Joke Tuktamysheva and wishes from the police for Zagitova

The off-season in figure skating is coming to an end, and both the fans and the athletes themselves are eagerly awaiting the first official starts, which will take place in mid-September. This fact was commented on by the 2015 world champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva in her usual manner on an Instagram page. She published a post in which she redid the famous phrase from the Russian movie "Brother-2."

“Boy, you don’t understand, bring us some water. We are going to the season, ”the figure skater wrote.

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Boy, you don’t understand, bring us some water. We are going to the season ... . . -Are you gangsters? -No, we're Russians! 😄🤘🏼 # testskates2019 #lizatuktik #elizavetatuktamysheva #figureskating

Posted by Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (@liza_tuktik) Sep 9, 2019 at 6:38 am PDT

In preparation for the stages of the Grand Prix, the first of which starts on October 18 in Las Vegas, many athletes choose tournaments of the Challenger series. However, there are those who prefer to spend the remaining month on improving programs and working on bugs. So, it became known that the Olympic champion Pyeongchang Alina Zagitova for the first time will go out on ice only in early October at the Japan Open, which will represent the European team together with compatriot Alexandra Trusova, Spaniard Javier Fernandez and Latvian Denis Vasiliev.

Many fans expressed concern about the fact that Zagitova still refuses to complicate her program due to quadruple jumps. However, the former Russian figure skater Anastasia Proklova explained that the guarantee of high results lies in the performance of the numbers.

“How to deal with girls who have quadruples in their arsenal? Go out and do your job confidently. Cool to perform rotations, transitions. To complicate the program as much as possible, and, of course, to learn more complex jumps, not to stand still. I don’t think that Eteri Georgievna “merges” Zagitova. The fact that they don’t put the quadruple jump does not depend on this, but on the athlete’s capabilities, ”Sports.ru quoted the expert as saying.

Of course, the most important fans for each athlete are his family members. Like no one else Zagitova understands her father, a former hockey player and current coach of Izhstal, Ilnaz Zagitov. At the same time, he admits that he experiences a strong sense of excitement during his daughter's performances.

“I still worry about my daughter before the starts. There is excitement. I do not watch her live performances. Only in the record, ”admitted the specialist.

Many still remember the story, due to which the 17-year-old Zagitova almost received a large administrative fine for driving a car as a minor. This time she again had to meet with law enforcement officials, but now for a more pleasant occasion. The current world champion visited the Department of Internal Affairs (ATC) in the South-Western Administrative Okrug in Moscow on a “friendly visit”.

“The skater met with the chief of police Alexei Andreev, who wished Alina new victories and high achievements in sports from all the personnel,” the ministry said in a statement.

First Medvedev Tournament and Orser's Confidence

For the two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva, the season has already begun. These days, she performs at the Autumn Classic International tournament in Canada's Oakville. Interestingly, her rival in these competitions is the winner of last year's Grand Prix Rick Kihira.

The 2019/20 season will be the second for Medvedeva, led by Canadian specialist Brian Orser. According to him, during this time, the ward has grown significantly in professional terms and is now fully ready for new challenges. In addition, he called the new free program, called the Memoirs of a Geisha, the best of her career.

“Firstly, Eugene first worked with the wonderful She-Lynn Bourne. She, as an exceptional choreographer in the world of figure skating, managed to introduce new subtleties in the movements of Eugenia, to refresh her style. I am sure that this music, manner of performance is exactly what Zhenya needs now. She is no longer a little girl who is 15 years old, but a young sensual girl. It seems to me that in this program, Eugene is revealed from a completely new perspective, feeling like a woman. Secondly, you know how sincerely she loves everything connected with Japan, ”Orser told RIA Novosti.

He also noted the positive aspects of increased competition in women's figure skating in Russia in recent years. According to him, in such conditions, each athlete must be able to correctly calculate their strength in order to compete on an equal footing with their rivals.

“Just fantastic. Standards are very high, the bar is now much higher. New faces appear in figure skating, and this is very important for competitions. Competition is always good, now more adult girls, for example, Evgenia and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, have the opportunity to gain new experience and take a step forward for themselves. The new generation of girls wants to be number one, their technique, jumps are impressive, ”the coach added.

Impressions of Shcherbakova from Japan and the preparation of Kihira

Russian champion of 2019 Anna Shcherbakova, preparing for her first international tournaments at the adult level, shared her impressions of her performance at one of the ice shows in Japan. She was pleasantly surprised by the reception of local fans who recognized all the skaters regardless of their status and tried not to leave anyone without memorable souvenirs.

“We arrived late after the show, and for another three hours I sorted out the gifts. She laid out so that everything was visible, then took off - she tried to spread it so that everyone could find their gift. Because very often they write to me: “I'm so glad that you got a present,” Shcherbakova said on the air of Channel One.

“We calculated everything: we arrived with three suitcases of 12 kilograms each, we left with six suitcases of 25,” she added.

After the test rentals held in early September in Moscow, many began to wonder who exactly would be part of the Russian team at the upcoming competitions, since several athletes showed a high level of skating at once. However, the honored trainer of Russia Oleg Vasilyev expressed confidence that only one place will remain vacant in the team, since the other two will take Shcherbakova and Alexander Trusov.

“If Trusova and Shcherbakova will do everything that outlined, then they are unattainable. Alina Zagitova, Evgeny Medvedev, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and, possibly, Alena Kostornaya will fight for third place. But in her arsenal there are no quadruple jumps or a triple axel yet, there is no such name as her rivals, ”TASS quotes Vasiliev.

For the rivals of the Russians, the off-season has also been quite fruitful. In anticipation of Autumn Classic International, journalists talked about the form in which Kihira is located. It is reported that in one of the trainings she cleanly performed three triple axels and only after one landed on two legs. In addition, the Japanese woman seven times almost without blots showed a cascade of triple flip - triple sheepskin coat.