Rudkovskaya – about Kostomarov’s skating training: “My boundless admiration! This is Russian figure skating.”

Wife of double Olympic champion Evgenia Plushenko and co-owner of Plushenko’s Angels Academy Yana Rudkovskaya admired Roman Kostomarov after the athlete has completed their first skating session with prosthetics.

On Monday, Kostomarov showed a video on his Telegram channel of himself training on ice on skates for the first time after amputations.

— Yesterday we just spoke on the phone with Roman and Zhenya. Full of strength, full of optimism, a true hero. A synonym of hope for millions of people who, after tragedies, seek the strength to return to life. Ice is a special element, a completely different dimension. He does not forgive the weak, but he elevates and exalts the strong – even higher, even stronger. And he covers them with even greater glory – for the warm heart and for the steel within.

This is what Russian figure skating is. This is what our Russian sport is. This is what our athletes are, our people. This is why parents send their children onto the ice. Roman has my limitless respect and admiration! — Rudkovskaya wrote on the Telegram channel.

Kostomarov, 46, suffered multiple amputations after being hospitalized in January and was discharged in July.

The figure skater, partnered with Tatyana Navka, won gold at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, and also won the world championships twice and the European championships three times.