Russia’s honored figure skating coach Natalya Dubinskaya passed away at the age of 74. The son of the coach of Russian dancers Denis Samokhin reported this on his page on the social network.
“My mother passed away yesterday… For four years she struggled with the terrible incurable disease ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. – socialbites.ca note), which took everything away from her. Strength, energy, a job you love, the ability to move and breathe… Sleep well, mommy…” he wrote.
Dubinskaya trained Olympic champions Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov, as well as Games silver medalists Irina Lobacheva and Ilya Averbukh, as well as Kamila Valieva.
At the end of February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) appealed to international sports federations, recommending that Russian and Belarusian athletes not be allowed to participate in any competitions. For this reason, the International Skating Union (ISU) suspended athletes from both countries from competitions.
The last tournament for the Russians was the Beijing Games, where a doping scandal broke out involving former student Dubinskaya Valieva.
Previously Valieva happened She is the only Russian woman who told the ISU about the time of the doping test.