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Why is retirement a topic that most skaters diligently avoid? Few people speak honestly, and if they do, they cause sincere tears. Sports lists the advantages of timely retirement from sports.
Zagitova could arrange a world tour
One of the most vivid memories is the exhibition performances of two-time world champion Javier Fernandez at the European Championships 2019. He called them in advance the last start of his career. People from different parts of the world came to Minsk to see off the great athlete like a rock star.
There are many exciting farewells in football. From David Beckham's ordinary but very touching last match for PSG to the special ceremony in honor of Francesco Totti at the Roma stadium (and if you weren't crying at that moment, there is something to discuss with a therapist).
Retirement from sport can be made a truly beautiful and memorable event for any athlete with a career longer than a couple of seasons. But in figure skating we have completely forgotten about this option — lately it has been customary to leave in English.
The fashion for a smooth end to a career was set by Alina Zagitova. Having lost to 15-year-old Trusova, Shcherbakova and Kostornaya in the fall of 2019, having won everything she could over the previous two years, she no longer wanted to train as before and compete. However, for some reason I didn’t allow myself to leave calmly and gracefully. Although, with her popularity, one could organize a world tour and have no doubt that fans would carry her everywhere in their arms.
But the coach's reputation, the influence of sponsors and inertia turned out to be stronger. So Alina was given airtime on the federal channel, where she said the already legendary “I’m suspending my career.”
Selfish goals
Since then, one by one, a dozen top-level athletes have stopped competing — publicly or silently took a break, went to get treatment, skate in a show, or just look for themselves. But if you ask them a direct question about ending their career, they will consider it offensive.
And even almost 30-year-old Sinitsina/Katsalapov, who have obviously achieved everything and have already lost interest in the sport in its current form, hastily refute the words of Alexander Zhulin about leaving the sport . “We didn’t make any statements,” they say. Anna Shcherbakova, Alexandra Trusova, Mikhail Kolyada, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and others are in the same limbo.
But Alexander Samarin with his direct message “I’m leaving” evokes enormous respect and interest. Makes you remember the evolution from a gangly wooden youth to today’s self, with a straight back, dashingly dancing “Bullseye”. Reminds me of pure quadruple lutzes and terrible falls, successful and doomed struggles, incessant gratitude to the coach and Sasha’s signature taciturnity.
Against the backdrop of such sincerity and awareness of the importance of the moment, his performance at the Channel One Cup became one of the most emotional events. Not only coach Svetlana Sokolovskaya cried, but also the Reds' teammates, friends from other teams, and spectators in the stands and at the screens. Samarin was seen off with a standing ovation, and all this solemn and slightly sad action left an aftertaste of something very right. The skater’s long, difficult journey took on meaning and was shared by him with thousands of people who are able to appreciate it.
Surely the champions have their own reasons for delaying the official end. Some of them are mercenary — for some time you can receive a salary, equipment and other goodies like free ice for training (even in a show it is useful to be able to at least triple toe loop and not lose basic gliding skills). Again, sponsors like active athletes much more, even if they imitate their activities.
Another part of the reasons is highly spiritual. It’s scary to suddenly leave most of the train cars of your life in the middle of nowhere. I would like to be able to exercise the right of quick return at any time, although no one has done this since the time of Evgeni Plushenko.
In general, they can all be understood. But because of the commonplace compromises, tricks and unwillingness to be honest with oneself, which have become the norm in figure skating, we missed out on many beautiful endings in our favorite books that we read voraciously. And this is truly a big loss.