Aljona Savchenko has been released to the USA to continue her pairs career

[Sylvia]

Press release originally posted in the German news thread today (June 11, 2021):

Paarlauf-Olympiasiegerin Aljona Savchenko wechselt zum US-Verband

Die Deutsche Eislauf-Union e.V. ist nationaler Spitzenverband für Eiskunstlaufen, Eistanz und Synchroneiskunstlaufen und einer von nur 7 olympischen Wintersportverbänden.

www.eislauf-union.de

Olympic pair skating champion Aljona Savchenko plans to continue her sporting career in the USA after the declared end of her career. The 37-year-old announced this to the German Ice Skating Union (DEU) and applied for the start clearance via the US association. The DEU followed the request of the native Ukrainian and decided in the Presidium to give the go-ahead.

"I am very happy about this next phase of my career and I am grateful to the associations that they made this step possible," says Aljona Savchenko. “With conviction, passion and commitment, I believe that it is possible to set and achieve goals in every phase of our life and career. I'm looking forward to an exciting future in the USA. ”In Germany there is currently no partner for the six-time world champion, whose heart is still burning for competitions. So she left her long-term training location in Oberstdorf and continues her sporting path in America.

"The change came as a surprise to us after Aljona Savchenko officially announced the end of her career together with Bruno Massot a few weeks ago," commented DEU sports director Claudia Pfeifer of the decision. what she has achieved for German figure skating and we wish her all the best for the new chapter. ”The exceptional pair skater won a total of 23 international medals for the DEU with her partners Robin Szolkowy and Bruno Massot, making her the most successful German figure skater of all time. "Should Aljona Savchenko ever decide to come back to Germany, our doors are always open to her."

 

[Frau Muller]

Dalilah-T.J. Special?

 

[litenkyckling]

figure skating will never be a safe sport if survivors are consistently ignored and the most influential and well-known skaters prop the accused up in a bid to win medals. Solidarity to all survivors out there, especially in the skating community for who I'm sure today's news will be incredibly difficult. This sport needs a culture change now, not tomorrow.

 

[just tuned in]

I would like to watch the Knierim-cam right now.

 

[MsZem]

I was on board for Savchenko's partnership with Massot from the beginning, but this I just don't understand. She went out on the highest note possible - why do something that not only doesn't add to her legacy, it may well detract from it?

 

[skategal]

Wow…and it’s not even April 1.

Guess Radford missed out here.

 

[Sylvia]

Der Spiegel names TJ Nyman as Savchenko's partner:

Eiskunstlaufen: Savchenko macht doch noch weiter – in den USA

Zusammen mit Bruno Massot hatte sie Olympiagold gewonnen. Kürzlich gaben beide ihren Rücktritt bekannt. Nun steht fest: Aljona Savchenko setzt ihre Karriere fort – mit neuem Partner und neuer Trainingsheimat.

www.spiegel.de

Google translated excerpt:

The new partner... is US pair skater TJ Nyman, who finished fifth in the 2018 World Championships in the Juniors. The new duo are already training in Monument, a small performance center near Colorado Springs.
...
A joint start at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing with 21-year-old Nyman is not possible due to the different nationalities. However, the couple could qualify for the world title bouts via the US championships in late March 2022 in Montpellier, France.

ETA: It should be noted that no official source for this info is cited, however.

 

[Cherub721]

I'm sorry but

 

[Orm Irian]

Vanessa James coming back to competition I could see a rationale for. But this I'm not getting, unless 'officially becoming the oldest female skater in elite competition once Zoe Jones retires' is on Savchenko's bucket list.

Plus, Nyman is nobody's idea of a good choice for multiple reasons.

 

[my little pony]

how many concussions has Aljona had?

 

[genevieve]

I mean, TJ Nyman?

^ I wrote that before seeing the accusations against him. JFC this is a bad move.

 

[Wyliefan]

Yuck.

 

[Vagabond]

Vanessa James coming back to competition I could see a rationale for. But this I'm not getting, unless 'officially becoming the oldest female skater in elite competition once Zoe Jones retires' is on Savchenko's bucket list.

Savchenko is going to have to wait until 2030 to compete for the U.S. at the Olympics anyhow, so this gives her one more reason to stay on.

 

[Evgeniafan]

figure skating will never be a safe sport if survivors are consistently ignored and the most influential and well-known skaters prop the accused up in a bid to win medals. Solidarity to all survivors out there, especially in the skating community for who I'm sure today's news will be incredibly difficult. This sport needs a culture change now, not tomorrow.

I totally agree with this statement. I'm totally disappointed in this partnership. Another pairs team that I will not watch.

 

[mtnskater]

 

[chachacha]

figure skating will never be a safe sport if survivors are consistently ignored and the most influential and well-known skaters prop the accused up in a bid to win medals. Solidarity to all survivors out there, especially in the skating community for who I'm sure today's news will be incredibly difficult. This sport needs a culture change now, not tomorrow.

I totally agree with this statement. I'm totally disappointed in this partnership. Another pairs team that I will not watch.

I totally agree, this is a move that USFSA will regret but I guess they have no issue with how they earn medals even with this TJ who hasn't even competed at the senior level nor has clearly treated woman or the pairs partner's he has had. Didn't he just announce a new partnership in February? Did he dump that poor girl already?

 

[princeton123]

Does Bruno Massot not want to compete anymore? Am I missing something?

 

[Vagabond]

Does Bruno Massot not want to compete anymore? Am I missing something?

He's opened a new training center in France and is going to be busy coaching.

 

[chachacha]

how many concussions has Aljona had?

Probably to many based on her decision to skate with this TJ Boy who has not respect for woman or his previous partners based on the accusations he has had against him. This has to be some kind of joke no? Maybe Aljona has had one to many concussions to decide to skate with a junior level competitor and can't keep a partner or treat woman with respect. What has USFSA come to?

 

[chachacha]

Dalilah-T.J. Special?

 

[wickedwitch]

I would say this only makes sense if there's a ton of involved, but even then it barely sense. Even if Savchenko is horribly selfish and doesn't care about the many, many accusations of sexual harassment, Nyman isn't good enough as a pairs skater to warrant this move.

 

[Orm Irian]

He's opened a new training center in France and is going to be busy coaching.

He also has some pretty serious back injures that would preclude him competing again even if he wanted to.

 

[quartz]

So, “things aging pair skaters do in the off season” is now my favourite event.

 

[my little pony]

there are actually better abusive partners to pick from, if that is your jam

this is so far fetched it is like a sequel to Promising Young Woman set in an ice rink

 

[Wyliefan]

Savchenko is going to have to wait until 2030 to compete for the U.S. at the Olympics anyhow, so this gives her one more reason to stay on.

Why 2030?

 

[Vagabond]

"Promising Woman of a Certain Age."

 

[rfisher]

there are actually better abusive partners to pick from, if that is your jam

this is so far fetched it is like a sequel to Promising Young Woman set in an ice rink

That's why I think she's skating in her mental fantasy and not reality.

 

[Vagabond]

Why 2030?

It takes five years of permanent residency to qualify for U.S. citizenship, and then there is some promising time for the citizenship application itself. Savchenko would have had to have moved to the U.S. sometime last year, at the height of you-know-what, to have any chance at competing for the U.S.. in 2026.

But perhaps she can convert to Judaism, make aliyah, and pair up with Krasnopolski. They'd be perfect for each other.

 

[quartz]

I feel that @Vagabond is going to have a song for us by the end of the day.

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

Appalling.

And this German + British team wishes to represent America? Not on my watch,honey.

I weep for the Knierims.

-BB