Zagitova Hits Back at Rigini Criticism

Alina Zagitova responded to figure skater and choreographer Ivan Rigini after he commented that she lacks the experience to be a coach at her own figure skating school in Kazan. This was reported by RIA Novosti Sport.

In the comments under one of Zagitova«s posts showing the construction progress of the school, Rigini wrote: “The question is who she will recruit when Alina»s career is shorter than anyone«s. She won»t teach. The main thing is that the coaches teach.”

The Olympic champion wrote on her social media that these words stem from his narrow-mindedness.

“It«s scary to hear such things from a colleague and a man with whom we once had a good rapport. Publicly belittling me is not about professionalism, but about weakness and duplicity. Thinking that because of supposedly short career I won»t be able to teach anything is, to put it mildly, narrow-minded. As the classics said: it«s not the quantity but the quality that matters. And a man is defined by his actions — there’s something to ponder here too. Behind me are years of hard work, titles, and an understanding of sport, and that is exactly what I can pass on to others,” Zagitova wrote.

The skater stressed that she trained under the best coaching team in the world, which gave her a strong foundation for future work. She also asked: “And what have you achieved?”

Ivan Rigini is a well-known figure skater and choreographer who competed for Russia and Italy. He is a four-time Italian champion (2014–2017).

Recall that Zagitova plans to become a coach at her figure skating school in Kazan. The construction of the sports center has been discussed since 2023. It was initially planned to open in 2024, then the deadline was moved to December 2025. Subsequently, it became known that the school would open in the summer of 2026 — the opening is scheduled for Republic Day, August 30. For the construction of the figure skating center, 1.29 billion rubles (approximately $14 million) were allocated from Tatarstan«s budget.