Aleksandra Boikova: “When it comes to international pairs, I don’t see a pair at the level of the Chinese pair Sui and Han from four years ago. So, I can’t say that the level of international pair skating has increased.”

Russian pair skaters Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitri Kozlovskii assessed the current level of international and Russian pairs, emphasizing the strength and quality of Russian pair skating and choreography.

original source: Okko

Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitri Kozlovskii shared their views on the level of pair skating internationally and in Russia. Here’s a translation of their comments.

“Q: For all the years of suspension, we’ve said that Russian pairs have no equal, but do you feel that the level of international pairs has actually risen during this Olympic cycle?

Boikova: Well, it’s hard to say… Because when it comes to international pairs, I don’t see a pair at the level of the Chinese pair Sui and Han from four years ago. So, I can’t say that the level of international pair skating has increased if I don’t see a pair that could stand on par with Sui and Han.

Kozlovskii: Let’s just count. Four years ago: Sui-Han, Tarasova-Morozov, Mishina-Galliamov, Boikova-Kozlovskii, the second Chinese pair. Are there currently as many pairs at that level as there were four years ago? I can’t answer that positively. It seems to me that the pairs we just named had a higher overall level than what we see now.

Q: Some say that international pairs have more interesting programs than ours.

Kozlovskii: I think that’s absolutely untrue. Let’s look at the programs out there. Speaking about the Boikova-Kozlovskii pair, I believe our short program “Kill Bill” is one of the most striking short programs in pairs skating in recent years.

The short program “Swan Lake,” which we brought back, is a very strong, very cool Olympic program. It’s especially nice that we’re skating it better now than we did four years ago. I realize we’ve changed, become more aware and thoughtful, and our class as skaters has improved.

Our free program, choreographed by Maxim Staviski and Albena Denkova, is one of our best. It has very interesting choreography and creative elements. At the same time, we maintained a very high technical standard. We took risks – and as we can see, those risks paid off.

When we look at international programs, they deserve attention. They have good specialists and choreographers working with them. But I want to say something important: all of us working in Russian figure skating need to recognize one fact – we should value and respect ourselves more. What our specialists – both coaches and choreographers – do is in no way inferior to what’s done internationally. In some aspects, it’s even better.

To say that everything foreign is automatically better than ours… That’s not true. Our system is very well built. I think, in terms of athlete development, there’s nothing better in the world. We truly have a method – and it’s not just the Tutberidze method (a reference to the Okko series about the group).

So, international programs are good, but ours are in no way inferior. In some specific areas, they’re even better.

Trying to invent negativity to highlight some supposed lag and take pleasure in it… Excuse me, but that’s just ridiculous. And for our domestic audience, I think it’s absolutely wrong.”

Related topics: Alexandra Boikova Dmitri Kozlovski, Wenjing Sui Cong Han