Irina Rodnina: “You can’t compare me to Ilia. Personally, I never lost a single competition, while he finished eighth at the Olympics.”

Three-time Olympic champion in pairs figure skating Irina Rodnina said she is not comparable to American skater Ilia Malinin, as she has Olympic gold medals to her name.

original source: Sport24

Three-time Olympic champion Irina Rodnina stated that she cannot be compared to Ilia Malinin, emphasizing her undefeated record and Olympic golds, while Malinin has yet to win an individual Olympic medal. Here’s a translation of her comments.

“Q: Do you agree that you were the Ilia Malinin of your time?

Irina Rodnina: In my time, I was Irina Rodnina in figure skating. You can’t compare me to Ilia. Personally, I never lost a single competition, while he finished eighth at the Olympics. He is undoubtedly a leader by many criteria, but there’s a simple fact: he doesn’t have an individual Olympic medal. I don’t want to offend him, but how can you even compare him to me?”

Related topics: Ilia Malinin, Irina Rodnina