“The athlete’s career is short, and even missing one season is critical. Especially for women’s skating – now you can count on only one Olympic cycle there.” Chen Lu about collaboration with Russian coaches
Chinese former figure skater and now a coach, Chen Lu spoke about collaboration with Russian coaches and athletes.
source: sports.ru
Chen Lu is Chinese former figure skater, two time Olympic bronze medalist. Chen is manager of the World Ice Arena Skating Academy in Shenzhen, China, while her husband (former Russian pair skater Denis Petrov) is the head coach of the skating academy.
About Anna Shcherbakova’s invitation to China:
Chen Lu: My husband (Denis Petrov, silver medalist at the 1992 Olympics in pairs with Elena Bechke) and I have a figure skating academy in China, with four rinks stretching from Beijing to Shanghai. This summer, we decided to hold a tournament in my name, and we immediately said that we dream of bringing Anna Shcherbakova as an honorary guest.
We have been friends with your federation for a long time, so we contacted Anton Sikharulidze and asked for permission for Anna to come to us – as if representing Russian figure skating.
And everything worked out: Shcherbakova has some free time, and we have tremendous interest. We wanted to show her China, which she essentially hasn’t seen – during the Olympics, they didn’t venture beyond the Olympic Village.
Why did you choose Anna?
Chen Lu: Shcherbakova is undoubtedly the most popular Russian figure skater in China. I think she doesn’t fully realize this because she’s too modest. But I understand it perfectly. That’s why we needed her.
A year and a half ago, China hosted the Winter Olympics for the first time, essentially introducing the country to winter sports. They are far less popular here than summer sports, but the home Games did their job. The whole country watched the competitions – partly because they coincided with the celebration of the Chinese New Year. This is the country’s main holiday, but due to the pandemic, people couldn’t go anywhere, so they stayed at home and watched TV.
So many people fell in love with figure skating back then – and, above all, with the three Russian girls! I can say that Anya, Sasha, and Kamila are the most popular foreign athletes of those Games in China. Ask anyone, and they will remember your Russian “matryoshkas” first and foremost.”
About the collaboration with Russian coaches
Chen Lu: In the summer of 2019, my daughter and I came to Moscow. She’s involved in figure skating, albeit not at an professional level.
I came then to discuss with Eteri Tutberidze the training prospects at the ‘Khrustalny’ rink for one of our figure skaters, but the pandemic disrupted our plans. We were not only targeting preparation for the home Olympics but also long-term cooperation. We wanted to make internships with Tutberidze regular.
We haven’t abandoned this idea, but it’s very challenging to start over after the pandemic. However, I am still confident that China has much to learn from Russia in figure skating, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that our figure skaters can train with the best.
Russian figure skaters are going through a tough time right now. But I believe that sports should not be connected to politics, so I hope that Russian athletes will soon be allowed to participate in international competitions. The athlete’s career is short, and even missing one season is critical. Especially for women’s skating – now you can count on only one Olympic cycle there. And for Russian girls, the situation is even tougher – new strong figure skaters appear in your country every year.
Related topics: Anna Shcherbakova, Lu Chen
figure skating is at least so far away to be alone as sport elite to give only one olympic cycle to perform before the end of carrier
The most popular foreign athlete at the Beijing Olympics was undoubtely Yuzuru Hanyu. He has millions of fans in China as it is evidenced by the number of fans on his weibo fan account. His Citizen advertisements are plastered everywhere, there is also a big ad in one of the fanciest shopping streets in Shanghai. No Russian ladies skaters are nearly as popular as Hanyu, but of course, Lu Chen couldn’t say that in an interview for a Russian magazine.