Loena Hendrickxs: “I’m lucky that the Russians are not competing. The situation is ambiguous, but… I understand that I would have won more medals if figure skating were absolutely clean.
Translation of Loena Hendrickx’s comments about suspension of Russian skaters.
original source: humo.be
Loena Hendrickxs spoke about her attitude towards the suspension of Russian figure skaters. Here’s a translation of her comment.
“Loena Hendrickxs: I’m lucky that the Russians are not competing. But there’s nothing I can do about that. In the end, I have to focus on myself because you always have to try to get on the podium.
Q: Does the absence of Russians devalue your medals?
Loena Hendrickxs: The situation is ambiguous, but… No, it’s not true. I understand that I would have won more medals if figure skating were absolutely clean. For example, consider Valieva’s doping case. The three Russian girls on the podium had the same coach, and one of them was caught [doping].
I’ve always been intrigued by how 14-year-olds can have such jumping ability, but I’ve always assumed they were clean. When I heard about the positive test, I didn’t believe it at first.
In Russia, figure skating is as important as football is for us. I thought these girls have been trained so hard from a young age, but apparently, sometimes other things play a role. But I’m not saying there are no clean sports among them. Of course, there are clean Russians who are better than me.
Q: You had to move up from fourth to third place after Valieva lost her 2022 European Champion title. Were you happy about this?
Loena Hendrickxs: It could have been my first medal at a major competitions. Unfortunately, the moment was missed. Moreover, I haven’t received this medal yet, and if it happens, I’d like to dedicate it to clean sport.
Q: Valieva learned about the positive test during the Winter Games in Beijing. After a disappointing performance in the free program, she cried, and the coach scolded her in front of the whole world.
Loena Hendrickxs: That’s the Russian mentality, no sympathy. We couldn’t imagine such a thing. I wouldn’t be able to cope with that at all.”
Related topics: Loena Hendrickx
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