watched a lot Evgeni Plushenko's “Toreador” (“Carmen”).

Quickfire with Kolyada...

OC: What is your first memory of the Olympics? Why is it unique to you?

MK: I think the Olympic Games are an important milestone in every athlete's life. Not many people make it, but everyone strives for it. As they take place only every four years; it's a very significant event that the whole planet keeps an eye on.

I watched as a kid [laughs]. But I think that memories have a little bit different meaning when you're a kid. Grown ups after all perceive the world and competitions and life in general in a different way.

OC: Who inspires you the most and why?

MK: [My wife] Dasha inspires me! Because we have a very good mutual understanding, support... I don't even want to add anything!

OC: What is your favorite quote or motto?

MK: Gotta work!

OC: What does "mental health" mean to you, as a high-level athlete?

MK: It's the ability to listen to yourself, listen to your inner feelings, and - from that - draw the right conclusions and actions.

OC: What makes you smile every day?

MK: [laughs] Dasha and the cat!

OC: And what are you most thankful for?

MK: For everything I have now, for everything I love and appreciate so much and respect and... everything.

OC: You're having a festive dinner during the new year and you can invite three people. Who do you want to invite and why?

MK: I'll invite more than three people. I'll invite all my family and friends, and we'll have a great time together, socializing, having fun.