“With Russian athletes, Sakamoto still could possibly be on the podium, but hardly on the first place.” Russian coaches and former skaters reacted to the victory of Kaori Sakamoto at the 2023 World Championships

Russian coaches and former skaters reacted to the victory of Japanese Kaori Sakamoto at the 2023 World Championships.

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source: Sport-Express / vseprosport / Sport-Express / vseprosport / Sport-Express / Sport-Express

Alexander Zhulin: Has the World Championships lost in its level where the winner does not have any ultra-c? Certainly. Does the Championships lack Russian athletes? Absolutely. I didn’t even watch it.

With Russian athletes, Sakamoto still could possibly be on the podium, but hardly on the first place.

Valentin Piseev: I think that today the first three places are free. In this situation, taking into account that our skaters are not there, I believe that the first three places are free.

True, I didn’t watch everything, it’s necessary to watch everything, but I only watched in fragments, and I didn’t have a general impression.

Tatiana Tarasova: I watched her performance. I liked it very much! She could be in the prizes, even if our girls competed. Of course, the Championships lacked them a lot.

Natalia Bestemyanova: Is Sakamoto’s victory connected with the absence of Russians in the competitions? There is no subjunctive mood, she won the World Championships.

Is it rare for Japan to win a second Worlds in a row? She is a great figure skater, why is it a rare occurrence? I congratulate her on her victory, it is absolutely deserved.

Has the level of competition at the Worlds fallen due to the absence of Russian figure skaters? Of course, our skaters are a completely different level of skating. This is unequivocal, these are completely different competitions when there are our skaters.

Would it be more difficult for a Japanese woman to win the Worlds if there were Russians there? There is no subjunctive mood, it was Kaori Sakamoto’s World Championships.

It is a pity that there were no our athletes, the competition would have been more interesting.

Alena Leonova: Of course, the World Championships lost in level. Without our athletes, everything is not very interesting to watch. There are some athletes that I follow in the world, in Europe, but there is no close attention.

Is Sakamoto’s victory predictable? For me yes. Although she did not seem to perform brilliantly this season. Clearly, the post-Olympic season. But I am glad that she confirmed that she is the strongest in the world so far.

Could she be on the podium if Russian athletes took part? I think she would definitely fight for it. It’s hard to predict something.

But if Russian athletes went, then the first place would definitely be ours.

Elena Radionova: Well it is clear that if our girls were there, we would definitely take a couple of medals.

But in Japan there have always been strong female skaters, and Japan once again confirmed its level: they also have a pair that won the World Championship now, this is generally a sensation.

But, of course, we are all waiting for when we will also compete at the international arena and be able to impose a really serious fight.

Related topics: Alena Leonova, Alexander Zhulin, Elena Radionova, Kaori Sakamoto, Natalia Bestemianova, Tatiana Tarasova, world championship