Egor Bazin spoke out about the exclusion of Russian ice dancers from the Olympic selection.

Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva and Egor Bazin announced their retirement in April.

On May 13, the International Skating Union (ISU) published a list of skaters granted neutral status to participate in the Olympic selection — ice dance couples were not included.

It was reported that Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin were listed as the main athletes, with Vasilisa Kaganovskaya and Maxim Nekrasov as reserves.

– Are you upset about the exclusion of ice dance in general, or about you and Liza not going to another Olympic Games?

– Well, not another, but the second one. I’m upset that in the end, no one will go. I have come to terms with it in my mind. Probably in February, I thought it all over and really wished someone would go and take that chance. But no one will, and I don’t even know who is to blame. I have some guesses, but…

– What thoughts did you have when you realized that you and Liza would not go to the Olympics?

– I always dreamed of going to the Olympics with the flag and the anthem. That’s not happening, but I still wanted to go.

We have no judge in ice dance, and potentially there can’t be one at the Olympics because of the neutral status and all that. Without a ranking, without a judge, we are going to an international competition for the first time in 3–4 years. And I understand that if we were in the top ten, it would already be a great success.

We ended our career beautifully with regard to the Russian Championships. And maybe that’s how the Olympics should be for the country. You take your chance, go there, prove yourself, but in the realities of our sport, especially ice dance, it would be hard to reach any place.

And then comes the aftermath. You go, skate well, but place badly — and get a wave of negativity. But on the other hand, maybe not, maybe everyone will support you and say the others are the problem, not letting Russia achieve anything.

We have to go anyway, but you asked me how I came to terms with it. In my mind, I played out two scenarios. By some miracle, we went there — what could happen next, what benefits would there be for us, and would that even be the kind of Olympics I wanted to attend so much? I leaned toward finishing my sports career, haha.

– You and Liza retired while being the second-ranked pair in the national team. Did you know for sure that you were not on the lists?

– If we were on those lists, we would have been told: guys, stay in shape, keep training, here are the criteria — since they were filling out the paperwork. At least, I did not fill out any papers for the neutral status.

– So you just realized it from indirect signs?

– When talking with our coach — the same. The thread was clear: no chances for us. Although we could ask “why,” since we are the second pair, why do we have no chances? Well, never mind.

– There are many questions about the second pair as well, since apparently Vasilisa Kaganovskaya and Maxim Nekrasov are listed.

– Yes, that raises questions — how come?

– How did you answer that question to yourself?

– I retired from sports.

If Ivan is not allowed, and there would be a chance for David (Narizhny) with Ira (Khavronina) — I would be very happy for them. They are a worthy pair who would represent our country at the Olympics. They took third place at the Russian Championships. They are not reserves. As far as I know, David is already skating.

If not all of us, then I would want David to go because their style of ice dance skating is exceptionally stylish. Obviously, there is room for growth and many things to improve, but they and their team are heading in the right direction. For the past two years I have seen that they potentially are great, — Bazin said in an interview with Okko.

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– Naturally, after the St. Petersburg Grand Prix tournament, Liza and I discussed different possible scenarios.

– So you're saying that during the second Grand Prix event, there were already some conversations happening?

– No, well… those thoughts were there too. We were thinking... or not exactly thinking — how should I put it...

– So was it more like unfulfilled expectations? Like you felt you were at your peak?

– Something like that. Though actually, our peak came at the Russian Championships. Yes, we lost the rhythm dance. That evening was really tough. Honestly, we even thought about withdrawing. Of course, I mean no offense to the team who won — they were doing their thing, we were doing ours — but in the world we lived in, that wasn’t supposed to happen. I'm speaking for myself as an athlete, and I was told the same by many people who were there at the competition.

Liza and I discussed many different possible developments, how things might unfold, and we went into the free dance as if it were our last — and we won it. Riding that high, we started preparing for the Russian Championships. By then, even in the rhythm dance, we were mentally prepared for anything to happen, and we approached the free dance aiming to win the Russian Championships again.

Then came the Olympic news. In short, we skated as best we could. It was a really strong, powerful performance. Probably the best skate of our lives.

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