Russian figure skating news in 2023

[Ananas Astra]

I always enjoyed them, they had innovative elements, I loved her resting bitchface and his puppiness.
I will miss them and I hope to see them again in some way.

 

[Sylvia]

Translation of a Sport24.ru interview (April 5) with Denis Khodykin by Konstantin Lesik:

Denis Khodykin: “Our joint journey with Daria Pavliuchenko has come to an end. This season Dasha had an injury, the recovery was delayed and we never started training again.”

Russian pair Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin splitted up.

fs-gossips.com

 

[TAHbKA]

Skoptsova/Konstantinova/Popova/Khodykin just talking some unrelated fun (am in the middle and not sure where will it go but seems like Popova and Khodykin are fine being in the same room)

 

[clairecloutier]

I’m not reading too many Russian interviews right now but this one with Gleikhengauz is hard to resist, as he bemoans the loss of Western music apps that make his job easier:

Daniil Gleikhengauz: “Because of Spotify and iTunes are not working in Russia now, I’m fraught with the loss of my job. It’s become much harder to find music.”

Daniil Gleikhengauz told about he got to the group of Eteri Tutberidze and how he selects music for the future performances.

fs-gossips.com

 

[Miezekatze]

That interview made me laugh through my whole breakfast this morning

 

[Vagabond]

That interview made me laugh through my whole breakfast this morning

The interviewer must be Ivana Komova working anonymously.

 

[ChelleC]

I burst out laughing at that interview with Danny G. Poor baby.

 

[Bigbird]

I burst out laughing at that interview with Danny G. Poor baby.

Was he really being serious or was he just being a ? And you tell me they don't live in an alternate universe.

 

[Sylvia]

Jan. 4-5, 2023:

Kostiukovich officially retired.

Polina Kostiukovich's post (eta & pics of career highlights) yesterday: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cm_82uUpiRW/

Just came across Polina K's Instagram post one month ago that said she signed a 7-month contract to skate on a cruise ship (Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas): https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp5vn03I-ea/
On the ship today (with 3 of her fellow skaters): https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq9A5YjuMyj/

 

[TAHbKA]

Sokolovskaya and Rukavitsin are doing an off season training together in Armenia.
Hope someone becomes an Armenian in the process

 

[TAHbKA]

Was he really being serious or was he just being a ? And you tell me they don't live in an alternate universe.

He is not being serious. Unlike the common belief he and Dudakov both have a dedent sense of humour.

 

[rfisher]

Sokolovskaya and Rukavitsin are doing an off season training together in Armenia.
Hope someone becomes an Armenian in the process

I nominate Aliev. And Ignatov (not for his skating).

 

[TAHbKA]

Am not sure who is that well off. According to Galustian she got 0 funding and was able to.go on because she was coached by her father on the public ice.

 

[Yuri]

Anton Sikharulidze is the new Acting President of FFKKR, the Russian Figure Skating Federation, following the death of Alexander Gorshkov in December. The lengthy Sport-Express article also discusses his professional skating and coaching career, restaurant, and venture into Russian politics.

Сихарулидзе — во главе фигурного катания России. Чем он занимался после скандала в Солт-Лейк-Сити?

Антон работал в США, занимался ресторанным бизнесом и политикой и открывал школу Тамары Москвиной.

www.sport-express.ru

On Monday, April 17, it became known that Anton Sikharulidze will act as president of the FFKKR. CEO Alexander Kogan, who served in these functions after the death of the previous president, Alexander Gorshkov, from December 2022, voluntarily resigned from these duties.

- I'm interested in it, and I'm ready to get involved. Until 2026, when the reporting and election conference will take place, there is time to gain experience, to delve into all the issues," the press service of the federation quotes Sikharulidze.

 

[rfisher]

Am not sure who is that well off. According to Galustian she got 0 funding and was able to.go on because she was coached by her father on the public ice.

I think funding is limited to only those who make the national team and that's the top 5 at nationals? Or maybe top 10? A few skaters have parental financial support, but very few. This is one of the reasons skating is so competitive within Russia.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I think funding is limited to only those who make the national team and that's the top 5 at nationals? Or maybe top 10? A few skaters have parental financial support, but very few. This is one of the reasons skating is so competitive within Russia.

There have been numerous interviews in which Russian skaters have described getting their first prize money when they were quite young. Not that it was much more than for a treat or to pay for a small skating expense, but it does show that there is some money to be competitive for early -- probably more as the ranks get higher -- while I've never heard of that for smaller local or regional.comps for young skaters in the US or Canada, where it appears there are bragging rights and mostly on-the-cheap-side medals/trophies.

 

[Vagabond]

FFKKR: The name says it all.

 

[rfisher]

There have been numerous interviews in which Russian skaters have described getting their first prize money when they were quite young. Not that it was much more than for a treat or to pay for a small skating expense, but it does show that there is some money to be competitive for early -- probably more as the ranks get higher -- while I've never heard of that for smaller local or regional.comps for young skaters in the US or Canada, where it appears there are bragging rights and mostly

 

[TAHbKA]

I think funding is limited to only those who make the national team and that's the top 5 at nationals? Or maybe top 10? A few skaters have parental financial support, but very few. This is one of the reasons skating is so competitive within Russia.

You're talking about Russia. Am talking abour Armenia. Anastasia Galustian was their n.1 skater and she never got any funding. I fail to see how would it be different with Danielyan or anyone else who would choose to represent Armenia.

In Russia the funding works differently - there is some money the top 6 get and there is the funding the club gets. The club funding depends on the skaters' results within that club. At any rate, at some point the ice/coaching is free (for instance Rukavitsin and his club were getting the funding thanks to Aliev, thus allowing Gubanova and Ignatiev training)

 

[AngieNikodinovLove]

I am watching a video on YouTube now that Aliona K switched to Pairs? is this being discussed somewhere?

 

[Sylvia]

"Old" news - first posted on Jan. 16 in this thread:

According to RIA Kostornaya switched to pairs to skate with Kunitsa.

Alena Kostornaia posted this 5 days ago: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrFyaVuI5Yw/
Machine translation:

After staging programs, the question immediately arises, should we talk about the music or keep the intrigue, so let's guess the music for our short program with @georgy_kunitsa13

Kunitsa recently posted that they are hosting a training camp, May 15-22 in Kirov, Kaluga region: https://alionageorgiysbory.tilda.ws/

 

[AngieNikodinovLove]

"Old" news - first posted on Jan. 16 in this thread:

Alena Kostornaia posted this 5 days ago: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrFyaVuI5Yw/
Machine translation:

Kunitsa recently posted that they are hosting a training camp, May 15-22 in Kirov, Kaluga region: https://alionageorgiysbory.tilda.ws/

k. I don’t frequent this thread. But I had a YouTube video that knew my algorithm and I saw that this morning.

 

[TAHbKA]

An interview with Kostornaya by RIA's Zhukov and Averina sisters published in vk.com
why pairs? Because after the surgery in September she came back to the ice and realized she can't do the jumps anymore - it was painful. She had a show ahead of her for which she had to learn the pair elements and from there on they tried.
She has a hip injury
on throw jumps and pain: I have to do less, it's the partner, it's the take off that is painful, while in the pairs she has her partner doing that job for her.
on the federation: first they were sceptical about her switching to the pairs, but now they are supportive.
why Kunitsa: just happened. By that time he have been skating pairs for a while which quite experienced partners but things didn't work out. First they were in the shows only, then Kostornaya offered to try out and he agreed to approach the coaches and try.
the plans: they want to make it to the team. The competition is huge.
The parents/relatives always support her, the friends - Anna, Daria and the others were a bit shocked.
Combining the personal relationship and work is fine
Kostornaya was not afraid of the lifts and split twists, but the throw jumps were scarrier - her single jumps are higher than the throws and she was falling quite a lot. Since Kunitsa is more experienced in the pairs she trusts him and they learn together how things would work for them.
Ksenia Sinitsina tried the pairs for a couple of weeks, didn't like it and came back to singles. If things wouldn't work our Kostornaya would have tried to come back.
The triple throw jumps are not yet working - she still has to figure the rotation in a different axis.
The Olympic season: she was supposed to go to the GPF, it was cancelled, then she broke one arm, spent 8 weeks of the ice, a week later she broke another arm, again 8 weeks of the ice, then went ot Buyanova, they made her do the scanning of her hip and she had to have a surgery. So the season was off. She tried skating with the broken arm, but the couldn't tie her ice skates, she couldn't put her coat on, the arm expanded in the cast and it was painful. The cast went above the elbow. The decision not to do the Russian nationals was the right one, she had no chance to compete - her arm was not bending. Dudakov and Gleikhengauze saw that practice, called Tutberidze and Shvedski who were at the Fed and Kostornaya was withdrown from the nationals. The options were for her to run around and ask to be taken off or for the coaches and fed to do it fast. It was not a scratch on her finger the way it was presented. The coaches are not telling what injury it was really because then they will be asked why such injuries happened on their watch. Kostornaya does not hold grudges against the coaches who told a different story about her injury, though she didn't feel nice about it, especially when she was not beleived when she revealed what her injury was. More than that at that point she was not allowed to reveal her injury - the coaches were saying one thing and then she would be telling a different story making them looking like idiots. She was anyway the most problematic skater in the group.
It's not anyone's fault that she fell and broke her arms - no one pushed her and demanded she jumps.
She did not watch the Olympics because well, in theory she could be there.
She has 5 tatoos.
The hair colour: she dyed to red to match her father's beard but then he dyed it to blue, so they didn't match
The tatoos: the coaches haven't noticed the tatooes, they are focused on the elements and not on their bodies/tatoos.
She absolutely loves Sokolovskaya who can shout, be super funny but she is never hurtful to her pupils.
Switch to Pluschenko: I had a chance to improve, just that there were things that prevented her from. Just that she didn't have a chance to use the opportunity - it was a quarantine, then the switch, then finally a month before the competition they finished the SP. Because of the quarantine it took a long time to recover and get her jumps back. The Salchow took about 4 days to come back. It was tough, she would go on the ice and the body would not cooperate. Everything hurt, and the kids around her were landing 3/3 around her. She had a covid a bit before the Nationals. So first the quarantine when her body have changed, then the covid and thanks to that her bones are less strong and her immune system is not what it used to be, but she was not ready for it - she never was getting ill and all of the sudden she was breaking her limbs, being ill all the time .Pluschenko and his wife helped a lot.
Pluschenko let her choose some things, but it's not as if she could choose her ice time. She was offered several options and she had to choose one. The off ice training in Pluschenko's group is super strong, the girls are incredibly fit, it was hard for Kostornaya. The ice time was 1.15 but it was tense. On the other had she was not limited for one time music and if you missed something go train with the kids. That was not the case. The off ice was either running 5km or playing hockey, Kostornaya choose the running. The ice was free after 10pm and they switched with Trusova - 2 times a week it was Trusova, 2 times - Kostornaya.
Weight control - her whole life - mom would weight her in the morning and the evening from the very young age to prevent the knee injuries. She was under the constant control of her mom. She was not beaten too badly but there was physical violence. According to Kostornaya she was unsuffarable, she was not doing what she was told, if she didn't feel like doing what she was told she just would not. She needed to be thrown ideas her direction and not told what to do.
She worked with the shrink and fortunately they caught her potential eating disorder on time and got help she needed on time. She was sent to the shrink for a completely different reason, but that was a trigger.
After coming back from Pluschenko all of the sudden Tutberidze was talking to her and they had a better understanding.
it's important for Kostornaya to be heard by the coach. That her point of view would be taken and considered. The `you tell us what you want and we'll use our music because we have to liten to that for a year and watch you dragging your feet to it'.
After coming back from Pluschenko team Tutberidze were communicating with her really and it was new and weird. Not during the competitions, of course, because there are like 15 skaters and there is no time for everyone and that eventually caused the final break up.
When Pluschenko steps on the ice there is a power he projects and the is the same during the practices. He projects the power and the energy.
When Tutberidze is on the ice it's like an ice queen and you are shaking a bit. For the first 2 years Kostornaya was afraid to make a wrong step, she was hiding near the borders.
Buyanova can express with her words with no curses at all something that would sting on one hand and on the other she was not feeling humiliated but motivated. It was not a one time thing and that motivation stayed for longer.
Tutberidze is a product line - one is broken the next steps in. Some work with the athlests from 18 to 40y.o, some from 15 to 18 and after that age it's not about hte sport anymore.
The 1st channel interview with Tutberidze the questions were set to make Kostornaya sound bad. When she was accepted back into the team she had to do the interview, cry and say she was an idiot and beg to be accepted back. She swore never to give such humuliating intervierws and she is always frank and says the things the way they are.

 

[Vagabond]

Add Mama Kostornaia to the list of skating parents from Hell.

 

[Miezekatze]

Every time she spoke about her mother up to now, it sounded horrible.

 

[Wyliefan]

The Olympic season: she was supposed to go to the GPF, it was cancelled, then she broke one arm, spent 8 weeks of the ice, a week later she broke another arm, again 8 weeks of the ice, then went ot Buyanova, they made her do the scanning of her hip and she had to have a surgery. So the season was off. She tried skating with the broken arm, but the couldn't tie her ice skates, she couldn't put her coat on, the arm expanded in the cast and it was painful. The cast went above the elbow. The decision not to do the Russian nationals was the right one, she had no chance to compete - her arm was not bending. Dudakov and Gleikhengauze saw that practice, called Tutberidze and Shvedski who were at the Fed and Kostornaya was withdrown from the nationals.

Because of the quarantine it took a long time to recover and get her jumps back. The Salchow took about 4 days to come back. It was tough, she would go on the ice and the body would not cooperate. Everything hurt, and the kids around her were landing 3/3 around her. She had a covid a bit before the Nationals. So first the quarantine when her body have changed, then the covid and thanks to that her bones are less strong and her immune system is not what it used to be, but she was not ready for it - she never was getting ill and all of the sudden she was breaking her limbs, being ill all the time

But she was lazy, she had no work ethic, she wasn't making an effort, etc., etc., etc. ...

 

[Sylvia]

Feb. 4, 2023:

Anabelle Morozov is trying out with Eremenko

Today: https://rsport.ria.ru/20230425/shevchenko-1867647023.html

Coach and choreographer Ilya Averbukh told RIA Novosti that the bronze medalist of the 2019 World Junior Championships Sofia Shevchenko resumed her figure skater career under his leadership, forming a pair with 18-year-old Andrei Yezhlov.
Shevchenko announced her retirement in March 2022 at the age of 20, after which she began working as a coach in the Averbukh group.
“The free dance has already been staged. The guys are just eager to fight. There is still a lot of work ahead, but I am sure that this duet will decorate any competitions in which it will take part,” said Averbukh, who is assisted by choreographer Elena Maslennikova.
Shevchenko performed with Igor Eremenko, training in the group of Irina Zhuk and Alexander Svinin. Eremenko continues his career with Annabelle Morozov under Nikolai Morozov in the USA.

 

[Holy Headband]

Morozov/Eremenko is certainly a combination of figure skaters.

I have no idea what they're gonna look like together, but I assume they'll try to skate for France?

 

[Nadya]

I nominate Aliev. And Ignatov (not for his skating).

NEVER in Armenia.

 

[On My Own]

I nominate Aliev. And Ignatov (not for his skating).

I'm confused about Aliev too, because he has Azerbaijani roots...