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Russian figure skater Trusova says parted with Coach Tutberidze due to personal reasons

She decided to join the team of two-time Olympic Champion Evgeni Plushenko
Eteri Tutberidze and Alexandra Trusova Sergey Bobylev/TASS
Eteri Tutberidze and Alexandra Trusova
© Sergey Bobylev/TASS

MOSCOW, May 8. /TASS/. Russia’s two-time World Junior Figure Skating Champion Alexandra Trusova said personal reasons were behind her decision to part ways with Head Coach Eteri Tutberidze.

According to Russian media reports earlier in the week, the 15-year-old figure skating star decided to quit the training group of world’s famous coach Tutberidze and was likely to join the team of two-time Olympic Champion Evgeni Plushenko.

"My friends, I would like to say that due to my personal reasons I am leaving Eteri Tutberidze’s group, in which I have been training in the course of the previous five years," Trusova wrote on her VKontakte social network page.

"My new mentor from now on is Evgeni Plushenko," she stated. "We have already chosen music for my future skating programs and will begin trainings as soon as the [coronavirus] quarantine is lifted."

"I would like you to treat my decision with an understanding and to refrain from negative comments as I dearly hope for your future support," she added.

Tutberidze, 46, was in charge of training Trusova since 2016 and the teen prodigy is currently the only figure skater in the history of female competitions to land a quadruple jump in combination, namely a quad toe loop with a quad Lutz jump.

In addition to two gold medals of the World Junior Championships (2018 in Sofia and 2019 in Zagreb), Trusova is also the bronze medalist of the 2019/2020 Grand Prix Figure Skating Final in Italy’s Torino and the bronze medalist of the 2020 European Figure Skating Championship, hosted by Austria’s Graz in late January this year.