MOSCOW, May 18, Andrei Simonenko. Silver medalist of the 2018 Olympics in team figure skating tournament, Natalya Zabiyako will take high places in international tournaments if the suspension of Russian athletes continues, two-time Olympic champion in pair skating Maxim Trankov said. Earlier, a source said that Zabiyako would compete for Canada under the guidance of coach Bruno Marcotte paired with Zachary Daleman. Previously, the figure skater represented Russia in a pair with Alexander Enbert. In addition to the silver of the 2018 Olympics, she won the bronze of the 2019 World Championship. Zabiyako and Enbert retired in 2020. «During this time in Canada, pair skating has not gone ahead, after (two-time world champions) Megan Duhamel and Eric Redford finished, nothing new has appeared. There is practically no competition there. Vanessa returned James, paired up (with Redford), went to the Olympics in six months.At the international level, she will also (with results) be all right if the removal of Russia continues, there will be no China, who will remain there, the USA, the Japanese? In Europe there is also practically no one. That is, the decision is quite balanced,» Trankov said. The agency's interlocutor said that he was not surprised by the information about Zabiyako's return to sports. “I knew that she was looking for a partner, so this did not come as a surprise to me. Natasha loves to skate, loves to train, she is a fan of sports, so I can only wish her success,” Trankov concluded. Previously, the International Skating Union (ISU) against the backdrop of events in Ukraine suspended Russian figure skaters from participating in international tournaments.
