Alena Kostornaia: “The coaches told me ‘Why didn’t you call and ask for permission to wear the cast?’ What does that mean? How can you ask a coach whether or not to wear the cast – they are not a doctor!”
Alena Kostornaia about about changes coaches.
original source: Winline / Sports
In the movie “Side by side spin” on the Winline channel, Alena Kostornaia explained why she switched coached. Here’s a translation.
Alena Kostornaia shared how her collaboration with Eteri Tutberidze ended. The figure skater returned to Tutberidze from Plushenko’s academy in March 2021, but left again in early 2022.
“Alena Kostornaia: They tell me that I don’t work, but I can’t do any more. Then they’d say: You are such a brat, why are others doing it and you are not, and so on.
They sent me to train the triple axel, and on one of the last attempts, I entered it very badly. I fell, put my hands out, and heard not a crunch but a click. It was painful, I cried. And I went to the clinic with my huge hand.
There, they immediately said – it’s a fracture. They put me in a cast, I called my coaches and explained the situation. And I got this very interesting phrase: why didn’t you call and ask for permission to wear the cast?
What does that mean? How can you ask a coach whether or not to wear the cast – they are not a doctor!
In the end, they withdrew me from the Russian Nationals. And I realized that I wouldn’t even be closing the boards at the ice rink at the Olympics.
AlexeI Zheleznyakov: High-level sports are harsh, injuries are inevitable. I think Eteri knows better, she is right. If she said you’re ready to compete – it means you’re ready.
Kostornaia’s mother: There were no options. I even tried to tie her skates myself. You can’t jump with a cast because it’s too heavy. Basically, you can’t do anything – it’s pointless. And without training – where will you end up?
Alena Kostornaia: A day later, Eteri called me over and said: you’re getting older, you have a bunch of injuries, you’re not young, you don’t want to adjust to us, you don’t want to work, and we won’t adjust to you. And that’s how our collaboration ended.”
Alena Kostornaia also spoke about her transfer to Evgeni Plushenko’s academy.
“I was given freedom that I wasn’t ready for. I was given the freedom to choose, which I wasn’t used to. I didn’t know how to be responsible for it. I was accustomed to the idea that you either do it, or you’re in trouble,” said Kostornaia in the film “Side by side spin.”
Related topics: Alena Kostornaia, Eteri Tutberidze
Leave a Reply