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Russian figure skating maitre says Maksim Kovtun new leader in men’s skating

“That’s just splendid. Here we get a new leader in men’s skating”, Tatiana Tarasova, a consulting coach of the national team said

© ITAR-TASS/Artem Korotaev

SOCHI, December 25, 23:48 /ITAR-TASS/. Maxim Kovtun, 18, has won gold in men at the Russian national figure skating championship, outdoing the renowned champion of the 2000’s, Yevgeny Plushenko.

Maxim’s performance during the season and the result at the national championship has prompted the maitre coach Tatiana Tarasova to point him out as a new national leader in men’s skating. Kovtun’s final score was 267.13 points and Plushenko’s stood at 261.37 points.

“That’s just splendid,” Tatiana Tarasova, a consulting coach of the national team said. “The national championship in figure skating is always an outstanding event and here we get a new leader in men’s skating".

“It’s a great sight to see a young guy make two quadruple jumps, one in a sequence and then two and half axels in the second half of the program,” she said. “All of this fully stands in line with world standards. Maxim has risen to an appropriate level very fast thanks to his coaches”.

Now the workload will be greater, Tarasova said with confidence. “In the first place, we’ll be working over Maxim’s character. Will we be changing anything? We will, during the whole lifetime.”

She also commented on Yevgeny Plushenko’s statement that he will take part only in the team contest at the Sochi Games. “We don’t have anything with Zhenya’s plans and we’re thinking only about the things concerning us directly.”

“It’s very important to see Plushenko appear at these Olympic Games and I think he will appear there, indeed,” Tarasova said. “On our part, we’re going to present ourselves there - and not only to perform on the ice but to score results.

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