Vaitsekhovskaya appreciated Kolyada’s decision to suspend her sports career

Olympic diving champion Elena Vaitsekhovskaya commented on the figure skater’s decision Mikhail Kolyada put an end to your sports career.

– Mikhail Kolyada suspended his career (although it is very similar to what he achieved) and, as always in such cases, I want to understand: could this career turn out to be different? Although not as long as Jason Brown’s, but not as hysterical, or anything like that.

The parallel with Brown is not accidental. The American twice became the winner of the Four Continents Championship, Kolyada was twice on the podium of the European Championships. Brown was the third in the Sochi Olympic team, Kolyada was the second in Pyeongchang. Jason has two team trophy gold medals, Mikhail has one. Additionally, Kolyada has a world championship bronze medal, while Brown has never won a world championship medal.

But if Brown’s career is complete pleasure, a buzz of himself and a minimum of negative emotions, then Kolyada’s career is a continuous struggle with himself, fate, illness, rivals, and the fight is lost.

I am now somehow influenced by one of the last interviews – with psychologist Liza Kozhevnikova, who, by the way, has two Olympic medals for psychological education, and it seems to me that the case of Kolyada is an excellent illustration of the phenomenon called “introject”.

It is at this time that a person, under the influence of the expectations of others, begins to sincerely believe that these expectations are his life goal. He suffers, does not want, but does his best to achieve this goal.

What did we all hear while Mikhail was skating? The talent is unmatched. The glide is incomparable. And, therefore, he owes, owes, owes… And only now does it suddenly become clear that he owes us nothing. He just lived his sporting life as he could. And thanks to him all this was, – quote the words of Vaitsekhovskaya TR .

Kolyada, 28, won a silver medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in the team competition, he also won a bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships and two bronze medals at the European Championships in individual skating . In 2021 he won the World Team Championship, in 2017 he became the silver medalist of the tournament. The skater also won the Russian championship three times.

TR