“The Czech Republic didn’t fade much without Evgenia”: Zhulin about the four Tuktamysheva, the removal of Medvedeva and the triumph of Shcherbakova

- How much did the Russian championship fade without Evgenia Medvedeva withdrawing from the competition?

- Perhaps it didn’t fade slightly. This championship of Russia, as well as the Grand Prix finals, and like probably all of this year, was the finest hour of the students of Eteri Tutberidze. And, I think, her team would have taken fourth place in the national championship if Kamila Valiyeva came to him.

- The removal of Medvedeva before an arbitrary came as a surprise to you? Or, on the contrary, didn’t expect her to decide to ride even a short one, given the problems with her boots?

- As Zhenya herself said in an interview, it was nonsense for her, she had never withdrawn from a competition in her life. We know that Medvedev is a fighter, for sure she was given a very difficult decision. But she analyzed everything together with the coach and, perhaps, made the right choice.

- Is it dangerous to ride in old boots?

- Yes, you can get hurt. And new ones have not yet been rolled out; it’s unrealistic to go out on ice on such ones - these are completely different feelings. And then Medvedev saw the rivals ride, and she has no quadruples in her arsenal, no triple axel. In such circumstances, in principle, she had no right to make a mistake, but with new shoes she was not safe from them in any way.

- The athlete said that she was working on complicating the content. Do you believe that she can still compete with the students of Tutberidze? Or, rather, take a break, like Zagitova?

- The fact that she will compete with the current medalists of the Russian championship, to be honest, I can hardly believe it. Neither Zagitova nor Medvedev are getting younger, and the latter has also tasted what it means to work with another coach who allows a lot of things. This is not strict Tutberidze with her reputation as a “man in a skirt”. Yes, and Alina is also happy - she takes part in the show, where she is raised in support. I do not think that she is now eager for battle. Time needs to pass.

- Now that both Medvedev and Zagitova have starred, is it possible to consider Elizabeth Tuktamysheva, who continues to compete with younger rivals, to be a heroine?

- I would not say that she is a heroine, but, indeed, a great fellow. Both her work and the work of her coach Alexei Mishin are of great respect. Lisa, at 23, is trying to do what 15-year-old skaters are doing. And it is much more difficult for her, so she, of course, is a hard worker.

- But the jumps did not work out not only with Tuktamysheva, but also with Alexandra Trusova ...

- Lisa just recently reinforced her content. And she did this only because she saw the work of competitors and understood that without quadruples today it is difficult to achieve high results. But she still needs to “jump up” this coat in training. As for Trusova, it seems to me that all these throwings hinder her - to jump or not. Tutberidze must find the right approach to the athlete. Maybe if Alexander is so struggling to fulfill these elements, should she be given such an opportunity?

- At the upcoming European and World Championships, the Tutberidze trio will also be favorites in the fight for medals?

- I think our girls will really be in the lead, but it’s very difficult to say who wins. Now, each of them will probably try to further complicate the content. This time, Shcherbakova turned out to be the strongest - she really had a phenomenal rental. When an athlete has two quadruple lutz and a quadruple flip in the program, the score, of course, greatly increases. After her performance, the hall stood, and after such a number, any hall would have stood up - Krasnoyarsk, Tambov, Voronezh, and even Canadian. The viewer feels when it’s really cool.

- Really Kostornaya and Trusova simply could not get together after such a triumph of Shcherbakova?

- Yes, apparently, a little twitching. But Kostornaya, of course, needs a quadruple jump, and she probably understands this herself. And, I think, she will appear with her - Alena will not wait for the rivals to fall. Yes, this time Trusova fell, but this is an isolated case.

- On the eve of the Russian championship, Maria Butyrskaya suggested that the one that turns out to be morally more stable than her rivals will win. So it happened?

- In fact, many skaters just dream to ride first in their workout. And, of course, the points of Shcherbakova “hung” over Kostornaya and Trusova. Here you want to listen, do not want to - do not listen, but anyway, one way or another you will notice how much your opponent received. It is always extra nerves. It so happened that at this hour, at this minute, it was Shcherbakova who was mentally and physically stronger than everyone. But tomorrow, things could be different.

- It’s not a shame that, against the background of the competition, women’s intrigues in other forms have faded?

“It's a boom in women's single skating, so that's fine.” Plus, recent scandals, of course, have fueled interest in this species. If someone were to break their legs in ice dancing, their interest in them would also increase dramatically. But, fortunately, our legs do not break, so far everything is limited to words.

- What do you have in mind?

- I mean the words of Tatyana Tarasova, who spoke of biased refereeing in ice dancing, alluding to the dishonest first place of my students Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapova. In my opinion, this is simply disrespect for the athletes and the coaching team. Of course, Tarasova is a very authoritative specialist. But, I believe that if you are the mouthpiece of the federal channel, it is not permissible to say such things to the whole world. This is not a television show, not a kitchen with friends, but the audience of the country.