R-Sport and Sputnik News reported on March 1 that junior phenom and 2017 duet alternate Varvara Subbotina would compete with Svetlana Kolesnichenko in the duet this season for Russia, according to head coach Tatiana Danchenko.
A few months ago, 2017 duet world champion and two-time Olympian Aleksandra Patskevich announced she would be missing the 2018 season. Logically, fans were left wondering who would take her spot in the duet with Svetlana Kolesnichenko.
Subbotina was a standout in the junior and 13-15 categories in 2016. She became a four-time junior world champion in solo, team, free combination, and figures in Kazan, Russia, sweeping the competition by multiple points. That same year, she also was a three-time junior European champion in team, free combination and figures in Rijeka, Croatia. As if it wasn’t enough, she also competed at the COMEN Cup in Israel to easily earn the gold medal.
She saw very little international action in 2017. She did not compete at all in the junior category, which she would have easily dominated, and only served as an alternate for the duet and team routines at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Subbotina, born in 2001, still has two years remaining in the junior category, but the Russian Federation has decided to put her up to the big task of being in the spotlight on the senior international scene. It will be thrilling to finally see her back out after a year away from the public eye.
It is however important to note that the article first confirming the new pair of Kolesnichenko/Subbotina has since been deleted. The article however stated that the duet should make its first appearance in a few days at the French Open in Montreuil. They are scheduled to compete in the technical duet with the same “Jazz” choreography than in 2017, but with obviously different elements. Furthermore, Subbotina should be entered to compete in the technical solo, while Kolesnichenko will present her ‘Amazon’ free solo.
Below is Subbotina’s solo at the 2016 FINA Junior World Championships: