Javier’s press conference after the FS
Javier Fernandez (ESP), 2019 European Champion:
(On whether he expected his win) I think when I was younger, seven years ago I didn’t know was going to win my first European title. I didn’t know I was going to be here today, I didn’t know it was going to be Europeans in Minsk or somewhere else, but I’m glad it was here and I’m glad I competed.
(On whether he felt relief at finishing his career) Not relief, I think it’s a bit sad of course because it has been 21 years training for competitions, but it was the time to retire. I will skate for other things but not for competitions. But at the same time I was happy I’ve done a great career and I was able to accomplish much more than I thought I could accomplish.
(On atmosphere) Before my program there was good energy on the ice, he (Alexander Samarin, RUS) skated great and I could hear. But you know what, I’ve skated forever and done so many competitions and been in so many different atmospheres that at some point you know what you have to do. If you skate after Yuzuru Hanyu in Japan that teaches you a lot and you can use that in other places. I was confident in myself; I trained great in a short period of time but it was efficient and I was sure I was going to do well.
(On his legacy) I think it’s good for the world to know that not only skaters from strong countries can appear. I’m from Spain, I’ve got a friend here at my side from Italy and another from Russia, everyone has his own story to tell and it’s good that everyone does not come from a strong figure skating country because that means more stories to tell to everyone. I hope I can develop skating more in my home country to try and make it bigger, but I hope with the work I was able to do I’ve made history and in 20 years some people will still recollect my name. Maybe not, we’ll have to see, but I’m proud of what I’ve done and still have a lot of work to do to make it even better in my home for figure skating.
(On what he said to the judges at the medal ceremony after his marks for the short program) I said I’ll miss you guys. I think that’s the right thing to say. I wasn’t mad. Yesterday I was mad with life, not for any reason but I like everything to be right and I know my mistakes and if it’s right I don’t want it to be a mistake. It’s not about being first or last but the little details I like to be right. But even if I did the program today and I was fifth, OK, it is what it is, but everything needs to be correct and right. But at the end of the day I’m here and still talking so it doesn’t matter what was in the short or free program.
(On being a consistent champion) I think you need to understand the person you are and the kind of athlete you are. Pretty much the people around you will tell you that. At the end of the day a skater has to be complete, and that doesn’t mean five or six quads in a program but being complete. At the start, you [should be] growing yourself with time, not when you’re a really young teenager and then your body changes and everything goes wrong. Little things are involved, a lot of things are involved. It’s hard to say. I’m not someone who can tell people to do anything, I don’t know, but that’s what I’ve seen over many years. But figure skating has changed from 20 years ago when all skaters lasted 20 years – now it’s just three or four. But that’s a question to ask someone smart enough to answer it - I can’t.
(On his best memory) It’s so hard to say. When you achieve so many things- I won Worlds twice, Europeans seven times and a bronze medal at Olympics it’s hard to choose. This one is special also because it’s the last one, but is it more special than Olympics? I don’t know.
(On what he did before Europeans) I only did Japanese Open back in September/October then went straight to Europeans because I was really busy back at home doing a lot of work, a show in Spain that needed my time.So I was really putting the focus on that, then tried to be ready for Europeans. It was a little complicated because I was so busy doing a lot of things. But there were no injuries and no mental things, just a lot of work. That was the reason. I needed to do that after Olympics, I think it was the time.
(On any possible comeback) No. I am not coming back. Maybe like a pro competition or Japan Open, maybe I’ll think about it, but no, I’ve achieved everything, I’ve set goals and I’ve done [them]. I set the goal for this to be my last competition and I did it. I’ll be skating, doing shows, teaching, doing a lot of other things, but not competing.
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