The future of Medvedev and the risk of canceling competitions

In recent days, Russian figure skating has been agitated by the news of Evgeny Medvedeva returning to Moscow from Japan, where she has been in recent months. This even led to the assumption that the athlete decided to change her mentor again, but her coach Brian Orser hastened to refute these rumors.

“We will continue cooperation. Canadian borders remain closed for now. Zhenya plans to return when she has this opportunity, ”said Orser TASS.

Medvedev has already passed the coronavirus test, which showed a negative result. Now the athlete is in quarantine, after which she will start training at the CSKA rink under the guidance of the honored coach of Russia Elena Buyanova.

Choreographer Ilya Averbukh praised this decision.

“Of course, Buyanova is a very strong coach and a high-level specialist. Last year Zhenya spent a lot of time at CSKA. Elena helped her, this is a clear story for both, ”explained Averbuh Sport24.

Medvedeva has not yet thought about ending her career, but she already knows what she wants to do when it does happen. The two-time world champion admitted that she likes to help younger colleagues in the Orser group, so the most attractive thing for her is coaching.

“Now, as a senior, I give advice on skiing and health to two juniors in Toronto. It is very funny. Probably, it will be difficult to do this for the rest of my life, but after the end of my career I want to become a coach, ”the skater said in an interview with Smart Flash.

The other day it became known that Medvedeva, as well as Alina Zagitova and Anna Shcherbakova, were not included in the new doping testing pool of the International Skating Union (ISU), although they were present in it last season. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) assured that this will not affect the performance of athletes at international starts. If necessary, they can be included in national lists.

At the same time, there is a risk that international competitions under the auspices of the ISU will not take place until the end of 2020. This is due to measures taken in several countries to prevent the spread of coronavirus. At the moment, the stage of the Junior Grand Prix in Japan, scheduled for mid-September, has already been canceled. According to media reports, the same fate may affect the adult tournament.

In this regard, the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) has already notified athletes that the first half of the season will most likely consist of the cup and national championship stages.

Methods Mishin and discontent Piseev


Of course, this news did not affect the training of skaters in the offseason. So, the group of Eteri Tutberidze continues to gather at the base near Moscow in Novogorsk. Representatives of other sports, including gymnasts Dina and Arina Averina, also train there. The sisters attended one of the ice classes and shared their impressions.

“We had a day off, and we decided to come to their training ... We stayed there for about an hour, we really liked it. They jumped, and spun, and showed all sorts of things. We talked a bit. I would like to repeat! By the way, they also came to us, ”RIA Novosti quoted Dina Averin as saying.

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Publication by Alena Kostornaya (@alena_kostornaya) Jun 21, 2020 at 4:48 PDT

In turn, his ward Anastasia Gulyakova spoke about interesting work methods of Alexei Mishin. In her arsenal there is a triple axel, which, however, the girl so far performs less stable than the more experienced colleague Elizaveta Tuktamysheva. According to Anastasia, the mentor arranges competitions for students to perform this element.

“This is Aleksey Nikolaevich’s favorite. After jumping, he takes us as boxers. And whoever won, that hand raises up. But honestly, I am not winning. I won only a couple of times. Sometimes there was a draw. In these cases, Mishin drops our hands with the words “This is bad,” Gulyakova said.

Meanwhile, less than a week remains before the ISU Skating Awards online awards ceremony, and experts share their assumptions about who will be its first winners. Particularly heated debates are being held over the title “Coach of the Year”, claimed by Tutberidze, Orser, and also Rafael Harutyunyan. Many suggested that the favorite in this nomination is a Russian mentor, however, the silver medalist of the 2012 World Cup Alyona Leonova has a different point of view.

“It is difficult to choose someone, but, probably, stability is first and foremost a sign of mastery. Nathan Chen showed stable results at almost every start of the season. Therefore, in my opinion, Rafael Harutyunyan, ”said Leonova.

Some time ago, the discontent of figure skating enthusiasts caused Zagitova to miss the shortlisted nomination. They accused ISU of biasing the skater. The fans were supported by the honorary president of the FFKKR Valentin Piseev and called on to explain the voting mechanism.

“Someone says that Zagitova did not fall into any of the nominations, because she did not perform at the main starts. If so, clearly explain the logic of the solution. Medvedev also did not participate in major international tournaments. But the situation threatens that the fans will not delve into the intricacies, but only resent why Evgenia was among the applicants for the award, but Alina did not, ”commented Piseev.

Dreams of Volosozhar and the appeal of Tarasova to Nurmagomedov

On July 1, Adelina Sotnikova celebrated her 24th birthday. She pleased Instagram followers with her baby photo, contacted her parents and wished herself a wish. Then, the Sochi 2014 Olympic champion thanked everyone for gifts and congratulations, and also boasted a large bouquet of peonies.

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Honored trainer of the USSR Tatyana Tarasova joined the congratulations.

“Happy birthday to you, Adochka! An interesting job and a happy life! ”Wrote Tarasova.

The next day, the culprit was Johnny Weir. The 36-year-old American is a big fan of Russia, and domestic fans reciprocate him. Especially for them, he recorded a video message in which he expressed his gratitude in Russian.

"Hello! Thank you very much for your congratulations! For me it’s very, very nice, ”Weir said.

Not all skaters who completed their careers turn to the coaching field. Many of them find themselves in a business completely unrelated to sports. So, two-time Olympic champion Tatyana Volosozhar thought about the role of the leading travel program. This idea was prompted by prolonged self-isolation.

“The other day I turned on the Eagle and Tails program and, while watching the issue, I caught myself thinking that I wanted to try myself as a TV presenter. Ideally, some kind of travel program. I think I would succeed. I was surprised at such a thought, but who knows how life will turn out, ”Volosozhar said.

The ex-skater is indeed a person who finds it difficult to sit still. She said that she had already tried such very extreme activities as skiing, surfing and skateboarding. Now Volosozhar dreams of mastering a motorcycle.

In turn, Olympic champion Salt Lake City Alexei Yagudin could well have realized himself in the profession of a trainer. He set up a successful experiment on his dog Asti, who was allowed to eat only on command.

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Publication by Alexei Yagudin (@ alexei.yagudin) Jun 29, 2020 at 7:29 am PDT

On June 3, father and coach of UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov Abdulmanap died of COVID-19 complications. Representatives of not only MMA, but also other sports expressed their condolences to the family. Tatyana Tarasova did not stay away from the incident.

“Habib will be hard all the time, his father’s death is not forgotten. But he needs to hold on - just as the coach taught him to do in difficult situations. He gave him a lot of love ... Most importantly, I ask him not to make hasty decisions and to steadfastly perceive all hardships, ”Tarasova quotes Sport Express.