Figure skater Kovalev: “We thought about finishing and changing coaches”

Figure skater Artem Kovalev told that during this year he had thought about retiring and changing coaches.

Kovalev took fourth place in the short program at the Moscow Championships with a score of 80.23 points. In October 2023, the skater underwent surgery due to a broken leg. The 21-year-old did not compete last season.

– Very mixed feelings. I was very happy, very worried, but it went well for the first time in a year. It was mentally difficult to leave, I was very worried.

At first we worked on restoring my jumps to avoid injury. So that this doesn’t happen again. I found out a week and a half ago that I was going to this competition, so I had to prepare myself physically and practice the entire program. Roll, roll, roll.

We thought we’d finish [карьеры]and on the change of coach. I thought about finishing it every day while I was lying at home. He hit the ice in January. There was a lot going on, but then I collected my thoughts and decided that I would ride as long as my health was good.

I skated a free program with two quadruple jumps. Tomorrow, I also plan to ride in pairs. Let’s see what happens. I hope everything goes well.

What is your goal for this season? Fight, work, despite the fact that there were problems with my leg. At the end of the season, I would ideally like to jump four quads. I think in the next stage we will do three jumps. Tomorrow we are going to do two quads. So I think four quads for the final is entirely possible. Toe loop, salchow, ritberger, either flip or lutz,” Kovalev told .

Kovalev took fifth place in the 2023 Russian Championship and became third at the Russian Grand Prix stage.

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