r/FigureSkating

One of the coolest entries into the final combo spin is the running camel entrance. Yuzuru Hanyu and Rudy Galindo have the fastest entries I've ever seen. So for a spin-off, who did this running entry better?

Master and Margarita

“The Japanese skater revealed that attending Japan's senior national team training camp made him realize that difficult jumps alone are no longer enough.

‘From now on, I want to focus the most on my spins and skating skills.’

Nakata explained that once skaters reach the senior level, many athletes can perform the same jumps. Because of that, he wants to stand out through the quality of his skating, spins, and overall performance.

Source: Deep Edge Plus”

Plushenko spoke about his academy and about dealing with parents who think they know better than the coaches.

"Of course, our academy is focused on high-performance sport, and we want to raise Olympic champions. This is a private project funded with our own money. We have children from low-income families, children from large families, and talented young skaters who train free of charge. We fully support and finance them. I’m proud of that.

Why did we do this? Because when I was 11 years old and moved to Saint Petersburg, we lived in rented communal apartments. Back then, Anton Sikharulidze and Artur Dmitriev, who recently passed away, helped me a great deal.

More than 300 children skate in my two schools. We started with beginner training; parents brought their children to me, and I would be on the ice with them at 6 a.m. I wanted to see whether I could work with children and whether this was something I really wanted to do. It was incredibly difficult. I coached from 6 in the morning until 6 in the evening. I gave all my energy and couldn’t cope with it. Now there’s a balance.

You have to trust the coach, because I have talented athletes, but some parents lose their minds. I tell them: ‘How about you come work for me? I’ll pay you a salary, and you can coach your own child.’

I’m even willing to go that far. This happens in other sports as well. My mother was the same way. She knew figure skating better than Alexei Mishin did. But when she finally trusted Alexei Nikolayevich, the results started to come.”

Additionally he revealed that he was working on the quad axel 20 years ago (lmao)

“I had one rival - Alexei Yagudin. We were learning the triple Axel. It took him a week to master it, while it took me a year and a half. Incredibly talented! Apparently, I’m not quite as talented, but I’m hardworking.

Twenty years ago, I was working on a triple Axel–quadruple toe loop combination. There are videos of it on social media, by the way. When people saw it, they said it was impossible. Back then it was impossible; now athletes are already doing it.

What Ilia Malinin is showing - the number one skater on planet Earth and the first person in the world to land a quadruple Axel - everyone says it’s impossible. But 20 years ago, I was already training that jump. I never landed it, but I was working on it even back then.

He did it.”

And revealed his families difficult financial situation when he was a kid

“I never had thoughts about not wanting to continue training. At the age of 11, I lived for a year and a half without my parents. I learned how to do laundry, iron clothes, and sew. It was crazy. I think about whether I could send Sasha (his son) to another city at that age. Would I be able to do that? I don’t know.

We had a good skating school in Volgograd. I said that I wanted to pursue figure skating, and my parents sent me to Saint Petersburg. My mother arrived a year and a half later.

One day we woke up, and I asked, ‘Mom, what’s there to eat?’ There was a single apple on the table. She said, ‘Eat the apple. There’s nothing else to eat.’

My father was working three jobs in Volgograd, and we had been forced to spend our money on a train ticket because we literally had nothing to eat.

We collected empty bottles. Those were different times - chaos in the country. It was genuinely hard. Then Alexei Mishin came and said, ‘I’ll help you for a while. The child is talented; he needs to keep training.’

My mother couldn’t get a job because she needed a residence permit registration. My father was still working three jobs in Volgograd. We kept pushing forward, and eventually we got ourselves out of that situation."

credits to u/passiolive & u/begojonguitud

A Lori Nichol masterpiece and the only time she skated this program clean (albeit without the 3T+3T that she did at 99 Nationals). Also, I remember hating this haircut at first but it has grown on me over time. It's very 90s.

i'm sorry

“You have to understand that some things come easier to gifted children. Let me give you an example from my own life.
Throughout my career, I always had one main rival and competitor—Alexei Yagudin. I was a little younger than he was, and we trained together under Alexei Mishin.
One day, we started learning the triple Axel. Alexei mastered it in a week, while it took me a year and a half. Quadruple jumps came to him much more easily as well—to give you an idea, it would take him just two weeks, and he had them. He was incredibly talented. Apparently, I wasn't quite as naturally gifted, but I was willing to work hard.” - Plushenko quoted

Part I - Nureyev, by Lisa Batiashvili and Daniel Hope Part II - Obscura, by Power-Haus and Christian Reindl ft. Atrel and Lucie Paradis

Saki said that Kaori is always cheering her on loudly, shouting things like, “Come on!”, “Keep fighting!”, and “Where’s your attack?!” She thinks Kaori has been a great addition to the team.

Saki is 23, and Kaori is 26. Seeing someone as young as Kaori coaching athletes only a few years younger than herself reminds me of one of Yuna Aoki’s coaches, Niina Takeno, who is only 10 months older than Yuna. Yuna has said that it’s much easier to talk things through and exchange ideas with Niina than with her other coaches, and that she enjoys having her by her side at competitions. I think Kaori could have a similar positive influence on Saki.

Saki Miyake's 2026-27 programs:

SP
Music: Samba do Brasil
Choreographer: Misha Ge

FS (same as last season)
Music: Maria de Nazaré
Choreographer: Misha Ge