Marathon man is training Ovechkin, Malkin and Gonchar in St. Petersburg.

Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Alexei Semenov and free agent Andrei Nikolishin are in St. Petersburg, where they got together for a summer workout.

Ovechkin to the Sport-Express reporter Dinara Kafiskina:

"Viktor Kozlov and Sasha Semin sre supposed to join us. Gonchar was working out in the off-season in St. Petersburg in the past and now we have decided to join him. So far our training is focused on jogging and working out in the fitness room, which was offered to us by Olga Slutsker, the owner of several fitness centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg. I called her and asked her to help with our training. The training process has been led by Dmitry Kapitonov, a former marathon runner."



"The atmosphere here is pretty cool, we workout five hours a day," continued Ovechkin. "We are planning on-the-ice training a bit later. So far, however, I don't know where the ice drills will be held. I plan to stay in St. Petersburg till August 10th. We spend our leisure time together as well. After morning workouts we have lunch, then nap, and in the evenings we are going to the movies and banya (sauna)."

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Quote about St Petersburg's Banya - Sauna (Spa)

If you have not visited Russian Banya - Sauna Spa, then you have not been to Russia on a tour. It is like if visiting the USA and not eating a hamburger.

All the fine museums of St Petersburg Russia with their finest art will not compete with a few hours in a nice banya or you can call it spa. There are several components which make this experience complete: good banschick (a person who knows all about banya), good atmosphere, ice cold swimming pool, steam room, vodka, caviar and plenty of good conversation.

If you are in St Petersburg Russia, contact Max. He knows all about banya and nightlife in the city. Russians celebrate in a banya anything from a signed business contract to a wedding anniversary. They go to a banya to get naked with wives, girlfriends, friends and business associates.

Sometimes it is not easy to book a respectable spa (banya) in the evening. The demand is high. The difference between good and bad ones is like the difference between Austrian coffee house and Starbucks, streetwalker and geisha, American smile and the smile of Madonna by Leonardo Da Vincci.