Semyon Pavlichenko: “It is interesting to visit Crimea”

The Russian national Luge team continues preparation for the season in Paramonovo, Moscow Region. Until July 20, athletes will work on the start at the push-off strech, and then go to the recovery camp in the Crimea.

2015 world champion and three-time European champion Semyon Pavlichenko told in an interview why he missed the first training camp in Kislovodsk, how he took the reforms in the coaching staff of the national team and when the uncomfortable track becomes comfortable.

– I did not go to Kislovodsk for the previous training camp, because I had to fulfill the program requirements at the Pushkin Leningrad State University, where I study at the Faculty of Physical Education. Unfortunately, I still have some unfulfilled program requirements. Probably, I will have to deal with them in September, said Pavlichenko.

After this trainig camp I will rest with my kids, luckily we will have about a week long break. And then I’ll go to Alushta. By the way, I have never been to Crimea. It is interesting to see the nature there. It is a recovery  trainig camp, so we will probably swim and walk in the mountains.

– How did you react to the reform of the national team headquarters? There has been created the Coaching Council, and the responsibility for the athletes’ preparation has been assigned to their personal coaches?

– At the moment everything is fine. However, before in the summer preparatory period there were no incidents either. Problems occured in the course of winter season.

– What do you think about the track of the main start of the season, the World Cup, which will be held in Winterberg in late January?

– The track is familiar from the World Cup stages. We started to show good results on it, so there is nothing wrong with the fact that the competition will be held on the ground of rivals, the Germans. However, I like all the tracks where I enjoy riding on. Sometimes, at first I do not seem to like the track, but when I start to master it, I immediately fall in love with it.