Benoit Richaud: “There’s a problem: figure skaters communicate with journalists in a very old-school way. Look at basketball, tennis, football – athletes there aren’t afraid to speak. Saying you want to win is normal. Why should you be embarrassed about your ambitions?”
French choreographer Benoit Richaud praised American ice dancers Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik for their ambition, rapid progress, and refreshing approach, highlighting the need for more outspoken personalities in figure skating.
original source: Sports by Maya Bagriantseva
In an interview with Sports correspondent Maya Bagriantseva, Benoit Richaud spoke about American ice dancers Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik and explained why he appreciates ambitious athletes. Here’s a translation.
“Benoit Richaud: Zingas and Kolesnik represent a new generation of ice dance. They remind me a bit of Tessa, Scott, Charlie, and Meryl – when they arrived and swept away the old generation of dancers. It was immediately clear they were from a different world, and Emilea and Vadym give the same impression. I’m sure they’ll be leading figures in the new Olympic cycle.
Q: How do you explain their breakthrough? A year ago, no one thought they’d make the Olympics, but they finished in the top five and won World bronze.
Benoit Richaud: They’re a great match, work hard, don’t waste time, and don’t care what others say about them. Few people know that Vadym was seriously injured for several years, had major surgery a year ago, and only this past season was able to train at full strength.
They’ve matured a lot, and Emilea has grown incredibly as a partner. Just imagine: four years ago, she was still skating as a single skater! I don’t think anyone in ice dance has made such crazy progress. She’s already among the world’s best, and she’ll only go further, believe me.
It’s also important that Zingas and Kolesnik are the top priority for their coaches. Igor coaches several duos, but among the senior pairs, he’s fully focused on Emilea and Vadym.
I like their attitude and approach to life. They openly talk about their ambitions and have always done what they believe is right – even before breaking into the world elite. If they’re unhappy with something, they say it directly. They don’t try to be politically correct or please everyone.
They bring a sense of novelty and freshness – even in how they interact with the press. That’s what sets this new generation apart. In the past, we often heard, ‘For us, the main thing is to enjoy the performance; we’re not thinking about results or medals.’ Now, new athletes come in and say, ‘We want to win. It didn’t work out this time, but next time we’ll be stronger and make the podium.’
There’s a problem: figure skaters communicate with journalists in a very old-school way. Look at basketball, tennis, football – athletes there aren’t afraid to speak. Skaters worry they’ll get a dozen critical messages on social media. Okay, a few idiots will write something nasty – so what? Tennis players get thousands of such messages and don’t pay attention.
Figure skating lacks personalities and interesting speakers who aren’t afraid to say what they think.
Q: Georgian pair skater Anastasia Metelkina also openly says her goal is Olympic gold.
Benoit Richaud: And that’s right! If you don’t care about results, why are you in sports? Go skate for yourself and enjoy it. Saying you want to win is normal. No one knows if you’ll succeed or not – that’s sports. But why should you be embarrassed about your ambitions?
Imagine a tennis player coming to Roland Garros and saying, ‘I want to feel these beautiful courts, the energy of the crowd, and show my beautiful shots.’ Nonsense – he comes to win. And that’s exactly the kind of comment you hear from figure skaters, just swap ‘court’ for ‘rink.’
In Formula 1, athletes get upset, despair, and aren’t ashamed of their emotions. But in our sport, everyone censors themselves.”
Related topics: Benoit Richaud
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