A whole galaxy of talented single skaters is growing in Russian figure skating, who, despite their youth, amaze with their skills and aspire to the highest places in the future. Our hopes for the 2030 Olympic Games are tied to them. The path to them has already begun for these athletes and for each one it is unique.
It’s time to get to know the new stars better, for whom the “Championship” is launching a special project “Supernova-2030”. The heroine of the new issue is 14-year-old Polina Tikhonova.
The daughter of a famous couple both on ice and in life – world champions Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov – she adopted not only the external resemblance of her parents, but also a natural craving for the ice element. Last season she performed well at competitions, impressing with her high jumps, graceful lines and excellent skating skills. Now Polina is actively working on the triple Axel and also wants to learn the quadruple Lutz.
Read about how Tutberidze unexpectedly helped the younger Tikhonova, why she doesn’t remember her mom and dad’s achievements, and what she loves as much as the skating rink.
Polina’s parents did not want her to take up figure skating.
Polina Tikhonova took up figure skating against the wishes of her famous parents. Maria Petrova and Alexey Tikhonov were against their daughter following in their footsteps, perhaps because they knew from their own experience how hard work this business entailed. However, the grandmothers had a different opinion. Seeing in their granddaughter a future figure skater, they gave her her first skates. The resistance of mom and dad was broken and Polina took up riding. Later, Petrova invited her to go to ice dancing, and Tikhonov to pairs sports. Neither of them interested the girl enough to say goodbye to the solitary species. She honestly admitted that she wanted to remain a single skater, although she understood that there was no guarantee of success. Parents listened to their daughter, and she heeded their main advice: to ride first of all for her own pleasure and not for titles and medals.
Polina Tikhonova
Photo: “Championship”
Polina trains at the Eteri Tutberidze figure skating centre, but mainly under the guidance of her mother and father. In addition, Georgy Pokhilyuk helps her perfect her gliding. However, Tutberidze also played an important role in her destiny: he encouraged her to learn the double axel when the young figure skater did not dare to approach it out of fear.
“She helped me a lot, thanks to her I learned the double axel. I was scared for a long time, but she made me speed up. Eteri Georgievna came and said: “Well, what is this?” Great energy comes from her, she knows how to force you to do more to show what you can really do. At first it was even awkward to communicate. She also often jokes,” recalled Polina Tikhonova in an interview with Match TV.
Polina Tikhonova
Photo by: RIA Novosti
Now the athlete has mastered the triple axel with all her might. She practically has a cunning jump, as evidenced by her fantastic sniper performance at competitions: Polina easily soars to great heights and lands confidently. But she only once tried to conquer three and a half points in front of the tournament judges. This happened in the free program of the Moscow Championships last spring. The athlete missed about half a turn and fell, but took the first step towards adding a trixel to the permanent set of elements.
Polina also plans to study quadruple jumps. She realises that in the current junior competition, getting on the podium without quads is almost impossible and she is not going to count on anyone’s mistakes. First she wants to learn a quadruple lutz. Incidentally, the most expensive quad (except for the quadruple axel, of course).
But, to be honest, even without ultra-si, Polina’s performances make a vivid impression. Flying jumps, skating on the entire ice surface, interesting discoveries in choreography and a good presentation – all this allowed her to quickly win the hearts of fans and attract the attention of specialists.
Touching text about Polina’s parents:
“I blamed myself for betrayal.” A dramatic love story of famous Russian figure skaters.
“The main thing is to reach adult exits”
It is impossible not to notice that Polina has a special elegance, which is evident in every one of her movements. This peculiar superpower instantly focuses everyone’s attention on her as soon as she strikes the initial pose. Spectators are fascinated by her skating, which seems to last for a moment. You hardly get tired of watching a girl on the ice: after finishing her program, you always want her to continue performing spectacular steps.
Polina usually strives for balance in her performances and pays as much attention to working on the components as to technique. It is no surprise that her favorite figure skater is Alena Kostornaya. However, she also pays tribute to other famous single skaters and admires their talents.
“My favourite skater is Alena Kostornaya, but each one has her own highlight. For example, no one will jump like Sasha Trusova. She performed the jumps uniquely, perfectly, something unreal. Kamila Valieva is unique, she has everything: stretching, sliding, conveying emotions,” Tikhonova told Match TV.
By the way, just like Kostornaya, Polina is interested in horse riding and dreams of buying a horse herself. In her free time, she practices show jumping, which helps her to distract herself from figure skating and teaches her such important qualities for any athlete as calmness and patience. Basically, Polina trains with the same horse, but her love for these noble animals knows no bounds.
Polina Tikhonova with her parents
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
Being the daughter of world champions in figure skating, Polina is certainly proud of the achievements of her star parents, but she does not feel pressure from their success. Maria Petrova and Alexey Tikhonov are not trying to raise another champion in their family. For them, it is much more important that the girl is simply happy. Time will tell how her sports career will turn out.
“No, my parents don’t tell me: ‘You should skate better than us and so on.’ Everything is fine. I don’t feel any extra pressure because of this. Now the main thing is to get to adult competitions,” Tikhonova said in an interview with Match TV.
Previous issues of the special project:
