Plushenko and Kostyleva's Mother to Negotiate Over Skater's Future
Elena Kostyleva has been training under Evgeni Plushenko for about a year and a half.
The conflict between the mother of 14-year-old figure skater Elena Kostyleva from Voronezh and her coach Evgeni Plushenko has subsided over the past week but is not yet completely over. After the Kostylevs departed from the «Angels of Plushenko» academy to Voronezh at the start of the month, the sides gave few comments, but on December 8, several new statements appeared. Here«s what they said.
It all began with a sensation published by the Voronezh publication «MY! Online». Irina Kostyleva told it that it is still undecided whether her daughter will perform the lead role at Plushenko«s ice show in Minsk on December 14. The skater»s mother also said that she would allegedly «look for a new school for Lena so that her daughter can go there for a tryout.»
However, a few hours later, the elder Kostyleva told TASS that Lena will indeed perform in Minsk. And «Match TV», when asked about looking for a new school, explained that «we are not looking for anything at the moment. We are sitting in Voronezh and recovering.»
Meanwhile, on her Telegram channel, Irina Kostyleva has made almost no statements in recent days. On December 7, she spoke there about her daughter«s injuries that prevented her from training, and about how Lena»s performance level began to drop in recent months. On December 8, the elder Kostyleva only reported that in Voronezh, Lena has resumed English lessons.
As for Plushenko«s side, his wife, producer Yana Rudkovskaya, spoke to the media. She suddenly told TASS that »the «Angels of Plushenko» academy, due to many circumstances, did not plan to continue cooperation [with Kostyleva].« However, she immediately added: in Lena»s interests, negotiations will be held with a certain «interested party.»
«We perfectly understand how trusting the relationship between her [Lena] and Evgeni is, and that for the girl it will be a big blow not only to part with him but also to change schools. A change of lifestyle and all conveniences,» says Rudkovskaya. She also reported that the negotiations will be held after the show in Minsk, i.e., after December 14.
The holding of negotiations regarding the future fate of Lena Kostyleva was also confirmed by Evgeni Plushenko himself. On his Telegram channel, he wrote that he is ready to follow the «wise advice of Tatyana Anatolyevna Tarasova.» She called on the parties to make peace a few days ago.
«The negotiations will take place on December 15 or 16. <…> We have a very difficult situation (I wouldn»t wish it on my enemies), but I very much hope that both the negotiators and the lawyers will find a way out of this situation,« the renowned figure skater said.
The conflict between Kostyleva«s mother, Irina, and the skater»s coach, Evgeni Plushenko, flared up in the 20s of November. Plushenko and his wife, Yana Rudkovskaya, accused the elder Kostyleva of abusing her daughter, and even a video emerged in which Irina allegedly hits her daughter. The skater«s mother, in turn, denied the beating accusations and stated: Lena»s career is being ruined, and her parents are being forced to sign a terrible contract. All the details of the scandal can be found in our materials.
