The ex-boyfriend of Olympic vice-champion Alexandra Trusova was accused of love indecency. The Sport correspondent analyzes the figure of the European champion Mark Kondratyuk.
The hairstyle of a bohemian artist, intelligent eyes and state awards
In January 2021, we did our first interview with Russian Championship bronze medalist Mark Kondratyuk. Few people knew him then. Mark's youth career was chaotic. He was sick, treated, recovered, did not suffer from gigantic ambitions, so he did not force training and began to collect his first quadruple jumps only at the age of 17. And immediately got into the top charts. Short, calm, with a bohemian artist's hairstyle and intelligent eyes — we have never had such single skaters before.
Mark readily agreed to the interview, but asked to reschedule it for the first days after the New Year. He was seventeen then, and I was amazed at how shy and well-mannered he was at the same time. He held the door, moved the chair in the coffee shop — this is generally not very common among figure skaters, here the girls even carry their own heavy suitcases.
We had a good conversation, but it was like at a competition “Who’s Shy Who?” And although the competition was serious, the modest Mark still won. I hesitated to even raise my eyes. Then he brought me together with Svetlana Sokolovskaya, who sent me his childhood photographs, agreed on the text without edits, and we said goodbye until the next competition.
Three years have passed since then. I have had the opportunity to communicate with Mark many times, both in formal and casual settings. Each time I noted how well-read he is, how well he holds himself in company and how calmly he behaves. He will never be rude in response to a provocative question. He will never say bad things about another person behind their back and will not give away secrets.
Every party has a guy who will steal a car for fun, dance on the bar and spank all the girls present on the butt — a kind of archetypal alpha, a hooligan and a heartthrob. There are such people in the world of figure skating, but they are definitely not Mark. He would rather recite a rap battle with crazy rhymes from memory, bring an expensive book about Hieronymus Bosch as a gift and support any intellectual game.
But the main thing is that all the good and bad that happened to Mark over these three years did not affect his personal qualities. Neither the gold of the European Championship, nor the gold of the team at the Olympics, nor the increased popularity, the growth of income and state awards did not change Mark. All this wealth is stored as if in a drawer of a desk, and he never walks this bar of awards on his chest with a proud look.
The whole world married him and Trusova
It so happened that his relationship with Sasha Trusova was in full view from the very beginning due to the publicity of both. At first, the entire fan world was hyping them up for marriage, then they were touched by the result, and then the whole world was discussing the breakup. But in reality, nothing extraordinary happened — the youthful romance was wonderful and ended. It happens. No one is to blame, thanks to everyone.
Whether Mark is dating someone now or not is actually his business, since he does not advertise it in any way. There are no recent photos of him hugging a new girlfriend or declarations of love on his social networks. In general, he seems to be preparing for the new season — a man has something to do.
But suddenly, former figure skater from Sokolovskaya's group Sofia Baranova jumped out from around the corner with a dusty bag and in a white coat. In an interview with Sport-Express, she spilled a lot of personal details about other people.
Everyone got it for everything. For example, some abstract figure skaters who, after the World Championships or the Olympics, due to their limitations, cannot connect two words, according to Sophia. But for some reason it was Mark who got the most. According to her, they once had some kind of “turbulence”. This quote. «But it's okay.» This is also a quote. Sophia made Mark seem like a good friend who would always support, but at the same time a terrible boyfriend. He's interested in girls, he's on his mind, he didn't give someone a gift on March 8th, he drinks alcohol in the middle of the season. Gallant, infectious, and flighty. Instead of eternal love, there is one complete deception.
At the same time, she seems to justify his interest in girls under 16 by the fact that there are no other girls around — athletes are on the rink day and night, young girls run around the guys, and as soon as they turn 18, they immediately end their careers, not giving them a chance to build a relationship with them. And where should poor boys go who have «physiology»? It is not the author of the text who is delirious, this is the question Sophia herself asks herself.
Even in a nutshell, all this nonsense leaves a feeling of sticky dirt. Why and why should we know about this? What is new or reprehensible in the fact that maturing young men and women spend a lot of time looking for love and interesting sensations? That they like to have fun and sometimes try new things, often with elements of self-destruction? This is a property of youth of all generations — millennials and zoomers are not far from each other here.
And the main thing is that the house of the lawyer of underage girls, which Sofia is trying to build for herself, crumbles at the first breath of wind. Here she says that with her revelations she is trying to protect naive girls from a treacherous seducer. And then she declares to the whole world about the relationship between Mark and 16-year-old Liza Kulikova, although no one authorized her to do this. And then she assures that Mark walked and kissed another twice when he and Liza were already dating. It must be very easy for underage Liza to survive this gossip, regardless of whether it is true or not. Bravo, lawyer!
Sofya Baranova's minute of fame will pass. Mark Kondratyuk's minute of fame, I want to believe, will not be overshadowed by his desire to enter into a dialogue with a person who initially does not follow any rules. Womanizers and heartbreakers can be dangerous guys and sometimes behave badly. But offended hypocrites are no better.
The author's opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors