Russian pairs skater Vladimir Morozov has voiced fears that the coronavirus pandemic could severely damage international figure skating having major tournaments, including Grand Prix stages possibly being canceled next season.
The skater, who was forced to halt training in the USA and return to Russia together with his partner Evgenia Tarasova, said that their programs for the next seasons are still not ready.
“We planned to stage new programs in the US, right after the world championship. But many specialists whom Marina Zueva wanted to hire for our programs resided in different states. So it became obvious they wouldn’t be able to join us due to coronavirus restrictions,” Morozov told RT.
“When we learned that the world championship was canceled we changed airplane tickets and flew to Moscow. So we have a difficult situation regarding programs for the next season,” he added.
The two-time European champion and world silver medalist said that the global coronavirus crisis which has already impacted all major sports competitions might undermine the beginning of the season, canceling all Grand Prix stages.
“Honestly I don’t know what to expect. All junior Grand Prix events have already been canceled, they might cancel senior stages as well,” Morozov said, adding that he has never had a two-month break in training before.
Russian skaters, including Tarasova and Morozov, were allowed to train at Novogorsk sports base in Moscow region after being confirmed to have negative coronavirus tests.