The men’s short programme kicks off the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Debrecen on Wednesday, and we asked figure skater sports director Csaba Bálint about the chances and expectations.
The men’s short program kicks off the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Debrecen on Wednesday, with Aleksei Vlasenko, who will be competing in his second outing and making his first World Championships appearance, soon to find out what effect the home track will have on him.
“The home crowd is a double-edged weapon, indeed, I hope that the better part of the weapon will strike our competitors, and we must not forget that the Hungarian audience is always very supportive, no matter what the sport, and they can help the Hungarian competitors with their cheers,” said Csaba Bálint, Director of the Figure Skating Branch of the Hungarian National Skating Federation. – I am confident that our skaters will perform at the best of their abilities on the home track, and I am very happy that we will be hosting this World Championships.”
Csaba Bálint explained that everyone is excited for the start of the World Championships and of course they are trying to bring their best for this event. At the same time, he acknowledged that, as they are young athletes, anything can happen in the competition, so it is difficult to predict the results.
“If everything goes according to plan, if our team runs without any mistakes, there is a chance that Polina Dzhumaniyazova will finish in the top ten. That would be very good, because then we could have two Hungarians in the women’s World Junior Championships next year. This is Aleksei’s first World Championships, and if she performs flawlessly in the short programme, she could be among the rink skaters. But it should be noted that the field is very strong, and this is especially true for the doubles. In the case of József Berei Mózes and Lily Wilbreforce, it is very difficult to predict, as they are a pair that has been together for a few months. We expect them to improve on their results in Oberstdorf, i.e. to run better in Debrecen than they did at the event where they earned the right to compete at the World Championships. We are confident that this will be enough for them to show off their ring in front of a home crowd.”
