Resonance from the change of figure skaters Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin from sports citizenship is about the same as if Monomakh's hat was taken out of the Armory in Moscow. Even the general media, far from figure skating, seized on the topic. Sport explains what caused such a storm of excitement from the change of potential champions of Russia to Georgia.
In ice dancing, everyone roughly knows the winning formula and tries to brew their own potion using it. To be successful, partners need complete rapport, accurate footwork, close positions, interesting lifts, and catchy routines. External texture will be an advantage, as well as many years of rolling, but none of all the listed qualities, even in absolute terms, determines or guarantees the championship. What can we say about duets, which have all the advantages — the middle half. Most couples glide averagely, feel music averagely, perform average lifts, and wrap it all in average programs.
Speaking about the prospects of the couple, you should focus only on the best. But not every Olympic cycle, and even more so not every season, athletes appear who change the DNA of the dance environment. There were Grischuk/Platov who turned our idea of strength of character upside down. There was Torvill/Dean who showed the world a new measure of individuality. There were Virtue/Moir, who made everyone dream of the same love burning between them. It doesn't matter that this tenderness was learned — they were believed due to the charisma of the size of Canada, skillful technique and ingenious productions.
There were Ilinykh/Katsalapov who were able to outplay Vircha and Moira on their field through passion instead of tenderness, but this is already a story about the fact that the potential of any force can remain unused. Finally, there were Papadakis/Sizeron — a couple that the rivals reproached for being the same, and then they went in a crowd and tried to repeat the “lightness” that they rolled. Of course, unsuccessfully — only Gabriella and Guillaume could hear music like that and be embodied in it. The absence of an outstanding skate for both did not become an obstacle.
All of the above are superstars. The loss of any of these couples would be a great tragedy for ice dancing and the cultural trace that they left in eternity (in the case of the Ilyins/Katsalapov, this is exactly what happened). And, of course, it would be a big loss for the country they represent in the competition.
If Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin had a chance to stand on a par with the greats, the press would have to blow all the trumpets, and the federation should try to keep such a promising couple.
But here we fall into a logical trap. If Diana and Gleb are as ordinary and unpromising as someone says, then why does their existence, in principle, cause so much noise? So, the couple is still top, and we are mad because «not mine»?
Besides, criticizing people in public (and any analysis or column that 50,000 people read is public criticism) is pretty hard. Especially if they are nice young guys, pleasant to talk to. It's hard to separate Davis/Smolkin as athletes from Davis/Smolkin as people. They are really nice and kind. They never send the journalists who call them last words, unlike some power-weary individuals in our federation.
And yet it is worth recognizing: Davis/Smolkin would not have been written about so much if it had not been about the daughter of a successful coach and the son of a popular actor. Their talent as dancers, as well as their current success, are kilotons less than their origins.
Being «Tutberidze's daughter and her partner» is both a curse and a privilege. You can be offended by the fact that everyone reproaches them with this relationship without end. But it is worth recognizing that without him, Diana and Gleb would not have had the Olympics in Beijing, nor the change of sports citizenship, nor the sudden favor of the federation, ready to let go of the third number of the national team appointed by itself under the flag of another country.
For Diana and Gleb themselves, one can only rejoice if the whole idea with Georgia turns out to be successful. Any athlete deserves not to be tangled up like a runaway stallion. Each duet deserves the right to show itself at the prestigious tournaments of the planet. And let all of us, their critics, in spite of Davis/Smolkin, turn the idea of hard work and find their director, who will help the whole world exhale «Ah!» as soon as they take to the ice. Let them become Olympic champions. In the end, it makes no difference where the art and innovation come from and what color rectangle they will have on their uniform jackets at the moment of triumph.
It's just interesting to watch how the deck is bizarrely shuffled. How our federation has to find a way to respect its best coach over and over again. First, when Davis/Smolkin were pumped up with points in one season so that they could safely go to the 2022 Olympics. Then, when the federation put up with the absence of a couple at the competitions all year, it seems like they are on the national team, but do not appear in Russia. Now, when it comes to allowing Diana Davis to compete internationally at all costs, because that's what her mom really wants. Even realizing all the reputational losses for ourselves, our federation did it.
By the way, a couple of weeks earlier, the federation did not give permission to figure skater Dario Cirizano — he was left without a partner six months ago, found a new one in the Czech Republic and wanted to compete for Italy, because he has Italian roots. I do not want to draw parallels, although they are very suggestive. But if it is possible to make exceptions to the rules, let there be more exceptions in favor of athletes. They have one career, and everyone wants to be realized in it, regardless of the degree of relationship with the great coaches.