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Chat Reel: Oksana Baiul
Baiul tells CNNSI.com users how she loves being a star
Posted: Wednesday February 16, 2000 12:43 PM
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Oksana Baiul does her part in promoting the Goodwill Games in Times Square. AP |
CNNSI Host: Welcome to our Goodwill Games chat with skater Oksana Baiul. Thanks for joining us, Oksana!
Oksana Baiul: Thanks a lot!
From Guest: At what age do you think it is ok for a child to focus on a particular sport to the extent that it occupies most of her free time?
Oksana Baiul: I think a child has to be occupied with not only sports, but there are so many other things to be occupied with. In skating, particularly, I can say that kids should start to skate at around 5, 6 or 7 years old. It's all what the kids need. Sometimes they just want to skate once a day and they're happy with that. Then some do like what I did. When I was 10 years old, I decided to become a skater. Everything I did surrounded skating. I was lying to my mother and skipping school to spend more time at the ice rink. It's all about what parents and kids want for themselves.
From Guest: Are you going to remain in the USA for the rest of your life?
Oksana Baiul: I came to America when I was 16 years old. That's when other people who were in control of my life told me I was going to live. I had no clue. For the last years, since I was 20, when I did get out of rehab, I was comfortable with myself. I knew who I was, and I knew where I was going. Who knows, though? I'm only 22 years old, and I like being in America right now. But who knows what will happen in the future? I like being here, but I take one day at a time.
From Guest: How have things been at the Goodwill Games?
Oksana Baiul: They're great. I'm doing a swan program Sunday night... that's my signature piece. So yesterday, I wore my tutu, and I went out on the ice as a swan to go through my number. People were clapping for 20 seconds and we couldn't even start to play my music and I started crying because it was so emotional. I haven't skated this number for five years. The people wouldn't let me leave the ice. We're ready for the Goodwill Games, though, being on tour and performing every night. You put yourself in a situation where you have no choice, and you're ready and that's life, you know?
From Tom: Do you feel you have the physical conditioning & mental toughness at this point in your career to measure up to the standards you set previously?
Oksana Baiul: In previous years, I was afraid to go on the ice, because people were in control of my life, and they told me what to do and what to wear and what to say. Now I am in control of my life, and I've grown up and I'm at the stage where I feel good about myself and I want to perform and skate well. I know what Oksana needs to feel good about herself and I know how to put myself in shape. People who didn't see me in a long time saw me during the tour and said "what have you done with yourself? What happened to you?" I'm just a normal human being. I'm just trying to live my life.
From Guest: Who were your heroes growing up? Both skating and non-skating?
Oksana Baiul: In skating, I like everybody. I never had any heroes when I was on the ice. I always just wanted to be me. I was always creating my own things. I always wanted to be Oksana -- a skater who skates well. I really, really wanted to be good -- to be great. Because my Mom was always there for me, and she always wanted me to be the best. I was the one who was always running away from her, wanting to be a kid and have fun on the ice, and she was always pushing me. When she passed away, I was 14 years old, and the only way I knew to survive was to be the best. It didn't come right away, but it came into my heart... the thinking about my life and my career. That's what happens with me.
From Guest: Do you have any plans to have a career in Hollywood?
Oksana Baiul: No way! C'mon! *laughs* I have enough of Hollywood in the figure skating world. I feel like an actress on the ice. I'm always reinventing myself, trying to act on the ice, and display what I'm feeling to people in the audience. I want people to remember me as a skater. I like when people see me on the street and say, "Hey! You're a skater! I love your skating!" That's a great compliment. But Hollywood? No. If I had started from five years old, maybe. But my job, my passion, my love is to be a skater. I like being a famous person. It's a real responsibility and there's a lot of pressure. Like yesterday, I was standing before my number, I was looking at the audience and I wanted to go out and skate for them -- that's my talent. It's incredible. It's nothing to be ashamed of. After the Olympics, I was a little confused, because people wanted stuff from me and I didn't know what I was doing. It took me a couple of years to figure out who I was. When I was ready, it was the greatest feeling.
From Guest: Are you excited about the Goodwill Games?
Oksana Baiul: I am really, really, really excited. I have butterflies in my stomach, especially when I woke up today and walked around Lake Placid. It's a great feeling ... that feeling before competition.
From Guest: What athletes do you admire most and why?
Oksana Baiul: I like everybody. In summer sports, I like Andre Agassi. He's such a challenging and amazing player. He's a fighter, you know. That's why I'm still alive, because I have to think, I have to use my brain to compete.
From Guest: What has been your greatest moment as a skater?
Oksana Baiul: I think the greatest moment was... I don't know... I have a lot. I don't have a single greatest. I like that feeling after the show when the show is over. That relief when you take your skates off at the end of the show. "I've done my job and I've done the best I could." It's incredible. It feels great.
From Guest: What do you do when you're not training?
Oksana Baiul: I'm always working. I always have something to do. My life is really busy right now. Most of my time, I work. If I don't work, I eat, sleep and I go see movies. I have a life on the road where I'm working with a lot of different personalities when I'm not competing, I like to spend time with my friends and people I'm close with.
CNNSI Host: Thanks you very much for much for talking with us today. Good luck in the Goodwill games.
Oksana Baiul: Thanks very much! Bye Everybody!
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