Ice dance athlete Annabelle Morozov changes partners for the fourth time in pursuit of her Olympic dream. But if before she skated for Russia and with the Russians, she has now formed a duo with the American Jeffrey Chen and intends to represent the United States. The latter was not a big surprise: the girl has American and French citizenship, so it is logical that she is trying to circumvent the international ban to which our athletes were subjected.
True, Annabelle was expected to capture her former partner Igor Eremenko under a different banner. With him she competed in what was probably her last Russian tournament and then flew to the United States, where her father Nikolai Morozov works as a coach. The couple was promising and brilliant; It’s a shame that their collaboration lasted less than a year.
The story with Jeffrey Chen may also be fleeting. Especially if the newly formed duo never make it to the coveted Milan Games. For now, let’s remember how Annabelle performed with her previous partners and how she ended it.
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Andrey Bagin – “made the best choice”
As a singles skater, Annabelle Morozov represented first the United States and then France. She only started skating for Russia in 2017 and moved on to ice dancing. It took about a year to find a suitable partner. As a result, the 16-year-old made her debut in the skating trials of the Russian national team in a duet with Andrei Bagin. Annabelle’s father honestly admitted that her daughter dreams of going to the Olympics and he will help her with that wish.
“The couple has been together for a month, Annabelle has only been dancing for a year. She likes to dance and she is good at it. That’s why they acted in rentals. Of course, she has an Olympic dream, she can’t live without it and I will help her realize it. If I helped everyone else do this, including those who did not deserve it, I will help my daughter even more,” Morozov told RIA Novosti Sport.
Annabelle was delighted with her first partner. They met by chance while training with Alexander Zhulin and her father approved of their choice.
“When we started skating together, my dad said he (Bagin) was the best guy I tried out with. Tall, handsome, he skates well. He said that he had made the best decision,” the figure skater said live on Instagram, answering Lina Fedorova’s questions.
Andrey Bagin and Annabel Morozov
Photo: RIA Novosti
The duo of Morozov and Bagina was considered very promising. In the first season they qualified for the Russian Championships, where they took eighth place, which is very good for a newly formed couple, in which the partner is an absolute beginner in the dance form. The boys trained under the direction of Annabelle’s father, but also resorted to the help of other specialists. The 2019/2020 season was a breakthrough for the athletes: they won their first medal at the international Golden Spin silver tournament, held in Zagreb. At the Russian Championships we were one step away from the podium and ended up on the reserve list for the World Championships.
Contrary to expectations, the next season did not bring much success to Morozov and Bagin. At the 2021 Russian Championships, Andrei stumbled in a rhythmic dance and then fell together on the step path. In the free dance, the skaters tried to make up the difference, but still took only sixth place according to the results of both programs.
The selection for the Beijing Olympics turned out to be even more dramatic. They were separated by 0.10 points from the bronze medal at the Russian Championship. The chances of going to the Games completely disappeared and two months later the Morozov/Bagina duo ceased to exist. The reason given was lack of progress and mutual understanding. In addition, Andrei confirmed that not qualifying for the Olympic Games also influenced the breakup of his partner.
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David Narizhny – “we are very happy to travel together”
Annabelle didn’t have to look for a new partner for a long time after breaking up with Bagin. A little earlier, the duo of Elizaveta Shanaeva and David Narizhny broke up; she quickly joined him. They decided to train simultaneously under the supervision of Nikolai Morozov, Irina Zhuk, Alexander Svinin and Alexey Gorshkov. All experts noted their rapid growth and believed that the boys would reach the highest level. Not only in Russia, but also internationally.
The first joint tournament, the Russian Grand Prix in Moscow, brought gold to Annabelle and David. However, the goal for them there was not victory, but the presentation of their partner.
“Of course, not everything is perfect, but I am happy with how our first competition went. The main thing was to show our couple how happy we are skating together,” Morozov told TASS after the competition.
Annabel Morozov and David Narizhny
Photo: RIA Novosti
At the stage of the Russian Grand Prix in Kazan, the athletes faced their main rivals – Narizhny’s former partner Elizaveta Shanaeva, who was now skating with Pavel Drozd. Annabelle and David were ahead of the competition, once again climbing to the top step of the podium. Everything indicated that they would begin the fight for the title of Russian champion. However, a month after the Kazan stage, the duo unexpectedly broke up.
The obstacle this time was the discrepancy between the skaters’ opinions on the organization of the training process. Annabelle wanted to prepare for the main national competition in the United States. David categorically refused to fly abroad, since he had little time left before the Russian Championship.
Igor Eremenko – “we are ideal for each other”
Not finding mutual understanding with Narizhny, Annabelle did not get lost and remembered that now Igor Eremenko is still free. After breaking up with Sofia Shevchenko in March 2022, the guy did not compete for more than a year, but he responded enthusiastically to Morozov’s offer. At first, they slowly worked their way up on their own, even attending public skating events. They then flew to the United States, where concrete work began. After putting together the shows, the new duo returned to Moscow in the summer under the wing of Angelika Krylova.
This time Annabelle did not want to race between the two countries for the entire season and hoped that the next competitive year would be spent entirely in Russia. She got along well with Igor; Fortunately, he is generally calm by nature and does not like conflict.
“It seems to me that Igor and I are ideal for each other, including in character,” Morozov said in an interview on the Russian Figure Skating Federation website.
At the skating trials held in September, the skaters made an excellent impression. Fans were eager to see them in competitions.
It is true that an insidious fate overshadowed the debut tournament of the new duo. On the stage of the Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk, Elizaveta Shanaeva accidentally touched Annabelle’s leg with her skate. An unpleasant incident occurred during the warm-up before the rhythm dance. Despite the terrible injury, the girl still skated bravely, but she and Igor withdrew from the free dance.
Annabelle Morozov and Igor Eremenko
Photo: RIA Novosti
Morozov failed to recover before the end of the Russian Grand Prix series. In addition, he changed his previous plans and, together with Eremenko, went to the United States to rehabilitate after an injury and prepare for the next season. At the same time, rumors spread that the couple intended to fly under the flag of the United States or France, whose citizenship Annabelle has. The figure skating federation quickly refuted this theory, but the truth was in the middle. Igor, in fact, did not move anywhere, but Annabelle formed an alliance with the American Jeffrey Chen and will soon compete for the United States.
Morozov and Eremenko had no conflicts or misunderstandings; A cold and banal calculation led to their separation. It was not possible for the boy to obtain US citizenship before the Milan Games. Shouldn’t Annabelle give up her old Olympic dream for this?
It is true that overcoming the competition among dancers in the United States in just a year and a half is perhaps a little more realistic than obtaining the citizenship necessary for Eremenko. But there are certainly possibilities. And may this adventure really end happily.
Confrontation between Morozov and Shanaeva. As was:
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