From Russia with Love [#34]: Autumn 2019

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Spun Silver said:
Actually I wasn't thinking about Akatieva and 2022, I was just worrying that she was going to be cursed by not getting to compete in juniors (and later seniors) when she's obviously ready. But even in this company (your list) she seems special. JMO.
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She's been skating for quite a few years now. She and her parents know the age rules. I doubt she'd be crushed, as it is not at all a surprise for her and parents. Knowing the age situation they are continuing full speed ahead, so they must have made all the calculations and plans.
 
Last night's interview with Maxim Kovtun.
nevasport.ru

"Ученики Тутберидзе - будущее мужского фигурного катания". Максим Ковтун о карьере, тату и путешествиях

О восхищении учениками группы Тутберидзе, значении своих татуировок и любви к боям Хабиба Нурмагомедова, Ковтун рассказал в интервью Nevasport.
nevasport.ru nevasport.ru

it is long. google-translates well. few summaries.
  • his current activities training children, skating in shows, trying out as a show-host and a commentator.
  • his tattoos have meanings, he is a fan of Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov (is a Russian professional mixed martial artist), he is impressed with the skaters in Tutberidze's group.
  • he has no regrets, no desire to return to skating. it was a well-thought-through decision. he is discovering many new opportunities and opened doors.
  • he thinks the future of men singles skating in Russia are the two Tutberidze's boys, Samsonov and Kolesnikov, they are talented and raised differently (than older generation). he follows their progress very closely.
  • regarding his view of who is the current leader of russia's men singles: all men in top 10 about the same level and prospects, impressed with Kolyada, loves his "Chaplin", impressed with Voronov, thinks he got a second wind, hopes he can make it this year.
  • with Kihira planning a quad and Tursynbaeva doing a quad, it would be harder for russian girls to dominate this season like last year, but his gut feeling is that this season russian ladies do not quite yet need to worry so much, the team is still strong.
  • he would not rule out going into politics someday, or becoming a sports representative.
  • he does not want to compare what's harder, being coached, or being a coach. right now coaching is labor of love, he enjoys every day of it. he sets up shows, master-classes, various training sessions with kids - he is not doing one single thing he is not enjoying, so nothing is difficult now.
  • his upcoming show gigs will be Navka's "Ruslan and Ludmila" and "Scarlet Flower".
  • he worked already several times as a commentator (of skating events) and was a judge on Ice Age-Kids. He feels like a fish in the water doing it, and likes to do it further.
  • he keeps himself in shape by going to the gym 4 times a week, he eats every food he wants but in moderation. he practices boxing always, swims in the pool, sauna, and skating in shows is also a work-out.
  • watches little TV, but follows other sports, boxing/wrestling/martial arts. occasionally watches football (soccer).
  • loves to travel, but also to relax at home. was not at home/Moscow for over two months and missed it. the upcoming trips are China, London, Brasil and USA.
  • each one of his tattoos has a meaning. he attributed a meaning to each of the drawings. there is "good/light" and there is "evil/dark". two years ago he stopped getting new ones. he has all he needs for now. maybe later in life he'll get new ones, or maybe not. we'll see.
-
 
Tinami Amori said:
b) She is NOT thin or looks unhealthy. She does have a thicker waist line than most skaters and they try to "hide it" with geometry of the dress.
https://nevasport.ru/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/vasileva.jpg she is not at risk of starving... :lol:
https://img-sport.business-gazeta.ru/images/17/3b65-8065cbc1035788799a1f34e4464c5122.jpg
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Just because someone looks “healthy” or “not thin” doesn’t mean their eating habits are any less damaging.
A good example of this is me and my friend. I am naturally on the petite side and she is not so much. Over the past year, I ate plenty of junk food, exercised very little, and maintained a fairly consistent weight. I recently found out that she was on a very strict diet for over a year and exercised much more than I do, but is still heavier than me. Just because she was not physically skinny doesn’t mean she wasn’t starving herself.
Ruby999 said:
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva went back to using Drumming Song by Florence + the Machine for her short program at a recent local competition. I definitely think the choreography makes more sense this way! I also think it is hilarious that her team originally changed the intended song but kept the choreography. I could be wrong, but was Tuktik just messing with us? Like, trolling all the figure skating fans who say that her music is always incidental? Regardless, I hope she keeps Drumming Song now. It’s nice and original, and it suits her. Nice triple axel too! :)

https://fs-gossips.com/elizaveta-tuktamysheva-went-back-to-the-florence-and-the-machine-sp-video/
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I like this! The choreography fits much better.
 
Finsta said:
I didn’t realize we aren’t allowed to post about Tukt here
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If we are allowed to post about 10-year-old skaters, praise and bash Eteri and Daniil G., speculate on eating disorders, and complain about who and what we don’t like in Russian skating, as well as argue over all the things we think we know and think others don’t know about Russian culture, I think we can discuss Elizaveta Tuktamysheva in here too.

One thing that interests me about Tuktik is that she doesn’t fit into the narrative about precarious technique and short careers — and yet she is a contender for one of Russia’s coveted 3 Worlds spots. I actually think that, counter to the hand-wringing ‘conveyor-belt’ narrative of pre-pubescent Russian ladies replacing their elders, many of the current Russian stars are going to stick around and compete impressively with their younger rivals. The Russian international team can actually vary from year to year, after all. Tuktik looked ‘over’ a couple of years ago, now she’s back in the picture. Who is to say that kind of fight won’t turn out to be a trend? I think Medvedeva is serious about improving her skating, and Zagitova looked stronger than ever at the test skates. Serafima Sakhanovich got a GP spot this year after several years of struggle and looks good right now. I’m not saying Serafima is in the running for a spot at Worlds, but careers go up and down. None of us actually has any idea what will happen next. We can speculate, we can contemplate the odds, we can hope and wish and vent, but I can’t think of one season — I’m speaking of figure skating in general now, not just in Russia — that hasn’t included countless surprises, upsets, and dethroning of prematurely crowned ‘unbeatable‘ champions. Watching it all unfold is fun, and for many fans, Tuktamysheva’s comeback is part of that fun. Just as fun as imagining the future careers of current 10-year-olds, or putting Eteri on a pedestal or hating her guts. I follow this forum for the drama and opinions as well as the information. We don’t have a separate forum only for Russian skating news, and I like the idea that we can post a variety of things in here. Cheer threads are cool, but people by and large don’t like to read even constructive criticisms of their favorites in cheer threads, so these can end up being a bit less dynamic.

I know I’m relatively new here, so maybe I don’t understand how this forum should be, but who cares if you have to slog past some posts that aren’t as interesting to you? We all do it, believe it or not. We don’t all have the same interests, and I don’t see why that is a problem.
 
Ruby999 said:
I actually think that, counter to the hand-wringing ‘conveyor-belt’ narrative of pre-pubescent Russian ladies replacing their elders, many of the current Russian stars are going to stick around and compete impressively with their younger rivals. The Russian international team can actually vary from year to year, after all. Tuktik looked ‘over’ a couple of years ago, now she’s back in the picture. Who is to say that kind of fight won’t turn out to be a trend? I think Medvedeva is serious about improving her skating, and Zagitova looked stronger than ever at the test skates.
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It's either injury or mental health that stops things.

Tuktamysheva has spoken extensively about how the training situation in St Petersburg is totally different to Moscow. As she once said, in Moscow you have to turn up to training every day to fight and destroy like it is war. Whereas the training situation with Mishin is more relaxed.

And I think that has assisted in Tuktamysheva being 22 almost 23 and still healthy physically and mentally. It's one thing to train so intensively when you are 14 and your mother cooks, cleans and does everything for you. But Tukt has her own apartment, has her boyfriend to consider as well, has to look after herself etc. So she would be less tolerant of a daily pressure cooker in her training situation.

Although, Tukt said recently that because she is an adult, she doesn't need to be as monitored as much as the younger girls. For example, she said she doesn't need to be regularly weighed at training because she knows what competitive weight she needs to keep and because she is experienced she can manage it herself.

With Zagitova, it will be a case of not letting the training environment get to her. Fortunately she seems to be a favourite of Daniil G, so at least there is someone on her side there who can support her.
 
Ruby999 said:
I think we can discuss Elizaveta Tuktamysheva in here too.
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The comment about "Take Tuk to her own fan topic. Let's talk about other skaters" was not a command, but a sarcastic way to express poster's personal wish. Of course we can talk about Tuk if she is in the news, or otherwise...

Tuk seems to be pretty serious about including a quad in her programme at some point this year.
In an interview she said that already she pretty much completes all rotations and is able to land it).
(По словам фигуристки, она уже сейчас практически докручивает прыжок и выезжает с него)
 
starrynight said:
Tuktamysheva has spoken extensively about how the training situation in St Petersburg is totally different to Moscow. As she once said, in Moscow you have to turn up to training every day to fight and destroy like it is war. Whereas the training situation with Mishin is more relaxed.
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:D it's a common attitude of many Leningrad/St. Petersburg residents (now in Russia, and back in USSR) in general and about "everything" not just skating, that "Moscow is too fast and too crazy and St. Petersburg is more relaxed and profound"..... :rofl: And then there are those who believe that St. Pete and not Moscow is true capital of Russia, because of Peter the Great.. :lol: It's the same attitude as Bostonians have towards New York, Florentines have towards Milan, etc.

But it all comes down to what works for a specific individual and what results one seeks. People have a choice, and that's good.
 
starrynight said:
With Zagitova, it will be a case of not letting the training environment get to her. Fortunately she seems to be a favourite of Daniil G, so at least there is someone on her side there who can support her.
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It's been a fun-subject of fans' speculations "who is Daniil's favorite", as well as "who is Eteri's, Dudakov's favorites, etc. Some fans of each girl in this group claim "their girl is the favorite" and post fotos..... :D

Coaches on TeamTutberidze do not have favorites in work and training. Every Sr. and Jr. girl in their group is on a National Team. For each skater on the National Team the coaching team receives budget and funding. Budget and funding of each skater must be justified by results. No results - no funding next year. Each girl on the team receives "maximum" based on her ability and relevant factors. The approach (stated openly) is: each one of you has strength and weaknesses, each one has qualities and abilities to win. Go for it.

Last season's results were exactly that: each girl, Trus, Shcher, Kost, won against the two other at major events, while other two took Silver and Bronze. Each girl finished her season with Gold/a major win: Russian Nationals, GPF, Junior Worlds (and Alina won Gold at WC).

All 4 now have fame, sponsors, invited to ice shows and featured on TV; they are known as members of the "winning team", feed off each other's fame, kind of like the Four Musketeers or a popular rock band, etc. They, over all, are very happy girls... :lol:

They are already celebrities... they are "TeamTutberidze".. :D and Japanese, Russian and Chinese are making shows about them..
www.youtube.com

Team Tutberidze | Alina Zagitova | Alena Kostornaia | Anna Shcherbakova | Alexandra Trusova

www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

And....... Alina has no problems with "training environment", she is #1 in Russia and will be for a long time (until someone matches her record in Gold Medals).

She also does not need "someone" on her side... She has the whole team on her side. She is confident and very secure this season and it shows. She won every Gold there is to win, and anything else will be a cherry on top of the cake. She is ready for this season, her performance at the Test Skate were evaluated as best of all. Her face is in every window of sportsmaster clothing stores and in every shopping mall and centre. And on billboards in every major Russian city.... and that's just in Russia....:lol:

She is also putting out training videos for other skaters, and holding public training sessions, while remaining a competitive athlete.
www.youtube.com

Alina Zagitova 2019.08.20 Fitness Training Khrustalny A

Alina Zagitova 2019.08.20 General Fitness Training in Khrustalny A Общая Физическая Подготовка (ОФП) в Хрустальном A Сборник Инстасторис 1080p 30fps #PumaZag...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com

Alina Zagitova PUMATRAC Training Presentation A

Alina Zagitova 2019.09.04 PUMATRAC Training Presentation A Promo, Interview, Training Presentation and Good Luck 1080p29fps #PumaZagitova #ZagitovaInterview ...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

The girl is a Star now, and receiving all that was due to her last year, when she won the Olympic Gold. She earned it.

alina zagitova archive (@archivezagitova) | Twitter

The latest Tweets from alina zagitova archive (@archivezagitova). archive dedicated to olympic and world champion ♡. .⃗ . #алиназагитова | #alinazagitova. © to owners | @zagitovagifs
twitter.com twitter.com
 
Did she not have a good agent last year to get her endorsements and such? Seems if not that was a failure on her or her parent part. I can’t wait to see how she performs vs Sasha and even Anna. I think every fan of skating is interested to find out how judges will score them.
 
Tinami Amori said:
And....... Alina has no problems with "training environment", she is #1 in Russia and will be for a long time (until someone matches her record in Gold Medals).
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I think that’s quite a naive view. She won’t be a number one until someone matches her record in gold medal. She will lose the status of Russian lady number one when someone beats her in a major competition, such as worlds. In skating, everyone is only as good as their last competition. No one really counts what you did a year ago.

Tinami Amori said:
She also does not need "someone" on her side... She has the whole team on her side. She is confident and very secure this season and it shows. She won every Gold there is to win, and anything else will be a cherry on top of the cake. She is ready for this season, her performance at the Test Skate were evaluated as best of all. Her face is in every window of sportsmaster clothing stores and in every shopping mall and centre. And on billboards in every major Russian city.... and that's just in Russia....:lol:
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Hmmmm, didn’t you say something similar about Medvedeva a few years ago? And where is she now?
 
@hanca I’m just pleasantly surprised support is still being shown for Zagitova. I just presumed it would all be about moving onto the next exciting Eteri thing this season. But it’s nice to see loyalty to the individual skaters as their own people and not just as products of the coaching group. It’s the way things should be.
 
hanca said:
I think that’s quite a naive view. She won’t be a number one until someone matches her record in gold medal. She will lose the status of Russian lady number one when someone beats her in a major competition, such as worlds. In skating, everyone is only as good as their last competition. No one really counts what you did a year ago.
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I did get the impression, though, that Adelina Sotnikova remained really famous and highly regarded in Russia, and in fact still is, after winning the gold medal in Sochi. Even though she wasn’t nearly as successful the season after the Olympics the way Zagitova has been. So I feel like what Tinami says is true: there’s something very special about being the Olympic champion that sets an athlete apart even from Olympic silver. Hanyu was loved before he won Olympic gold, but he became a rock star after the win (sorry to talk about someone not Russian).
 
Ruby999 said:
there’s something very special about being the Olympic champion that sets an athlete apart even from Olympic silver.
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That’s definitely true. But Sotnikova is different in that she wasn’t part of a packed hyper competitive training group after her Olympic gold.

There’s been lots of boasting from Sambo 70 about how past medals mean nothing the moment a skater steps down from the podium. The question is whether this season Zagitova will be given the status she deserves day to day or whether the stampede of the fresh from junior girls will cause her to be demoted. Only time will tell.
 
starrynight said:
The question is whether this season Zagitova will be given the status she deserves day to day or whether the stampede of the fresh from junior girls will cause her to be demoted. Only time will tell.
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Zagitova could always train somewhere else if she gets sick of it, like Medvedeva did. She hasn’t left, though, and she looked pretty darn happy at Test Skates. Personally, I love Zagitova, but I think she plans to retire after this season, go out with a bang, have fun and soak everything in. Her short program song lyrics translate to “I’m leaving.” I think it’s a so-obvious-that-no-one-realizes-it hidden message to her fans.
 
starrynight said:
Lol she’d need a pretty thick skin to do that. We all saw what happened to Medvedeva.
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What I remember most was the iconic moment at Russian Nationals when the Russian fans just supported and cheered for Medvedeva even though she was training with Orser in Canada and even though she’d had a terrible skate. And I loved the way you could see her realizing that although trolls can be loud and mean, here are all these people who love me and remember who I am, even when I am not the best. And then she started really getting her mojo back.
 
Tinami Amori said:
And....... Alina has no problems with "training environment", she is #1 in Russia and will be for a long time (until someone matches her record in Gold Medals).

She also does not need "someone" on her side... She has the whole team on her side. She is confident and very secure this season and it shows. She won every Gold there is to win, and anything else will be a cherry on top of the cake. She is ready for this season, her performance at the Test Skate were evaluated as best of all. Her face is in every window of sportsmaster clothing stores and in every shopping mall and centre. And on billboards in every major Russian city.... and that's just in Russia....:lol:
Click to expand...

I’ve been in Russia for 2 weeks now (Moscow and St Pete) and haven’t seen a single billboard or shop window with Alina on/in it. Weird. :)
 
SpiralGirl said:
I’ve been in Russia for 2 weeks now (Moscow and St Pete) and haven’t seen a single billboard or shop window with Alina on/in it. Weird. :)
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That’s a shame :( I enjoyed the idea of Alina on every billboard and street corner! I was just thinking how cool it would be if she was in a shop window or billboard where I live, even though people in the US probably wouldn’t recognize her.
 
I study/intern at university with two Russian students that are just arrivals from Russia. My university friends tak skating all the time, and these 2 from Russia don’t know who Zagitova is. Both are females. Both have no interest in figure skating. I was shocked that they wouldn’t know the recent Olympic champion. They do know Kostner, yuna Kim, Medvedeva, lipnitskaya. We asked about Eteri’s girls and they were not aware
 
What does GP withdrawal means towards nationals for Z/E? Do they have to skate Russian Cup to qualify or might get a bye?
 
Finsta said:
I study/intern at university with two Russian students that are just arrivals from Russia. My university friends tak skating all the time, and these 2 from Russia don’t know who Zagitova is. Both are females. Both have no interest in figure skating. I was shocked that they wouldn’t know the recent Olympic champion. They do know Kostner, yuna Kim, Medvedeva, lipnitskaya. We asked about Eteri’s girls and they were not aware
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Well, there is an explanation... :D or...... can i send imaginary carrots to your imaginary friends?

SpiralGirl said:
I’ve been in Russia for 2 weeks now (Moscow and St Pete) and haven’t seen a single billboard or shop window with Alina on/in it. Weird. :)
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Fairuza said:
I live in Moscow and the only place I saw Alina’s pictures was Megasport at the Rostelecom Cup.
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The billboards, posters and video screens are placed in geo-locations where the estimated target audience traffic is. Perhaps all of the above posters are not "the target audience"... ;) because it is very hard to miss at least these video displays in central areas of the shopping malls.. :lol:

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Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
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In any case, glad to hear that "Alina's image" is not that overbearing. Because some fans of "some other girl" complain "too much Zagitova in advertising and on TV" and it's not fair "to the other girl"... :D

---
New videos: Japan Open 2019 posted two promo-videos, for Zagitova and Trusova.
www.youtube.com

Alina Zagitova 2019.07.29 Japan Open 2019 Promo A

Alina Zagitova 2019.07.29 Japan Open 2019 Promo A 720p 30fps#JapanOpenSaitama #ZagitovaInterview #RedBallerina #Zagitova #Загитова #AlinaZagitova #АлинаЗагит...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com

Alina Zagitova 2019.09.29 Japan Open 2019 Promo C

Alina Zagitova 2019.09.29 Japan Open 2019 Promo C 720p 30fpsEnglish Subtitles DONE!#JapanOpenSaitama #ZagitovaInterview #RedBallerina #Zagitova #Загитова #Al...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
---
www.youtube.com

Alexandra Trusova latest quads before Japan Open - 4Lz, 4T and 4S(!)

There are rumors she is preparing 4-quads program..
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
Last edited:
Jeschke said:
What does GP withdrawal means towards nationals for Z/E? Do they have to skate Russian Cup to qualify or might get a bye?
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I am not looking at the rules, but based on the past situations, i would say if they are ready by Russian Nationals, they will skate, and no one will even blink about it or question it. Also would estimate that before RN, they will need to do some kind of unofficial test skate.

Russian publications are taking a different angle on the situation, dooms-day, or "it shall all pass".. :lol:

"We are still a team, will continue to skate".
rsport.ria.ru

Энберт: не заканчиваю карьеру, с Забияко остаемся спортивной парой

Российский фигурист Александр Энберт заявил РИА Новости, что не заканчивает спортивную карьеру, а его спортивная пара с Натальей Забияко продолжит существовать. РИА Новости Спорт, 20.07.2022
rsport.ria.ru rsport.ria.ru
"Due to injury, Enbert is putting his career on hold".
sportrbc.ru

Призер ОИ фигурист Энберт приостановил карьеру из-за проблем со здоровьем

Спортсмен выступает в паре с Натальей Забияко. Из-за заключения врачей фигуристы, завоевавшие серебро на Олимпиаде 2018 года в командных соревнованиях, не смогут выступить в новом сезоне на этапах Гран-при
sportrbc.ru sportrbc.ru
 
Tinami Amori said:
The billboards, posters and video screens are placed in geo-locations where the estimated target audience traffic is. Perhaps all of the above posters are not "the target audience"... ;) because it is very hard to miss at least these video displays in central areas of the shopping malls.. :lol:
Click to expand...

Not sure why my post was included here. Yes, obviously the United States is not 'the target audience' for Zagitova ads -- however, I think she's a great sportswear model, and my husband and I would get a kick out of seeing her on a billboard in the US. She's his favorite skater. I was expressing a genuine wish that Alina's Puma ads, etc. appeared in shopping malls and billboards where we live. For that matter, it would be fantastic to see Nathan Chen or any figure skaters on billboards or malls in the US (but that is a topic for a different forum).
 
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