Legendary Coach Tatiana Tarasova recently took a swipe at the 2026 Winter Olympics Figure Skating event, saying it wasn’t competitive enough because of the absence of Russian athletes. Russian athletes’ participation in the Olympic Games in recent years has been fraught with turmoil. They have historically dominated the figure skating events, securing five of the last nine Olympic women’s medals.
Their athletes last competed under their national flag at the Olympics during the 2014 edition in Sochi, Russia, where the figure skating team won five medals, including three gold, one silver, and one bronze. At the recent Games, the American squad dominated the team event after surpassing the Japanese and Italian teams. The USA squad’s Alysa Liu led the women’s figure skating after posting a total of 226.79 points.
She was followed by the Japanese duo of Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai, who bagged 224.90 and 219.16, respectively. The men’s event was won by Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov, who earned 291.58 points. Days after the conclusion of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Tarasova expressed her critical view, suggesting it is unfair to the Russian athletes.
“I’ve been to the Olympics many times – my athletes have won them seven times. I feel that these Olympic Games were weaker than anything I’ve seen in my entire life. Maybe it’s because we – Russians – weren’t there. But it’s a great injustice; it shouldn’t be this way. But they really were weaker,” Tarasova said.
Tarasova began her figure skating journey at the age of five, after being introduced to the sport by her father, who was an ice hockey coach.
What Led To Legendary Coach Tatiana Tarasova’s Shift From Competitive Figure Skating To Coaching?
After commencing her figure skating journey at the age of five, Tatiana Tarasova moved to Simsbury, Connecticut, for 10 years. She returned to Russia in 2006 and skated with two partners, Alexander Tikhomirov and Georgia Proskurin. After competing at multiple international competitions, Tarasova’s journey was marred by an injury. She began coaching at the age of 19.
She coached multiple elite figure skaters, including Alexei Yagudin, who won three World Championships and an Olympic gold medal in 2002, Ilia Kulik, who won an Olympic gold medal in the 1998 edition, and Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin, whose partnership won four World Championships and an Olympic gold medal in 1988.
Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov also won the 1997 World Championship and an Olympic gold medal in 1998 under her guidance. Tarasova was added to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in March 2008.
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