“There were no outstanding prospects”: figure skaters Shanaeva and Drozd stopped performing together

“They just came and said they weren’t skating together anymore.”

Information about the breakup of the dancing duet of figure skaters Elizaveta Shanaeva - Pavel Drozd appeared in the domestic media on the afternoon of March 24. Moreover, it was reported that the partner, who will turn 29 at the end of the year, is ready to end his career. According to one of the sources, the decision was mutual, since the athletes were not satisfied with their results.

Later, the rumors were confirmed by the duet coach Alexander Zhulin.

"Yes it's true. They don't ride together anymore. The reason is internal to them. We need to ask them questions. They just came and said that they no longer skate together,” the Sport-Express specialist quotes.

Later Pavel Drozd made comments. He assured that he was not going to hang up his skates and said that he was currently training with Ksenia Rumyantseva. He also thanked the entire previous team.

“I am sincerely grateful for the knowledge and work invested in me, for each production that was brought to life. We said a very warm goodbye to Alexander Vyacheslavovich and the team and continue to keep in touch, which I am very happy about. I also want to thank Elizabeth for our journey together. Lisa is a good dancer, I want to wish her success in her future sports career,” the athlete explained in a commentary to TASS.

Silver in the Russian Championship and a scandalous clash with Morozov

The decision of the young people to separate was partly surprising, since they played together for only a couple of seasons and managed to achieve good results. The girl had previously skated with David Narizhny, but did not shine with him at the adult level. The much older Drozd worked with Anastasia Safronova, Valeria Podlazova, Alla Loboda, Ksenia Konkina, and Angelika Abashkina.

However, the Shanaeva-Drozd pair quickly began to please the fans and made a splash already at their debut joint tournament, the Panin Memorial, where they won. Then there were two silver medals at the Russian Grand Prix.

It is much more important that the athletes then took second place at the national championship, losing only to Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva and Yegor Bazin. At the same time, they took gold, despite the fall of their partner in both box office events, which caused dissatisfaction on the part of their rivals.

“Previously, if a pair fell, it would fly off.” But you have to watch a slow-motion replay, look for it... Today they were the first,” Shanaeva was indignant.

In turn, Drozd then promised that in the future he and Elizabeth would become even stronger, and nothing would break them. These words were confirmed by the silver of the Russian Grand Prix final, where the newcomers let only Vasilisa Kaganovskaya and Valery Angelopol advance.

It seemed that the duo would continue to progress next season, and Zhulin could not be happier with the hard work and efficiency of his players. In September they presented new programs at the national team's skates. Then the couple managed to take the already familiar second place at the Russian Grand Prix stages in Krasnoyarsk and Moscow, and in the capital they even surpassed the 200 point mark.

However, the first tournament was more remembered for the scandalous clash with Annabelle Morozov. While skating before the rhythm dance, Shanaeva accidentally cut her opponent’s leg with her skate. The girl’s shin was immediately bandaged, and she managed to get on the ice. And after the end of the skate, the athlete burst into tears in the arms of her partner. As a result, the duet still withdrew from the free program.

Some even accused Elizabeth of intentionally injuring her rival and, at the very least, of negligence. She herself assured that everything happened by accident.

“I didn’t even feel anything. All I heard was “Oh, that hurts” and an obscene word. Maybe she ran into her partner? If it’s with me, I’ll apologize,” the figure skater emphasized in hot pursuit.

And Drozd told how they later met with Morozov and Andrei Bagin at the hotel and discussed everything.

“Our sport is dangerous for injuries, and this, unfortunately, happens at major tournaments. It is very unfortunate that such situations occur. We hope for a speedy recovery and recovery. Were you able to communicate? In the morning we crossed paths with Annabelle. It’s also not entirely ethical or correct to climb right away. We are all adults,” he noted.

At the national championship, an unfortunate failure awaited the couple. According to the results of the rhythm dance, she became only fourth. In the second part of the competition, it was not possible to improve the situation, and the athletes were left with “wooden” awards.

“We would be fools if we say that we are not upset that we were left without medals. Let’s study the video in more detail so as not to make hasty conclusions. We have been riding for many years and can say that we have done our job well. We were glad we skated the free program, we got a lot of emotions. The Russian Championship is the central start of the season, the most important. There are nerves here, and you want to show your best. We believe that Lisa and I have done high-quality work, and we will not stop,” Drozd assessed the performance.

It was not possible to improve their performance at the Spartakiad of the Strongest, where the athletes dropped to fifth place. And even at the Russian Challenge they demonstrated a similar result. But at least at the final (as it turned out) joint tournament they presented an interesting number on the theme from the film “Office Romance.”

This did not greatly brighten up an overall unsuccessful season. Moreover, Zhulin even found it difficult to answer why the growth of his wards stopped.

“It’s hard to say, maybe other athletes have progressed, maybe something didn’t work out for the guys themselves, although it seemed to me that they skated with dignity at all tournaments,” the specialist noted.

Drozd attributed everything to the “second season syndrome,” which usually turns out to be more difficult for young couples than the debut.

“The season was not easy, but I can say with full responsibility that we did our best and will do even more. We are definitely not ashamed of what we showed at the starts,” the “Championship” quoted the partner.

“They would be uncompetitive on a global level.”

According to experts interviewed by RT, there is nothing wrong with the breakup of a couple. Honored Coach of the USSR Tatyana Tarasova spoke out especially harshly, saying that the skaters did not leave a mark in her memory.

“That’s why I don’t see a tragedy in the breakup of the duet. I repeat, the guys were not remembered, although they took second place at the Russian Championship. The most important thing is not this, but the lack of individuality. They didn't give us anything new. In my opinion, Shanaeva and Drozd skated absolutely averagely. Accordingly, they also did not have any outstanding prospects. They would be uncompetitive on a global level, and the rest doesn't interest me. It’s now difficult to judge their future,” Tarasova emphasized.

In turn, Olympic champion Natalya Bestemyanova believes that the girl is talented and deserves a better partner.

“I’m absolutely sure: if she finds one like that, she will show much more impressive results. But now it’s hard to speculate on which dancer would be suitable for Elizabeth,” she suggested.

According to Bestemyanova, with Drozd the athlete did not demonstrate her maximum capabilities.

“This happens in figure skating when you understand: this partner is simply not yours. Moreover, athletes themselves can be very good, but when they come together as a duo, something is missing. And it's not always about human relationships. And in no case do I want to blame Pavel for everything, since I don’t know him. I really love Lisa very much. I think she is extremely talented. I just think the reason is that they have different goals in life. Shanaeva needs to shine at the highest level. Drozd apparently has other tasks,” added the Olympic champion.

RT columnist Elena Vaitsekhovskaya recalled that domestic ice dancing has long been accustomed to constant rearrangements, and therefore one should not be surprised at the breakup of another duet. However, at the same time, in this situation, she sympathized with the young man and advised him to think about moving to a coaching position.

“Drozd has essentially been chasing some kind of ghostly bird of happiness throughout his career, changing partners (I don’t remember now whether there were six or seven of them) and coaches in a circle. Sometimes it seems that deep down in his soul Pavel is firmly convinced that he simply has not yet found his people in this world. Suitable. Those who will definitely lead him to a bright, productive future...” the Olympic champion wrote.

“Although I’m thinking about something else now. The more such specialists there are in the dance coaching workshop - with unrealized potential, but the deepest understanding of all the intricacies of adjusting to each other and the rules, the faster Russian dances will have a chance to become really interesting and competitive. It sounds utopian, I understand. But you have to hope for something good? Therefore, I would advise Pavel specifically not to waste time,” summed up Vaitsekhovskaya.