Figure skating coach Igor Lyutikov, in a conversation with , spoke about his collaboration with Eteri Tutberidze and congratulated her on her birthday.
On Saturday, February 24, Tutberidze turned 50.
— I have known Eteri since childhood, we often met during competitions. We grew up and were in the same crowd of young athletes. Eteri already stood out in her young years: a very sociable, self-confident, determined girl. I always called her “the Queen of Georgia.”
After sports, we didn’t see each other for a long time and 15 years ago, life brought us together. And completely by chance. I then worked with Tatiana Anatolyevna Tarasova as director of artist recruitment for the Christmas show “The Nutcracker” and had to audition with Seryozha Rozanov. We knew each other since the days when we trained in Igor Rusakov’s group, only Seryozha was then in the junior category. I remembered him, called him and we started looking for ice to observe. He suggested an ice rink in Belyaevo – he agreed on the time and we arrived. I go out on the ice and Eteri works there. She saw me, started talking, and Eteri suddenly suggested: “Come on, help my students!” There is a talented girl, Polina Shelepen, she is part of the national team. It would be nice to start tomorrow! I took the time to think because I had work planned in America. In the evening, my best friend Igor Pashkevich (also from our youth party) calls and says: “Listen, Eteri needs help there, come to his group. Well, I thought: on the same day, two people ask the same thing. The stars have aligned!
This is how I started working with Eteri students. Initially, I only wanted to help out from time to time, as I was busy with show projects. But Eteri is very energetic and confident in her line: what she has decided should happen. She insisted that I take a full-time job with her. I told him that I would soon be leaving for America for several months. We agreed that we would sort it out somehow later. As a result, Eteri “dragged” me into Russian figure skating. In general, I did not plan to live in Moscow. I was touring the show, spending every summer in America in training camps and planning to move there – I even looked at a house. But little by little, I started spending more and more time with Eteri’s band – either a year or six months after the tour. As a result, I stopped traveling to the USA, I even expired my green card. Even though Eteri and I later separated, I lost the desire to move. You could say that the friends of my youth turned my destiny towards my homeland, and I am grateful to them.
Eteri is generous to her students – she puts all her soul into their development. That’s why guys want to stay in his group for a long time. They understand that there is honest work here and an atmosphere conducive to victories. I hope that these successes that accompany Eteri’s energy continue to please him. May all good things multiply! I also want to note that this woman looks great for her age. I wish it would always stay like this,” Lyutikov told .
Under the leadership of Tutberidze, Yulia Lipnitskaya, Alina Zagitova, Anna Shcherbakova became Olympic champions, Evgenia Medvedeva, Alexandra Trusova and the sports pair Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov became Olympic silver medalists.
Source : MatchTV
I’m John White and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. My specialty is covering sports news, which I’ve been doing for over 6 years now. During this time, I have worked as an author with Athletistic, a popular online news website focusing on sports topics.
