Solène Mazingue & Marko Gaidajenko (EST): Their Journey & Her Miracle

[Sylvia]

Ice-Dance.com article by Daphne Backman (April 14, 2023):

Mazingue & Gaidajenko: The Journey and the Miracle – Ice-dance.com

www.ice-dance.com

How You Can Help
As you can imagine the cost of Mazingue’s ongoing therapy is costly on its own, but coupled with training expenses the team needs help to continue fighting for their dream. You can support the team via their GoFundMe page [link].

"With the large medical bills from the surgery and our federation pulling our funding for not placing high enough this season. We will not be able to afford to continue to skate."

ISU's feature (April 21): https://www.isu.org/figure-skating/...today-on-isu-youtube-channel?templateParam=15
Direct link to watch the 6-minute video on YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eycV20nqsls

 

[Ananas Astra]

I really loved them in the Olympic season and their RD was extremely awesome.
I hope Solène can recover completely and they can return to their former form, they had a lot of potential IIRC.

 

[Sylvia]

In her now expired Instagram stories (screenshots here), Solène said she "had a fall in practice on Friday and hit her head, her doctor says she has another concussion and cannot train on the ice." https://twitter.com/AnythingGOE/status/1664022436247904258

Solène's video today : https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs9ED7LOh-F/
She continues to train off the ice per her latest Instagram stories.

 

[Vagabond]

Sad as I am to see this happen, perhaps the recent concussion is the cue that Solène Mazingue should make her long-term brain health her first priority and stop skating.

 

[Ananas Astra]

In her now expired Instagram stories (screenshots here), Solène said she "had a fall in practice on Friday and hit her head, her doctor says she has another concussion and cannot train on the ice." https://twitter.com/AnythingGOE/status/1664022436247904258

Solène's video today : https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs9ED7LOh-F/
She continues to train off the ice per her latest Instagram stories.

My heart bleeds for them since I really liked them when I first saw them sometime in 2022, but she really should be careful now. Two concussions within such a short period of time are nothing to play with.

 

[Sylvia]

Skate Info Glace's Interview at Europeans with Solène Mazingue and Marko Gaidajenko - "To be skating here only one year after the accident is something we can be proud of" (Jan. 21, 2024):

Interview Solène Mazingue and Marko Gaidajenko : "To be skating here only one year after the accident is something we can be proud of"

After their accident in September 2022 (LINK), Solène Mazinge and Marko Gaidajenko returned to the ice at the 2023 World Championships. After a rough start to the 2023/2024 season, they were able to compete in Kaunas for the European championships.

www.skate-info-glace.com

Excerpt:
How is your daily life going?

Solène: I'm completely fine physically. My muscles are back, and I can skate. My brain however is not functioning normally, and I have damage. I have a lot of trouble with reading, writing, and counting, but I'm working on that with a doctor every week, and it will be fine within a couple of years. Doctors approved of me skating at the event. They would not let me compete if they were worried, and neither would my coaches.

Solene has started a vlog series on her YT channel that will follow her preparations for Worlds in Montreal.
#1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiqUQZbQdUc (includes brief exchanges with Lilah & Madison C.)
#2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7NRldP3H_E
ETA #3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZzYJzvAzX0 (includes commentary by Lagha & Brissaud, her "bestie")

Her & Marko's GoFundMe is linked in post #1.

 

[Karen-W]

Solene's latest video (from Thursday) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYFoZiWBXgo

If the vid gets 10k likes then there will be a special, bonus content vlog featuring Geoffrey Brissaud.

 

[Sylvia]

Solene's Monday, March 18 vlog (official hotel, official practice, skaters' lounge ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH7AaLQiJ14

 

[Messalina]

Solene's Monday, March 18 vlog (official hotel, official practice, skaters' lounge ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH7AaLQiJ14

Thank you so much for posting this! I just took a deep dive into Solene's story−which I hadn't heard about−and binged her vlog. What an amazing person. I hope I can see Solene and Marko out on the ice (in good health!) next season.

ETA I realized after posting that this wasn't a Worlds 2024 thread and I've been out of the loop for awhile. At any rate, glad to be in the know now.

 

[Sylvia]

Solene is catching up on her Worlds vlogs:

Day 9 (Tuesday to Wednesday morning): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGggaNnnCAc

Day 10 (Wednesday) - Guillaume Cizeron is our COACH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZOJVmhPiac