“Mom sets up that I can’t get on the podium”: what did the Russian skaters say after the Grand Prix stage in France

“When I win, it’s double joy”

In Grenoble, the stage of the Grand Prix in figure skating has ended. The tournament was remembered for the triumphal performance of Russian athletes who won two gold and three silver awards. The competition in women's single skating again appeared in the spotlight, where two pupils of Eteri Tutberidze, Alina Zagitova and Alena Kostornaya, fought for victory.

This time, success was accompanied by a younger skater. Kostornaya performed phenomenally in France and surpassed the indicators of her more experienced compatriot by almost 20 points. According to the results of two rentals, her asset was 236.00 points, which is the third result in history. Only the same Zagitov (238.43) and Alexander Trusov (241.02) scored more.

According to Kostornaya herself, before the start of the tournament, she did not think about a possible triumph.

“When I go to competitions, I don’t know what will happen next. Mom sets up that I can not get on the pedestal, so do not be surprised, call and cry. The first year (at the adult level. - RT ), you need to train more. But when I win, it’s double joy, ”TASS skater quotes.

The cornerstone of the program of the 16-year-old Russian woman was two triple axels, one of them in combination with a three-turn sheepskin coat. According to Kostornaya, she was absolutely not worried when playing such a complex element.

“Every day I do a triple axel in training at Sambo-70, so I don’t get terrified if it fails. Slightly happy if it turns out. This is part of my work. Today I didn’t worry, I went to perform it the way I learned, ”the athlete admitted.

Unlike Alexandra Trusova and Anna Shcherbakova, Kostornaya’s program lacks quadruple jumps, which in theory can negatively affect her chances in the fight against compatriots. However, Alena is not going to resort to the use of extremely complex elements.

“This must first be learned. It took me two years to get the axel, and the fourth one adds another half a turn. I tried to train the Salchow, but so far I have been told to wait, ”concluded the winner of the Grand Prix stage in Grenoble.

Unlike the rival, Zagitova was unable to successfully start her performance in the free program and immediately made a serious mistake. Olympic champion Pyeongchang has not twisted triple lutz.

“The error on the first jump encouraged, I realized that it would be necessary to hook the second to the next lutz ... I was a little tense, so I could not cope to the end. I still have a lot to work on, ”admitted Zagitova.

However, she noted that the second place in the competition in Grenoble is not a disappointment for her.

“I don’t understand, why should I be upset? Now the place is not an incentive for me. I rode in pleasure. I’m very glad that there were many Russian fans here - they supported everyone, and me too, ”said Zagitova.

For Maria Sotskova, the tournament in France ended in failure. The Russian woman made many mistakes and took the last, 11th place, and her lag behind Kostornaya was 91.11 points.

“Upon returning home, I have a lot to think about, to sort out the mistakes in preparation. I will not suspend training, but my performances are still in question. I won’t think about the Russian championship, there’s still time for it, so I’ll work on myself, ”the figure skater said.

According to Sotskova, at the moment she does not imagine herself outside the ice, but also does not want to suffer such offensive defeats.

“I am 20 years old, I love to ride, feel on ice, see myself on ice. But when something doesn’t work out, it’s unusual for me to see myself in a disassembled state. We have to work with what is. It’s hard, but I’m not ready to finish yet, ”the athlete admitted.

“Success came as a surprise to us.”

The battle between the Russians flared up in the competition of sports couples. As a result, yesterday's juniors Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Gallyamov took the lead, 1.02 points ahead of Daria Pavlyuchenko and Denis Khodykina. But the success in Grenoble could not turn the heads of the athletes.

“We won, but this does not mean at all that this will continue. This stage was missed by Natalia Zabiyako and Alexander Enbert, the French Vanessa James and Morgan Sipre. So we have not yet fought with all the rivals, everything is ahead, including the December championship of Russia. Life has presented us with a gift. To be honest, the success came as a surprise to us - the rental was not ideal, ”said Mishina.

Apparently, the skater has in mind an error in the execution of the cascade of triple salchow and oiler. Athletes counted only a two-turn jump, and even then with an impressive "minus".

“It was our chance to declare ourselves, luck was on our side. We took a high place, but judging by the rental, it really was not our best performance. We wake up tomorrow, there will be a new day and a new job. We want to win, ”Gallyamov agreed with his partner.

At the same time, Pavlyuchenko and Khodykin made much more serious mistakes, for which they were punished. The partner was unable twice to stay on her feet while performing jumping elements, as a result of which the duet remained only the second.

“The rental turned out to be unclean, I made two gross mistakes, but I need to work further,” Pavlyuchenko was concise.

At the same time, Khodykin noted that at the moment the athletes are not in perfect condition.

“Assuming the experience of last season, we do not force our form to the stages, but hope to bring our peak to the Grand Prix finals and the Russian championship ... Dasha needs more competitive experience at this level, and he comes over time,” the athlete said.

According to him, their rental was not affected by acclimatization due to the flight from the USA.

“It was difficult, but they tried to get in shape as soon as possible. They drank sleeping pills, which are issued in the national team. Everything went relatively smoothly, ”added Khodykin.

“To tear off the triple lutz is somehow embarrassing ”

In competitions of men Sergey Samarin was noted by success. In Grenoble, he took second place, losing only to the unconditional favorite in the person of Nathan Chen. According to the results of a short and free program, the lag of the Russian from the American amounted to 32.06 points.

“I made offensive mistakes, but progress is visible. The result is improving - this is the most important thing. He became the second, nice. But you need to keep your head under control, the grossest shortcomings are due to the fact that before time weakened concentration, consciousness, it's not a matter of technology. I don’t want to delve into the nuances, but tore off the triple lutz is somehow embarrassing, it was completely superfluous, ”the athlete admitted.

At the same time, Samarin said that his arbitrary number talks about the problem of modern society.

“In the program I talk about the struggle of a person with social networks. I am the one who decides where he should stay. This is a story about the situation of the 21st century, ”said the silver medalist of the competition.

In addition to Samarin, two more domestic athletes were represented in France. So, Anton Shulepov finished the tournament in last, 11th place, and Sergey Voronov - in sixth.

“During the performance I had to change the program, but the point is two unfulfilled jumps. I would like to apologize to my loved ones, and especially to my mother. I'm not going to look for excuses, but, perhaps, only I know why I should go over myself. At the moment there is no result, the rest is superfluous talk, ”Voronov said.

The Russians were left without rewards only in a dispute of dance duets. Tiffany Zagorski and Jonathan Gureyro were the only representatives of Russia in the discipline, but, like in the USA, they were able to show only the fifth point. Thus, they lost their chances of getting into the Grand Prix finals, which will be held in Turin from December 5 to 8.

“They knew that we would have difficult stages, and with good preparation, we could seriously think about the finals, but still we were not quite in a fighting condition. Everyone sets himself the task, it was ours to prepare for the national championship and perform well there, ”Gureyro explained.

At the same time, the partner noted that, in comparison with Skate America, the couple was able to make significant progress in terms of performance, but dipped in energy. Zagorski added that the cause of the failure lies in her knee injury.

“If we added to the stage in Grenoble, then due to internal reserves - last week we practically did not work out anything, we just felt ice, because the injury is relatively fresh. We need to recover, ”concluded Zagorski.