Stepanova and Bukin: “We haven’t shown everything yet or fully revealed our potential. Of course, we want to return to the stage we’ve performed on our entire lives – the international scene.”
Stepanova and Bukin Express Desire to Return to the International Stage
source: TASS
Ice dancers Aleksandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, five-time European medalists, express their desire to return to international competitions as they continue their career after a long hiatus. Here’s a translation of their comments.
Aleksandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin shared their thoughts on their career and future goals after winning the Russian Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk. This marked their first competition since the Russian Nationals in December last year. The duo previously failed to secure neutral status for the qualification round of the 2026 Olympics.
“Emotionally, it felt like a pretty significant break – it was our first competition, and we didn’t test our programs anywhere beforehand; we just jumped straight into the event. Naturally, we aren’t fully satisfied with everything, but we’re happy that most of the elements we’ve worked on were completed today,” Stepanova said.
She revealed the nerves they experienced after such a long absence: “I find myself wondering why we’re nervous after competing for the first time in 11 months, and I can’t quite explain it. Maybe it’s because each competition is different, and there’s no formula to prevent it.”
Bukin shared his perspective on the impact of the extended hiatus: “A long break doesn’t work in your favor. You can perform well in training and put in a lot of work, but once you get to a competition, everything changes. We’ve realized we want to compete more, even if we’re not entirely prepared. Competing teaches you far more than five hours of training.”
Discussing their decision to keep pushing forward, Stepanova said, “We haven’t shown everything yet or fully revealed our potential. We didn’t leave the sport at the peak we wanted to reach. Watching our programs, we still see so much room for growth. We always ask our coaches honestly to let us know if the time ever comes when there’s nowhere further for us to go – not in the sense of perfection but when an athlete simply cannot progress any further.”
She touched on the importance of their journey together: “That thought is always there, especially when you’ve worked so hard for so long. This year marks 20 years together for Ivan and me, which is a wonderful milestone. Right now, we’re still far from showing everything; there’s more we want to learn and achieve.
Of course, we want to return to the stage we’ve performed on our entire lives – the international scene. Competing at the highest-ranking events in the world, that’s where we want to be.”
Related topics: Alexandra Stepanova Ivan Bukin
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