Ekaterina Bobrova: “Without Russians women’s single skating rolled back for 8-10 years. This’s degradation.”
Sochi 2014 Olympic champion in the team event Ekaterina Bobrova shared her opinion about the level of women’s single skating at the European Championships in Espoo, Finland.
source: Championat
Our girls started a huge growth in the development of women’s single skating. Lipnitskaya and Sotnikova won due to their consistency. Then came Medvedeva, Zagitova—the same story: beautiful 3-3 combinations, very fast spins, all jumps in the second half. Then, when it stopped being allowed, they moved combinations to the second half. Yes, women started to jump the triple axel a long time ago, but it was our girls, Liza and Alena, who began to jump it consistently (FS Gossips wonders whether Mr. Bobrova heard about Mao Asada), for which they received a lot of points.
Then quads started with our juniors, and it all grew, grew, grew. Now everything that the Russian team has gained over the years has been rolled back for 8-10 years. This, in my opinion, is the degradation of figure skating in women’s single skating. You can skate incredibly beautifully, and this should be rewarded as highly as quadruple jumps. For example, Jason Brown, even without quadruple jumps, can be close to Ilia Malinin, who is doing something incredible. But then, girls, you need to skate like Jason Brown. They skate beautifully, but not outstandingly.
Related topics: Ekaterina Bobrova Dmitri Soloviev, European Championships
Bobrova knows from experience. She was not allowed twice to compete because she was found with illegal substances in her system. Many Russian competitors see the same doctor she did.
I have true sympathy for those in Russia who are truly suppressed. But none at all for prominent voices in Russian figure skating who only use their voices to say ‘our skaters are in all cases the best and we mock and have disdain for all other skaters now competing internationally, they are beneath our notice. Skating is nothing without us.’
Believe me that many outside Russia appreciate the talents of many Russian skaters and former skaters. But we are also enjoying the variety and many talents of those we are now watching, and it is even a relief to have such confidence that the competitions are clean and we are not watching children that are being used and in some cases starved, brainwashed and abused by coaches. No respect for someone like Ekaterina who uses her voice to show contempt for non-Russian skaters
Unfortunately, Russia is not a democracy. Consequences for speaking up are tough. I am glad, Simone, you do not have to take this choice and test your bravery. Navalny is a good example of where personal bravery leads to in this system.
Narrow-minded, exaggerated, living by propaganda… Short way to describe Russian “champions” who undoubtedly were all doping. Stay where you belong!
What Russia is doing in Ukraine is horrible. On the other hand, the figure skaters are not responsible for that. The Russian skaters are, want it or not, the epithom of progress. Without them, figure skating is going nowhere. Wish this horrible war ends asap, and the skaters return.
Putin started the war, not Ekaterina, neither the Russian skaters. I could not see any propaganda in this interview, just facts.
10 years? 2013 World’s women champions: Yuna Kim, Carolina Kostner, Mao Asada. I would take these Queens over systematically abused, malnourished, and in some cases doped children who are cynically used up by the terrorist dictatorship Russian government for propaganda any day.
Russia has bombed Ukrainian skating venues out of existence and murdered many Ukrainian athletes including figure skater. The stain of shame eliminates any pleasure in watching Russian skaters and we enjoy very much watching current clean competition
An eye roll is the only appropriate response to this heavy-handed propaganda.