Figure skater Volodin said he invited Yuko Kawaguchi to return to the sport

The winner of the Grand Prix final, Nikita Volodin, in an interview with , told how he invited him to become a couple Yuko Kawaguchi .

In the fall of 2020, Volodin stopped working with Victoria Vasilyeva, after which he was looking for a partner until the summer of 2022. Kawaguchi ended his career in 2017, the athlete played in tandem with Alexander Smirnov.

— We were looking for a partner in Russia, but there was no decent option. The couple must have a future. You can follow it after three or four workouts. I trained alone for a long time, then I was invited to appear in a show with Yuko Kawaguchi. It was the opportunity to play with such a high level partner.

We skated in Tatiana Navka’s show for about a year. Late last year I signed a three-month contract and around the same time I was offered a trial with Minerva. A month before the show I flew to Berlin, we drove for literally five days. We decided to continue, but I needed to refine the contract, so I returned to Minerva only after three months.

— While skating in the show, were you also looking for a partner? Perhaps you have thought about abandoning this idea and continuing to earn money?

— I was always looking for a partner, even when I was on the show. We even invited Yuko to return to sport. But she understood that she would not have enough health, old injuries bothered her. Although in the show we performed all the elements to a high level.

— How long has it been since you participated in official competitions?

— More than two and a half years have passed after the last departure with Vika and before the first with Minerva.

– It’s been such a long time. How did you manage to stay motivated? You have probably thought about retiring from your career.

“I realized that I had not fully realized my potential. I watched the competition and realized that I couldn’t skate worse, I was capable of fighting at that level. When Minerva appeared, even more motivation was added.

— How have you managed to maintain your physical fitness? Did you ride alone or with a coach?

— I worked with a coach. But when you are alone, the coach cannot help you. I slipped and jumped a lot, but my matchmaking skills disappeared. I was able to restore them with Yuko, for which I thank her very much.

— From a psychological point of view, was it difficult to return to competitions?

— In this regard, Navka’s show helped me a lot. Yuko and I performed some technically difficult elements, almost a competitive performance. The first month there was excitement, then calm appeared and remained until the official competitions. I went to the first start to skate already with confidence,” Volodin told .