“Not the strongest leave”: FFKKR reported 19 Russian skaters who applied for a change of citizenship

“There are no top-level skaters among those who applied”

Data on the number of Russian skaters who decided to change their citizenship in 2022 caused a serious resonance in the world of domestic sports.

The FFKKR reported that much more people are submitting relevant applications than the media becomes aware of.

In general, since the beginning of the year, 19 people have made a request to transfer.

Two-thirds of them arrived on time and were approved.

The remaining seven will be considered at the executive committee of the federation in December.

The names of the athletes were not disclosed, but it is noted that not a single leading athlete was included in the list.

“Top-level skaters who were participants in the Olympic Games, winners or prize-winners of the World or European Championships, are currently not among the applicants,” the organization emphasized.

In turn, the president of the FFKKR, Alexander Gorshkov, could not name their exact number, but confirmed that "there are quite a lot of applications."

General Director Alexander Kogan also refused to make public the specific names, noting that they will become known when the decision of the executive committee comes into force, and all the necessary documents are processed.

At the same time, according to the functionary, the federation does not intend to soften the rules for any of its athletes and will insist on a standard quarantine for them when changing citizenship.

It implies a ban on performing under the flag of a new country for a year.

If we are talking about members of the national team, this period will increase to two years.

Moreover, the organization in this case has the right to veto the transition.

At the same time, some skaters, despite the sanctions imposed on Russia, on the contrary, made a decision for themselves to return.

Four people went down this path at once: Anastasia Kobzareva, Andrey Kakaraza, Alexandra Lyubimova and Arina Panfilova.

The first went to the national team of Belgium, and Lyubimova - Georgia.

The two remaining athletes competed for Germany.

“All of them have now re-switched sports citizenship.

It should also be noted that over the past couple of years, cases have become more frequent when national federations, some time after sending a request, withdraw it.

Three requests have already been withdrawn this year,” Kogan added.

“Moved to Canada due to my father’s job”

The names of some skaters who wished to move to other countries are already well known to fans.

Only in August did the exact information about the three girls appear.

13-year-old Inga Gurgenidze, studying with Lyudmila Gafarova in Kazan, will henceforth represent Georgia.

She is declared for the third stage of the Grand Prix among juniors, which will be held in Riga in September.

If Gurgenidze could hardly help the Russian team in the future, then the departure of Ulyana Shiryaeva to Canada turned out to be a more noticeable loss.

By the age of 15, she not only mastered the triple Axel, but, according to her former coach Alexei Vasilevsky, she was almost ready to perform the quadruple salchow and sheepskin coat.

At the same time, in her case, the decision to leave the Motherland was associated with the choice of parents.

“Ulyana left with them a few months ago, before leaving, they processed the documents.

On the eve of her departure to Canada, she only spent three months in Moldova ... They periodically get in touch and moved to Canada in connection with the work of their father, they did not have much choice.

Documents have already been submitted to the federation, these are the rules, ”explained Vasilevsky.

Following her compatriots, 14-year-old Maria Dmitrieva, who received an offer from Israel, took a similar step.

The FFKKR confirmed that they would consider her appeal in December.

Unlike Shiryaeva, the girl was considered not so talented, but she managed to work in the group of the famous specialist Alexei Mishin and even learn the triple axel.

The mentor also praised the ward for emotional skating, "which you can not help but like."

However, in the spring, the skater went to change her coach, moving to the group of Sergei Rozanov, and then completely decided to continue her career in another country.

“The decision was made not by the skaters themselves, but by their parents”

According to three-time Olympic champion Irina Rodnina, the wave of departure of skaters, as in the case of Shiryaeva, was most likely launched by parents who are trying to find better conditions for their children.

“For many, this is an opportunity to break into major competitions.

In Russia, the competition is very tough, and speaking for third countries, there is a chance to get to the European Championships, World Championships and the Olympic Games.

I repeat, in my opinion, in most cases, the decision to change sports citizenship was made not by the skaters themselves, but by their parents.

We have already experienced such a moment when the USSR collapsed.

Then the guys who were not even close to the national team began to play for Kazakhstan, Belarus, Germany, etc.

But it's one thing when you find yourself in Russia or the USA, and another thing - in states that have no weight in the world of figure skating, no traditions, no history.

Well, you can check the box.

Such skaters then write about themselves I am Olympian, implying that they went to the Olympics.

But we are talking exclusively about participation, and not about winning a medal, ”Rodnina explained in a conversation with RT.

World champion Maria Butyrskaya suggested that if it were not for the restrictions imposed on Russia by the ISU, many of the indicated list would have remained at home.

“We must not forget that we are one of the most powerful countries in figure skating.

Russia has a very strong federation and incredible competition.

It is clear that here you can make more progress than in other places.

If you enter the top with us, then everything will be fine on the international arena, ”said the champion of the planet in 1999.

At the same time, both Rodnina and Butyrskaya agreed that far from the strongest athletes left the country, and there is no talk of the leaders leaving.

For the rest, according to Butyrskaya, the FFKKR does its best so that they have the opportunity to perform and earn money.

“Not the strongest and not the best leave.

Let them try this way.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to say how the situation will develop if the ban is prolonged.

It’s even hard for me to imagine what the guys are experiencing now, and to put myself in their place.

But FFKKR does everything for them in this situation.

For example, in the new season, Grand Prix stages will be held, where it is planned to attract foreigners.

Of course, this is not the Olympics, but the skaters are no different from their counterparts from other species.

Everyone suffered,” she complained.

At the same time, both Rodnina and Butyrskaya believe that the suspension of domestic skaters cannot last forever, since the ISU itself loses a lot from their absence and cannot but think about lifting sanctions.

“Let's hope for the best.

This should not drag on for a lifetime: sooner or later, the sanctions will come to an end.

Moreover, figure skating without the Russians is impossible to imagine.

It seems to me that the ISU will soon realize that this has a detrimental effect on the level of competition, and on the watchability, and on the interest of the audience.

You just have to wait a little.

It’s one thing to remove the Russians from football, another from figure skating, ”summed up the world champion.