Eteri Tutberidze: “Our singles skaters are already doing quads, so why hasn’t that come to pairs? Why are pairs still skating with salchows, toe loops, and the same content?”

Eteri Tutberidze commented on Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii’s victory in pairs at the Russian Nationals.

original source: Okko

Eteri Tutberidze praised Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii for their drive to develop and innovate in pairs skating, highlighting their recent Russian Nationals victory and commitment to progress. Here’s a translation.

“Q: Your team took home three medals from St. Petersburg. Which one was the hardest to win?

Eteri Tutberidze: I wouldn’t devalue any of the medals. I’d say the medal for Alisa Dvoeglazova came more easily – not easier, but simpler. We more or less expected more content from her than she showed, and she was supposed to fight for the podium.

The more difficult and long-awaited medal, of course, was Boikova and Kozlovskii’s. They worked so long for it, and it’s so important to them – it’s their own rivalry, which is actually good for Russian figure skating. Two pairs push each other, and that drives them forward. Without international competitions, they could have gotten bored, but this desire to win and compete with each other, which they do, makes the tournaments and seasons more exciting.

This season, Boikova and Kozlovskii introduced a quad throw because they know it will help them fight for first place. It’s important for them to beat Mishina and Galliamov. It’s a beautiful duel and brings out strong emotions. For one pair, it’s long-awaited; for the other, it’s a reason to reflect and reconsider their work process.

They also did well, coming back from injury. Everyone deals with injuries; you can’t devalue anyone’s effort. It’s almost a permanent state for adult athletes – being injured. Everyone copes with it in their own way.

Q: This is your team’s first pairs gold. When you agreed to take Sasha and Dima onto your team, was this gold your goal?

Eteri Tutberidze: The gold at the Russian Nationals wasn’t some specific goal. We took this pair after Tarasova and Morozov’s Olympic silver, which was also hard-earned after a tough, unpredictable season. So, Olympic silver is a bit more valuable than Russian gold.

There wasn’t a set goal. The aim was to make the pair more interesting. I once said on a show that it feels like pairs skating has stopped developing.

I read a lot of comments criticizing me: “She came in and wants to change things.” I don’t want to change anything. But let’s look: Sikharulidze–Berezhnaya, Totmianina–Marinin – Olympic champions from eight, twelve years ago – competed with the same content. Dmitriev–Mishkutenok had many innovations, maybe even more interesting programs. And nothing has changed since.

Our singles skaters are already doing quads, so why hasn’t that come to pairs? Why are pairs still skating with salchows, toe loops, and the same content? And the programs – why not make them richer, not just two singles skaters together doing lifts, but programs filled with meaning? That’s what I was talking about.

Of course, it’s unrealistic and unnecessary to force sinipr athletes to do flips, lutzes, and 3-3s. We’re working on that with juniors, and I hope to maintain that standard.

Here, the focus was on learning the quad throw. And now, as we discussed today, I’d like them to go further – they’ve already done a quad twist, but it wasn’t scored by the judges, so they decided it wasn’t worth it. I still think it is. They should keep pushing.

I like this pair because, with us – Team Tutberidze – they share the same philosophy: to develop. To keep growing, not just stick with what they’ve learned for the rest of their careers. To develop, even if sometimes it hurts the results.”

Related topics: Alexandra Boikova Dmitri Kozlovski, Eteri Tutberidze