Figure skaters Davis and Smolkin are ready to change sports citizenship: why Georgia

… And today, the dancer Dario Chirizano is again on everyone’s lips, to whom the same executive committee refused to transfer to the flag of the Czech Republic: he, they say, is not allowed, but Davis and Smolkin, a whole dance couple participating in the rank of the third duet of Russia in the Olympic Games in Beijing, Can? The comment of the head coach of our team Elena Chaikovskaya is as follows: the athletes did not take part in the competition for a year and a half, the federation did not spend money on them, they did not come to Russia, “so we let them go.”

Throughout the past season, our figure skating periodically discussed this topic: Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin, troublemakers in the national dances of the Olympic season, who quickly broke into the national team, hung in America. No one in Russia saw the performances of the duet in the season. American experts saw a summer rental arranged especially for them. After loud discussions of that rental, of course – with suspicions about the change of sports citizenship, but how else? – from Diana and Gleb came the answer. “We are athletes of the Russian national team and are looking forward to starting the new season at test skates.”

And yet, Davis and Smolkin were not at the test performances: “We couldn’t get Gleb the documents that allow him to legally leave the country.” At first they did not come to analyze the programs for control programs at the end of September. Then they abandoned the Moscow stage of the Russian Grand Prix series, for which they were announced. Information from the federation was vague: the athletes will not be able to take part in the Moscow stage, but “remain hopeful to still perform in Perm.” But then they did not come anywhere.

They got it hard (in absentia) – no one, even the most patient fans, will like it when, instead of dancing on ice, they throw you mean (and not immediately) explanations about the “wrong” documents and the difficulties of leaving the country or entering it.

Despite the complexity of the situation in which all Russian athletes found themselves, I wanted some kind of intelligibility.

Certainly not serfs. Of course, they themselves have the right to decide: where and when to speak, given the circumstances. Yes, and flights today – not the easiest thing. But we saw at internal tournaments in various sports those who flew in from America too. They needed it, they found the opportunity.

There is no clarity so far. It’s just a question for us or for athletes too. Here’s Dad Smolkin frankly sorry. Could children and warn him about their actions. From questions about his son Gleb and his partner Diana, he fought back the whole season as best he could. (Yes, and it’s not for everyone to run to Eteri Tutberidze for comments in such a delicate situation.) Changing sports citizenship today is a painful topic. Worth it sharp. And giving out information for reasoning a teaspoon per hour is, of course, not the best thing you can think of.

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Now spreading the cards: what would Davis and Smolkin be in a face-to-face meeting with our dance duets of the past season, it makes no sense. (The season was shocking in dancing: the leaders did not perform, partners and partners set records for breaking duets – before the season, what is already in the season, the refereeing was scolded by everyone and for everything.)

As well as to assume who would get (or get) next season the right to compete at international competitions. A week later, the ISU council will be held in Budapest, probably, the issue of our admission will still be considered, but even with a positive result, the issue of the quotas provided to us will remain. Russia missed the season, it will have to start, apparently, from a minimum.

Davis and Smolkin also missed the home season, and they are not on the lists of the Ministry of Sports team for the new one. And the words that Gleb himself said back in December can probably be “sewn to the point”: “Skating for years inside Russia probably doesn’t sound very attractive to us.” And he explained: we want to skate with the best, to understand among them what place on the ice is destined for the duet. And one more thing: even proceeding from the fact that parents invest a lot of everything so that the skaters train with the best, in the best environment, in the best environment, and “this should pour out somewhere.”

As for “pouring out” – it’s understandable, this is a natural desire to see the result. But the words about the “attractiveness” of skating inside Russia (for all their, alas, obvious sports justice) still sounded insulting. All athletes now go through doubts, make a choice. I don’t know if the fact that the duo has long been outside of Russia can reconcile someone with Smolkin’s words?

Not about the moral, but purely sporting benefits of the transition: if Diana and Gleb start playing for Georgia, they will not lose their personal rating. Today Davis and Smolkin are at 43 dance positions. (Sinitsina and Katsalapov, for example, on the 24th, Stepanova and Bukin – on the 37th). They will be able to perform: Georgia, for example, already today has two quotas in dancing for the European Championship, they were won by Maria Kazakova and Georgy Revia. In general, Russia has assembled a strong team in Georgia for the team tournament: here are the European champion Anastasia Gubanova, and Alina Urushadze, and Maurice Kvitelashvili, adored in all countries, and Nika Egadze. Karina Safina and Luka Berulava, the ninth couple at the Beijing Olympics, broke up, but neither he nor she announced their departure, so to be continued. And all the listed skaters continue to train with Russian coaches.

The American history of the duet Diana Davis – Gleb Smolkin is no longer a mystery. The options for changing the duo’s citizenship to American or Israeli have apparently been discarded. But the questions spilled over into Georgian history. Our federation nodded in response to Georgia’s request positively. And that’s all we know for now. But whether the transition will take place in the end remains to be seen. The ISU Congress will prompt, and the dancers themselves must break another silence.

… And as for the list of the national team, in addition to what has been approved by the Ministry of Sports at the moment and caused alarm for the fans (Shcherbakova, Trusova, Kolyada are not on it), there is also an additional one. It was formed by the coaching council of the federation: and it included not skaters selected based on the results of last year, but those who, for some reason, did not perform in the season.

The composition of the Russian national figure skating team for the season 2023/24

Women: Sofya Akatieva, Kamila Valieva, Anastasia Zinina, Sofya Muravieva, Adelia Petrosyan, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva.

Men: Dmitry Aliev, Petr Gumennik, Artem Kovalev, Andrey Mozalev, Alexander Samarin, Evgeny Semenenko.

Ice dancing: Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva – Yegor Bazin, Vasilisa Kaganovskaya – Valery Angelopol, Ekaterina Mironova – Evgeny Ustenko, Elizaveta Pasechnik – Maxim Nekrasov, Sofia Tyutyunina – Andrey Bagin, Elizaveta Shanaeva – Pavel Drozd.

Couples: Alexandra Boykova – Dmitry Kozlovsky, Anastasia Mishina – Alexander Gallyamov, Evgenia Tarasova – Vladimir Morozov. Natalya Khabibullina – Ilya Knyazhuk, Yasmina Kadyrova – Valery Kolesov, Ekaterina Chikmareva – Matvey Yanchenkov.

Reserve: Mark Kondratyuk, Makar Ignatov, Yulia Artemyeva – Alexey Bryukhanov, Maria Dybkova – Alexey Khvalko, Elizaveta Osokina – Artem Gritsaenko, Sofia Leontyeva – Daniil Gorelkin, Alexandra Prokopets – Alexander Vaskovich.