"I just want to breathe fresh air"
Russian figure skaters have returned to their homeland from the world championship that ended in Stockholm.
Despite the fact that the charter with the athletes landed in Moscow early in the morning, many fans gathered at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.
They organized a grandiose meeting for their favorites.
In connection with the sanctions of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the use of Russian state symbols was prohibited at the tournament.
However, the fans filled this gap in full: a huge flag was hung in the arrival hall, and the greeters themselves sang the country's anthem, which touched the athletes.
Not without congratulations, posters in support, numerous gifts and a sea of flowers.
One of the main heroines of the Swedish forum was the winner of the women's tournament Anna Shcherbakova.
On March 28, she celebrated her birthday, so she got a double portion of congratulations and a bouquet of 201 roses.
The bronze medalist Aleksandra Trusova received no less attention.
In response, the skater tried not to offend anyone: she willingly signed autographs, communicated with fans and patiently answered questions from journalists.
“We have the best fans.
Of course, it's very nice to see the flags and finally hear the anthem.
At the World Championships, in addition to the fact that the anthem did not sound, the flag (of the Russian Figure Skating Federation -
RT
) also fell at the award ceremony.
It's good to return home, "TASS quotes Trusova.
Due to restrictions at the World Championships, her mother Svetlana, accompanying her daughter at all competitions, could not attend.
The skater has repeatedly said that she really lacked the support of her relatives, as well as numerous pets.
Parents complied with her request and brought the poodle Lana to the airport.
The reunion of the owner and the pet was one of the most touching moments of the meeting.
View this post on Instagram
Publication from 🆃🅴🅰🅼 🆃🆁🆄🆂🅾🆅🅰 (@teamtrusova_official)
Of course, all athletes looked forward to meeting their loved ones and the opportunity to share their success with them.
Silver medalist Elizaveta Tuktamysheva admitted that she still cannot believe what happened.
“I'm very tired, I want to rest and sleep, but I'm happy.
I have not yet fully realized what happened, a lot of emotions.
I think I'll come to St. Petersburg now, a few days will pass, and I will understand what I have done.
The World Championship was well organized, there was enough of everything.
Naturally, I missed my family.
I'm glad to see my loved ones soon.
I hope my story will become an example for someone, ”Tuktamysheva said.
And the newly minted world champion in sports dancing, Alexander Gallyamov, told what he lacked in Stockholm due to strict restrictions.
“Now I just want to breathe fresh air.
We met with our foreign rivals, with whom we have known each other since junior competitions.
And now I want to see my family and friends, because before the World Cup we had another week's training camp in Novogorsk.
In total, I haven't seen them for two weeks, ”Gallyamov said.
Meeting of Russian figure skaters after the World Championships in Stockholm
"Our girls' results are a triumph"
Meanwhile, experts and experts continued to sum up the results of the tournament, which has become the most successful for the Russians since 1999, when a total of six medals of various denominations were also won.
The main heroines were single women who left no chances to rivals from other countries.
“The results of our girls are a triumph!
Even though the skates were unclean, with many blots, we occupied the entire pedestal.
This is good news.
Another confirmation of the fact that Russian women's single skating is invincible.
God grant that it will always be like this ”, - the 2006 Olympic champion in ice dancing Tatiana Navka shared her opinion.
In addition, she noted the contribution of the Russian authorities, which provided the skaters with conditions for training, despite the pandemic.
“It is important for an athlete to be in good shape, in shape, words cannot convey what professional sports are.
It is unclear why it is incredibly difficult to train, but our guys knew that there would be competitions.
This, of course, is an incentive and motivation to overcome oneself, get up, walk, break through these walls, break the shackles.
Everything worked out, and thank God, "- quotes the words of Navka RIA Novosti.
The winner of the 2017 Universiade Elena Radionova noted that all three figure skaters have written their names in history.
She expressed confidence that Trusova is able to correct the mistakes made, and also praised Shcherbakova for meeting at the right time.
Separately, the ex-athlete highlighted the achievement of Tuktamysheva.
“Lizka Tuktamysheva is the hero of this world championship for me.
Her tears in the [zone] Kiss & Cry are worth a lot.
I remember how I competed with her, how we performed together at the World Championships.
I replay my life and understand how much everything happened in it for me personally, and Lizka still skates at a high level.
This deserves respect, ”said Radionova.
At the same time, experts especially noted the performance of domestic singles.
Mikhail Kolyada took fifth place, and Evgeny Semenenko - eighth, which allowed Russia to regain the maximum quota for the upcoming Olympic Games.
According to Irina Slutskaya, this result shows the progress of men's skating in the country.
“If Kolyada hadn't made such an annoying mistake on the jump and hadn't fallen, he would have been third.
It's a shame, but if you remember what happened before, a very good result.
Our men are finally getting out of this huge hole.
At the same time, I do not understand how you can fight Nathan Chen, who churns out jumps like hot cakes.
We need to become stronger than him, and it is very difficult for our boys to do this, so they still have something to work on, ”Slutskaya said.
In turn, the Olympic champion of Salt Lake City Alexei Yagudin believes that in the near future the Russians will still be able to compete with foreign rivals.
“Russian women's single figure skating rules, but some time will pass, I think, and men will catch up.
Eteri Tutberidze works for a reason: I know that she has many good junior boys.
You just need to be patient.
It never happens that everything is perfect and sweet.
This is life, this is sport - there are ups and downs, literally and figuratively, ”Sport24 quotes Yagudin.