YT Files – Blog by Yuliya Talmazan Blogging about Russia

When Fate Gives You A Second Chance, You Take It: An Interview With Former Russian, Now Canadian Skier And Olympian Ivan Babikov

Getting second chances in life does not happen often, but it did happen to Ivan Babikov – a Canadian cross-country skier whose family came to Canada from Russia to look for a better life. An experienced skier in his native Russia, Babikov came to Canada in 2003 with little hope of ever racing again. Fast forward to 2009, and Ivan Babikov is on the Canadian Olympic team, representing Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. After years of struggling to get his Canadian citizenship, Babikov had to skate for Russia until 2008. He now calls the town of Canmore, Alberta his new home and training ground, and he is sure living his dream…

I caught up with Ivan on the phone after he arrived from Davos, Switzerland, where he was competing in a World Cup event. We had a quick interview that brought up many interesting details about one man's tough journey to the Olympics.

--Ivan, first of all, congratulations on finishing in the top 10 in the men's cross-country ski team relay in Norway at the end of November. But, I heard that the Canadian team overall did not show very strong results in Finland just weeks ago. You actually did the best coming in 38th in the 15 km race. How is the team feeling about the results?

Yeah, in Finland, no one expected what happened to our coach. It was hard. He broke his hip. He will be back soon. Of course, we had to get used to working without him. It was hard in the beginning, but these little misfortunes are survivable, so it is ok. We still have time to prepare for the Olympics. We hope everything will be ok.

--How do you feel around your new Canadian teammates?

We have an awesome team. The guys are very friendly. We are all in it together, and no problems ever arise. We are a very close bunch and don’t make foes of each other.

--But, the language does not seem to be a barrier for you at all, does it?

No.

--When was your fist race as a Canadian athlete? And, how many races have you already completed for Canada?

Back in the day I was living here in Canada, but officially I was a Russian athlete. The sport is regulated by the International Federation, and every athlete has a license, so to speak, which defines what country you compete for. Back than, I still had Russian passport, so technically I represented Russia, although I was living and running races here. But, yeah, officially my first race for Canada was in December of 2008. And, right now, I am in my second season with the Canadian team.

--So, are you used to wearing the maple leaf on your uniform by now?

Of course, you get used to good things fast (laughs).

--You were training and living in Canada when you came here in 2003. Did you make a decision to get the Canadian citizenship back than?

To be honest, when my family and I immigrated to Canada, I did not think that I would continue to race. I thought I would just get a job of some kind. I was doing relatively well in Russia, but I was not stellar. I had some good results, but I was not thinking about it seriously. I was not expecting to come here to race and represent Canada. I really came here looking for a better life for my family, so that my son could live in a good country, go to a good school and so on. When we came here, I was not even training, because I had a job in Toronto. So, I was not hoping for good results. But, than I had my first competition, did rather well and I thought why not try again? There were a lot of difficulties along the way, but it happened such that I am still here.

--Do you feel completely at home here now?

Yeah, Canada is probably home already. I have not been to Russia in a while. I have friends there of course. But, my entire family is now here.

--What did you find to be the most striking difference between your training and competitions representing Canada vs. Russia? For example, I heard Russian hockey players who come to play in the NHL say that that the training regimen here is a lot more individualistic, whereas in Russia, it is a lot more team centered with less freedom to do what you want to do.

I am a little surprised to hear that from the hockey players. Their sport is a lot more team-based. But, I think they have a point. It is sort of like that. I think it is because here in Canada you are being treated more as a human being. Canadians understand that if they make you comfortable, you will show better results on the track, you see? In Russia, it is not like that – there, everybody is put under the same label and being told, “Do this, because I know that is a good way to do it for everyone.”  Here, you are asked what will ultimately work for you, what you think works well to get better results. So, it is a win-win situation here: athletes feel good because we are being treated as human beings, and if we succeed, the system also wins.  It really is a double win. So, the approach here is simpler and more professional than in Russia. But, I think it is because the training system in Russia is a remnant of the way things were in the Soviet Union. There you treat training as you job. So, if you do not show up for work, you can be fired, etc. Your salary depends on it. And, here you do it as long as it is fun. Nobody is going to make you do anything, so if you want to go train, you do; if you don’t, than you don’t. In Russia, if you feel tired or do not feel well, they still say, “It is ok, go train.” Here, it is up to you. It is a more relaxed approach, but I think the results only benefit from that.

--So, it is the mentality that is different than?

Yeah, absolutely different. For Canadians - it is all about fun. For them, even if you do not do so well in a race, it is still fine. In Russia, even if you do well, you are being told,  “it is no good, you still have to work on this and that…,” and you don’t feel satisfied as the result of that.

--You are on Twitter a lot. But, Twitter is hot with athletes lately – some of them use it to interact with fans, others use it for self-promotion. Why do you use it? (YTFiles – Twitter is a microblogging platform that allows users to interact in 140-character messages).

I would not say I Tweet a lot. There are other guys on the team who are even more active than me. I kind of do it sometimes just because everybody does it. People follow me, it must be of interest to someone.  I just like to inform people about what I do, where I am, how I feel and so on. I think it is more for myself too, just to let go of some emotions. Just to show what I did and show to someone that I train, and I feel better because of that (laughs).

--Did you set your aspirations for Vancouver 2010?

No, I try not to think about it. Many North Americans have that mentality, as you said, of setting goals and striving toward something. I try not to think about it and see what happens. I will do my best to get the best results, but the thought of it is not in my head. I don’t wake up every morning and think about it – I think it would be too hard psychologically, especially for me. I never make grandiose plans. Of course, I go train every day and do the maximum to squeeze out everything from myself in training and competition, but the results vary: sometimes you don’t do well, sometimes you do better…

--Were you part of the “Own The Podium” program heading into the Olympics, or did the change of citizenship interfere with that? (YTFiles – “Own the Podium” is program launched in 2005 to prepare Canada to become the top winter sporting nation in the world by 2010).

Yes, they support me. They supported me all the way back since 2006, when I was just settling in. They understood that I am a team candidate, and backed me up. Getting citizenship ended up being a very long process, but the program managers tried to help me, which was kind of them.

--Do you hope to race in Sochi, Russia at the 2014 Olympic Games, or you are not making such long-term plans yet?

Of course I would want to. It would have been great. The Olympics will be in Russia. But, we will see. So far, I have the desire to compete for as long as I can. But, you never know how it will turn out with health and everything. Of course, if I have the means, the desire to race and good health, I will be there.

--You think the "home charm" will work?

I do not know where my home charm is anymore (laughs). I hope that it will help me here in Canada, and it will help me in Russia too.

--During the Olympic Games in Vancouver, there will be the Sochi 2014 Russia House where many of the Russian athletes, officials and entertainers will gather for the duration of the Games. Are you going to pay a visit?

I will be in Whistler. There will be a Canada House there. So, going to Vancouver for Russia House would be a long trip. The same thing happened in Turin (YTFiles – the capital of the 2006 Winter Olympics) where the Russia House was a four-hour drive from the skiing venues. That is why we never actually showed up at the Russia House back than. Typically, athletes like us who have a long stretch of competitions do not even have a chance to get out and see the Opening or Closing ceremonies. We start on the second day of the Games and go until the last, so we do not like to spend time and energy on things like that. But, if I had a chance to drop by, why not? I would go. I keep in touch with the guys from the Russian team, we are still friends.

--So, you do keep up in touch with the Russian national team?

With the athletes, yes. Because we were all on the same team at one time and represented the same country. Of course, things like that do not just go away…

--Why did you choose to settle down in Canmore, Alberta? Was it for training purposes?

Yeah, when I first came, I got in touch with Cross-Country Canada and I was told that the team is being formed here in Canmore. But, the training conditions here make for a very good training ground – the hills and the snow…Canmore is a hub for skiing and biathlon in a way.

--Have you had a chance to explore Canada and travel around? Or, are you entirely focused on training and competitions right now?

All my travel is limited to competitions – so when there is a Cup of Canada, or the National Championships, I travel around. So, of course I go places, but all of Canada? I did not explore all of Canada yet.

--What do you love to do in your free time, if there is such a thing for you?

Yeah, there is very little of it. But, I spend most of it with my family, my wife and son, or in front of a computer.

Ivan Babikov In Training

YTFiles -- Photos and video attached are courtesy of Ivan Babikov. The interview was translated from Russian.