Japanese Ice Skater Lives the Dream in Russia
I really enjoy watching figure skating. One of the main reasons for this is that the sport is very popular in Russia. And because I am from Russia, I am very proud when skaters representing Russia win. Russian skaters are one of the dominant powers in this sport in the world. The sport is currently gaining popularity also in Japan. There are many fans of Russian skaters in Japan especially among females. Being in Japan, when I meet somebody for the first time, they would name very famous Russian figure skaters and ask me if I know them.
In this regard, let me mention a Japanese girl, Yuko Kawaguchi, who came to Russia to make her dreams come true. Living in Japan, she admired Russian pair skater, Elena Berezhnaya. She wanted to become just like her, but for that she needed to have a Russian coach, Elena’s coach, Tamara Moskvina. She wrote a letter to Tamara asking to train her. At first, Moskvina was hesitating, but then she agreed.
Kawaguchi’s present partner is Alexander Smirnov. Kawaguchi and Smirnov are one of the hopes of the Russian Skating Federation. Yuko could be in the right place at the right time. Most of the Russian skaters who owned the highest ranking places have either retired or turned professional, after the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
Yuko is very hard-working. She successfully finished her studies in “International Relations” in St. Petersburg State University. She speaks fluent Russian. Kawaguchi became the first foreigner to represent Russia in a World Championship.
Yuko’s dream is to represent Russia in the Olympics. For her dream to come true, she will have to refuse her Japanese citizenship and obtain Russian, because Japan does not allow having a double citizenship. It is a very tough decision to make, but she is in Russia now, she represents Russia in a World Championships and to participate in the Olympics is to have one or two chances in a million…but only time can tell…
http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2007/101507.shtml
1 comment:
Very interesting post. Athletes often have to make nationality choices for sports. I wonder how she feels giving up her Japanese citizenship. In wonder how Japanese people feel about her...
Are these your own original photos?
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