Rising star of Russian figure skating Elena Kostyleva began working with Evgeny Plushenko. Sports tells what gift the two-time Olympic champion received, and what difficulties he may encounter.
Bombs with quadruples It was difficult to imagine a more expected transition. The 12-year-old figure skater has visited Moscow schools, it seems, everywhere except Plushenko. For some reason Lena was unlucky. Each time the cooperation ended in some kind of scandal. At the same time, in terms of figure skating, Lena is a diamond. Not even a diamond that requires cutting, but the most finished product. Whose exactly, given the permanent problems with coaches, is a question, but by the age of 12 she had absorbed the full set of every self-respecting young figure skating lady — high, flying quadruple jumps, and a triple Axel, and effortless gliding, and presentation of images.
At the fifth stage of the “Battle of Schools,” where Lena was then still representing the “Legend” school and essentially competing with peers, the contrast between her and everyone else was especially noticeable. Compared to the other participants, she looked five years older in terms of her skill, and her performance was more reminiscent of a demonstration — they say, look how it should be. While other girls struggled with triple jumps (which, by the way, is not so easy), Kostyleva calmly bombed with quadruple jumps. It’s pointless to even talk about ratings.
If we compare the age group of 12-year-olds, the only figure skater in the country who is able to compete with Kostyleva can be considered her peer Margarita Bazylyuk from the group of Eteri Tutberidze. A slightly more successful date of birth (March 12 versus October 11 for Kostyleva) allowed Margarita to reach the junior level earlier, but, taking into account the peculiarities of the current age limit, from next season she and Elena will compete regularly. What makes this confrontation interesting, in addition to the obvious talent of both girls, is the intriguing story of the separation of Kostyleva and Tutberidze, in which, according to Lena’s mother, Irina Kostyleva, Bazylyuk plays a key role.
It turns out that Plushenko acquired a future world-class star? Again, depending on which side you look at. From a purely sports perspective, of course. His academy has a good level of women's singles and decent continuity, but for longer-term prospects, perhaps, there have not yet been such ready-made personnel. In addition, Kostyleva’s main advantage is that she is ready to show results now. For Plushenko’s school, which exists through private investment, this is a very important point.
It’s interesting how Plushenko himself sees working with Kostyleva. In the training process, he had a principled position regarding jumps — having absorbed the features of Alexei Mishin’s technique, Evgeniy Viktorovich strives to pass them on to his students. It is unknown how the changes will affect, say, Elena’s triple axel. On the other hand, for an athlete deprived of constant coaching supervision, systematic work in any case will not be superfluous.
What is of greater interest is the format in which Plushenko plans to interact with Kostyleva’s mother, Irina. Among athletes and coaches, Irina has long had a reputation as a classic figure skating mother who defends the interests of her child by any means. She herself actively fuels this image — she is active on social networks, where she criticizes coaches and some rivals, without mincing words.
For a long time it was believed that it was Irina’s lively character that could prevent Lena from collaborating with a really great coach. And here comes the transition to Plushenko, who, in his own words, does not stand on ceremony with the parents of athletes.
““In this environment there are inadequate characters,” Plushenko said in an interview, answering the question of how he manages to find a common language with parents of the skaters. “Only I immediately kick them out along with their children. The atmosphere in the group should be positive.”
At the same time, in addition to harsh methods of communication, Plushenko has clearly learned to find a common language with his parents in a softer way. His group includes several athletes with difficult parents, and at the same time it does not come to open conflicts. Or, in any case, they can be extinguished internally.
Will it be possible to “extinguish” Kostyleva’s mother? Or maybe there will be no reasons left to extinguish at all? Perhaps, in Plushenko’s collaboration with the new star, it is these questions that will determine how long their collaboration will last.