Russian figure skaters Alyona Kostornaya, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexander Trusova confidently occupied the entire podium in the Grand Prix finals in Turin. According to Maxim Trankov, Olympic champion in pair skating, such a result was quite expected.
“One can only hope that over time, lone skaters will be drawn to our athletes. But the Russians are, of course, ahead of the rest. And Eteri Tutberidze is, of course, today the number one coach in women's skating, ”Trankov noted.
At the same time, despite the decent backlog that Alena Kostornaya created for herself after a short program, her victory was by no means guaranteed, the two-time Olympic champion believes.
“I will not say that Alena’s triumph was expected. I was not sure that it would combine technology and skating so well. But she has this balance, and at the moment I consider her the best skater and I am personally a fan of her. She showed that not only technology is important: thanks to Alena, figure skating won in the Grand Prix finals, and I am very happy about this, ”added the source.
At the same time, he emphasized that the main starts of the season are still ahead and, in spite of such success, it is impossible for Russians to relax.
“The entire podium at the Grand Prix finals is, of course, nice, but still it is only a step, not a title. Success should spur girls to further work. Ahead is the championship of Russia, the championship of Europe and the world. Then the season will only be more interesting, ”said the former athlete.
Alexander Trusov, who won the bronze in her free program, announced five quadruple jumps at once. According to Trankov, this is a fantastic level of training that Russian men's single skating lacks.
“Thanks to Sasha, we believed that in one program there could be five quads at once. We can only enjoy and rejoice that we have witnessed such a breakthrough. I repeat, our men need to reach for the girls, ”said the skater.
However, as Trankov noted, excellent physical fitness also does not guarantee victory.
“Trusova, of course, is now creating a hopping story. She is already a great skater, I’m ready to repeat it five times. But still they win in this sport not only due to jumping. Aesthetics and artistry are half the success. If Sasha adds them to her technique, she will have great achievements, ”said Tatyana Volosozhar, partner.
This Grand Prix final was a failure only for the Olympic champion Alina Zagitova, who, according to the results of the tournament, took only sixth place. But, as Trankov emphasized, she perfectly skated her short program. In addition, the skater did not agree with Tatiana Tarasova and Ilya Averbukh, who commented on the competition, who noted live that the changes in Zagitova’s body were visible to the naked eye.
“I do not agree with this; for me, it did not look heavy on ice. Everyone is growing up, this is normal, and Alina is now in great shape. My goosebumps went from her short program. And not everyone can bring goosebumps of Maxim Trankov, believe me, ”he added.
The Olympic champion also emphasized that, despite the setbacks, it is premature to say that Zagitova’s career is nearing completion. He does not agree with the fact that the Olympic champion can repeat the fate of another Russian figure skater - Evgenia Medvedeva, who recently has not shown high results.
“I don’t think that Medvedeva has any serious decline. Both she and Alina Zagitova glorified Russian women's figure skating. As for the latter, she is the Olympic champion and the only one in history to have all the titles in this sport. What kind of sunset career can we talk about? These are all empty words, in fact, Zagitova did a lot for figure skating, and no one else can boast of what she achieved. Moreover, the current success of our girls also became possible only thanks to what Alina did. All of them are equal to her, ”the specialist emphasized.