“I think there’s a bit of responsibility on our coaching staff. We’ve accustomed Russian viewers to Olympic victories.” Daniil Gleikhengauz on the criticism directed at Petrosian due to her results at the Olympics
Russian coach and choreographer Daniil Gleikhengauz reflected on Adeliia Petrosian’s performance and the public’s expectations at the 2026 Winter Olympics, emphasizing the need for support and understanding.
original source: Sport24 / Sport24
Russian coach and choreographer Daniil Gleikhengauz spoke about his reaction to the performance of his student, Russian figure skater Adeliia Petrosian, at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Here’s a translation of his comments.
“Of course, when that [fall] happened, I felt a bit shattered. You always believe everything will go perfectly. You understand that things can turn out differently, but before it starts, you stand there thinking, ‘Everything will work out now.’ The fall happens, and everything feels broken – but then you get back into it. The athlete does the same. They realize something happened, but they have to keep going, because the rest of the program is ahead. You have to show that nothing happened, that you’re skating with the same attitude. That’s also a difficult acting skill, especially when something doesn’t go as planned.
When an athlete comes off the ice and everything was perfect, you just celebrate and hug. But when the athlete comes off upset, you’re upset too, but you understand nothing can be changed. You just need to help, support, and surround them with warmth and care,” Gleikhengauz said in an interview with Ida Galich.
Gleikhengauz also commented on the criticism directed at Petrosian due to her results at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. At the Olympics, Petrosian finished sixth in the women’s singles event.
“I think there’s a bit of responsibility on our coaching staff. We’ve accustomed Russian viewers to Olympic victories. In 2018, Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva took first and second place; in 2022, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova took first and second. Naturally, viewers expected the same from our athlete. People expected only victory, and because of that, their demands were higher. Although we explained that this is a slightly different situation – we were absent for four years, and for Adeliia, it’s a completely new experience. All the girls who won Olympic gold had already competed [internationally], everyone knew them, they had won World and European Championships,” Gleikhengauz said.
Related topics: Adeliia Petrosian, Daniil Gleikhengauz, Olympic Games
It’s important for Adeliya to hear this message from her coach, that the odds were stacked against her too high, until she internalizes it. Likewise he needs to keep standing by her. I wish her lots of strength. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be 18 and have a whole nation expecting you to avenge their international humiliation.