Russian figure skater Ksenia Gushchina said in an interview: Sports24has a strong character.
“I have the character of a warrior who is ready to fight, to fight for the elements. For victory. A strong character. Have you shown your warriorship this season? Maybe yes. When I came out after the injury. At first they told me it was over, the season might end, but we decided to fight and everything is fine now. And even before the Russian Championship I was a little sick there – a virus, fever, I had to prove myself.
In any situation, I set myself up in a positive light, saying that I could and would do anything. I said to everyone, “I will go,” and they answered me: “Maybe I shouldn’t go?” And I said, “We should go!” I said. “We finally went,” said the athlete.
One of nine adult figure skaters participating in the 2024 Channel One Cup, 16-year-old Gushchina is a student of Alexandrina Degtyareva, a two-time Russian Grand Prix medalist and the last two St. Petersburg also won the championship.
In March 2022, the International Skating Union (ISU) suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes from competitions. In the 2022/23 season, they focused on domestic competitions (Russian Grand Prix stages and the national championship). Although the issue of the return of Russian athletes was on the agenda at the ISU meeting held in October 2023, it was not brought up.
The last major tournament for the Russians was the Olympic Games in Beijing in February 2022.
Valieva, who was previously disqualified for doping starry in a television program.