“1st place: The French (despite a mistake); 2nd: Stepanova and Bukin; 3rd: The Canadians; 4th: Perhaps Chock and Bates; 5th: The Americans Zingas and Kolesnik; and only after that, everyone else.” – Averbukh on the Olympic podium If Russian skaters were allowed
Ilia Averbukh believes that Aleksandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin could have contended for second place at the 2026 Olympics in Milan.
original source: MatchTV
Ilia Averbukh believes that Russian ice dancers Aleksandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin could have placed second at the 2026 Olympics, offering his own ranking of the top teams. Here’s a translation of his comments.
The ice dance gold was won by France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, with Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates in second, and Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier in third.
“The ice dance event left me with mixed feelings. Of course, like any Olympic tournament, it was full of electricity, emotions, passion, and competition. We certainly got all of that, but it couldn’t be any other way – it’s the Olympics, the main event of the four-year cycle and a kind of culmination.
As for the results themselves, I understand that our athletes have been absent for a long time, and of course, tactically, they probably wouldn’t have been allowed to compete. But if we look objectively, my top three would be completely different.
First place – the French, despite a mistake. Second – Stepanova and Bukin. Third – the Canadians. Fourth, perhaps, Chock and Bates. Fifth – the Americans Zingas and Kolesnik. And only after that, everyone else,” Averbukh said.
Related topics: Alexandra Stepanova Ivan Bukin, Emilea Zingas, Guillaume Cizeron, Ilia Averbuk, Laurence Fournier Beaudry, Madison Chock Evan Bates, Olympic Games, Piper Gilles Paul Poirier, Vadym Kolesnik
Leave a Reply