Catherine Ceylac
(C.C): Your mothers are very important
for both of you. Gwendal, you are born in the
suburbs of Lyon, in Bron, and it's your mother who
took you to the ice?
Gwendal (G): Yes, my
parents in general, both of them.
C.C: Your father was a
sports teacher?
G: Yes, he was. I think
that parents are really important to be successful
in the sport. One has to be helped, supported. When
you are all alone it is very difficult.
C.C: Especially in a sport
like this! How old were you when you started
skating?
Marina (M): I started at
the age of 4.
C.C: And your mother was a
champion, right?
M: Yes, my mum used to
skate too, so I kind of started with her. I think
that more than half of my success has happened
thanks to my mum, because she really helped me very
much, from the start and even now.
C.C: Marina, you're often
seen as the leader of the team, do you feel this
way?
M: I personnally don't
feel it that much, I don't know, maybe I am...
Everybody says this... (she looks at Gwendal
and smiles)
G: Yes she is for sure.
She is like this naturally, so she doesn't feel it
really, but it's always her who gives the impulse
to work harder, things like that.
C.C: Does she have more
dash?
G: Yes she does because,
as I've said, she always goes straightforward.
C.C: Does she have more
ambition?
G: Hmmm...
M: No, I think we both
have the same ambition (Gwendal
nods) however, I always feel that, even
when I've achieved something, it isn't enough.
C.C: You are a very
demanding person.
M: Maybe...
C.C: You are never
happy?
M: Oh, sometimes I am
happy, yes, but...
G: In Nice she was
happy! (he laughs)
M: Yes I was very
happy.
C.C: Do you think that it
is a right reward, what has happened over the last
months?
G: We always believe
that work always pays off, one day or another. Not
always directly, but one day it pays off. This is
the reason why we didn't lose our faith last year,
when we didn't win the World title. We knew that
one day we would get it.
C.C: Sure, you must have
faith, energy, enthusiasm, etc... But above all you
must be self confident, mustn't you?
M: Yes it's very
important (Gwendal says yes in the same
time). You must believe that you will be
World champion.
C.C: And that you are the
best?
M: Yes. I arrived at the
competition with that feeling, because it was a
very important competition, but it wasn't that
easy, not as easy as I thought it would be at
first. We were really really ready,
we...(she thinks) but it was
not easy. (she smiles and looks at
Gwendal)
G: We realised that it
was very... We've been given this title all season,
and it's not as simple as that, you have to be
there, you have to give everything. One doesn't win
a title like this easily.
C.C: Do you take care of
diet, like other high-level sportsmen?
M: Yes, I do. Not all the
time, but before competitions, yes. (she looks
at Gwendal)
G: Body lines are very
important in our sport.
(quick profiles of Marina and then
Gwendal appear, with description of their
characters)
C.C: So you, Marina, are
crazy about fashion, and you have a strong
personnality(Marina smiles). And you,
Gwendal, are described as a "faux calme"
(how to translate this in English??
"false calm"?), well it's kind of
true!
G: Yes, yes... It's kind
of true!! (he smiles like he is proud of
himself)
C.C: You're also crazy
about music, you are very skilled, by the way, with
your computer you mix the musics for your shows,
don't you?
G: Actually, I work on
the music cuts for our programs. It's not always me
who does it, because there are moments when it
becomes too complicated and you have to be a
professional to do it. But I really enjoy doing
this, our sport enables us to combine dance and
music and sport, and for me it's wonderful.
C.C: Do you choose your
music yourself?
G: We choose all
together. (Marina nods)
C.C: With your coach?
M&G together: Yes.
C.C: Marina, sincerely,
wouldn't have you preferred to win this World title
for Russia?
M: Hmmm... Now I think
not, because I'm very happy to be in France and
it's a country I like and I have facilities
here...
C.C: Are you saying this
to be kind to us (smiling)?
M: No! I always say what
I think, I don't hide anything and...
G: That's true!
(he laughs)
M: ...and it's the
country that gave me the chance to go on doing the
things I like, so I have no regrets.
(she smiles)
C.C: You got 4 maximum
marks (6.0) including one from the French judge at
Worlds. Why does a national judge can vote for his
country?
G: It's a fact, it has
existed in skating for years and it doesn't shock
us at all.
(Marina has not understood the
question and Gwendal explains)
M: Oh! Yes! I think it's
normal because there are judges from all countries
that are represented. Russians only vote for
Russians!! That is the problem! French are much
more correct. I am very happy that this judge
supported us and "thank you" to him!
C.C: Things could be
changed and the national judge wouldn't vote...
G: (not really
convinced) I don't think it would change a
lot.
C.C: Sophie Moniotte wrote
a book, "Les Patins de la colère"
(in English: "Skates of anger")
where she denounces figure skating,
pressure, the fact that the judges are biased... Do
you support her?
G: Worlds this year are
the proof that it has changed a lot, we think
thanks to Worlds last year (reffering
to them not winning the gold) where it
really was a shock and there was a lot of polemics.
But this year was an example that it is not like
she describes it in her book at all. We were 2nd
after the original dance and I watched the original
dance and I think it was very well judged. Then we
deserved to be first in the free dance, and we were
first in the free dance, that's all.
C.C: Who was the first
person who called you or whom you called after your
victory?
G: Nobody, they were all
at Nice!! (he laughs)
C.C: And what official
message did you enjoyed the most?
G: We got messages from
Mr Jospin (Prime Minister) and Mr
Chirac (President) the day
following our victory.
C.C: Is it pleasing or
not?
G: Yes, we're pleased to
see that they are interested in it and that they
followed us. (Marina nods and smiles)
M: Personally I had the
impression that as soon as we had finished, the
phone couldn't stop ringing. The 2 days following
the competition, all the time there was someone who
called to congratulate me, it is really pleasing. I
had the feeling that everybody was calling me at
that time.
C.C: Outfits change a lot
from year to year, now skaters show their arms,
navels... What has changed?
M: We have a very good
designer, I think, for our outfits, and she makes
things for us that are different from the other
teams. We were the first one to make changes in
colors already and now I see that everybody does
the same.
G: As for stuff, we use
less lycra, which was very much used before, and we
often use silk. Lycra was very convenient because
it was extensible and we need freedom in our moves,
but it gives a cold, dull aspect. So we started to
make more diversified things, we use velvet,
silk...
C.C: I guess that the
stuff has to be light?
M: We still add lycra so
that it is extensible, but I think that light stuff
gives lightness, fullness to our movement.
(there is a short sequence to show
how costumes are now where they show many ice
dancers like Fusar-Poli & Margaglio, Delobel
& Schoenfelder, Hugentobler &
Hugentobler)
C.C: Why did your parents
called you Marina?
M: I think that my mum
liked an actress whose name was Marina Vlady, she
was French...
C.C: Are you ready? She speaks to you:
(recording of Marina Vlady speaking
to Marina)
Marina Vlady: Hello little
Marina. My father used to call me like that. So we
are two Marina, but there is a third one and I
would like to read a poem for you. (She reads
the poem in Russian) And it means: "one is
made of stone, the other is made of clay, and I,
all of silver, am shining. Everything in me
changes, my name is Marina, I'm an unsteady foam of
the sea." This is a poem by Marina Stuetayeva
(sp?), whom I'm sure little
Marina knows (Marina nods). It's a great
Russian poet. I also wanted to say
to both of them, the World
champions, that I wish them a lot of happiness on
the ice. They are great artists and I think they
have a lot of luck, and maybe they'll have a chance
of being Olympic champions. That's what I hope for
them.
G: That's very nice!
C.C: Did you know her? Had
you already met her?
M (really
surprised): No, never. Of course I know this
actress because she is the wife of a very famous
singer in Russia, and by the way I love him and we
often listen to him with my mum when we are in
France. It is a big surprise because my mum, I
think, gave me this name because of Marina Vlady,
she really liked this actress very much.
(There is a report about a young
skater whose name is Marina and who is 10-11 years
old. She says she would like to be a champion, a
second Marina! Then she comes with a birthday cake
for Gwendal)
C.C: Yesterday was your
birthday! So there is a tradition (to blow out
the candles and make a wish), I guess it
exists in Russia too, doesn't it? Happy birthday!
You are 28 years old!
G: Oooh yes!
(he and Marina laugh, then he blows
out all the candles)
C.C: Congratulations!! That
means the gold medal for you at Salt lake
City!!
G: Yes! I'm crossing my
fingers, but we'll have to work.
C.C: Marina
(the young skater), do you
have a question to ask to Marina?
Marina (the young
skater): Yes, how did she managed to go on
skating and going to school in the same time?
C.C: So this is rather a
question for Gwendal, because he kept on with
studying.
M (kind of
hurt): What? I went to school too!!
(Gwendal laughs) And even now
I am still learning French!
C.C: So, sorry, answer the
question.(laughing)
Marina lets Gwendal answer.:-)
G: Actually, to do both
successfully, first you mustn't listen to those who
tell you that you have to choose between the two.
That is very difficult , all the time you're said
that you won't be able to do both, that you have to
choose between skating and school.
C.C: You completed a
DEUG (French degree at
college) of chemistry...
G: yes, and I got a
diploma in sports management, and now I'm in a
commerce school.
C.C: And do you succeed in
combining everything?
G: Well that's the
reason why I'm still studying, I have to slow down
everything, so it's a bit long otherwise I would
have finished already.
M: I have a different
point of view. One mustn't stop studying but you
have to decide for yourself what is the most
important, because personally I think that you
can't be successfull at both in the same time. You
have to do one thing but do it right, that's what I
think. (she smiles)
C.C: So Gwendal doesn't do
it right?
M: Yes, he does but we
don't have the same point of view...
G (laughing): But I've
chosen my priorities. Skating can't wait, school
can be delayed. But to find a good balance it's
good to have both, to have other perspectives of
life.
C.C: Bertrand Dingé
is going to join us.
(Bertrand Dingé, a
journalist, enters with a stuffed parrot)
C.C: That is a present for
Marina! She wanted to have a parrot!
M: Yes!
Then Bertrand Dingé tells us
a little more about Marina & Gwendal. He quotes
Marina: "We are going in the same direction but not
in the same way so it is difficult." Then he tells
a funny story that happened at Worlds: Marina (and
all the skaters) had a bodyguard who followed her
everywhere. As she doesn't have an easy
temperament, the bodyguard was very tired at the
end of the week! But after the free dance, while
all journalists where around her trying to ask a
question, she looked at her bodyguard and said:
"Sorry, I was not that nice with you." And she gave
him a bunch of flowers and a kiss! Then the
bodyguard was suddenly very happy, and he later
said: "If she needs me, I'll follow her everywhere
in the World!!".
Then B.Dingé tells another story: a few
weeks before Worlds, Gwendal had an interview
scheduled for TV. Just before the interview, he
went to fly a kite. The journalist thought it was a
great idea and went with him. But Gwendal's car has
been stolen! Furthermore, when the journalist
wanted to call the police, his portable phone
didn't work anymore. So Gwendal went to the police
station, and right after he bought a new portable
phone. The journalist had already gone, thinking
that there wouldn't be an interview after that. But
Gwendal called him and invited him to come with him
and do that interview!
Finally, the last story is to show that Gwendal is
not ALWAYS calm: one day at training, he got angry
and kicked the boards in anger... and his blade
broke!!
|
|