Russian figure skater Alena Kostornaya spoke about why in the spring of 2020 she left coach Eteri Tutberidze.
– In August 2020, you left Tutberidze. How did she tell her?
“I spoke to her twice. Once I was turned away from the checkpoint in Novogorsk, saying that I did not have a pass. I was then 16 years old. Everyone thought that I would change my mind – but no. Our apartment was being renovated, my mother and I lived in the same room, but then she left, I called Eteri Georgievna and said that I wanted to work differently. Five minutes later, a post appeared on my social networks. Mom called and asked: “What is this?” I replied that I had. It became easier.
– Then there was a claim that you make great demands, refuse to train with other athletes.
– We had a group. And they added small athletes to us, but they interfere. Each has its own corridor. But due to the fact that small athletes violated it with their falls, the entire flow was disrupted. We don’t have three people on the ice to let everyone through. And while you’re driving in circles, you freeze. You forget the skill, you become lethargic. And they yell at you to ride.
Were you alone in this situation? No one else skated with the younger ones?
“I’m not used to this. I didn’t like the fact that we had not six people on the ice, but twelve. This is traumatic. No one listened to me, so I left for other conditions, ”said Kostornaya.
How I fell in love and why I fell out of love with Eteri Tutberidze