The collision of two giants in Russian figure skating – that’s how the main sports news of recent days can be characterized. Two renowned coaches, Tatiana Tarasova and Eteri Tutberidze, clashed in a very intense confrontation. As many may understand, the reason for this was the disqualification of Tutberidze’s student, Kamila Valieva, due to doping.
Eteri Georgievna, without exaggeration, rarely spoke publicly on various occasions, preferring to minimize communication with journalists. But Tarasova’s recent words struck a nerve. In the “Life and Fate” program, Tatiana Anatolyevna harshly called for Tutberidze to take responsibility for the actions that led to the figure skater’s disqualification. In response, Tutberidze demanded an apology for the allegations made against her on social media.
Not about figure skating
Tarasova’s phrase “we can’t do anything without a coach” quickly spread across all news feeds. An aif.ru correspondent tried to contact current figure skaters and those who have already ended their sports careers. The goal was to understand how the work was arranged between the athlete, the coach, and the medical personnel who prescribed certain medications in specific cases.
The world of figure skating is very close-knit. So it’s not surprising that none of the athletes want to get into trouble for taking a side in this big conflict. This was the tone of the responses from the figure skaters aif.ru managed to reach out to.
“I’m sorry, I won’t get involved in this. I understand what you’re getting at. All the best,” succinctly and politely replied Olympic champion Ekaterina Bobrova.
“I wouldn’t want to comment on this. I don’t feel like an expert on this news. It’s not related to figure skating. I have nothing to say here,” noted international competition medalist Alexander Enbert.
Indeed, the conflict between Tarasova and Tutberidze hardly has anything to do with figure skating. And it certainly won’t benefit Russian sports, which has been going through very challenging times for quite a few years now.
Next move for Tutberidze
Tarasova has already responded to the demand for an apology.
“If they provide me with evidence of what really happened, then I will happily apologize,” Tatiana Anatolevna told TASS.