This is disappointing news. I really felt they had a lot of potential but her health is more important. It will be interesting to see how Nikita gets on with Labazina, I liked her with Rakhmanin. He can’t have long left in juniors.
So if Labazina is with Volodin, where is Rahmanin?
Open Moscow Jr. Champs.
Sobinina / Volodin
SP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9GqlvhhNVw
FS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm3buMxrMCQ
Come on, seriously? You already made a similar post in the Russian pairs thread.I'm a bit late to the game, but a lot has happened to Nikita in the past year. He was pretty promising with Sobinina, especially considering how new she was not only to pairs, but to skating in general. Apparently she retired for health reasons too, even though she was tagged in a training photo with a few other skaters, including Rakhmanin.
Nikita teamed up, in a surprising turn of events, with Viktoria Vasilieva. Vika picked up on pair elements very fast and they are now doing triple throws, twists, and level 4 death spirals and lifts. They were really good at the last Cup of Russia in seniors, considering it was their first competition together. Unfortunately, it seems that they have split. I do not know if Nikita will continue competitive skating. His height and skill could make a great show skater. But even then, there are many girls in Russia, so he will have many options for partners if he does want to continue competitively, which I hope he does.
I wonder if it is just bad luck, or something else, that makes all of his partnerships not work out. All 4 of his partners with the exception of Ustimkina didn't last more than 2 seasons. The fact that I use the phrase "all 4 partners" for a 21 year old says a lot in itself. I know that Atakhanova retired for health, Sobinina was rumored to retire for health, and now Vasilieva apparently has joint issues. But if there is something else causing these collapses, then it may not be known until later on, or never at all.