In Bulgaria the interest in figure skating has disappeared, there are no people to watch, said the two-time Olympic champion
Evgeni Platov is the only one two-time Olympic champion in ice dance with Oksana Grishuk. Now as a coach he is working with British skaters and is in Bulgaria with Olivia Smart and Joseph Buckland, who finished 10th in ice dance. For Beautyinsport.com Platov shared some thoughts for the competition and some memories from Sofia.
“It’s my third time in Bulgaria. First time was in 1991 for European Championships. I remember it very well, than I came back in 1996. You know everything is organized very well now. I just hope that more people will come because it’s big Championships. I remember at the Europeans were many more people. I think in Bulgaria the interest in figure skating has disappeared. Even that it’s Junior Worlds in other countries like Japan they have full halls. Everything is fine – hotels, transportation, hotel, food but there are no people to watch. Without people it’s just sport for the judges. In the future you must publicise it more to bring the people. TV and radio must help”, was the advice from the famous Russian.
About 1996 he made interesting confession: “We won with Pasha. At the podiums were 3 couples from one coach – Natalia Linichuk, us, Angelika Krylova/Oleg Ovsyannikov and Irina Romanova/Igor Yaroshenko. All team mates and it was so much fun, we had great time. I remember one thing. We were talking after the competition that somehow it was very had to skate here. Maybe it’s because of the altitude, maybe it’s the air but in Sofia I had the hardest skate in my life. And Angelika Krylova and Yaroshenko agreed with me. We won the podium but it was the hardest ever.”
