Artur Khil 
Date of Birth: 1993
Hometown: Moscow
Coach: Alexei Mishin
Lives at Mishins' place in St.Petersburg 


 

In Moscow, Artur Khil started out skating at the Young Pioneers’ rink known for its ice dancing school and as a training center of famous single skaters Butyrskaya and Slutskaya. However, the boy didn’t have much luck with a coach that would see a potential of a strong single skater in him.
“At Mishin’s school the approach to my son is completely different, they were able to establish good contact with him. Frankly, we didn’t have many of choices. Mishin, on the other hand, is a recognized authority in his field. That’s why we asked him for an audition. After watching Artur’s skating for two days, Alexei Nikolaevich took him in,” recalls Svetlana Khil.
It’s been almost a year since the Khils moved to St. Petersburg. At first, Artur and his mother rented a place on their own but as soon as Mishin got certain in the boy’s talent, he offered the family his apartment where his out-of-town students usually stay. The boy’s father remains in Moscow and takes care of all the other expenses which, according to Svetlana Khil, are ridiculously low comparing to the costs they used to pay for their son’s figure skating lessons in Moscow.  Artur’s parents, by the way, aren’t involved in sports, their kid has become a figure skater by sheer coincidence. 
“At the age of six he wanted to roller skate in the winter,” says Svetlana smiling - “and became so daring on them, that we had no choice but to enroll him into figure skating.”
The boy has a pretty strict day schedule: up at 8AM and off to bed at 9PM. In addition to the twice a day one-hour lessons on ice he also has to work with a choreographer. There is not much time left for playing with friends. “He is taking correspondence courses in school,” says Artur’s mom, - and we go to Moscow to take the tests. His only local tutor is the one who teaches English. So far, everything is fine but after the third grade he’ll go to school in St. Petersburg.”
As for Artur himself, he misses his Moscow classmates but takes it stoically. “I want to be like Zhenya Plushenko, he is my role model. As for my friends, we’ll get together when I come back home,” seriously declared Moscow’s wonder kid. 
***
“Just don’t overpraise him,” Alexei Mishin told to “P-E” reporter as he came for the interview. But both, little Khil and his mother Svetlana, don’t seem to fall for flattery. “In my heart I hope that my son is capable of a lot. I just wish he will have enough patience to go for it.”

 Excerpts from the article by Dmitri Ivanov (KP) 

 Alexei Mishin:
  “Wait, wait…I wouldn’t praise my new student. He’s just turned 9. He is a talented kid but it would be too early to say more then that. Only time will say. His name is Artur Khil. He came from Moscow a year and half ago. Artur’s mom asked me to take a look at him. From the very first lessons I noticed that the boy has a fine sense of rhythm, and later it become apparent that he’s also artistic. His manner of skating reminds me of Yura Ovchinnikov. Almost immediately I felt that he's got “IT”. I’ve had the same feeling when I began working with Zhenya Plushenko.”
 

 

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