Evgeni Plushenko: “Suspension of Russian skaters affects the sport for the worse. International figure skating has returned to the past, to 1998, to 2000.”
Translation of Evgeni Plushenko’s comments about World Championships and the Olympics.
original source: aif.ru
Here’s a translation of Evgeni Plushenko’s comments regarding the level of World Championships made in the interview with aif.ru.
“Q: Do you think Russia should participate in the Olympics?
Evgeni Plushenko: This is a challenging time in sports. We’re not being allowed anywhere. And now, I hear calls for all our athletes, even those admitted in neutral status, to boycott the games. I don’t believe we should boycott. Yes, we should go in neutral status and prove with our medals and results that we’re the best. We must prepare and “outperform” everyone, so everyone immediately knows where we’re from and what country we represent. Our anthem will be in the hearts of our athletes, our flag will be in their hearts, our country.
And if we boycott the Olympics, they will easily win all the medals there. That’s wrong. We must fight and defend our positions. We should stand tall to demand their respect.
Q: Speaking about figure skating, how does this suspension of our athletes from international competitions affect the sport? Does it change for better or worse?
Evgeni Plushenko: It only affects it for the worse. Only for the worse! The girls aren’t doing quadruple jumps; they’re not attempting difficult elements. International figure skating has returned to the past, to 1998, to 2000.
We have a very high level, especially the girls. And when I hear from international athletes who are currently skating or have already finished, that “finally, there are no Russians, we can breathe easier, we will win…” Well, you will win, yes. But it isn’t a full-fledged competition. It’s nice to compete with the strong. And they’ve lost that now.”
Related topics: Evgeni Plushenko
He is so full of himself. In case he’s been living under a rock this past week, the men’s event was the strongest it’s ever been. So, welcome to 2024 and 19-year-old non-Russian athlete who had the highest free skating score ever. Maybe you should ask the question WHY Russian athletes are banned…have been suspended from representing Russia for years now and I’m not talking just about the invasion of the Ukraine. Your country has a history of cheating and doping their athletes so there is an unfair advantage over others who are playing fair and clean. You want respect and to be back in international competition? Grow up and prove to be worthy competitors by not doping and cheating.
You guys are so arrogant but never ask yourself why you guys have been banned in sports for 2 years.
I agree that Russian girls are very good at skating, especially for the junior ones who can make very clean quadruple jumps, but how many senior skaters can have a clean performance with quad jumps at major competitions? I’m afraid there were only 2 of them. Can those girls do the same when they surpass the age of 18?
If I’m not wrong, Alina Zagitova won her gold medal at 2018 Olympics without quadruple nor triple axel attempt, so please don’t say that Internal figure skating has returned to 2000.
At least femal skaters from other countries have been participating to more than just 1 major competitions because they didn’t get injured by unnecessary quad jumps at their ages.
Our spectators still enjoy figure skating very much anyways …