“If another skater fell four times, like Trusova, she would have taken a much lower place” Inna Goncharenko about Rostelecom Cup
Inna Goncherenko about ladies event at Rostelecom Cup 2020.
source: Sergei Dadygin eg.ru dd.22d November 2020
In the free program, Alexandra Trusova fell four times. How can this be explained? And who is more to blame here – the athlete herself or her coaches?
Inna Goncherenko: You know, we are all living people. Not robots. Everyone has bad days when everything falls apart. I think that psychological factor played the main role. Suddenly, Anna Shcherbakova, a student of Eteri Tutberidze, withdrew from the competitions. In terms of the complexity of the free program, Shcherbakova is almost as strong as Trusova. And in consistency, judging by the last season, even surpasses her. Perhaps, Sasha thought for a second: “Yeah, there is one less competitor, I should to win”. And you should get rid of such thoughts, usually, they do not lead to anything good. In the free program, Trusova fell not only from three quadruple jumps – salchow, lutz and toe loop, but also from a triple lutz. Previously, she jumped triples without even blinking.
In the offseason, Sergei Rozanov worked on jumps with Sasha. But then they had a falling out, and Trusova started to work with another coach – Dmitri Mikhailov. Maybe that’s the point?
Inna Goncherenko: I don’t want to guess. Actually, Mikhailov, as far as I know, is a skating skills coach. I think that Plushenko works on jumps with Trusova. I repeat, this is a matter of psychology. The first jump did not work out – and then a chain reaction went. I will add that Alexandra is not very good at skating yet. Her steps are definitely not level four. And there is still a lot of work to be done on the spins. Due to the large number of falls, the entire program suffered, its perception.
Probably, Sasha is very offended – she lacked 0,1 point for the bronze medal.
Inna Goncherenko: I will say this. If another skater fell four times, like Trusova, she would have taken a much lower place. So the fourth place in this situation is still good. Pretty decent. I think we need to support Sasha. This girl is not afraid to do the most difficult elements. Not afraid to fall, although it can be very painful. She has talent. You just have to learn from the failure and work hard.
European champion Alena Kostornaia was only the second. Her trump card last season was a magnificent triple axel, but at the Grand Prix in Moscow Alena did not even try it. Can you understand why she switched from Tutberidze to Plushenko? Olympic champion Maxim Trankov, for example, also asks this question.
Inna Goncherenko: Life will show if she did the right thing. Over the year, Alena has matured, become taller, her body has changed. Therefore, the technique of triple axel and other jumps had to be adjusted. She did not put triple axel either in the short or free program. So this jump is not ready yet. I didn’t see the ease in her skating as it was last season. But we will draw conclusions in the spring.
Did Tuktamysheva’s victory surprise you?
Inna Goncherenko: Liza performed brilliantly. Much better than at the Russian Cup. Tuktamysheva was the most experienced of all the participants and won. Liza admitted that she did not expect that, she was shocked when she looked at the scoreboard and saw that she was the first. I admire her dedication to what she loves. There are different athletes in figure skating. Some mechanically perform elements on the ice, while others, like Tuktamysheva, want to convey the idea of their program to the viewer. Elizaveta has beautiful, mature skating. She deservedly won.
It is a pity that due to a back injury, Evgenia Medvedeva did not compete here. But there is a chance that viewers will see her in December at the Russian Nationals.
Related topics: Alena Kostornaia, Alexandra Trusova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Inna Goncharenko
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