From Russia with Love [#30]: If There Are Test Skate Videos, It Must Be Fall 2018

[Jeschke]

Ted Barton's interview with Tutberizde (taken during GPF)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLqjDQDSS0c

The moment when she talks about her experience at Olympics while her mother was dying was difficult to watch

Sorry, I know Ted has lots of fans here, but:
- young junior ladies never tried/got quads before? (listen Miki!)
- Eteri's young girls were never seen seriously injured? (listen Shcherbakova!)
- wonderful job in choreo and music for her girls? (listen Zagitova)

This interview seemed totally unprepared and amateurish

Nevertheless I enjoyed Tutberidze's answers, especially in the end ('we don't know, we don't know') as Ted praises her future success.

 

[barbarafan]

I remember you like him. https://www.instagram.com/p/Brf-ZLjgUiQ/ yesterday on the Red Square...part of the show on the opened ice rink ! Eman is great! -15 Celsius! but he is Canadian he can handle the cold as the Russian.

Thanks....yes ,,one thing you learn as a Canadian....run fast so you can get in inside before the frost bite sets in. We find arenas warm. ha ha

 

[barbarafan]

Ted Barton's interview with Tutberizde (taken during GPF)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLqjDQDSS0c

The moment when she talks about her experience at Olympics while her mother was dying was difficult to watch

Ted was amazing. He is probably the only person who could relate to Eteri and get her to talk so deeply on all those subjects. So many questions we have all wondered about the answers.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Ted was amazing. He is probably the only person who could relate to Eteri and get her to talk so deeply on all those subjects. So many questions we have all wondered about the answers.

There are few more Russian and Japanese interviews where Eteri speaks "deeply and sheds a tear" about her life, daughter's disability, skating and associated parental issues, family and death of her father, and the start of her coaching carer ..

 

[Darkverse]

Kolyada was still in the hospital as of yesterday. After a sinus puncture you need to stay there for several days and you are meant to avoid physical exertion for 7-10 days. When exactly is he planning to recover enough, I wonder.

Kolyada has left for Saransk tonight and they will see if he is in any state to skate once they get there. His participation is still up in the air at the moment.

https://rsport.ria.ru/20181218/1548160740.html

 

[lala]

Thanks....yes ,,one thing you learn as a Canadian....run fast so you can get in inside before the frost bite sets in. We find arenas warm. ha ha

Well, I understand it

 

[Tinami Amori]

Kolyada has left for Saransk tonight and they will see if he is in any state to skate once they get there. His participation is still up in the air at the moment.

https://rsport.ria.ru/20181218/1548160740.html

I am pretty sure that his "neglected gaimorit/sinusitis" was causing him disorientation and dizziness during skating, and given the date of his surgery, he will not get rid of these issues by tomorrow... although i do with him the best.

 

[Darkverse]

I am pretty sure that his "neglected gaimorit/sinusitis" was causing him disorientation and dizziness during skating, and given the date of his surgery, he will not get rid of these issues by tomorrow... although i do with him the best.

The intensive treatment he got would have relieved his sinusitis at least temporarily. I hope the doctors gave him the go-ahead. But even without hospitalisation and surgery missing a week of training before a competition would be unlikely to produce a good result. And he would be significantly weakened even compared to his not exactly peak Zagreb form. He most likely only got out of hospital yesterday and I am not even sure he got a chance to go out on the ice in St. Petersburg. It sounds like "we'll find out if he can stay upright on skates at the official practice".

 

[Ananas Astra]

I am pretty sure that his "neglected gaimorit/sinusitis" was causing him disorientation and dizziness during skating, and given the date of his surgery, he will not get rid of these issues by tomorrow... although i do with him the best.

I was diagnosed with sinusitis yesterday after feeling like having caught the flu since Sunday night. It really is very exhausting. I have already planned my drive home to my parents (3,5 hours) with breaks in-between in case I lose orientation or get too tired and need a break.

 

[Tinami Amori]

I was diagnosed with sinusitis yesterday after feeling like having caught the flu since Sunday night. It really is very exhausting. I have already planned my drive home to my parents (3,5 hours) with breaks in-between in case I lose orientation or get too tired and need a break.

From bits and pieces of info, here and there, seems like Kolyada had signs of sinusitis since Russian Test Skate earlier this year.... but of course, it took 5 competitions and bunch of falls to connect the dots between "sinusitis" and " 90% failed jumps" due to being "a head-case"... Russian media and critics were right - it was all "in his head"....
...

On a funny note. Yagudin was asked "who is the best, Zagitova or Medvedeva"? and he said "Eteri Tutberidze"..

На вопрос, кто из них лучше, Ягудин ответил: «Этери Тутберидзе».
https://nevasport.ru/42034-yagudin-zagitova-ili-medvedeva-tutberidze/

 

[Darkverse]

From bits and pieces of info, here and there, seems like Kolyada had signs of sinusitis since Russian Test Skate earlier this year.... but of course, it took 5 competitions and bunch of falls to connect the dots between "sinusitis" and " 90% failed jumps" due to being "a head-case"... Russian media and critics were right - it was all "in his head"....
...

On a funny note. Yagudin was asked "who is the best, Zagitova or Medvedeva"? and he said "Eteri Tutberidze"..

На вопрос, кто из них лучше, Ягудин ответил: «Этери Тутберидзе».
https://nevasport.ru/42034-yagudin-zagitova-ili-medvedeva-tutberidze/

Kolyada got sinusitis in August after coming back from California. He said so in an interview before the test skates.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Kolyada got sinusitis in August after coming back from California. He said so in an interview before the test skates.

That is what i remember too. During the Test Skate it seemed odd that Kolyada would be popping axels and doubling his standard 3x jumps, and right after training with Rafael.

 

[Ananas Astra]

Then no wonder he skated the way he did. I was totally knocked out and had all the symptoms of the flu and was already scared I had to spend 2 weeks in bed without even being able to getting home for Christmas. I was even exhausted when I finished wrapping my Christmas presents.

 

[Darkverse]

That is what i remember too. During the Test Skate it seemed odd that Kolyada would be popping axels and doubling his standard 3x jumps, and right after training with Rafael.

To be fair, he'd been popping axels ever since Euros 2017. Him popping toes and lutzes on the other hand was odd.

 

[Darkverse]

Then no wonder he skated the way he did. I was totally knocked out and had all the symptoms of the flu and was already scared I had to spend 2 weeks in bed without even being able to getting home for Christmas. I was even exhausted when I finished wrapping my Christmas presents.

Kolyada is a case study in why you shouldn't ignore sinusitis and hope it will go away. He admitted as much in his message He had a course of antibiotics in August which failed to clear it up completely and then waited for it to blow up in December.

 

[Willin]

@Darkverse I was wondering why he didn't get it treated in August... Especially for young healthy people it's pretty easy to get through a course of antibiotics to treat a sinus infection. He wouldn't even need to take training time off.

It's good to hear he at least got one course of antibiotics rather than completely ignoring it, which is what I thought happened.

Sorry, I know Ted has lots of fans here, but:
- young junior ladies never tried/got quads before? (listen Miki!)
- Eteri's young girls were never seen seriously injured? (listen Shcherbakova!)
- wonderful job in choreo and music for her girls? (listen Zagitova)

This interview seemed totally unprepared and amateurish

Nevertheless I enjoyed Tutberidze's answers, especially in the end ('we don't know, we don't know') as Ted praises her future success.

I love Ted, but ITA that he was being way too softball and fanboy on these questions. Maybe it's why Eteri agreed to an interview. I'm sure she knows she's controversial among a lot of Western skating people who could be interviewing her and didn't want to deal with that. It would be interesting to see someone in the Western media confront Eteri on the eating disorders, injuries, and common criticisms of her skaters. I think there's been a few Russian interviews where she's been asked, but nothing from another cultural perspective.

Despite that, it's always interesting to hear more humanizing things about her. It's easy to see her as this child abusing lady who's completely willing to throw away her past star in favor of the next flavor of the year, but things like this remind us that she does have feelings and emotions we don't get to see that often.

 

[Darkverse]

@Darkverse I was wondering why he didn't get it treated in August... Especially for young healthy people it's pretty easy to get through a course of antibiotics to treat a sinus infection. He wouldn't even need to take training time off.

It's good to hear he at least got one course of antibiotics rather than completely ignoring it, which is what I thought happened.

Kolyada has a history of frequent respiratory infections going back to his Junior days. Maybe why in his case it proved harder to treat, there were underlying issues with his upper respiratory tract.

 

[Tinami Amori]

I love Ted, but ITA that he was being way too softball and fanboy on these questions. Maybe it's why Eteri agreed to an interview. I'm sure she knows she's controversial among a lot of Western skating people who could be interviewing her and didn't want to deal with that. It would be interesting to see someone in the Western media confront Eteri on the eating disorders, injuries, and common criticisms of her skaters. I think there's been a few Russian interviews where she's been asked, but nothing from another cultural perspective.

Despite that, it's always interesting to hear more humanizing things about her. It's easy to see her as this child abusing lady who's completely willing to throw away her past star in favor of the next flavor of the year, but things like this remind us that she does have feelings and emotions we don't get to see that often.

Everything you said in this post, even with "soft tones" is nothing more than a smear job against Eteri.

Easting disorders, injuries, and other "common problems" are issues with many skaters and coaches internationally.. For every "issue with Eteri's skaters" there are "same issues" with many more "western skaters and coaches". What about the "coaches" whose skaters are suffering from "eating disorders, depressions and etc"? Gracie, Daleman, Wagner? What about the coaches whose skaters are suffering from serious injuries past and this season? list is too long..

 

[barbarafan]

There are few more Russian and Japanese interviews where Eteri speaks "deeply and sheds a tear" about her life, daughter's disability, skating and associated parental issues, family and death of her father, and the start of her coaching carer ..

Thank-you. Are any of them translated into English?

 

[Tinami Amori]

Thank-you. Are any of them translated into English?

I'll try to find some later.

 

[starrynight]

Every truly good manipulator is very good at showing different sides. That’s where they get their power from.

The powerful mood swings from cold to loving is what makes people constantly work for their ever changing and fleeting approval. If someone is cold all the time there is little point in working to win their affections. Being able to turn on charm when necessary is what stops them from getting into trouble too.

I’ve worked for someone like this before.

 

[barbarafan]

I'll try to find some later.

Thanks.....I would love to read them,

 

[Deleted member 53443]

That interview with Eteri was fantastic. She is so honest and her real persona is so contrary to the slightly sexist "witch" stamp she has from mostly people who probably can't stand the success of her girls. What a woman.

 

[barbarafan]

Everything you said in this post, even with "soft tones" is nothing more than a smear job against Eteri.

Easting disorders, injuries, and other "common problems" are issues with many skaters and coaches internationally.. For every "issue with Eteri's skaters" there are "same issues" with many more "western skaters and coaches". What about the "coaches" whose skaters are suffering from "eating disorders, depressions and etc"? Gracie, Daleman, Wagner? What about the coaches whose skaters are suffering from serious injuries past and this season? list is too long..

Certainly in multiple countries and rinks we hear stories and far more instances where we do not hear of them. A journalist's job is to introduce a topic and let the subject give how they feel about, what their objective is, what they feel works and does not work. A journalist's job is not to attack or cut a person off while they are giving their viewpoint.

 

[starrynight]

My issue with Eteri comes from the interviews she gave about Lipnitskaya, Pitkeev and Medvedeva. It’s easy for people to have very short memories about that when there is a constant line of stars out of her group.

But I think it’s easy to like Eteri if you don’t have a close attachment to any individual one skater of hers and just like winners.

 

[floridaice]

I am pretty sure that his "neglected gaimorit/sinusitis" was causing him disorientation and dizziness during skating, and given the date of his surgery, he will not get rid of these issues by tomorrow... although i do with him the best.

I had sinus surgery after having an almost continual sinus/ear infection for over a year. I gained 5 lbs immediately. My body had been figthing the infection for so long, once it was gone the change was amazing. Hope he bounces back as quickly.

 

[layman]

That was like a Trump interview...what to believe? I believe Eteri when she says that she only cares about results...but when she says (her) girls jump (quads) better than boys? I don't believe that. The technique she teaches looks very unstable. When she says she is looking out for the well-being of her students...that does not square with her record. When she says that she involves her students with the music choices...another alternative fact. Medevedeva said she had no say in her music choices prior to arriving in Toronto. When she pretends to be a nurturing, mother type...that does not jibe with the way she routinely throughs her students under the bus when they outgrow or defy her. Nothing about this performance seemed genuine.

 

[Willin]

Everything you said in this post, even with "soft tones" is nothing more than a smear job against Eteri.

Easting disorders, injuries, and other "common problems" are issues with many skaters and coaches internationally.. For every "issue with Eteri's skaters" there are "same issues" with many more "western skaters and coaches". What about the "coaches" whose skaters are suffering from "eating disorders, depressions and etc"? Gracie, Daleman, Wagner? What about the coaches whose skaters are suffering from serious injuries past and this season? list is too long..

Yes it happens all over the world and that's bad. But why I think Eteri is bad on these issues is because of her opinion and the way she states it. She couldn't care less that her skaters have eating disorders. She doesn't care that her methods such as weighing skaters in front of each other and holding them to unrealistic expectations on weight is known to be unhealthy.

While Gracie, Gabby, Ashley, and many other North American skaters as far back as Jenny Kirk have all discussed weight and depression, they were all encouraged to take time for themselves and seek treatment. Skaters and coaches alike have been very supportive of their messages and are making changes to try to prevent the development of eating disorders including banning coaches from weighing skaters, having coaches read up on how to recognize eating disorders, and providing healthy eating support to athletes. USFSA now offers healthy eating classes as a part of Champs Camp. Coaches like Brian Orser and Tom Z frequently use nutrition consults to optimize the diets of their skaters through healthy eating. So yes, while it isn't sunshine and roses over here for the most part people aren't ignoring or promoting the problem quite like Eteri does.

Certainly in multiple countries and rinks we hear stories and far more instances where we do not hear of them. A journalist's job is to introduce a topic and let the subject give how they feel about, what their objective is, what they feel works and does not work. A journalist's job is not to attack or cut a person off while they are giving their viewpoint.

My issue with Eteri comes from the interviews she gave about Lipnitskaya, Pitkeev and Medvedeva. It’s easy for people to have very short memories about that when there is a constant line of stars out of her group.

But I think it’s easy to like Eteri if you don’t have a close attachment to any individual one skater of hers and just like winners.

I think the thing is, I don't even think a journalist has to attack Eteri to get her to say politically incorrect things about diets and skaters' weight. They introduce the topic and she'll say something controversial about it - look at her discussion of Lipnitskaya's eating habits. As @starrynight says, she's perfectly fine saying controversial or insulting things on her own without any prompting.
I do think it can be appropriate to question, attack, and cut a person off. Some of the best interviewers are known for doing this and in particular known for calling people out when they're saying something blatantly incorrect. It's not about attacking a person, it's attacking or questioning the viewpoint, which can lead to some interesting and very revealing answers.

 

[Aerobicidal]

It’s not just Eteri that people criticize. There’s also Tom Z. letting skaters compete while injured, Mozer’s sexist and racist interviews, Raf’s comments about weight and eating, Sappenfield’s mini backpack, Gadbois’ taste in music and lack of tango tech, Robin Wagner’s being, etc. It’s a fact that Eteri starves her skaters.

I don’t believe she’s honest and I don’t care very much, either.

Of course she is a complex person who clearly has good qualities as a coach and a mentor and a person. So are all the coaches listed above, even Robin Wagner.

But she starves her students. And that’s only the (arguably) worst of several established methods she uses as a coach.

The argument that people on FSU—****ing snark universe—of all places are letting other coaches off but being unfair to Eteri is hilarious. No coach’s hairstyle or Vuitton bag is sacred here, to say nothing of their coaching and their skaters.

As to the argument that Eteri’s critics are sexist, maybe I’m crazy but I haven’t seen that on FSU. Maybe I’m also skeptical of that coming from a poster who argued that when women are feeling bad, they just need a straight man to tell them they’re attractive and they’ll be fine.

The real delusion is coming from the people who uncritically defend and try to deify someone with toxic coaching practices. And I love Ted Barton, but he could have done way better here.

 

[babayaga]

That was like a Trump interview...what to believe? I believe Eteri when she says that she only cares about results...but when she says (her) girls jump (quads) better than boys? I don't believe that. The technique she teaches looks very unstable. When she says she is looking out for the well-being of her students...that does not square with her record. When she says that she involves her students with the music choices...another alternative fact. Medevedeva said she had no say in her music choices prior to arriving in Toronto. When she pretends to be a nurturing, mother type...that does not jibe with the way she routinely throughs her students under the bus when they outgrow or defy her. Nothing about this performance seemed genuine.

Medvedeva may have said that, but Zagitova said that Carmen was her idea. That she wanted to skate to it during last season already, but Eteri did not let her do it then. But this season they all agreed to choose it. Lipnitskaja refused to skate to a long program that Averbukh choreographed for her during her last season in that group, she said she didn't feel it and didn't like it.