04 October 2021, 16:55
Olympic speed skating champion Svetlana Zhurova expressed doubt that Russia had forbidden figure skater Ekaterina Kurakova to compete for Poland. Kurakova previously said that at home she was denied participation in competitions and with this block of her transitions to Poland due to the fact that she could create competition for Russian women. Zhurova noted that each athlete’s situation may be different.
“Probably, each case should be considered separately. The federation has the right to decide how promising an athlete is. In principle, I don’t remember that we strongly blocked someone who wanted to.
There is a political moment here: it happens that after the federation easily formalized the transition for an athlete, and he succeeded in another country, the public begins to swear: how was it allowed, how was it released, how was it allowed to leave? Therefore, the federations analyze how an athlete can perform at home.
We have such a competition in single skating now – it’s unreal! In order to get to the Olympics, you need to be head and shoulders above. You have to understand that in women’s single skating, if you don’t do what the girls are doing on the ice now, you have no chance of getting to the Olympics. Some people say that they have no claims for an Olympic medal, but history does not participate in Russia – this is only about the top three, “Zhurova told Gazeta.Ru.
This famous athlete did not rule out that 19-year-old Kurakova decided to draw attention to the public, the huge popularity of figure skating in the country. According to Zhurova, this should not be surprising, given that the mention of an athlete in the context of figure skating is of great interest to fans of this sport.
“Perhaps there were internal nuances in the federation, but in general, permission was always given. It’s hard for me to judge. Or maybe she decided to promote herself and draw attention to herself. She sees what is happening now: as soon as there is attention, popularity increases, she is invited to the show. Any news about a skater is now spinning him to the skies, ”Zhurova stated.
Earlier, Ekaterina Kurakova, who plays for Poland, told why decided to change sports citizenship…