Bronze medalist of the European Figure Skating Championship Maurice Kvitelashvili suspended work with Eteri Tutberidze's group and left for Italy. Sport tells the story of a Muscovite playing for the Georgian national team.
Few people know, but Maurice Kvitelashvili is a native Georgian from a competitive point of view. Open sources mention that until 2016 he competed for Russia. And only after that I decided to change my sports citizenship, but in fact everything was a little more complicated. in childhood — at the CIS tournament on a special program, — Maurice told in an interview with me and Maxim Kovtun a year ago. — Then even the president of the federation was different. At that time I skated at CSKA with Svetlana Sergeevna Bukareva. I was then, I think, somewhere 8-10 years old. Then I had the opportunity to try (to play for Georgia). But since I was born and raised in Moscow, I played for Russia on a permanent basis. «
Followed by injuries, doubts about where exactly to perform. I don't even mean the country, but the view. At some point, Maurice thought about switching to ice dancing and even attended a trial lesson with Alexander Zhulin, but in the end he decided that single skating was more suitable for him. As a result, at the turn of 2016 and 2017, he finally and irrevocably became a Georgian, and after — the bronze of the European Championship, gold at the Grand Prix, the Olympics.
But before that, there was another remarkable moment. When I asked if he considered the change of citizenship to be the right decision, he answered unequivocally: “Yes. In general, I had two such choices. The first one was when I decided to go to Eteri Georgievna. Because before that I also thought to finish with the sport » .
This is about the fact that Maurice now allegedly “ran away” from Eteri Georgievna, having moved to train in Italy, which became known today. In fact, personally, I don’t know another such skater who would get along so well with her. No matter how many problems, no matter how many times Maurice fell and got up, they stayed together. From his young years to a conscious age, at which many in figure skating are already thinking about moving into coaching, Kvitelashvili and Tutberidze systematically went to the result.
As a result, by the age of 27, Maurice became, perhaps, the best thing that happened to Georgian figure skating in its modern history. I would say «symbol», but, probably, in some sense it will sound too loud, although this is not very far from the truth. It is curious that he gained his strength over the years, when many are already leaving the stage. Maurice, on the other hand, got better and better with age, and Tutberidze's methods only help him in this. In general, Maurice has a purely positive attitude towards Eteri Georgievna. I remember that at the Beijing Olympics I asked him what kind of person she was, in his opinion, and he answered the following:
«She is a strong person. I see how she hides her strong emotions, restrains herself in many moments. I will give an example of such a free skate in the women's singles here in Beijing. I watched the girls in the arena. And I was insanely hurt and offended for Kamila (Valiev). But at the same time, I am very happy for Anya (Shcherbakova) and Sasha (Trusova), that everything worked out for them. I had such mixed emotions that I could not stand it and cried. And when I went downstairs to the guys, I met Eteri Georgievna. Imagine what a difficult moment this is for her and for all the guys in general! But even then she did not stop joking, held on. She told me: “Why are you crying? It's a shame for your 10th place?» (Laughs) I laughed right away, said: «Well, yes, of course.» This is her strength, it seems to me. She knows how to extract positive energy even from some difficult moments. And at the same time keep face. Few people can do that,» Kvitelashvili said.The Tutberidze team did not hide their warm attitude towards the student. For them, Kvitelashvili was not only the most titled single skater of the group and one of its main «long-livers», but also just a good person. Maurice's influence on the microclimate of the team is invaluable — he got along well with all the star girls of Khrustalny and with the coaches, who even sometimes consulted with him on some organizational issues. When the question arose in the Tutberidze group who to call the most cheerful skater, everyone unambiguously chose Maurice.And here comes the unexpected news that Kvitelashvili and Tutberidze are no longer working, albeit temporarily. A number of fans and experts have already accused him of «betraying» the coach and other bad things. But for knowledgeable people, this does not cause anything but laughter.
Because, according to my information, Maurice really did not want to leave Russia. Yes, and suspend work with Tutberidze, of course, too. Now he has to urgently adjust to a new training regime for himself, a new way of life, a new country. Everything is new, with a lot of unresolved organizational issues. For example, at the ISU Grand Prix in Sheffield, right before the short program, he had to change the club he represents on a special portal. Because it suddenly turned out that it was impossible to leave two, and he formally no longer represents Khrustalny, as he trains elsewhere.
I am sure that if it were not for the situation in the world, no move would have happened. But now, when logistics is broken, relations between countries are hopelessly damaged, and the clock, as they say, is ticking, there was a choice between the desire to train with your favorite coach and the last, most precious years of his career, in which he got to the peak of his abilities. And if nothing is changed, there is a great risk that they may go to waste for reasons beyond his control.
Both he and Eteri Tutberidze understood this. According to my information, Eteri Georgievna was not only aware of Maurice's departure, but she herself helped him make this difficult choice. And there is much more humanity in this gesture than it seems to many.
In a commentary for Kvitelashvili, he said that he is now training in the city of Enya with a team of coaches, which includes the famous Italian specialist Lorenzo Magri. But I am sure that the suspension of work with Tutberidze is purely formal. And I do not rule out that if the situation in the world stabilizes, he will return to Khrustalny — if not as a skater, then as a coach, for sure.