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Two-time Russian champions Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin left the creators of their dance couple Alexander Svinin in the off-season and Irina Zhuk, who were previously accused by another of their pupils, Sofia Shevchenko, of insufficient attention. The coaches spoke about the shock from the revelations of the student, the judges and competitors in an interview with Sport.
SKATERS PREFER SOCIAL NETWORKS RATHER THAN THE OPINION OF COACHES
— Can we say that the current off-season was for you the most difficult thing in your career due to the departure of many group leaders?
Alexander Svinin: This has happened before. There was a season when both Yana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitsky, and Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer finished. Then only junior duets remained. We turned our main attention to Sasha Stepanova and Vanya Bukin, which helped them achieve big victories both in juniors and move smoothly to the adult level. This year the situation is similar.
Irina Zhuk: Even a little easier. Sofia Leontyeva and Daniil Gorelkin reached the adult level, they supported us very much and became leaders of the group. After Stepanova and Bukin left, we began to devote more time to both them and our junior duets. We are not tired, we will raise new duets as long as we have enough strength and health.
— During Stepanova’s maternity leave, did you have premonitions of parting with her and Bukin?
I.Zh.: Nothing happened. Sasha and Vanya already had a ready-made free dance, choreographed by Maxim Stavisky.
A.S.: When athletes come with flowers and say goodbye, it is useless to analyze any signals.
— Bouquet at least Was he beautiful?
I.Zh.: Yes, beautiful, but at such moments you pay attention not to the flowers, but to the thorns. A farewell bouquet is always an unpleasant story for any coach. We worked with Sasha and Vanya for 16 years and understood perfectly well that now they would be the undisputed leaders of Russian dance, no matter who they trained with.
A.S.: We went through a lot together, especially during the Olympic season. Due to COVID-19, which Sasha suffered from, she not only could not train, but could not even contact Vanya. He skated alone in Novogorsk. We really wanted the guys to get to the Olympics. It was fortunate that they finally got to Beijing, literally, by jumping on the last plane. The guys had not skated for ten days before, and their very performance at the Olympics was a miracle.
— Who was closer to you, Alexandra or Ivan?
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I.Zh.: We simply knew Vanya from birth. We met his mother Elena from the maternity hospital and saw the future figure skater in an envelope.
A.S.: When it comes to a dance duet, you cannot separate the partners. We love Sasha very much and treat him just as warmly.
— Did you immediately break up with choreographer Alena Samarskaya, Bukin’s wife, after he left the group?
A.S.: We had a fairly frank conversation, and Alena herself understood perfectly well that she could not stay. She is a very good person and an excellent specialist. It was a pity to part with her, we worked for many years.
I.Zh.: This decision was not easy for us, but we had to make it. Now we have three new, completely diverse choreographers. We have been collaborating with Irina Shalygina, a ballroom dancing coach, for a long time. Not only is she very creative and positive, but she can also skate. As a child, I was involved in figure skating. Now she works in our group on a permanent basis. Vyacheslav Malygin and Dmitry Antipov are working on dances in the hall. We have a large team, and Antipov still continues his career as a ballet dancer.
— Have you ever tried to attract students who have achieved success in sports into your group?
A.S.: They offered it to everyone. For some time, Katya Rubleva and Vanya Schaefer worked for us, but they immediately said that they wanted to gain experience and set off on their own. Her name was Yana Khokhlova, but at that time it was more interesting for her to continue her sports career and perform in shows. She, as the skaters say, has not trained
I.Zh.: Now Anastasia Shpilevaya, who recently completed her sports career, works in our group. Works very well with both juniors and seniors.
— An interview with Sofia Shevchenko caused a lot of noise, in which your former student made accusations of deliberately lowering her grades at competitions on your initiative .
I.Zh.: For us it was a shock. I don’t think they deserve to be treated this way. Never in our lives have we done what we were accused of. In this situation, Igor Eremenko, Shevchenko’s partner, behaved very decently. We consider it necessary to note this.
— In the USSR national team, the dance duet Olga Volozhinskaya/Alexander Svinin was most often not the first number. How did you perceive the situation when the leading duets were given more attention?
A.S.: I had to be in different situations. In the last years of performances, Olga and I were the first duet in Elena Tchaikovskaya’s group. But we never had any thoughts about leaving for another coach. It was still a different time. There was no such media component. Today, athletes often pay more attention to what they read on social networks than to what their coaches say. And young guys don’t always cope with such pressure. Not everyone can pass the copper pipe test.
WE ADHERE TO A MORAL CODE
— There is an ethics commission in the structure of the FFKKR. Maybe she should evaluate the words and actions of the skaters?
A.S.: It is very difficult to control such things and evaluate them. In the current situation, the FFKKR is already doing everything possible to maintain interest in figure skating in Russia.
— You have never been seen “working with judges”. Without naming names, can you say that one of your colleagues uses all methods to promote their skaters?
I.Zh.: We always tell our skaters: you only need to count for your own rental. It is unethical to comment on the work of colleagues.
A.S.: There is a moral code as a coach, which we strictly adhere to. If someone else does not adhere to it, let it remain on their conscience. I am convinced that refereeing must be absolutely clean and objective. I can note that Russian judges are very professional.
I.Zh.: I would like to add a little more to the conversation about the judges: their comments are very valuable to us. We listen to them carefully, even if we disagree with something. We even change costumes based on the wishes of the referees.
— Do you continue to work with the duo Maria Ignatieva/Daniil Semko representing Hungary? after Gurgen Vardanyan resigned from the post of president of the national federation of this country?
I.Zh.: We continue and work with great pleasure. The guys are great and have made significant progress in recent years. We were very upset when we learned about Vardanyan’s resignation. He did a lot for our duet, he sincerely supported the cause.
— How are you going to accompany your students to the European Championships in Kaunas after the Lithuanian authorities introduced a ban on the entry of Russians even with valid Schengen visas?
A.S.: We don’t know yet. In general, we don’t plan further than the next two weeks.