Apeldoorn, June 30, 2005

Artem Detyshev – July 21, 1978 – Angarsk, Russia

When he was 20 years old he made his debut in the World Cup. Hamar, Norway was his first foreign destiny. Artyom Detyshev gazed in admiration at the luxury of the Olympic rink, the Viking Skipet. Later, he went from Norway to The Netherlands, to Thialf in Heerenveen. ‘And then I started to realise that my sport could be more then just a bit of pastime. What a crowd! What an atmosphere! I got such a good feeling of that.'

But the good feeling did not come at once. First there was the stress. ‘The overwhelming atmosphere made me nervous. The pressure to prove myself, to show all those people that I could skate good and hard, blocked my legs. But it went away. After a while I could say to myself: “Enjoy it, because this is what your sport makes worthwile”. My legs felt better immediately.'

Artyom Detyshev is from Angarsk, the region of Irkutsk. He lived next to the Trans Siberia Express track. It sounds deserted, but it is not. Central Siberia is not a place of exile, Detyshev feels free. He even succeeded to disconnect himself from the Russian skating regime without any problems. The almost 2 meter tall speed skater is operating solo. Waarom? ‘Because there has not changed much within our skating union since the fall of the communism. The approach is still really old fashioned. As a starting speed skater you can benefit a lot of it, but I have grown out of the system. Because I have developed my personality. I want to be myself and find out things on my own, not being part of a group.'

After school he continued studying. ‘To make sure I will not get depressed and without any money after my skating career. I studied strenous fysiologics and economy. Because of that I will be able to become a teacher without any problems. Or maybe become a speed skating trainer. I can choose which way I want to go and that is a calming thought.'

In Angarsk (300.000 inhabitants) Detyshev is living in an appartment together with his wife Olga, daughter Nastia and dog Dolly. His life is imple, but pleasant. ‘I can not afford to do anything extreme, I live a sober life, but I can do what I like and that is worth a lot.' Artyom started speed skating, because he was crazy about cycling. ‘In Russia it was normal that you would get a bycicle when you would get a member of a speed skating club. To be able to train. I did not know what speed skating was, but I wanted the bike. That is why.'

Because he was able to use his legs pretty well, Detyshev seemed a good speed skater. He became an international skater, because of the interference of Nicolai

Melnikov, the trainer of Yevgeni Lalenkov, the specialist on the 1500 meter.

His wanderings in the speed skating world have given Artyom a broad view on life. ‘I got inspired by speed skating to develop myself. I studied really hard on learning English and I spent much time on the computer to learn about software and to learn how to type as fast as possible.' He also enjoys reading, especially the Russian classics. ‘And if I want to party, I start singing: Karaoke. I sing everything, everything that is in the hit parade.'

 
In the speed skating circuit he tries to listen and watch to other people as much as possible. ‘I can learn so much of other skaters. I started to eat different, because of what I saw in other countries. People in Russia eat to much meat, with a lot of fat. Foreign colleagues taught me to aet healthier. Natural ingredients, dairy products, now I also eat in when I am in Russia. It is possible, you only have to do your best to get it.

Being a multilateral person and becoming a better skater, those are the goals that Artyom put up for himself. The first goal is going well, the second as well since he has got support from The Netherlands. Melnikov is a good speed skating trainer, but extra knowledge ánd facilities are more then welcome for a skater who quit the system. The Summer Ice Master Class gives Detyshev the possibility to train on a high level in summer. And even in a country which he likes a lot. In almost fluent English he talks about the good vibrations of Holland. ‘People are really relaxed here and I feel appreciated as a professional athlete. In Russia this is really different. Professional athletes were really privileged people in the communist time and this created jealousie. Now we have to pay for that. Sometimes it is better not to day that you are an athlete.'

In The Netherlands, Artyom says to be able to be himself. ‘When you look around, you see people training everywhere. On the street and in the forest people are cycling and running. If you get to talk to someone and you tell that you are a professional speed skater from Russia, people don't look at you in a funny way. On the contrary, people think it is cool. Do you understand now why I was talking about the good vibrations?'