Tatiana Tarasova condemned Kiira Korpi for her words about the inhuman Tutberidze
Tarasova condemned the Finnish skater for words about the inhuman Tutberidze.
by Grant Getadaryan and Maya Bobenko for sportrbc.ru dd. 27th March 2020
“The problem is the sick culture that’s been created. Eteri’s factory is a symptom of this inhumane direction and culture our sport is taking.” – Korpi said for The Guardian
According to Tatiana Tarasova, Kiira Korpi does not know the intricacies of coaching work.
Tatiana Tarasova: I think she shouldn’t judge so harshly about the work that she does not know. And Kiira Korpi does not know coaching work. Different things happen. I skated, and I had fractures, and she also had injuries, despite the fact that she did just several triple jumps.
Over the past year, Russians Alena Kostornaia, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, who are members of the Eteri Tutberidze group, made their debut in seniors and immediately took leading positions at major international competitions.
This group is very strong. I think there are real world discoveries there, a key to the girls is found and they taught to work amazingly. Kiira hasn’t spent even a week of trainings with Tutberidze to make such statements. How does she know about the training system? In my opinion, it looks unprofessional.
Related topics: Eteri Tutberidze, Kiira Korpi, Tatiana Tarasova
There is definitely a problem in this sport. There are too many girls that are leaving this sport too soon due to injuries. Most of these girls are only around for only 2 seasons. Why don’t we all wait to see who is still skating this time next year.
Tarasova is correct however: Korpi is not a coach, nor has she (to my knowledge) trained under Tuberidze. She isn’t speaking from a place of knowledge unless she’s actually worked with these ladies (and it’s not a “factory”, it’s a very well appointed Sports School). No, it might not be for ever body, but does that mean that it can’t be for ANY BODY? Personal opinion and professional views are different. I watched Evgenia Medvedeva win her Boston World Championship and watched her practice with Eteri- both looked happy and at ease. Indeed, I saw a relaxation between them both that was not there for others in the flight. While Medvedeva was small, she did not look sick. Bone structure is a HUGE deal, and it must be remembered that that is considered when training. The girls are very small, but so are the girls at Vaganova and countless ballet schools. It’s unkind to call children abnormal for the way they look. They are engaged in an abnormal activity: an elite sport, but they themselves are not unique in having very small, delicate bodies. Many former dancers, figure skaters, gymnasts, runners, people who use their bodies in an elite way have physical problems and pain later. For most of us (if you listen to Tara Lipinski, she agrees)….it’s worth it. These ladies have a right to pursue their dreams under the coach of their choice. I have seen all of the top ladies live (TV can be misleading) and all look very tiny but not unhealthy or “probably starved”.
Oh…It’s really complicated issue. On the one hand I agree with Kiira on many things. But on the other…Figure skating is a sport. I don’t know maybe in other countries the situation is different, but in Russia it’s a sport, not a hobby. And sport is cruel, sport isn’t for health. Almost always it’s beyond human abilities. Take any sport, not only figure skating. And yes, sport is unfair. People don’t have equal abilities from nature. In every sport a lot depends on your body structure, features of your character and so on. So the selection process takes a huge role. In Russia many children do figure skaters, so top-coaches just have from whom to choose. And talking about inhuman factories and coaches, I think that those children health both is first of all their parents responsibility. It’s their choice whether figure skating should be just a hobby or something more for their children.
Good for Kira Korpi for having the guts to speak out against the quad factory that’s nothing but child abuse. It must have taken a lot of courage for her to say that, for which she’ll suffer, not doubt. Quads at 11? I hear they’re weighed daily, probably starved and god-knows what else to keep them with bodies that look like 8-year-olds. It’s not normal for a teenage woman to look like a little boy. No medals are worth it. Do we know what will happen to their bones and hips a zillion quads later, and if they’ll be able to walk at 30?