The post-Olympic off-season is already traditionally shocking news. The fans were surprised by the Russian man this time Natalya Zabiyakodecided to continue his sports career and started skating with a Canadian skater. Zachary Daleman.
Natalya said goodbye to figure skating two years ago. After the successful 2018/19 season, when the couple Zabiyako / Enbert won bronze at the World Championships (previously the team had Olympic silver), doctors repeatedly denied Alexander’s permission to compete – heart problems prevented him from continuing his career. Spherical loads are simply contraindicated for the skater. Zabiyako did not dare to try herself with a new partner and also announced her retirement from the sport.
“There were such thoughts and I discussed them with the whole team. Everyone understood the situation, we did not keep secrets from each other. Yes, I have experience with joint replacement and may try again. But after long and painful reflection, I decided for myself that these efforts were not worth it.”, Zabiyako explained her position in an interview with Match TV.
After that, the skater began to actively develop in other areas. First, she completed work on the documentary Unbroken, shot by her fiancé, Danil Grinkin. He then published his autobiography “A Look into the Soul”, in which he talks about his sporting destiny. And in the fall of 2021, he took part in the Ice Age show paired with Nikita Presnyakov, but did not reach the final.
Most likely, Natalya did not leave a feeling of dissatisfaction in figure skating. She has now decided to return to the sport, but will play with Daleman for Canada. Little is known about the new partner. Her older sister, Gabrielle, became Olympic champion in the team tournament four years ago, but Zachary has yet to achieve any high-profile success. His last international appearance was at the 2020 World Junior Championships, where Zachary and Patricia Andrew finished eleventh.
In current political realities, where Russian skaters are suspended from competitions under the auspices of the ISU, a country change is not a surprising move. Natasha already has experience of transitioning under a different flag – the figure skater took her first steps into big sports in Estonia. And the competition abroad is much lower than here. The Canadian double skating school once fought for the best in the world, but now the 2022 bronze medals of Vanessa James and Eric Radford are a real miracle. If the strongest duets from Russia and China had come to Montpellier, there could be no talk of any medals.
The collaboration between a named skater and an unknown partner is an already familiar story. The once legendary Alena Savchenko took the same risk and continued her career with the Frenchman Bruno Massot. She was not afraid of the difference in age or experience. Alena was five years older and held many more titles than Bruno, but it was this skater who was able to lead Savchenko to the highest goal – the gold of the Olympics.
Zabiyako has a similar situation – a difference of six years and several medals of the main starters stand in the face of the unknown. The most important thing is that Natalya has already passed a two-year quarantine without performance. This means that a new pair will appear in tournaments as soon as possible.
Many in Russia have already wished Natalia good luck. As always, Alexander Gorshkov, head of FFKKR, is out of date. For him, Zabiyako’s return to sports and his transfer to the Canadian flag is news. And that’s how the legendary Tatyana Tarasova reacted to the event.
“We always have someone to perform but it’s sad that we lost a good girl who left us. I’m glad I found a partner there. Turns out we didn’t have it. Every person is a loss. We just need to create an environment where no one will leave us. In the figure skating world, everyone has to go through such transitions. Although he is used to it. A lot of people have come to me, too. You can wish the girl good luck and a happy journey. It will not be easy.”– RIA Novosti quotes an expert.
Considering the class of Zabiyako’s partner, the road really won’t be easy. On the other hand, without China and Russia, the modern level of pair skating is a complete failure.
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