The son of Olympic speed skating champion Svetlana Bazhanova and World Championship medalist Vadim Sayutin, Ilya Sayutin switched from hockey to speed skating.
Sayutin played in the MHL for the Russian Knights team. Earlier, his sister Alexandra switched from figure skating to speed skating and became the champion of Russia.
– How did you decide? Hockey is a more popular sport; don’t you get bored with speed skating?
— In hockey, I liked the atmosphere of the game, just being part of the team. I changed for two reasons. I didn’t have a good season: I didn’t play much because of an injury, and then it was hard to come back at the end of the season. Second reason: the KHL increased the number of foreign players to five. Today, many Russian players on the market remain free. I didn’t qualify for the KHL yet, but in the VHL they prefer to take players with 2-3 seasons of experience in the KHL. Finally, I decided to switch to skating. I live in a family of skaters. My mother and father have seen a lot during their sports career. So I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and try my hand at speed skating.
— Ruslan Murashov switched from hockey to skating, but at an even younger age. You are already at a very serious age (at 20) making the transition. Do you hope to get skating genes?
“You shouldn’t hope too much, but they are definitely making themselves felt.” Since childhood, I have been attending training camps with my father. He gave me exercises leading up to the final stage. So I more or less remember something from my childhood, now it helps a little to feel the technique, even if it is very difficult. It is especially difficult to bend the back.
— No start yet? Just training?
– Yes. I was at a cycling rally with a group.
— Didn’t the cycling event shock you? Even those who leave short track speed skating are shocked by the cycling training in speed skating teams.
— You can’t imagine how much I wanted to return to hockey during the cycling camp. After the first ascent of the mountain, I especially wanted to return to hockey. But it stayed. The atmosphere here is different, it’s easier to breathe than in hockey, “Ilya Sayutin told .
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Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
