Evgeni Plushenko: “With a “crystal-crystal” conscience, we give Kostornaia back”
Evgeni Plushenko commented on ALena Kostornaia’s return to Eteri Tutberidze.
source: tass.ru dd. 4th March 2021
Evgeni Plushenko: Alena came to our academy to work with Sergei Rozanov, and I consulted her as a second coach, since I work with Alexandra Trusova, who came to me from the very beginning. I spend three hours on the ice with one group and three hours with athletes from the other group, and then general physical training and warm-ups. Therefore, Alena worked with Seryozha Rozanov, as planned. In addition, in the last three weeks we have attracted Elena Vyacheslavovna Zhgun – her first coach, she helped, for which many thanks to her, as well as many thnaks to Elena Anatolyevna Tchaikovskaya, who, like all of us, worried about Alena.
When I asked Alena whether she needed my help, she replied that only when she would work on 3,5 axel. We just started to restore it, but then she fell ill with coronavirus, and then a complication happened. Alena came to us in a difficult period for her: two months of illness, almost two months without training – it is very difficult, well, and a tough puberty. She still has health problems, and she knows it.
But it was precisely these problems that prevented her from practicing and training at full strength. Alena needs to pay serious attention to her health, we helped her, good doctors worked with her, but it still gave a temporary effect.
I wish her only well. If she decided to return to the previous team, then I don’t see anything wrong with that. We gave her all the conditions that she wanted, choreographed four programs, although I was against changing something three weeks before the competitions and I was against her performance in a shape that she did not have time to gain. She lacked exactly these two months.
We initially gave her a separate ice, a cottage and all the conditions. Neither Rozanov nor I could give her health, strength and motivation, and no one could. We have different training methods with “Chrustalny”, they are suitable for Sasha Trusova, Alena was also happy with everything until she got sick, this started the problems.
I have no doubts about her future, if she will work and give all her best, not get sick and recover completely, which I suggested her doing this season. My team and I did everything for her, so with a clear conscience we are letting her go back to “Chrustalny”. With a crystal conscience.
Due to the fact that Alena and Sasha had the best time and only seven to eight people on the ice, I had to refuse many then. Now I have places, I can take good athletes in her place, who have been asking us for a long time. I don’t see any tragedy, we live and work on.
My wife will probably be upset, she often talked to her and supported her in difficult times. Sergei Aleksandrovich put a lot of heart into it, I think it will be hard for him, but even this is temporary. It will be a great lesson for our academy for the future. Noew I will be responsible only for those athletes whom I train personally, as well as sign documents according to which athletes have not only rights, but also responsibilities.
Plushenko stressed that he had fulfilled all the promises he made to Kostornaia.
Evgeni Plushenko: And even more than that, she couldn’t complain. I definitely don’t need flowers, I treated her well and I stull do. My family and I have always supported her, we got her, probably, in the most difficult period of her sports career.
Everything would have worked out for her here, but there are many “buts” about which she knows no worse than me. In principle, there is nothing more to add, we all wish her good luck, health and victories. In fact, she is still listed in “Chrustalny”, so there is no need to go anywhere. Time to say goodbye.
Related topics: Alena Kostornaia, Evgeni Plushenko
Way to go plushy! Hoping the best for Aliona
Good Coach. Proper way to let her go. Mature and professional and humane, as it should be. These skaters are children. They work so hard and they have tremendous pressure on them, from themselves, coaches and fans. That they don’t go off the deep end is practically a miracle. They are children and millions and millions and millions observe them under extraordinarily demanding circumstances and they are some of the very best athletes in the whole world. They perform as individuals, not as teammates. They are on their own. Children, in foreign countries and cities, away from family and performing at the highest level in their sport and they are stunningly exquisite.
Put me in a clown outfit and dump me on the ice wearing hockey skates, and I’ll try not to fall down as comic relief. These kids are just from a different world. How easy it is for me to lose my appreciation for how truly exceptional they are. I would try a reverse triple-axel, fly headlong into the wall and crush 9 people who would need emergency helicoptor transportation, life support, extensive surgery….
We will see. Eteri has proven to be a great coach, but even she is not a magician. Evegenia M. went back, so far we haven’t seen her perform once seriously at any competition. Plushenko invested a lot and fought very hard for both Alena and Sasha. But he could only do so much as a coach. By the end of a day, it is still the athlete who needs to want, work and perform. Professional figure skating is such a tough sport that it demands undivided attention and dedication to be successful, and within a short time window of one’s life when body condition is at prime time. If during this short window, one’s health becomes a real obstacle to success, then the athlete needs to make a tough choice of prioritization – health or career. Whatever the decision, it is important to remember, one should be responsible for her own decision and every decision has consequences and everything has a price. I wish Alena good luck.
We will see. I like her scating. The first 2 programms with Plushi were great. Especially Wallis dance. Corona illness is not the same for everyone. Perhaps she was affected more. B u t…Eteri is a great coach, but the reason because she went away are still there. There are too many girls at the same level, youngsters, who will be 15 next year. She is in a body change, will be 18. Eteri had no success with “older” girls- Aliona retired with 17, Jewgenia had some good years with Brian. Now it comes to an end. Only the 3A is nowadays nomore enough. I beleave ( but I do not hope this)- this change back is the end of her international career. The end bevore beginning. …For Sasha Alionas change will perhaps turn out as a lucky circumstance.She has now all attentions. Im happy for her. Sasha is managed by Plushi much better than in the old team.She has much improved. I wish her well. She should stay were she is noe.
Well, as much as some despise Plushenko, I think he really had a great attitude. We saw the 4 programs, we saw the cottages and I am sure they tried to provide her with everything from separate ice time, good choreographers and coaches. She herself stated “I smile more since I left”. But yes, how he said, nobody could give her the health and motivation she was missing. Good luck to her in the future.