Journalist Elena Vaytsekhovskaya shared her opinion about the ISU Skating Awards.
“The exit to the final straight line of the award was preceded by an attempt to fan a scandal around the upcoming celebration: Alina Zagitova, who was initially presented in three categories at once, did not fall into any of the nominations.
On the one hand, everything is logical: the champion of the Games in Pyeongchang announced a suspension of her career in December, and she did this, to put it mildly, not too thoughtfully in terms of her own image.
The position voiced in the style of the first Russian president Boris Yeltsin (“I’m tired, I’m leaving”) completely ruled out someone’s guilt that the season of one of the brightest skaters in the world turned out to be inferior and ragged. Accordingly, to curtsy in the direction of the athlete was already useless.
On the other hand, in the nomination “Program” remained Evgenia Medvedeva, who missed all the major starts, although not at will. Therefore, Alina’s fans had every reason to consider their favorite as infringed on their rights.
The absence of Alina Zagitova among the finalists of the International Skating Union Prize for the past season is not as blatant as the possible victory of Canadian Kurt Browning in one of the nominations. The four-time world champion in figure skating is close to becoming the first recognized legend of his sport according to ISU.
The reverence towards Browning was understandable: the ceremony was planned to be held at one of Montreal’s most famous arenas – at the 21,000th Bell Center, where the local hockey club Canadiens holds their home matches. But the translation of the show into an online format highlighted a number of nuances.
If Browning really becomes the first of the “legends”, this may well turn into another headache for ISU, as it will untie the hands of the organizers of any subsequent world championships. Why then not the same French to demand an Oscar for Alain Gilletti or Philippe Candeloro, the Swiss for Denise Bilmann and Stefan Lambiel, the Spaniards for Javier Fernandez, and the Japanese for Yuzur Hani?
Although taking into account the “box office” name of the latter, it’s just right now to demand the inclusion of a skater in at least five out of seven nominations. But will the ISU Skating Awards become more prestigious from this? ” – wrote Vaytsekhovskaya.
In figure skating, they came up with a strange Oscar: they angered Zagitova’s fans, insulted the Jews, and still have not handed figurines
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