A calm off-season in figure skating was diluted with point gains in the group of Eteri Tutberidze. Following the arrival of the European champions in pair skating Alexandra Boikova/Dmitry Kozlovsky, the transfer of a whole team of pair skating Philip Tarasov followed, as well as a slight strengthening of positions in junior women's skating. Sports understands how Tutberidze is increasing his influence.
Attempts to single out the best coach of the past season will lead us to the same place where the previous few years have taken us – to Khrustalny. Having survived various periods of crisis, Tutberidze continues to achieve outstanding results and does not give reason to doubt his own superiority. Under her is still the entire female singles of Russia, the transfer of the leader of the Italian national team Daniel Grassl opened her way to the international arena in the era of a total ban, and Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov continue to impose a fight on the leaders in pair skating — what is this, if not confirmation of the highest level?
On the other hand, this particular season showed that Khrustalny is vulnerable. And in the key discipline — women's single skating. This vulnerability has not yet fully manifested itself, but even a cursory examination of the resources of the most powerful school in the country reveals a coming shortage of personnel. At the adult level, everything is fine with Eteri Georgievna — Kamila Valieva, Sofya Akatieva and Adelia Petrosyan are fighting for leadership and do not give gold to any of the other groups at major starts. But in the juniors, «Khrustalny» appeared almost bled.
The honor of the school was defended by Alisa Dvoeglazova and Daria Sadkova. Both girls own ultra-c (the first jumps a quadruple lutz, the second has mastered the sheepskin coat by the end of the season), but do not have a sufficient margin of safety for absolute leadership. So, during the season, they were beaten with a certain regularity by the previously not very famous Alina Gorbacheva, and Evgeni Plushenko's students Veronika Zhilina and Sofia Titova. The last two can be considered absent leaders in juniors — in terms of potential technical content and judicial loyalty (although in the case of Titova this term can be perceived in two ways), it is very difficult to compare with them.
Of course, if there hadn’t been a transitional period in the new age limit and the isolation of Russian sports, this year Akatieva would have competed in juniors from the Tutberidze group. And almost certainly triumphantly. On the other hand, in this case, the «Crystal» would have sunk in the adult team. Due to the well-known history, Valieva's prospects remain vague, and Petrosyan is hardly ready for absolute leadership.
The replenishment of junior personnel from the inside is also not observed. Usually every year «Khrustalny» delivers new stars to all levels. In the upcoming season, this can hardly be expected. Purely theoretically, Dvoeglazova and Sadkova can go into adults, but in the juniors of the next top Tutberidze — 12-year-old Margarita Bazylyuk, who destroys everyone in her age group — will have to wait another couple of years. And this is with a potential deficit in a new discipline for Eteri Georgievna — pair skating. Tarasova/Morozov, obviously, are extremely close to leaving the sport, and the coach has no worthy successors.
From a global point of view, the word «crisis» is applicable to all of the above only when talking about monopoly. For other groups, such diversity in personnel is a gift from heaven. But when it comes to Eteri Tutberidze, who has cleared the «glade» for at least the last five years in a row, any step back is perceived as a surrender. Why not just give away a niche to competitors? br>
Unable to momentarily strengthen the reserve of juniors, Tutberidze sated a group of beginners. In May, the talented 11-year-old figure skater Arina Parsegova returned to her, having spent the past year at the Plushenko Academy. It seems that everything suited her there, contact with the coaches was established. And yet the transition happened almost at the snap of a finger. There was talk that «Crystal» was very interested in the return of the pupil. If this is true, the school can only be commended for solving problems quickly.
But transfers in pair skating are much more remarkable. First, European champions Alexandra Boikova/Dmitry Kozlovsky passed from Tamara Moskvina to Eteri Georgievna, and now this pair can be considered as a replacement for Tarasova/Morozov in the position of the first number of the group. Alexandra and Dmitry came after a very successful last season: they defeated the main competitors in the domestic arena and former teammates of Moskvina Anastasia Mishina/Alexander Gallyamov, while simultaneously learning the quad elements — spin and throw.
All this makes them an attractive asset, suppliers of gold «pair» medals to Khrustalny, and also increases the prestige of the school in the eyes of this category of skaters. And this is extremely important on the eve of the opening of the new Tutberidze ice rink, which should take place in 2024. Obviously, not only single skaters, but also a full-fledged pair skating group will work on it.By the way, Eteri Georgievna has already found the group itself. The transfer of coach Philip Tarasov with his entire team did not make much noise, but in the future it can overshadow the transfer of Boikova and Kozlovsky. In his person, «Khrustalny» received a whole group of greenhouses with leaders — already known to the general public Anastasia Mukhortova/Dmitry Evgeniev — and talented juniors, whom other mentors spoke flattering about.
Unlike Tutberidze's previous experience in couples, working with the Tarasov team will help Eteri Georgievna enter this discipline fully, and not in the format of a one-time action. And taking into account the obvious leaders in the form of Boikova/Kozlovsky, as well as Tarasova/Morozov, who have not yet announced their career plans, this gives grounds for talking about the fact that Tutberidze has formed one of the most combat-ready pair groups in the country in the shortest possible time. At the same time, there are no serious drawdowns in the women's singles, and the shortage of personnel is somehow filled.
For many years, Tutberidze was called a «junior coach» who cannot work with anyone except not fully formed girls. However, if entry into pair skating becomes successful (and it is already slowly justifying itself due to Tarasova/Morozov's Olympic silver), this stigma will be erased forever, and Eteri Georgievna's influence on modern Russian figure skating will become almost limitless.