“Change of citizenship is a personal affair of Lisa”: in Russia, they reacted to the joke of a US journalist addressed to Tuktamysheva

“There have been, are and will be changes in coaches and countries in figure skating”

At the European Figure Skating European Championships, which starts on Wednesday, Russia will be represented in the women's competition by Alena Kostornaya, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova. Another Russian figure skater Elizaveta Tuktamysheva could not get into the tournament. Olympic champion Alina Zagitova, who took a pause in her career, as well as two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva, who had withdrawn from the national championship due to problems with skates, would not come there.

Meanwhile, the Mississauga ended the championship of Canada. The American journalist Philip Hersh, who watched the ups and downs of the struggle personally, complained about the weak competition in women's single skating (the champion was 17-year-old Emily Bosbek with a very modest by today's standards result of 175.54 points. - RT ). In this regard, the specialist in a sarcastic manner invited athletes from Russia to think about changing sports citizenship.

“Given the low level of female skating in the Canadian Championships, many Russian figure skaters should look for Canadian ancestors in their pedigree. Lisette Tuktamyshevua? ”- wrote Hirsch on Twitter. However, later the journalist explained that it was just irony.

A Russian media outlet may not (or may) have realized this was tongue-in-cheek. https://t.co/k6LrlhKvPi

Nevertheless, she did not go unnoticed. The representative’s comments were commented by the coach Tuktamysheva Alexey Mishin. According to him, the skater is hardly interested in such a proposal.

“This question, of course, is best addressed to Lisa herself. Personally, I think that we, as polite people, would accept the invitation from the Canadian side, but she, as a true Russian woman, would have refused citizenship, ”the specialist said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, Mishin recalled that the very issue of changing sports citizenship remains relevant in figure skating.

“As one man once said, there were, and will be, divorces. Also, there have been, are and will be shifts in coaches and countries in figure skating. Let's remember Alyona Savchenko and Tatyana Volosozhar. I also knew one dancer who played for four countries. This should not be taken so painfully and emotionally. As it is written in our Constitution, the highest value is a person. This is the person who chooses, ”the coach added.

At the same time, the mentor Tuktamysheva preferred not to answer the question of whether changing citizenship is an option for skaters who turned out to be hostages of high competition.

“Performing at tournaments is the greatest happiness for any athlete. I won’t say anything else - draw conclusions yourself, ”Mishin concluded.

But the Olympic champion in ice dancing Natalya Bestemyanova recalled that the issue of changing sports citizenship in recent years was relevant not only in figure skating.

“When there is talk of naturalization, it just makes me laugh. Athletes themselves need to ask about such things - it is up to them to decide. What country to speak for is a personal matter of the skater. Everyone once leaves somewhere. But, on the other hand, is it only in figure skating that we observe such a tendency? Is this not the case in other sports? For example, in the same football there are naturalized players, ”Bestemyanova said in an interview with RT.

"European and world championships will turn into the championships of Russia"

At the same time, Olympic champion in men's singles Alexei Urmanov emphasized that the American journalist raised a rather important topic.

“Even if Hersh did not take this question seriously, he still raised a rather interesting topic. Indeed, today we are witnessing very great competition in women's figure skating. But in Canada, which has also never been at the last roles in this sport, women showed poor results. Of course, they want to see in their ranks as strong athletes as ours, to see competition, ”Urmanov said in an interview with RT.

The expert also recalled that several Russians competing in other countries will come to the upcoming European Championships at once.

“In just a few days at the European Championships, we will see our figure skaters, who are not representing Russia. For example, Ekaterina Ryabova, Victoria Safonova and Ekaterina Kurakova will play for Azerbaijan, Belarus and Poland, respectively. Now let's imagine that our other girls will disperse to different countries. And what then, the European and world championships will turn into the championships of Russia? ”- said Urmanov.

According to the Olympic champion, today Russians are really thinking about changing sports citizenship, and this trend is likely to continue.

“This has happened before, and I think it will happen in the future, although it is difficult to say on what scale. Of course, girls want to prove themselves and not lose years of work, so there is logic in naturalization. However, changing sports citizenship is not so easy, because there is an order of transition from one federation to another. And for this, first, our federation must give the go-ahead, ”the specialist emphasized.

In addition, in the opinion of Urmanov, recent doping scandals may also force thinking about changing the citizenship of athletes.

“Given the problems with doping in Russia, the concerns of our pure athletes are also understandable, but the work of functionaries is already important here. They need to be careful, talk with the guys. And, of course, I want that from now on such scandals do not happen. Naturally, we try to maintain patriotism and keep athletes in the country, because only competition gives rise to a result, ”Urmanov added.

At the same time, the expert called to look at the problem from the other side. According to him, representatives of the country where our athletes are leaving may suffer from a change in citizenship by Russian athletes.

“Imagine a Belarusian figure skater X who worked all her life, trained, but perhaps was not gifted enough to compete with a talented Russian woman who decided to compete in another country. As a result, she will not be able to break into some important tournament from a naturalized Russian skater. Is this fair? ”- Urmanov explained.