Sofia Akatieva: “Alysa Liu is a special athlete. Not everyone can take such a break and return to elite sport at a high level. I think, above all, it comes down to a love for figure skating. It’s not a trend or an episode – it’s the foundation.”
Sofia Akatieva shared her emotional experience watching the recent Olympics, praised Alysa Liu’s unique comeback, and emphasized the importance of both technical and artistic elements in figure skating.
original source: KP
2022/23 Russian national champion Sofia Akatieva described American figure skater Alysa Liu as a special athlete. Here’s a translation.
“Q: We can’t not talk about the Olympics, which just took place. Did you follow them? Were you cheering? What are your thoughts?
Sofia Akatieva: We were really cheering for our guys. And overall, it’s such a big event, of course I followed it. At our rink, there was a huge screen showing the performances live. You could skate and watch what was happening without missing a thing. But honestly, we all just stood there – you couldn’t take your eyes off the screen.
Q: But it was late, wasn’t it? Did you have training at night?
Sofia Akatieva: I watched the women’s and men’s events late at night. The individual events really did finish late. But we watched the dance and pairs during training.
Q: From an expert’s point of view, how was the Olympics?
Sofia Akatieva: There was so much to notice, it’s hard to pick just one thing. There were so many emotions and moments of overcoming during the tournament. After the men’s individual event, I was in tears because so much happened. I was so happy for Misha Shaidorov, and so upset for Ilia [Malinin], who was so close to that medal. And I was really cheering for Nika [Egadze] – he’s my training groupmate.
I was also very anxious for the women. I thought I wouldn’t watch. After the short program, I realized I just didn’t have the nerves for it. I decided I’d watch the replay later. But in the end, I couldn’t tear myself away from the screen. I watched anyway, and I was so nervous. By the last women’s warm-up, I was shaking.
Q: And then there was Adeliia Petrosian and her fall…
Sofia Akatieva: There were so many emotions, so much anxiety.
Q: Did you figure out for yourself what happened with Adeliia?
Sofia Akatieva: I think Adelia performed with dignity. She didn’t land the ultra-C element, but the rest of her program was very good. Despite the mistake, I was left with a positive impression.
Q: You had a big screen. Did you do any technical analysis right after each skate?
Sofia Akatieva: Well, there were also the dance events. We don’t really analyze those, so we just stand and admire the dancers’ and pairs’ synchronicity and professionalism.
Q: Is Alysa Liu something new for figure skating? Is this a trend for the next four years or just an episode?
Sofia Akatieva: Alysa Liu is a special athlete. Not everyone can take such a break and return to elite sport at a high level. I think, above all, it comes down to a love for figure skating. It’s not a trend or an episode – it’s the foundation.
Alysa Liu showed us joy and love for figure skating in her program. The program was very fun and positive, and after her performance [at the Olympics], only great emotions remained.
Q: Has the judging changed?
Sofia Akatieva: I think both artistry and technique are judged; there’s no problem with that now. Athletes also try to create interesting programs, show skill, deep edges, and beautiful, smooth skating. True professionalism is when you can maintain artistry and beautiful skating while performing technical elements well.
Q: After the Olympics, some experts said we should move away from subjectivity. “If you nail your technical elements, that’s enough – it’s easier to judge.” Are you against that approach?
Sofia Akatieva:: We should keep the difficult elements, because that’s part of why we love figure skating. That’s what creates excitement – will the jump succeed or not? That adrenaline for both the athlete and the audience… Even the judges are interested: will it work or not? At the same time, the integrity of the program is important. Just landing jumps is one thing. But we and our coaches also work on the entries to those jumps, to make them beautiful. I’m for integrity.
With good skating and an interesting character, the jumps don’t disappear. Judges evaluate both aspects, and that’s the only way to find a professional and someone who combines both technical and artistic qualities.”
Related topics: Alysa Liu, Olympic Games, Sofia Akatieva
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