Excerpts from the interview
Menshov's interview2:10-
-At the Russian championships, as far as I know, you were under 10th place after the SP. Now here in Budapest you were under 11th place after the SP. Is it your specialty to come from behind?
Menshov: It seems like I always have to overcome some difficulties. At the Russian Nationals my goal was to put the 2nd quad in the SP to make the program more difficult to get the maximum of difficulty. But this element was not consistent enough yet and I was not confident yet. It didn't work at the Russian Nationals' SP and it didn't work here either.
20:45-
-Obviously, you are not the younger skater in this competition. But you met your 1st European medal. What made you keep your skating for all these years? If you take the example of Maria Butyrskaya, is this the first medal of the long series? 1st medal of many more come?
Menshov: This is the most popular question I am asked. But for me, I just continue to skate because I feel I'm still strong. I felt like this season I can do the 2nd quad. Maybe one day I will feel that I can't do anymore. But now I don't feel like I'm 30 years old and I have a will to fight and go out there and show the judges and audiences what I can do. As for the future I don't know now...
About that one spot in Russia...9:40-
-Do you think, this afternoon was there the decision about which skater participates for Russia's Olympic Games?
Voronov: I think let's ask this question to the leader of our federation. Unfortunately neither myself nor Konstantin Menshov is taking this decision. As far as I know, tomorrow there will be a test skate for Evgeni Plushenko. And after that there will be the decision. But again, sorry, this is not the question for me.
23:38-
-What do you think of Plushenko and of that situation if he will be one who participates in the Olympic Games. This question is to all of you.
-Let me add my question to this. What does Plushenko think at this moment? What do you guess?
Fernandez: If he decides to compete at the Olympic, he will be one more competitor for me. For me, there will be myself and the other ones. I just have to go to the ice and do my work. And whatever happens it happens, If Russian federation thinks he has to go, nobody can say anything else. It's going to be the big surprise when they decides who is going. Becaus there are really good athletes from Russia. I think everybody wants to go to the Olympic. I'm actually exciting to know who is going.
Voronov: What do I think if Plushenko gets to go to the Olympic Games? Obviously as everybody else he wants to go to the Olympic Games. Especially, I think it's kind of the world record for him because he would go to the 4th Olympic games and for a person who has achieved as much as he did. Of course he wishes to do that. For me, Plushenko is an authority and figure skating. But what I think? We all want to go there, of course. But there is only one spot. But again it's not us who decides.
Menshov: Zhenya is a fighter, of course. He will fight until the very end. We had the early morning practice at the Russian Nationals for the exhibitions. I could see he was so angry at himself. And I'm sure if he gets to go to the Olympic Games, he would give 200%. I think everybody would. But I'm sure he will. Also, he will fight. He will not give up the result of fight. We have to wait and see. Again we don't decide about that.
SP
FP