Criticism of Russians and recognition of Aliyev’s father

The European Figure Skating Championships ended a few days ago, but there is still talk about it. The ambiguous statement of the sports director of the German Figure Skating Federation Udo Dönsdorf about Russian singles caused a wave of indignation among domestic specialists. According to the functionary, the appearance of young athletes, one after another, who do not leave chances to their rivals, not only looks like a conveyor belt, but also kills competition in sports.

In response, the honored trainer of the USSR Tatyana Tarasova urged Dönsdorf to focus on the problems of his own team, which is currently in crisis.

“The results of athletes compared to the times of the great Jutta Muller are scanty! If the age is divided, then it will be even worse. They will lose at all ages. There will be three ages - they will lose in three. There will be four - in four. By a large margin. Envy is a great sin! And we must remember this! ”- quotes Tarasova Sport24.

At the continental championship in Austrian Graz, the top three lines were taken by Alena Kostornaya, Anna Scherbakova and Alexander Trusova, respectively. According to the 2006 Olympic champion Tatyana Navka, it was this fact that caused the indignation of the German functionary.

“When the Russians win, all the time someone is outraged. Each case of an athlete is individual. A career can last up to 30 years, and can end at 17. I definitely can’t say for every skater. For example, after 30 I won the Olympics, ”Navka Sputnik quotes.

At the same time, at the championship of the continent, not one of the Russians escaped falls in the free program, but after a short time did not leave any chance for their rivals. Some suggested that the mistakes were related to their changes in growth, however, the silver medalist of the 2015 World Cup Alyona Leonova expressed the opinion that the skaters were tired after the Russian championship.

“We are used to the fact that the girls ride cleanly, but they are not robots. Maybe now they will be given a little exhale, and then with renewed vigor the preparations for the primacy of the planet will begin. If after the Russian championship it was almost immediately necessary to begin preparations for Europe, now you can pause, there’s time for this, ”Leonova said in an interview with the Team of Russia portal.

It is interesting that the newly made European champion Kostornaya very modestly assessed her result.

“C grade, I could skate better! This was not the result that needed to be shown, but overall I am satisfied, ”Kostornaya said on the air of Channel One.

The triumph of the men's competition was the Russian Dmitry Aliyev. His father, Sergei Aliyev, praised the hard work of his son and told what sacrifices he himself had to make.

“We sent SMS to Dima and his trainer. When everything calmed down, at about two in the morning, Moscow time, he called us and asked: "Dad, are you satisfied?" I had tears, a feeling of joy and fatigue. You must sacrifice something to achieve such success. I see my son a year no more than 3-5 days. When a child is far away, you do not see how he sleeps, how he eats. This is difficult, ”Aliyev, the senior Komsomolskaya Pravda quoted Aliyev as saying.

Forecasts for the World Cup and the Russian national team

After the European Championships, many experts traditionally summarize the preliminary results of the season and, based on this, make predictions for the World Cup, which this year will be held in mid-March in Montreal, Canada. The Honored Coach of Russia Alexey Gorshkov suggested that the victory of the dance duo Victoria Sinitsina - Nikita Katsalapov will be the starting point for the domestic pair skating.

“This is a truly historic victory; Russia has been without gold in dancing for six years. I really hope that the situation in our confrontation with the Montreal international school will now reverse. The hegemony of the French duo Gabriella Papadakis - Guillaume Sizeron is interrupted, a further Russian breakthrough is very possible, ”Gorshkov quotes the publication“ Moscow Nights ”.

In turn, the winners of the competition for sports pairs of Alexander Boykov, Dmitry Kozlovsky, decided to refrain from making loud statements and did not include themselves among the favorites of the upcoming championship of the planet. According to the partner, such thoughts can play a cruel joke with any athlete.

“We have such a sport - an individual one, where there is no direct interaction with opponents. We do not run the sprint distance in parallel with each other. We do not go out to fight, as in boxing. This is all indirect, they performed - they got points. This is an extramural struggle. That's why when we ride, we compete with ourselves, ”Kozlovsky said in an interview with TASS.

Meanwhile, fans are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Russian national team for the tournament in Montreal. However, the President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) Alexander Gorshkov urged not to rush things and wait for the return of all athletes from the European Championship.

“The skaters have not yet got off the podium of the European Championship, and you already want to know the composition. They are still flying. They are on the way. US team already announced roster? These are their problems. We still have to get together, discuss everything, ”Gorshkov explained to the Sport Day to Day portal.

Kostornaya's plans and Medvedeva’s publication

This season, problems with skates have already cost some Russians the results. So, the silver medalist of the Olympics in Pyeongchang, Evgenia Medvedev, was forced to withdraw from the free program of the country's championship due to broken shoes, and the bronze medalist of the 2019 world team championship, Alexander Samarin, had to change sports shoes immediately before the start of the continental championship, which hardly affected his form for the better.

In order to avoid a similar situation, the winner of the silver tournament in Graz Scherbakova will start to run new skates now.

“There will be a little more time before the competition. First, I’ll roll it out, we will continue to work out programs and learn new elements. We don’t plan to go to other starts yet, ”said the skater.

The European Championship ended with a traditional gala dinner, but the organizers decided to diversify the event by adding local flavor to it. All participants were invited to dance the waltz. In one pair were the winners of the men's and women's tournaments. Sharing her impressions of the event, Kostornaya said that now she has a new goal.

“I'm going to learn to dance a waltz. What for? We’ve got into a situation that we don’t know how to dance, and we need to fix it somehow! ”Kostornaya said.

Unlike representatives of many other sports, skaters are constantly under the scrutiny of fans. The other day, Medvedev was spotted in a company with her bandmate Brian Orser, Canadian Nam Nguyen. The athletes are connected by friendly relations, and one of the evenings they spent in the restaurant.

Later, Nguyen shared a video with his followers on Instagram, which was attended by a Russian woman.

“A special guest this evening,” said the Canadian.

Another loner missing the European Championship, and behind him the championship of the planet, is Elizaveta Tuktamysheva. Despite the high competition from younger colleagues, she not only does not intend to hang skates on a nail, but also plans to get to the European Championship in 2021.

“It’s cool to become part of an event like this, it was especially interesting to be at the European Championships not as a spectator, but as a commentator - an unforgettable experience. However, next year I will do my best to become one of the participants. Still, first of all, I am an athlete, and then a commentator, ”Tuktamysheva wrote on Instagram.

Meanwhile, it became known that the world champion will take part in the closing ceremony of the St. tennis tournament Petersburg Ladies' Trophy, which will be held in early February in the northern capital. This information was confirmed by the general director of the tournament, Alexander Medvedev, without specifying what exactly will be its role.

“She can effectively act in demonstration numbers,” Sport Express quotes Medvedev.

But fans of the dancing couple Betina Popova - Sergey Mozgov, was disappointed. Their mentor, Angelica Krylova, announced that the skaters risk missing out on the 2020/21 season due to a partner injury. According to her, at the moment, their training has come to naught, which means that they completely fell out of the work schedule.

“It seems that next month Sergey will be operated abroad. It is very unfortunate that they dropped out, because everything was: both the program and everything else. I did what I depended on, but such a situation developed that they can’t perform due to their health, and I can’t say the whole prospect for the next season, nothing is yet known, ”Krylova said.