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10 April 2008-The Playoffs are just around the corner More…
24 July 2008, № 105 (17581)
P. Lysenkov
Special Report
Washington Forward Alexander Ovechkin: I'm Going to Beijing to Support the Basketball Players
These days the best hockey player on earth, Alexander Ovechkin, is zealously plowing through practices and running cross-country races in the forests of Novogorsk, not far from Moscow. The Washington forward himself was quoted as saying that he is already prepared to run a marathon at the Olympics. If this is a joke, it is not far off the mark--in August Alexander the Great will fly to Beijing to support our basketball players.
"RUSSIAN AMERICA"
While Sasha is running somewhere through the forests, your correspondent sits himself down on a bench, warmed by sunbeams, and strikes up a conversation with Mikhail Viktorovich-- Ovechkin's father. Uncle Misha is extremely excited. Recently he and his son visited Nizhny Novogorod, and he feels that as far as infrastructure goes, this city is as good as any in America.
"I served there when I was in the Army in 1972-73" says the senior Ovechkin. "At that time Nizhny Novgorod was a gray, dull place. Now I have returned to the place of my military youth and I just gasped. The regional town of Lyskovo has a population of only 26,000 people, and yet they have built a center with a hockey rink, a shooting range, and a swimming pool. And they are going to build 16 such centers in the region!"
"I was stunned when I saw that the school kids are picked up in school buses, just like in the States. The shops are bursting at the seams with food, and the streets are clean and well kept. I have basically become an admirer of Nizhny Novgorod, especially since the former Dynamo players Chubarov, Kharitonov and Troshchinskii will be playing for the Torpedo hockey club."
"Sasha flew here to put on a master-class with Leshka Kovalev to the kids. The center was jam packed. I went outside to have a smoke, and I asked a local "how do you like living under your governor Valerii Shantsev?" He almost broke out in applause--"We pulled the golden ticket! How did Moscow ever let this guy go? We are worried now that he is going to be sent off to some problem-riddled city somewhere else in Russia".
It seems to me you might be exaggerating a little about America?
"Why should I? We've basically gotten used to underestimating Russia. For example, say a hockey player comes here. He is given an apartment, a car, a satellite dish, a little spending money... Whereas in the NHL a player is allocated $100 a day and it is up to him to feed himself. When you sign a contract, that means that everything comes out of your pocket. Before Sasha bought his house in Arlington, we lived for three months in an apartment across from the White House. Two rooms, a toilet, a kitchen and that was it."
In the Electric Chair
After his run, Ovechkin junior returns to the Dynamo building. He flops down on a bench and opens a bottle of mineral water. Across from him is his fitness coach Dmitry Kapitanov. Fresh as a cucumber, as well he should be, as Kapitanov participated in the marathon in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
"I just ask that you don't take any pictures" Ovechkin asks of me. You know what summer vacation does to you. Look here, I have folds in my belly. Until I get rid of them I can't have any compromising photos! "
By the way, Ronaldinho usually has a beer gut, but that didn't keep him from signing with Milan...
"Barcelona got rid of him after all? That's interesting. For how much?"
The Brazilian was twice as cheap as what Zenit asks for Andrey Arshavin. 15 million Euros all told. And as far as any photographs, you are asking in vain.
"Yeah, I'm joking. Take as many as you like. I've never had any excess weight" smiles Alexander. "An excellent figure, not a gram of fat. Six pack abs... Well, actually one big pack. You can call your story "A day in the life of Ovechkin the bodybuilder"..Dima, what have you got planned next for us? "The earth?"
By "earth" he means a small field with artificial turf for minifootball, on which Ovechkin begins a warmup under the direction of Kapitanov. Beside him is Victor Dovgan, who played in Washington's farm club and last season signed with CSKA. It appears that the exercises are very simple. Stretches, running in circles, high knee lifts, scissors (where you cross your legs in the air). But you just try to do these. The most demanding task is the one that looks the most innocent from the observer's standpoint. You have to lean your back against a column or wall and sit like that for a minute, holding your feet at right angles.
"Pasha, sit down with us and give it a try" Kapitanov slyly suggests.
No way! I know this exercise. They call it the Electric Chair.
Dovgan maintains his punishment only for one minute. He nearly falls down on the grass-- his legs gave out.
Ovechkin grunts "I'm still young". But his face is deformed with the pressure. To try and take his mind off it, Sasha puts on some headphones and turns on his music player on his cell phone. It doesn't help.
"Dima, how much longer" Ovechkin exclaims.
"Keep suffering, you have five more seconds".
"Five seconds for you is twenty for anybody else!"
"A SURPRISE FROM KOVALEV"
Alexander, do you have moments when you just want to kill Dima? I ask Ovechkin when we are all together with Kapitanov, lounging on a soft sofa in the Dynamo building.
"There are times. When I sit down in a chair and my legs feel like they are going to fall off from the pain. I think of Dima at those times."
How many kilometers did you run through the woods?
"We do a warm-up of 1.5 kilometers at the start and the same 1.5 kilometers as a cool down at the end of the run, with a six kilometer run in between. All together it is a 9 kilometer run" explains Kapitanov.
Would you like Sasha to run the marathon in the Olympics?
"I've been ready for the Beijing marathon for a long time" sighs Ovechkin.
"Yea, whatever. Sasha is taking a rest compared to how I prepared for the Sydney marathon" says Kapitanov. "But everything all lies ahead." Just then Ovechkin sighs again. "Next week will be a working week for us".
And what do you call what you just did?
"Stretches".
"I'm so stretched that I can't move" exclaims Sasha.
What is your most memorable moment so far in your trip to Nizhny Novgorod?
"When Kovalev hit me in the face with a pie in front of everyone. Lekha said "Sanya, I've got a surprise for you!" And I immediately had a premonition. Then-- bam! Generally, this is a pretty standard NHL prank. I got a pie in the face two years ago when I made my 100th goal during the championship. And here it was once again. But I didn't take any offence. Kovalev just has to wait and see what surprise I have in store for him. I also liked it when we flew with Shantsev in a helicopter."
You have previously said that you were afraid of helicopters.
"I am afraid of the small ones, which often crash. But this was an official one, you could have flown to the north pole in it."
"KERZHAKOV DIDN'T RECOGNIZE ME"
Did you know that Sydney Crosby was selected as best hockey player of the year by ESPN?
"Congratulations, Crosby. He deserves it" Ovechkin says quickly.
Wait a minute, Sydney only played half the season, and you won a ton of prizes, including the Hart trophy for MVP in the NHL. You don't find it insulting that one of the versions of "best player" is Crosby?
"He took Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup finals. And besides, I can't win absolutely every prize. You can't be that greedy."
Did you know that an American rapper mentions you in his song? He says that "one Alex Ovechkin is better than twenty Gretskies"
"That's not Eminem by any chance is it?" smiles Sasha. "No, I haven't heard this song. But not long ago Washington fans made up a song in my honor. It went something like "When they broke his nose, he hammered in four goals against Montreal". And all of this to the tune of some slamming music something like Rammstein. Well, it is true, you can't break your nose to Mozart."
Have there been any other interesting things happening with you lately?
"I went and saw a CSKA-Spartak football game. I wanted to cheer on Roman Pavlyuchenko, but the Spartakians lost 1:5. And I had the water bucket dumped on me. That was interesting. I am going to see some more football on my wekend -- Dynamo vs. Zenit. I hope I can bring good luck to the team I cheer for."
Surely you are going to cheer not only for your home club Dynamo but also your namesake Alexander Kerzhakov?
"You know he doesn't live very far from Novogorsk. I just saw him. I had just come out of the woods and he drove by in a car. I called out "Sasha, Sasha", but he didn't even turn his head. He didn't recognize me."
"FACE OF AN OLYMPIAN"
Washington already has four Russians on the team- Ovechkin, Semin, Kozlov and Fedorov. Two more are in the pipeline, Varlamov and Dovgan.
"Yeah, we are going to surpass Detroit and their Russian Five" smiles Sasha.
Did this come about through your soft touch? Did the club management consult with you when they were inviting players?
"I sometimes call George McFee to find out what is going on there, but he does not ask my opinions. Our managers have good heads on their shoulders. I was very happy when we signed a new contract with Fedorov. This seriously strengthened the team. Washington really didn't suffer any losses. Just Matt Cook left and we got a new goalkeeper. I think this season we will go go farther than the first round of the Stanley Cup."
Where is Fedorov now?
"I called him, but he has his phone turned off. I think he is lying on a beach somewhere around Miami."
How are you spending the rest of your summer?
On July 29 I'm flying to St. Petersburg with the Dynamo, because Dima works as the physical trainer in the club now. On August 9 I am going to Beijing for three days. I have been selected as a face of the Olympics."
Yes, I've already seen the signs with your image on the streets of Moscow. Will you stop training those three days?
"Why would I do that? Just for me they are clearing off the beach volleyball platform. They will cancel the competitions just so Ovechkin can run through the sand. Seriously, I am going there in the first place to cheer on the Russian teams. I want to go to the basketball games. Masha Kirilenko, the wife of Andrey Kirilenko, is captain of the team and has already invited me to the games. I will be able to make it to the games against Iran on August 10 and Croatia on the 12th.
"And of course there is the marathon" reminds Kapitanov. "I didn't train Ovechkin for this distance for nothing."
Sasha, who will be our standard bearer in Beijing?
"I think it will be Kirilenko. He is really tall. When he raises the flag, you will be able to see it from Moscow."
Did you attend the parade in Turin?
"No. I wasn't able to make it to the opening ceremony, and I didn't go to the closing ceremony. Once we knew we were without any medals, we were in a nasty mood."
What were you listening to on your player while you were exercising?
"Ave Maria. These are two girls who sing pop songs. They are going to be mega-superstars. I found their divine music on the internet and now that is the only thing I exercise to. I recommend that everyone sit in the electric chair and listen to Ave Maria" laughs Ovechkin.
"I need to explain that these "two girls" are Alena and Diana, Igor Larionov's daughters. They sang Ave Maria on Red Square when they had the winter hockey exhibition game there."
I noticed a red scar on your right hip. Where did that come from?
"I cut my leg during a game this year against Pittsburgh. I made a hard hit, and the other guy caught me with his skate blade. I had to go to the locker room."
And how many games did you miss?
"Not a one. The next day we played Ottawa and I hammered in four goals."
Amazing!
"Russians do not surrender! And now basically do you understand why I kill myself during the summer training with Kapitanov? So that during the winter I can be stronger than the strongest!
Click on icon above or thumbnails below for original story in Russian at sovsport.ru
All photos by Pavel Lysenkov
