Tatiana Tarasova: “I cannot say that the United States is currently the best in the world in figure skating. You can’t make such a claim when Russian skaters haven’t competed anywhere for four years.”

Tatiana Tarasova stated that the United States cannot be called the best in figure skating while Russian athletes remain excluded from international competitions, and emphasized the rarity of talents like Ilia Malinin.

original source: Sport24

Tatiana Tarasova said that American figure skaters cannot be considered the best in the world under the current suspension of Russian athletes from international events. Here’s a translation of his comments.

“Are Americans the best in figure skating right now? Obviously, they have always been among the leaders. Figure skating is loved in the U.S., and there are many good coaches there. Despite this, I cannot say that the United States is currently the best in the world. You can’t make such a claim when Russian skaters haven’t competed anywhere for four years.

Russia isn’t the only country without a skater like Malinin – no other country has one either. I don’t want to upset anyone, but athletes like Ilia appear once every 50 years, if not even less often. Malinin is a phenomenon, an outstanding young man. You can’t blame a country for not having talents comparable to him.

We in figure skating don’t need to prove anything to anyone, even after being suspended. Maybe journalists always have doubts, but athletes know everything about themselves. We were supposed to have three competitors in each discipline at the Olympics. In the end, only two competed, and people still expect some kind of result,” Tarasova said.

Related topics: Ilia Malinin, Tatiana Tarasova