Oleg Vasiliev: “I might be wrong, but in my opinion, Tutberidze is more of a hostage to the empire that she herself has created.”
Oleg Vasiliev on challenges that Eteri Tutberidze faces.
original source: RT
Oleg Vasiliev believes that Eteri Tutberidze has become “a hostage of her own empire.”
“What was the coaching greatness of specialists like Xenofontov or Moskvin? They were first and foremost absolute fanatics of their craft. Nowadays, it’s rare to meet someone for whom their work is foundational.
Is Tutberidze a fanatic? I might be wrong, but in my opinion, she is more of a hostage to the empire that she herself has created. It involves a certain image, expectations from others, pressure from all sides, which imposes significant obligations.
If you have built something from scratch, eventually you become a slave to your own achievements. Perhaps Eteri truly is as much of a fanatic as Xenofontov and Moskvin were, it’s just that back in Soviet times, they didn’t have such ’empires’,” said Vasiliev, the 1984 Olympic champion in pairs skating.
Related topics: Eteri Tutberidze, Oleg Vasiliev
I think she misses being on the ice (competitively), but she has turned that desire into instilling a love of and mastery of the sport into her students. I believe she genuinely loves the sport, her students, and with a great technical knowledge of the sport, had soared as a coach, though her competitive career was cut short.