Gabriella Papadakis: “Shows give you opportunities to be creative but there’s no sense that you are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for yourself.”
Translation of Gabriella Papadakis and Romain Haguenauer’s comments about possible return of the duo Papadakis/Cizeron to competitive sports.
original source: sports.ru by Maya Bagriantseva
In a conversation with sports.ru correspondent Maya Bagriantseva, Gabriella was evasive about the possibility of their return:
“Do I miss performances? We skate quite often in shows, so we have enough interaction with the audience and opportunities to be creative. However, there’s no adrenaline in shows. And most importantly, there’s no sense that you are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for yourself. In shows, you can be yourself, but only in sports, you have to be the best version of yourself”
Romain Haguenauer also commented on the possible return of Papadakis/Cizeron:
“I can say one thing: if they decide to come back, it should be for themselves. They’ve already given everything to the audience, the federation, and the coaches. They need a new common goal and clear motivation: they must understand precisely why they want to get involved in this again. It’s clear that they have many doubts; we often meet and talk about this.
Of course, we would all be happy if they decide to return. They are young, in good shape, and can compete at the highest level. But there’s one nuance.
The decision needs to be made quickly – time is pressing. If they decide to come back, it should be in the pre-Olympic season, and they still need to prepare for it. Therefore, I would expect a decision in the coming months,” says Romain.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir followed the same scheme when they returned – one season before the Olympics in Pyeongchang. According to Haguenauer, it wasn’t easy for them:
“To return to the top, they worked like crazy. Yes, they won in Korea, and it was worth it – but it wasn’t easy. In professional sports, your body gets used to competing, and muscle memory kicks in. But after two years of inactivity, the body forgets everything.
So, you can only come back by regaining the form you had before the break – at the very least. Then there’s a chance.”
Related topics: Gabriella Papadakis Guillaume Cizeron
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