Or if your body or psychological state fails it’s because you are weak. “You grow up to believe if you get injured it’s because you’re weak. “The worst aspect to this is that most of the time, in skating and gymnastics and maybe other sports, you grow up in a culture that’s very authoritarian,” Korpi says. First, rather than a skating competition for women, are we now dealing with a jumping competition for girls? Second, and much more importantly, what’s the cost of success – physically, emotionally and psychologically – for this collection of raw, developing children?
Trusova and Shcherbakova have both mastered skating’s holy grail: the quad, an exhaustive element – and up until recently an unheard-of feat for ladies, which is four full rotations in the air. What makes them so good? Well, owing to their remarkable jumps, they maximize the technical points on offer.
They repeated the trick at the European championships the following month their opponents left dumbstruck by their dominance. In the Grand Prix final last December, Kostornaia claimed gold while Shcherbakova and Trusova rounded out the medals. They only made their senior debuts last year but blitzed through the sport, ensuring a multitude of headlines. The trio have revolutionized figure skating. Unintentionally, it may have shifted the landscape of women’s figure skating in the process.īarring a minor miracle, three Russian teenagers would have battled it out for the podium places: 16-year-old Alena Kostornaia and a pair of 15-year-olds, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova. With a ban subsequently imposed but with 169 'clean' Russian athletes cleared to compete, she commented: "Like everybody else I don’t know much about what is happening, but I am really glad we have the chance to represent our country at the Olympic Games.Last week should have seen the world championships take place in Montreal, but the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to that. Like her three-year younger compatriot, Medvedeva's' shot at Olympic glory comes against the backdrop of systematic Russian doping at the Sochi Games in 2014.Īnd Medvedeva deployed the agility and dexterity she is famed for on ice when delivering an emotional and eloquent plea before the IOC asking that Russia escape an Olympic ban. I understand that very well so now I need to work." There were many moments where I need to do better. "Of course, I am not completely satisfied. She left Moscow's Megasport Palace rink plotting her revenge on Zagitova. The support of the fans gives me strength." It was not ideal, but first of all, I want to say thank you for the support. "There are a lot of people that made it possible for me to get back on to the ice and I think I realised that it is the treasure of my life to be able to go out and skate. The bigger the break in competing, the worse it is. "For all athletes, but for me too, their performances improve from competition to competition. The Muscovite said: "My main victory is that I am standing here (after the injury). Ominously for her rivals she added: "I think there is still room for improvement for me."įor Medvedeva, any disappointment at taking silver was dissipated by proving her fitness ahead of her Games' debut. In our souls, we know," she said after succeeding Medvedeva as European champion. "At the Olympics we will be competing under the white flag, but we are still 'Athletes from Russia'.
Turning senior she remains unbeaten this season with wins in China and France, the Grand Prix finals, the Russian national championships, and the Europeans, where she produced a personal best of 238.24 points to shade Medvedeva by less than seven points.ĭancing to Black Swan in her short program and Don Quixote in her free dance, she is unusual in that she backloads her routine with all her jumps executed in the second half, to earn extra points.īoth Zagitova and Medvedeva are among a group of Russians competing as neutrals at the 2018 Games with Russia serving a country ban for state-sponsored doping. Zagitova burst onto the scene in 2016-2017, being crowned world junior champion and becoming the first junior to break the 200 point barrier. Pyeongchang promises to serve up an electric rematch between the two pals. The injury had sidelined her for the Grand Prix Finals in Japan, and the Russian national championships, opening the way for Zagitova to step in and claim both titles. Returning after time off to recover from a broken foot, Medvedeva was narrowly eclipsed by her training partner, close friend, and now deadly Olympic rival.
"I could hear kids shouting and people shouting 'Go on Alina'", she said after claiming the continental crown at the Megasport Palace rink in Moscow last month.