Marina Zueva: “Kana and Daisuke made a breakthrough in figure skating, showing that it is possible to switch from one discipline to another in a mature sports age and compete successfully.”
Marina Zueva told “Match TV” why Japanese skater Daisuke Takahashi decided to retire from the sport.
source: MatchTV
It was previously announced that the ice dance duo of Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi had ended their career. In the past season, the duo placed 11th at the World Championships and won the national championship. Takahashi had competed in singles skating before switching to ice dance. The 37-year-old Japanese skater won the World championship and also won bronze at the 2010 Olympics.
What was the reason for your students ending their career?
Marina Zueva: Their duo was not initially a 10-year project. Daisuke would consider continuing after each season, depending on his age and circumstances. This year, he was very concerned about his knee due to an old injury he sustained while skating solo. To develop in ice dancing, to progress in levels and overall results, a good work on ankle is needed. There is a lot of load on the knees. Daisuke had surgery, and in the end, he felt that he needed to recover and then see what’s next.
In any case, Kana and Daisuke made a breakthrough in figure skating, showing that it is possible to switch from one discipline to another in a mature sports age and compete successfully. After all, to rise to the 10th place in the free program at the World Championships in just three years of the duo’s existence is a very serious result in such a conservative discipline as ice dance! It bodes well for a medal in the next few years, but only if Kana and Daisuke could train properly.
Have they made a final decision? Or is there a chance that Daisuke will return after recovery?
Marina Zueva: No, the decision is well thought out and correct. The point of a sports career is to improve the result. Creating beautiful programs and delighting the audience is good, but the athlete must constantly feel that he is fighting for medals. Daisuke could skate, but he realized that he couldn’t handle the workload necessary to improve the execution of turns. This is what the levels are for in ice dancing. So, unfortunately, this is just logical.
Related topics: Kana Muramoto Daisuke Takahashi, Marina Zueva
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