MOSCOW-- Alina Zagitova, the gold medalist in women's figure skating at the Pyeongchang Olympics last year, appeared with her Akita dog, Masaru, at an event at a shopping center in Moscow.
The Sakura Festival was held Sunday to promote exchanges between Japan and Russia. At the event, Zagitova showed that Masaru, a female now 1 year old, can sit at her instruction.
Zagitova received Masaru from a public service corporation that protects Akita dogs in May last year, when the dog was 3 months old.
The Sakura Festival is part of exchange programs to introduce local specialties from Hokkaido, Ibaraki, Niigata, Yamaguchi and Okinawa prefectures to Russia.
Zagitova said during a talk show that she also wants to visit Akita Prefecture with Masaru. The audience laughed when she had a bit of trouble handling the large dog.
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