The stages of the Russian Grand Prix have come to an end, so we can now draw the first conclusions about the performance of our skaters in the second national season. To do this, we turned to the 2012 world women’s single skating runner-up, Alena Leonova.
In an interview with “Championship,” the former skater said that she does not feel discouraged by the fact that our athletes compete only within the country. Leonova also evaluated the form of our individual skaters, who began to jump less than ultra-c, and she shared her discoveries in men’s competitions.
— Alena, tell us, what are your impressions of the Russian Grand Prix series? More positive or maybe a little sad? — Impressions are mostly positive. There were some unexpected moments, which was great, and there was also some resentment towards some of the guys. But overall I think the Grand Prix series was great.
—In the second year of suspension, don’t you feel dejected because our boys are not allowed in and you only have to look at them internally? -Who feels bad about this? I think all Russian fans are happy to have the opportunity to watch such important competitions in their country. They can travel for their athletes with their fan clubs. You don’t have to go to Japan or China for this. They can see everything inside Russia. I always said let the foreigners suffer because without ours it’s not as interesting, that’s all.
—What event was most interesting for you in the Grand Prix? —Probably, after all, the one I’m closest to is women’s single skating.
—What impressions did the women’s contest leave you? Many say that because of the disappearance of ultra-c, there is less entertainment. Do you agree with this? — But there is more skating, more aesthetics, more interesting programs. It seems to me that now there are as many quadruples as there are needed. At each stage, someone tried something, but there was no quadruple race: who would do more, and so on. Everyone skated with their own strength, and those who could did what they could. The main thing is that we saw interesting performances and enjoyed the girls’ skating.
—Isn’t it necessary to raise the alarm, as many people say? – I think not, but why sound the alarm? In my opinion, everything is very good and interesting. There is still competition, there is struggle. It will be very interesting to see him at the Russian Championship. Even taking into account that not eight people, as usual, will make quadruples, but only the first three.
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— Did you have any discoveries or sensations among the girls? — So that there are probably no sensations. Ksyusha Sinitsyna had a great race and in the penultimate stage she took first place. It was great, well done. As for Kamila Valieva, for me she is something immense, incomparable with anything. I don’t even want to compare her to anyone, because Camila is Camila. Her appearance on the ice is already a great joy and pleasure. And the fact that something doesn’t work for you now will work for you later. Everyone is trying to be 100% fit for the main competition of the season, the Russian Championship: if someone is a little out of shape at the moment, it’s not a big deal.
I feel so sorry for Sonya Muravyova, who wanted so badly to do a short triple Axel and two free Axels in the last stage. She is so cool! But I was so afraid for her, I was so offended that she didn’t do it. But in general she will prepare better for the Russian Championship and she will do her best.
—Which of the girls do you think looks like the team leader now? — In my opinion, there is no clear leader now. Of course, there will be an interesting fight at the Russian Championship. Sonya Muravyova will definitely fight for first place, let’s not forget Adelia Petrosyan, whose program is full of quadruple jumps and has a triple Axel. It will be interesing.
— Do you think Kamila Valieva will be able to maintain her status as the leader of the Russian team or will it be difficult? – I think it can. Why not? She will prepare and the fight for first place in the Russian Championship between Kamila, Sonya and Adelia will just begin. But it seems to me that the result will be unpredictable in any case, as is often the case in women’s single skating.
Kamila Valieva
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
— We have an even more unpredictable sport: men’s skating. The boys definitely had a lot of sensations. Who would you highlight? — The men’s singles opening is Dikiji 100%. This is a guy who left a lasting impression in two stages. He skated really well on the first stage, then he got sick, missed the second to last stage and moved on to the last stage and skated just as well there. He may not have fully turned into meat yet, but now he will slowly strive to get good skating. In addition to jumping, we have a second assessment, which is also important. He needs to improve in everything so that in the end it turns out even better. And so, no one else produced the surprise effect. Some skated well in one stage, others in another, and some skated well in only one program.
— So here too it is still difficult to identify the leader of the national team? — Of course, there is absolutely no way to identify a leader. There is Zhenya Semenenko, there is Petya Gumennik – these guys will again claim first place at the Russian Championship. I hope that Dima Aliev will recover and also show the best performances at the Russian Championship. But it’s difficult to predict anything, I don’t dare. Anyone can compete for first place.
— If we look at the points, Peter Gumennik is the only one who was able to surpass the 300-point mark in Russia. Do you think he can now be called a world-class single skater? This is already a grandmaster mark. — Yes, I also noticed this figure for myself. This is really cool! I immediately realized that these are numbers that appear on a global level. But we don’t know how he will be prepared for the Russian championship, how the others will skate. It is difficult to make forecasts. Yes, Petya went for 300, he prepared himself, well done. But in the previous stage it was not like that. Here we have to gain stability and go out and show off.
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— If you look at children’s skating in general, now many jump four quads in the free program, but few manage to do it. Do you think this is the right tactic: go for these four quads, or is it better to work on stability and skate two or three first? — As for men’s skating, I think the more the better. Maybe someone thinks that four is too much, but on the other hand, it’s great when men go and do all this, it’s an adrenaline rush! When Nathan Chen skated, he did these quads in a row and had practically no triple jumps in his free program, that’s great! It’s cool to see, but not when the athlete didn’t succeed, he got angry and failed at everything. And when he goes and does it. And even if something didn’t go right, he would get up and take the next leap. I wish the whole program didn’t fall apart because of the quads. If they include these quadruples in the program it is because they do them in training. They won’t just jump to all this at random. No one will risk doing four quads, especially at the Russian Championships, if they are 200% sure of it. And there will probably be only a few.
– Why don’t our guys have stability, like Nathan Chen himself? — Dikiji, by the way, reminded me a little of Nathan with his performance. He walked, he did and he stood. But it all depends on who’s in the mood. It’s different for everyone. But, I repeat, almost all skaters reach their best form at the Russian Championships. I think we will see such a fight there! I remember last year, when Gumennik and Semenenko scored the same number of points; I’d like to see something like that this time too. Just an unrealistic fight.
Russian Championship Podium – 2023
Photo: RIA Novosti
— I think we will also see wrestling in pairs skating. Mishina/Gallyamov and Boykova/Kozlovsky haven’t competed against each other yet, but they are still somehow compared to each other. Who did you like the most according to the results of the Grand Prix? — To be honest, I haven’t seen pairs skating, so I can’t say who I’m more attracted to at the moment. But I probably wouldn’t look closer at the top spots, but a little further out.
— So, will the fight for third place in the Russian Championship be more interesting for you? — Yes, I will be happy to see the couples and the dances.
—Did you manage to see the Grand Prix dances? — I saw some performances, but, of course, Stepanova and Bukin are the favorites, there is nothing more to say. Behind this pair there is a small space, and only then, the rest.
—And of the new couples, did anyone manage to hook you up? — I always really appreciate the couple Annabelle Morozov. But it’s a shame that she was injured during the stage and that she and Igor couldn’t perform a second time. Maybe no one else attracts me as much. Khudaiberdieva and Bazin are also great and interesting. I love watching them skate. Perhaps I can’t single out anyone I liked as much as Stepanova and Bukin.
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— We have such a problem in all sports that in the second year of suspension our famous skaters began to leave. Misha Kolyada, Tarasova/Morozov and Liza Tuktamysheva left. Do you think this is a problem for our figure skating? – Let’s not forget how old they are. We don’t know how his health is. Why commit suicide? I think the boys are doing everything right. They will enjoy skating in the show and will give this pleasure to the audience. Life doesn’t end in competitions. As for me, they have already won everything possible and impossible. And Lisa, Misha, Zhenya and Vova, what else should they do?
– That is, isn’t it necessary to stop them somehow and isn’t it necessary to ask them to stay? – Yes but why? Now they will delight the spectators of the ice shows and I am sure they will do a great job.
— In such a situation, the federation is betting on youth, they even came up with the Junior Cup on Channel One. Do you think it is the correct tactic, that now the focus is on young people? – I think so. Undoubtedly. We have so many talented young people! I really regret not having seen almost any of the youth stages. And I really wanted to do it. I hope I can watch the Channel One Cup, because there are so many great guys! And this is our future. It is necessary to instill love for these children in the public in advance. So that in the future they become the same Dikidzhi and Valievs, figuratively speaking.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS