“We must respect specialists and look for solutions to problems within ourselves” – Goncharenko about Kostornaya’s criticism of judges

Figure skating coach Inna Goncharenko told that she considers criticism of the skater unnecessary. Alena Kostornaya to the judges after performing at the second stage of the Russian Grand Prix in Omsk with Georgy Kunitsa.

On Sunday, the Kostornaya and Kunitsa duo presented a free program at the stage of the Russian Grand Prix in Omsk, receiving 124.71 points. The total of the two performances was 192.77 points, the duo took fourth place. After the performance, the skater expressed dissatisfaction with how her work was evaluated after the short program, adding that due to the judges’ controversial scores, figure skating is “sinking into a swamp.”

“It is clear that this was an outburst of emotion after the skating, but for a professional athlete such statements are unacceptable. Alena’s (Kostornaya) expectations and dreams did not coincide with reality. But that doesn’t mean you can express yourself that way. Kostornaya is a fairly experienced athlete in single skating, but even there she did not stay in the cohort of elite athletes for long. She made her debut as a pair, and immediately at the Grand Prix stage; she has not traveled a long way, like many others. The couple between Alena and Georgy is interesting, promising, but still raw. The long-term skill of the partners and the number of hours spent together on the ice are always visible to the naked eye. Alena’s ambitions are good, but we must respect specialists and look for solutions to problems within ourselves, ”Goncharenko told .

The pairs sports competition in Omsk was won by Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Gallyamov, who scored 232.98 points.