2 European double skating champion and retired Russian player Alexander Smirnov recently said that with the emergence of more and more outstanding young athletes, players like former world champion Inezavita Tuktamisheva are already veterans.
Born in December 1996, Tuktamisheva is the champion of the 2015 Shanghai Figure Skating World Championships. Last year, she returned strongly with the iconic Axel triple-week jump (three-and-a-half-week jump), becoming one of the most competitive players in the women's singles skating arena again.
"Tuktamisheva is only 22 years old, but she is already an old lady in the figure skating arena," Smirnov said. "I retired from the age of 32 to 33, which can be regarded as the 'ancient beast' in the industry at that time. This event is getting younger and younger. If the International Skating Union wants to introduce age restrictions in adult competitions, they may have to promote youth competitions. After all, current players can already show excellent technical abilities in their teenage years."
Smirnov also said that although the emergence of quadruple jumpers has brought stronger viewing and technological innovations to the sport, it also increases the risk of athletes suffering from serious injuries.
"Those quad jumpers are at a serious risk of injury and their bodies need to bear non-human loads. Even a player with very low weight may still be broken by practicing quad jumps with safety facilities," Smirnov added.
Smirnov's statement makes some sense. Take Asian players as an example. Former figure skating star and women's singles skating Grand Slam winner Kim Yoon-ah won the national championship in South Korea at the age of 212 and was less than 24 when he retired. The Chinese player Li Zijun , who announced his retirement at the end of last year due to injuries, was still one month away from his 22nd birthday. Japanese athlete Asada Maho, who has a relatively long sports lifespan, was only 20 days younger than Kim Yoona, but he persisted until he was 26 years old.
Compared with veterans, the advantage of young players is that they are light in their body and easier to practice difficult movements. However, if the body is not fully developed, it will still leave hidden dangers for their future careers even if it will not cause serious injuries in a short period of time. "Getting out early in life" may become a new trend in the figure skating field in the future.
This year, the women's singles champions in the first two games of the figure skating Grand Prix were won by two young players who were only 15 years old, namely Anna Sherbakova and Alexandra Trusova. Both players' free skating included quadruple jumps. Although Tuktamisheva, known as the "old grandma", completed her best Aksel triple-week jump in both competitions, she only won the third place. Next week, she will also make a debut in the China Cup.
But Smirnov should not forget, even the "ancient beast" has a young age. Tuktamisheva also had the reputation of being a "genius girl" back then. When she was 13 years old, she was already the champion of the adult group of the Russian National Championships.
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