“You can understand them humanly”: what is known about the possible transition of Davis and Smolkin to the Israeli national team

"We want to compete with the best"

It seems that Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin are taking all possible steps to change sports citizenship.

Last year, their possible transition to the US national team was actively discussed, and at the beginning of 2023, several sources at once reported the desire of one of the leading couples to play for Israel.

According to a RIA Novosti source, no agreement has yet been reached - everything will depend on the situation with the removal of domestic athletes from international competitions.

If the ban on participation in major tournaments is lifted soon, young people will remain.

This information was also confirmed by the American journalist Dave Lees, who had previously actively covered the situation around Davis and Smolkin (including reporting on the marriage between the partners).

In another publication, they even revealed the details of the discussed change of citizenship.

Roots are required to obtain Israeli passports.

Allegedly, the grandfather of partner Grigory Moiseevich has such.

However, the country proposes to amend the law on return and prohibit the issuance of documents to relatives of the third generation.

In this case, Davis and Smolkin will not be able to play for Israel.

However, the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) noted that they have not yet received relevant requests from the couple or its representatives.

“The topic of the transfer of Davis and Smolkin was not even raised, these are all assumptions of the media that spread unconfirmed information,” the press service of the FFKKR told Match TV.

At the same time, young athletes have never hidden that they are considering the possibility of playing for another country.

In December, Gleb bluntly stated that the couple dreamed of participating in major competitions, and the prospect of competing in domestic tournaments for years did not appeal to them.

“We want to compete with the best, we want to see what our chances are in general in figure skating, ice dancing relative to the world podium - where we are and what we can achieve.

This is the most important goal.

Of course, skating for years inside Russia is probably not very attractive ... even considering the fact that our parents invest a lot in ensuring that we train with the best, in the best environment, in the best environment.

And it has to lead to something.

This is probably the most honest answer, ”Smolkin told the Championship.

“With a Russian passport, it’s hard to treat young people”

During the summer, the duo seemed close to being promoted to Team USA.

Young people left for the country and continued training there.

Against the backdrop of rumors that appeared, Davis posted a post on social networks, in which she emphasized that they intend to continue to play for Russia and will be happy to come to test skates.

However, she did not comment on the information about the marriage with a partner.

Big questions were also raised by the rental of athletes for representatives of the US Figure Skating Federation (USFS), which was observed by the head of the ISU technical committee on ice dancing, Sean Rettstatt.

Eteri Tutberidze, Diana's mother, also regularly visited the couple.

However, the transition never took place.

In the fall, the Director General of the FFKKR, Alexander Kogan, said that no relevant requests had been received by the federation.

Nevertheless, in the new season, the duet has not yet taken part in any domestic tournament.

They missed all the stages of the Grand Prix of the country, as well as the national championship in December.

Smolkin explained this with problems with documents.

Allegedly, with a Russian passport, it is difficult for him to constantly leave the United States and return there.

“We do not sit out any quarantine, at least not on purpose.

If we had Grand Prix stages, everything would go according to plan: we would perform everywhere, because we have everything ready, all programs, all costumes.

Everything was worked out for us before the test skates ... Indeed, everything was ready, with the exception of my documents.

When what happened in February happened, we immediately applied for [obtaining] a green card.

All these years that we have been training in the USA, I have constant problems with entry.

With a Russian passport, unfortunately, it is very difficult for young people, ”said the athlete.

Smolkin also admitted that they still remain on the stakes in the Russian national team, although we are not talking about big money.

Returning to the topic of a possible transition to the Israeli national team, in the summer the skaters took another step that could bring them closer to this - they unexpectedly left the famous coach Igor Shpilband, under whose leadership they achieved very noticeable success, to Alexei Kilyakov working in the USA.

The son of a specialist, 17-year-old Alexei Kilyakov, Jr., has recently been playing for the junior national team of Israel, paired with Elizaveta Tkachenko.

In the event of a change of citizenship, Davis and Smolkin will have to compete with them as well.

But the local federation is unlikely to miss the chance to get such a strong duet.

Moreover, contacts with the FFKKR have been established for a long time.

Just last year, two young single skaters moved from Russia to this country at once: 13-year-old Sofya Shifrina, ward of Evgeni Plushenko, and 14-year-old Maria Dmitrieva.

The first has already managed to win the championship of Israel.

“Everyone decides for himself the question of where to live and develop”

According to RT columnist Elena Vaitsekhovskaya, the departure of Davis and Smolkin could turn into problems for Russian figure skating, although at the beginning of the season it seemed otherwise.

“Elizaveta Khudaiberdiyeva and Yegor Bazin have not yet encountered serious problems related to the health of their partner, Annabel Morozov and David Narizhny looked like quite worthy competitors to the leaders and, of course, could take the lead roles, and Vasilisa Kaganovskaya and Valery Angelopol were gaining momentum so rapidly that it was just right to book a place for them on the podium of any Russian competition.

There were three duets available that could grow very powerfully.

Now, if you call a spade a spade, a black hole has appeared in Russian dances, and skaters may have more than one season to get out of it.

Now, for sure.

Theoretically, Davis and Smolkin could become a powerful locomotive capable of dragging the entire squad along with them, not relying on whether Alexander Stepanova and Ivan Bukin would return to the sport or not.

But practice shows that nowadays everyone prefers to save themselves alone.

And it’s hardly worth reproaching the skaters for the fact that in order to preserve their own sports life, they are ready to cling to any chance, ”complained Vaitsekhovskaya.

The experts also did not see anything wrong with changing sports citizenship.

So, the honored coach Tatyana Tarasova emphasized that now this is no surprise to anyone.

“We are in a difficult situation, and everyone decides for himself where to live and develop in his profession.

I don't condemn it.

It seems to me that Davis and Smolkin will lose from leaving the Russian team.

They could be the first couple in the national team, and this is quite serious.

But I will note that there are excellent coaches in Israel, my student Galit Khait works very well and noticeably there, ”the R-Sport specialist quotes.

Agreed with her and European champion Sergei Novitsky.

According to him, the skaters are not to blame, and their desire to perform is absolutely understandable.

“They want to take part in major international competitions: the Olympic Games, World and European Championships, Grand Prix stages.

But as part of the Russian national team, the couple today, unfortunately, cannot afford this.

No matter how anyone treats this, the desire of the athletes is understandable.

Purely humanly, Diana and Gleb can be understood, ”Novitsky said in a comment to RT.

However, he doubted that their hypothetical transfer could become an unpleasant precedent and that other leading skaters of the national team would follow to other countries.

“If one of them really wanted to change citizenship, they would have done it long ago.

Still, the suspension from all tournaments under the auspices of the ISU has been in effect for almost a year.

No one keeps the guys at home by force.

Of course, everyone dreams of returning to the international arena, but the moment to leave, I think, is lost, ”added Novitsky.