Wake-up call: why Trusova's track and field debut could be a step towards ending her figure skating career

If Alexandra Trusova did not exist in figure skating, she would definitely be worth inventing.

How in 1972 the gymnastic world came up with Olga Korbut.

Not in the literal sense - the athlete was the most real, just until the very beginning of her first Olympic Games, which were held in Munich 50 years ago, Korbut was not at all considered the brightest star in gymnastics.

This role was assigned to Lyudmila Turishcheva - the main prima, which, as it was then believed, was completely impossible to beat: her outstanding mentor Vladislav Rastorotsky prepared such a refined and versatile athlete.

Yes, and the titles of Turishcheva spoke for themselves: a four-time Olympic champion, winner of seven gold medals of the world championships and eight of Europe, and five of the listed awards were won in the all-around.

At that time, medals in individual types were not too valued.

Like team gold, it was taken for granted, and the USSR women's team won it at the Olympic Games, starting from 1952, eight times in a row.

Only one was considered the main award - in the absolute championship, and just Korbut lost it in Munich: she remained fifth.

But it was there, in Germany, that Olga put the whole world at her feet.

Performing during the all-around combination on the uneven bars with many innovative unique elements, she broke down and burst into tears at the top of her voice in front of the cameras, lying on the mats.

It was absolutely impossible to remain indifferent at this moment, looking at a 17-year-old child overwhelmed with grief, although from the point of view of reason, the situation was extremely paradoxical: before arriving at the Olympic Games, Korbut did not have a single more or less significant title, and then she never managed to achieve absolute victory in gymnastics - they all went to others.

The scale of worship that hit Korbut at the end of 1972, the world, perhaps, has never seen.

Actually, the main merit of the athlete was not the medals at all, but the promotion of her kind, which the gymnast did a year after the Munich Games during the long tour of the USSR national team in the USA.

Just after him, all of America was covered with a network of gymnastic schools, each of which the owners assigned the name Korbut and by all means tried to get themselves at least for a while, if not Olga herself, then at worst any Soviet coach.

Sasha Trusova was less fortunate: at the time of her highest triumph, which eclipsed in Beijing the result of both the favorite of the Olympic season, Kamila Valieva, and the champion Anna Shcherbakova, the outside world turned out to be tightly closed for the skater.

But even within Russia, she is now an unconditional star, which no other figure skater on the planet is able to compare with (which is quite obvious) in popularity.

If on June 9 Sasha manages to assemble a full athletics stadium for his debut performance, there will be absolutely nothing surprising in this: the public is always eager to see the stars, and only secondarily - the results.

In this context, it does not matter at all what kind of achievements Sasha is capable of in a new form for herself.

Yes, history knows many cases when outstanding athletes achieved brilliant success in other sports disciplines: American speed skater Eric Hayden (five Olympic gold medals at the 1980 Olympic Games) won the US professional cycling championship, took part in the famous Tour de France and Giro d'Italia.

The three-time winner of the Olympic Games in Beijing and the owner of the relay gold in Vancouver Teresa Johaug won the track and field championship in Norway and even qualified for the World Championships in the 10 km run.

And the eight-time Olympic biathlon champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen successfully competed in cross-country skiing.

For most, such a change of activity is just a fun, nothing more.

After difficult (and especially successful) Olympic seasons, athletes in general tend to want to switch, to put their appearance out of their heads, at least for a while.

As Matt Biondi, a six-time Olympic champion in swimming at that time, did in 1988 when he went into water polo.

Another question is what will happen to Trusova then?

Will she be able to return to the "old water" and remain competitive when the world opens its borders to Russian athletes?

Will Shcherbakova and Valieva succeed in this, and, most importantly, will they themselves want it?

Theoretically, there is nothing impossible in this.

Especially now, when other age criteria will be introduced in figure skating from day to day.

It’s just that even in this situation it makes sense to remember that all three outstanding figure skaters will no longer have to compete with each other, but with those who are in the rearguard and are already nibbling the training ice every day.

We can also recall the words of Elena Buyanova to Adelina Sotnikova, who never returned to sports after the Olympic victory:

“You know how it happens: you walked, walked, walked towards the goal, reached it and gave yourself a weakness.

It seems to be nonsense: you take a step back at the right moment, and again you will be in your former life.

And this is not so at all ... ”, - said the coach.

It is for this reason that I do not really believe in a possible comeback either by Trusova or any of the best Russian single skaters at the moment.

The same Valieva intends to ride at the show in Sochi until the end of September, and, despite the words of Tatyana Navka that the performances have been agreed with the mentors and will be built into the schedule for preparing Camila for the competitions of the new season, this, of course, is not at all the kind of work which an athlete who is serious about continuing his career must perform.

The same can be said about Shcherbakova and Trusova.

The further they all now move away from the usual and exhausting training process in which they have been for years, the more difficult it will be to force themselves to give up the temptations of the life that has opened up after the Games and take the very step back that Buyanova spoke about.

On the other hand, is it necessary?

After all, the current example of the same Trusova is able to attract much more girls to the sport than all the previous performances of the figure skater at European and world championships.

As in 1973, Korbut did it in passing, having swept across the USA.

So burn, Sasha, seize the moment!

And we will get sick.