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The off-season in figure skating is a time of change. However, the current pause was especially searing. Sports remembers the most incredible events of the summer period.
Davis and Smolkin in Georgia
The last performance of the dance duet Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin for the Russian national team dates back to February 2022. Then the skaters made their debut at the Olympic Games as the country's third pair and took 14th place. Therefore, there was a misunderstanding among fans why athletes began to miss one competition after another.
For more than a year, neither Diana, nor Gleb, nor their representatives gave official comments. The situation became clearer in June, when the executive committee of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) approved the transfer of Davis and Smolkin to the Georgian national team. The duo has already competed for the new team at competitions in the USA and won gold medals.
You can’t leave and stay
Dario Chirisano, paired with Irina Khavronina, did not manage to spend even one full season at the adult level. The partner decided to stop performing together and paired up with her boyfriend David Narizhny. Chirisano found himself at a dead end — for a long time he could not find a partner, so he moved the search outside of Russia.
The Czech figure skater Denisa Tsimlova turned out to be a suitable option. However, the new duo was faced with the question of which country to represent: the Czech Republic or Italy. There was no need to think for a long time, because the FFKKR did not allow Chirisano to change his sports citizenship. Now, in order to switch to a different flag, skaters must undergo mandatory quarantine — two years after receiving a request from a foreign federation.
Samodelkina is a citizen of Kazakhstan
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Last season, Sofya Samodelkina faced a number of difficulties: a change of coach, active growth, unsuccessful performances in competitions. Eleventh places in the Russian Grand Prix Final and the national championship are not the result that an athlete who has all the quadruple jumps in her arsenal is counting on. The best solution was to change the national team. Sofia has already received Kazakhstani citizenship, but so far the issue of participation in the country’s national team is not being discussed.
As reported by the FFKKR, Samodelkina’s transition to the new flag can only be considered in December, and she will receive the right to compete for Kazakhstan no earlier than May 2024. In an ideal situation, the figure skater will take part in the Olympics in Italy, but at the moment the CSKA graduate faces too many bureaucratic obstacles, which will be incredibly difficult to overcome.
The end of the story of Zagorski and Gureiro
The dance duo Tiffany Zagorski and Jonathan Gureiro were remembered for their bright programs and radiant smiles. But not everything was so rosy in their career. In 2021, my partner suffered from pneumococcal meningitis. Zagorski, who had not fully recovered, had to compete at the Russian Championships so as not to lose her last chance to participate in the Olympics. She skated the program completely, and was carried out of the arena in their arms.
The skaters then took eighth place, but for many they remained winners. Zagorski and Gureiro missed the previous season, and in July they officially announced their retirement.
br>Angelopol's Contract
Vasilisa Kaganovskaya and Valery Angelopol broke into the adult level of ice dancing only last season. Almost immediately they began to receive scores that allowed them to compete with top pairs. The successful season was summed up by the victory in the Russian Grand Prix Final. Experts had no doubt that next year Kaganovskaya and Angelopol would only strengthen their positions. The duo's coach, Anzhelika Krylova, set up new programs back in the spring that were supposed to be the best in their careers.
However, in the summer rumors appeared about the complex relationship between Vasilisa and Valery. The head of the FFKKR, Anton Sikharulidze, personally tried to resolve the differences, but at the end of August the breakup of the duo was officially announced. As it turned out later, Angelopol wanted to skate with Kaganovskaya only when signing a contract. According to its terms, the girl had to take on all the financial expenses of the couple. Neither the skater nor the coach agreed to this. Currently, Kaganovskaya is undergoing trial training with Maxim Nekrasov.
Zhulin's monopoly in ice dancing
Despite the fact that Olympic champions in team competitions Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov continue to take a break and again miss the open skates of the national team, and the duet of Sofia Tyutyunina and Andrei Bagin ceased to exist, coach Alexander Zhulin confidently maintains an authoritative position. During the off-season, he gathered the most promising dancers in Russia into a group.
After a year's break, Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, as well as Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva and Yegor Bazin, joined him. In addition, Elizaveta Shanaeva and Pavel Drozd continue to train. None of the skaters are going to give up their medals. It seems that only Angelica Krylova, who works with Annabel Morozova and Igor Eremenko, who recently returned from America, is now able to challenge Zhulin’s monopoly.
Boikova’s experiment and Kozlovsky
Two-time Russian champions and European Championship winners Alexandra Boykova and Dmitry Kozlovsky, despite a successful season, decided to make drastic changes. The skaters moved from Tamara Moskvina’s group to Eteri Tutberidze. As Moskvina said, the couple’s decision did not come as a surprise to her, since changing coaches is a natural process.
Now a large staff of specialists is working with the athletes, including Maxim Trankov, Alexey Tikhonov and Pavel Slyusarenko. Without Beijing Olympic silver medalists Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, who are missing the test skates, coaches can focus solely on preparing Boykova and Kozlovsky. This can be considered a unique chance.
Kolyada took a break
2018 Olympic team silver medalist Mikhail Kolyada's career has been a rollercoaster. Probably no skater has ever been praised and scolded so much at the same time. He always remained one step away from success; even the transition to coach Alexei Mishin did not help. Not long ago, Kolyada admitted that he was experiencing problems mentally.
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"We talked with Alexei Nikolaevich. He believes that some changes are happening inside me that I am not fully aware of. In such cases, when you don’t know what to do, it’s better to stop,” Kolyada said in an interview.
Mikhail accepted the Professor’s advice and announced a pause.
Georgian figure skater Maurice Kvitelashvili, who trained under the guidance of Tutberidze, also suspended his career. The athlete decided that it was time for a break from daily stress. However, he noted that he had “enough gunpowder in the flask” to move on.
So far, both have announced only a pause. But no matter how their future careers unfold, they have already left a significant mark on the history of figure skating.
Usacheva put an end to it
Daria Usacheva has not competed since November 2021, when she suffered a serious hip injury at the Grand Prix in Tokyo. Recovery was difficult. Usacheva even thought about trying her hand at ice dancing. To do this, she tried out with the winner of the 2020 Youth Olympic Games, Dario Chirisano, but the skaters did not suit each other in a number of ways.
This stopped girl from a complete change of “direction”. In September, the skater finally announced her retirement. Usacheva noted that she does not regret the decision one bit, since new opportunities are now opening up for her.
Grassle's hasty departure
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The loss for the Tutberidze group was figure skater Daniel Grassl, who unexpectedly left Russia and returned to Italy. As it turned out, the reason for leaving was problems with doping tests. The athlete violated anti-doping rules by missing three tests in a row.
At the moment, the Italian National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO Italia) has asked Grassl for an explanation. If the skater’s guilt is proven, then such a violation may result in disqualification for up to two years.
Only “K” remains from “TSchK”< br>
Not so long ago, the trio “Alena Kostornaya — Alexandra Trusova — Anna Shcherbakova” did not give their rivals a single chance to fight for medals. Now, apparently, only Kostornaya intends to compete. Alena got together with Georgy Kunitsa, whom she married a little later. The skaters train under the guidance of Sergei Roslyakov. They have already learned all the triple elements, all that remains is to gain stability. The FFKKR allowed Kostornaya and Kunitsa to participate in the test skates of the national team, fans are looking forward to new programs.
Shcherbakova missed last season due to health. According to information, in the summer the Beijing Olympic champion was seriously considering returning to the competitive arena. She began serious training in Novogorsk, but the figure skater’s plans were disrupted by mononucleosis. Now participation in tournaments is a big question mark.
Alexandra Trusova’s future career also remains a mystery. The figure skater stopped full training under the guidance of Svetlana Sokolovskaya. Trusova was predictably not on the list of participants in the test skates. Now the athlete is preparing for ice shows.
Akatyeva’s bad luck
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Sofia Akatieva received a serious injury in the off-season for the second year in a row. Last summer, at a training camp in Novogorsk, due to an absurd accident, a figure skater’s leg was cut near the knee. The injury bothered her throughout the season, however, this did not stop her from winning the Russian champion title.
This year, the athlete received a stress fracture of her foot. Experts have no doubt that Akatieva will have time to fully recover by the beginning of the season and will be able to seriously compete with her rivals.
Gorbacheva’s disappearance
On August 29, the entire Internet was excited by the news of the disappearance of Russian junior champion Alina Gorbacheva. All that was known was that she left the skating rink after training and went towards the park; the skater never got in touch again. Police, dog handlers, divers and more than 100 volunteers were sent to search for Gorbacheva.
Fortunately, she was found that evening. As coach Sofia Fedchenko later told Sport24, a domestic conflict occurred between them. Alina made an impulsive decision to run away, but later she got scared and “it turned out to be a vicious circle.” The most important thing is that Gorbachev was found alive and, judging by her videos on social networks, is now actively continuing preparations for the new season.
Valieva’s case
Over the summer, American figure skaters managed to attract attention several times. First, the US team took a photo with empty boxes of Olympic medals in protest against the delay in considering the case of Kamila Valieva. Vincent Zhou explained the act on his social networks:
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«We, the clean athletes, are paying the price (for a legal case that has dragged on for too long). We want transparency in a system that is supposed to uphold Olympic principles.»
Then the Americans went further and wrote a letter to the Director General of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) demanding that their representative be allowed to attend closed hearings. However, it was not possible to achieve the desired. The outcome of the case is already very close: on September 26-29, CAS will hold hearings at which a decision will be made.
Kostomarov returned to the ice
For many months the whole country followed the story of Olympic champion Roman Kostomarov. He won the fight for life and began a long road to recovery. But no one could have imagined that Roman would end up on the ice so quickly.
Kostomarov came out wearing sneakers during a gala show in Sochi at the end of his wife Oksana Domnina’s number. The whole room was moved by what they saw. It also became known that Kostomarov will soon take part in the filming of a documentary series that will tell about the lives of people with prosthetic limbs. No one doubts that his story will become an inspiring example for many.
Kondratyuk dispute
During the absence of competitions, skaters not only prepare for the new season, but also participate in the show. At one of the performances in China, two-time Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko challenged Mark Kondratyuk to cleanly perform 10 triple axels in a row. If successful, he had to pay the athlete 10 thousand dollars. Kondratyuk easily completed the task and received the promised amount. Later, Plushenko announced a new dispute, but left the essence secret.
Kondratyuk also staged a battle with figure skater Ilya Malinin in the summer. In Japan, the American performed a triple Axel almost from a standing start. Unexpectedly, Kondratyuk posted a similar video on his social networks. Malinin supported the challenge and complicated the task: he performed a quadruple lutz with minimal preparation. Mark did not stand aside and later published a video where he performs all quadruple jumps using a similar technique. Apparently, Kondratyuk loves such entertainment. What do we expect from him next time?
«Insecurity» by Zagitova
Olympic champion Alina Zagitova's summer was particularly active. She managed to write a coursework on the topic of working in the Ice Age, take part in a session at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum (SPIEF), begin preparations for opening her own figure skating school in Kazan, try her hand at fencing and running, hold an open training session for fans and even catch a bouquet at the wedding of choreographer Daniil Gleikhengauz. Not to mention constant performances in Tatyana Navka's show.
However, fans discussed two events especially vigorously: how Zagitova drove through a pedestrian crossing at a red light and an accidental slip of the tongue. “Inevitably” spread throughout the Internet and became a meme. But Zagitova treated the topic with humor and soon showed off a T-shirt with the inscription “#avoidably.” Many fans noted that they would also like such merch.
ISU upheld Russia's suspension
In June, the council of the International Skating Union (ISU ) almost unanimously decided to postpone the decision on the issue of admitting Russian athletes to international competitions. Later, the ISU did not include us in the list of participants in the stages of the Grand Prix series of the 2023/24 season.
As the source said, everything should be finally decided “no later than October.” In the meantime, we are watching the Russian starts. Test skates in Moscow will take place this weekend at Megasport.