Daniil Gleikhengauz: “At the 2022 Olympics, the question wasn’t whether we’d win gold, but who would win it. This time, it was clear that it would take a miracle to win here. But that miracle didn’t happen.”

Daniil Gleikhengauz discussed how the 2026 Olympics differed from previous Games, noting that in 2018 and 2022, the Tutberidze team was confident of gold, while this time, circumstances made a medal far less certain.

original source: Sport24

Daniil Gleikhengauz spoke about the differences between this Olympics and previous Games (2018 and 2022), where Tutberidze’s students won gold and silver. Here’s a translation of his comment.

“Q: At the last Olympics, you had three students; eight years ago, two. How much more nerve-wracking is it when you’re preparing only one skater?

Daniil Gleikhengauz: I can honestly say that when we went to the previous two Olympics with Alina and Zhenya, we understood perfectly well that we would most likely win gold. When we went with three girls in 2022, the question wasn’t whether we’d win gold, but who would win it and how each would skate. Back then, we worried about the performances – whether they’d go well or not – but not about the result. The result was basically obvious.

This time, it was clear that it would take a miracle to win here. But that miracle didn’t happen. We didn’t come here 100% expecting gold, due to a million circumstances – a tough season, injuries, constant ups and downs in form, and the lack of ranking.

Previously, we always skated last as world champions and everything else. Even mistakes in the short program could still keep us in the final warm-up group, just a few points behind the leaders. This time, we were happy just to make the final warm-up group with our short program. That shows how much ranking matters in our figure skating. With a similar set of elements in the Olympic short program, our girls used to score close to 80 points – Anya, and in those years Zhenya and Alina, Sasha even with a mistake on the axel scored more than Adelia now. We’re not even talking about when Kamila landed the triple axel and scored close to 90.

This shows how far behind we were at the start of the competition after the suspension. The only way to come here thinking about gold was to be in perfect shape, like Adelia was at last year’s Russian Nationals. It’s about sporting luck and being in the right place at the right time. That’s how it was for Alina, who moved up to seniors and was able to show her best skating and win the Olympics. That’s how the girls delivered their best performances, and it went down in history.

I think people didn’t fully appreciate what they saw at that Olympics. There’s no guarantee it will ever be repeated. And it’s not even about age. They were the same age as is allowed now – 17. Age has nothing to do with it. As for Adelia, if the Olympics had been last year, I feel things would have been different. This year, everything was tough from the very beginning.”

Related topics: Daniil Gleikhengauz, Olympic Games