“Very open-minded, they read a lot. Early for their years, ahead of many athletes who trained with us” – coaches about the Leontyeva/Gorelkin duo

Coaches Irina Zhuk and Alexander Svinin told that the dance duo Sofia Leontieva /Daniel Gorelkin developed beyond his years.

March 26 marked the sixth anniversary of the creation of the Leontyeva/Gorelkin dance duo.

— The Leontiev/Gorelkin duo has been together for six years. Did this period pass quickly for you?

– Yes, we are even surprised, they have been skating together for six years, since they were very young. Sonya from Kirov, Daniil from Yekaterinburg. We are very happy with the guys, we managed to show them well in the juniors. It’s a shame that we didn’t have time at the international level: the couple only took part in one stage of the Kazakhstan Grand Prix, even before the pandemic. They performed well. In Russia they showed themselves well, the guys are creative, mature beyond their years, determined to achieve results. We are proud of them. Sonya and Danya have had a great start to their first senior season. We told them that they had to train even more and not be afraid of anything. That’s exactly what they did.

We took a chance with the free program. There were two options, the second option was quieter, with nice music, but somehow ordinary. Of course, they chose an unusual option, which ultimately worked. We warned that the program would be difficult, but they coped with it. Now we must hold the bar and move forward. The duo in our group became the leaders, happily taking over after Stepanova and Bukin left.

— Probably, you can slide infinitely?

— Yes, it’s a never-ending process in ice dancing, it’s impossible to do everything at once. It’s a step by step work – season after season to improve something. It is difficult to master the dance right away. Six years together is just a plus for them, because they haven’t broken up and continue to be on the same team.

— The guys always seem smiling and nice to each other.

— Yes, they are very open-minded, they read a lot, they study well. Comprehensive development helps in sports. They are precocious, ahead of many athletes who have trained with us. The guys have a warm relationship, we taught them that, they are on the right wavelength. God grant that they continue to develop.

— In the group, the duo is probably already the eldest, followed by Kuzmina/Studenikin. Do Sonya and Danya give advice to their colleagues on the ice?

– Yes of course. The Kuzmina/Studenikin duo has only been skating together for two seasons, they are now moving up to seniors, a difficult transition. They look at Sonya and Danya and become even more interesting. We are now looking for new programs for them, trying to select something unusual, without templates. We watched the World Championship, interesting duets played, there is something to note for ourselves. They also showed themselves well in juniors in two years and immediately got into the national team. We finished in the top three in the Russian Grand Prix final.

— Are you going to borrow anything from the dancers’ performances at the World Cup?

– Yes, we always look at others and notice something good. It’s not that we steal things, not by any means. We charge our brains and think about how to improve ours. You always have to look for something new, and that’s what we do.

— Psychologist Zhanna Simak works in your group. Including his contribution to the duo’s six years of collaboration?

– Of course, she sets them up correctly, teaches them a lot of things, how to behave correctly. We are very grateful to him. An advanced psychologist with extensive experience. She has been with us for many years. In addition to Zhanna, we have very good specialists who work with us and lead our team,” Zhuk and Svinin told .

Leontyeva and Gorelkin are Russian Championship silver medalists. This year, the couple took 5th place at the Russian Championship and became 4th at the Spartakiad of the Strongest.