Junior world champions Panfilova and Rylov have announced their retirement

Russian figure skaters Apollinaire Panfilova and Dmitry Rylov acting in pair skating, announced his retirement.

– We waited a long time. For a period of two years, our hands were “tied”… But today, we will finally say what we should have said a long time ago. Our career is coming to an end. It was a difficult, winding, but marvelous path. Perhaps it is worth briefly telling you about what has happened over the past two years. There are too many details and incidents to tell you everything, so we’ll quickly go through some of them.

Physical and mental pain in sport is an integral part of this, and every athlete faces these issues along the way and overcomes them, but even desire comes to an end. In the first months of our absence, the companion of our couple underwent a complex spinal operation. Four titanium screws were screwed into its lower part, and further training and performance were impossible. It took 10 long months to recover and get back to the training process, but we coped, got out and restored everything to the previous level. A few months later, the couple’s partner suffered a broken leg, and due to medical error, the recovery took a very long time.

These two problems have greatly affected our health, both physical and psychological. We are in no way trying to justify our decision and arouse the pity of the fans. This is just a statement of facts. There were a lot of such problems and their subsequent solutions, but as we said at the beginning – without deepening. Everything that happened happened, and we made our decision for a long time.

In conclusion, we would like to thank our team of coaches. The work that has been done will not remain in vain within us. She brought out personalities in us and taught us to overcome difficulties even when it seems impossible. The experience we have gained will be applied in life. Thanks to Pavel Slyusarenko, Ivan Malafeev, Nikolai Morozov and Valentina Fedorovna. Thanks very much! Of course, no athlete would become an athlete without their parents. You are true heroes and we owe you everything.

And finally, we would like to address you. To you, for whom this article is written. Our fans and fans. Thank you for your trust in us, for your love and support. Once again, you are the best! — indicated in the message of the athletes on the social network.

The duo won the World Junior Championships in 2020. In addition, Panfilova and Rylov are the Youth Olympic Games champions and the winners of the Junior Grand Prix Final.