"Title" by Zagitova and motivation by Shcherbakova

The life of skaters is associated with constant stress and fatigue.

Therefore, during a break between the competitions, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva decided to relax and unwind.

On the eve of Halloween, she admitted that she would like to attend a themed party and joked about what kind of mask she wore for the holiday.

“While there is no party, I will put on the mask of a normal rested person, otherwise you don’t look like that every day,” Tuktamysheva wrote on Instagram.

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Posted by Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (@liza_tuktik) Oct 30, 2020 11:49 am PDT

Fans of Alina Zagitova are eagerly awaiting her return to the ice.

For them, she is still the best figure skater of our time, despite the suspension of her career for an indefinite period.

The Russian figure skater was also supported by the press service of the Beijing 2022 Olympics.

In the official account of the organizing committee, a video of a fragment of Zagitova's training appeared with a complimentary signature: "She may not participate in competitions, but on the ice she is still the queen!"

She may not be competing but she's still a queen on the ice!

👑 https://t.co/5ZzfipkocE

- Beijing 2022 (@ Beijing2022) October 27, 2020

Meanwhile, Anna Shcherbakova shared her main dream this season.

She hopes that international starts will take place and she will be able to take part in the world championship.

Such zeal is not surprising: according to the girl, it is difficult for her to imagine herself outside of sports.

“I have to work, but I like performing so much, feeling these sensations, conveying images - let's say, the theatrical component of figure skating.

Somehow everything is taken together.

I can't imagine myself in ordinary life.

Every day it is routine to go to school, come back, do homework - and all over again.

I don't see myself in this, I always need movement.

We go to competitions and it is a great pleasure for me.

Probably, this is the main motivator, "said Shcherbakova in an interview with TASS.

It can be assumed that Alexandra Trusova has similar feelings about the competition.

It is too early to draw full conclusions from her transition from Eteri Tutberidze to Evgeni Plushenko, but the athlete herself noted that she had already felt progress in some aspects of her skating.

“I think a lot has changed.

Maybe a little bit of jumping technique.

But mostly, of course, gliding, image transfer - we work a lot on this on ice to improve skating.

I believe that the improvement lies in this, ”said Trusova on the YouTube channel Cafecito con Masha.

Aliyev's proposal and Lazukin's injury

It seemed that after the Sochi stage of the Russian Cup, the passions around the confrontation between the two schools should have subsided, but the fans added fuel to the fire.

A petition appeared on the Internet addressed to the President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) Alexander Gorshkov, demanding that Plushenko be removed from participation in the National Cup in connection with "violation of coaching ethics."

According to its authors, the specialist allowed himself, including unacceptable statements about refereeing. 

“Also, this behavior has a detrimental effect on the public associated with figure skating in Russia, in connection with the constant discussion of the unethical statements of this coach in various media.

We are confident that this path will lead to problems in the federation and constant scandals, ”the statement reads.

The past week was not without an unpleasant story related to the Tutberidze group.

The Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation awarded Shcherbakova and Alyona Kostornaya the title of international masters of sports.

The mentor's group account shared the good news by posting a photo of the order.

However, users of social networks noticed that the 2020 European champion who left Plushenko was absent from him.

Moreover, the document looks like it has been edited, and the surname has been glossed over by hand.

This assumption is also confirmed by a photo of a copy of the same order in Kostornaya's group on VKontakte, where both names appear.

It is worth noting that after that, the profile of Tutberidze's team on Instagram was blocked for unknown reasons.

Both coaches did not comment on what happened, unlike Plushenko's wife Yana Rudkovskaya.

“I will not hide that 15 years of experience in glamor and show business seemed to me quite a slight fright compared to the sports business and their inner cuisine!

The intensity of passions is growing!

Trust me.

It’s for you, Yanochka, not to put hearts on the baby’s face, then we went bigger strokes, ”Rudkovskaya wrote in Telegram.

Opinions about the scandals, which figure skating has been rich in lately, are divided.

Some believe that they interfere with athletes, others that they contribute to their popularity.

So, European champion Dmitry Aliev is sure that men's skating lacks the intensity of passions that is in women's.

“I really want men's figure skating in Russia to be as interesting as women's.

They already have schemes: someone jumped there, someone went where, and so on.

I also want such a small trash-current or something like that.

I want people to notice the guys too.

Our guys are all talented, so you need to believe and cheer, ”Aliyev said in the report of Channel One.

In the meantime, not the most joyful news comes about Russian singles.

At first it became known that Andrei Lazukin was at risk of ending the season ahead of schedule due to a knee injury.

He suffered a rupture of ligaments and underwent surgery in the spring, but was unable to recover before the start of the Russian Cup.

In this regard, the skater will not be able to take part in the domestic championship, which means he will not be able to qualify for international starts.

Then the coach Svetlana Sokolovskaya announced that Alexander Samarin would have to undergo an examination due to back pain.

“Of course, we hope to return home as soon as possible to resume the training process and preparation for important starts of the season,” Sokolovskaya told TASS.

Congratulations to Zagitova and Averbukh's answer

On October 30, Russia celebrated the Day of the Coach, and many skaters congratulated their mentors.

So, Tuktamysheva wished Alexei Mishin longevity, and Zagitova thanked the Khrustalny team and admitted that she was proud to be a part of it.

“Dear Eteri Georgievna, Daniil Markovich and Sergey Viktorovich!

I congratulate you on your professional Coach Day!

I wish you happiness, health, new creative and sports victories.

Thank you for your titanic work, for your skill, for your love and support, for the development that you give on the ice and in life, ”Zagitova wrote on Instagram.

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Publication by Alina Zagitova (@azagitova) Oct 30, 2020 9:49 am PDT

Alexey Yagudin also turned to his former coaches.

In his congratulations, he especially noted Tatyana Tarasova, Nikolai Morozov and the first coach Alexander Mayorov.

However, he did not mention Mishin, with whom he worked until 1998 and under whose leadership he won gold medals at the World and European Championships.

Meanwhile, Ilya Averbukh, choreographer and chief director of Ice Age, revealed new details about the show.

It turned out that Evgenia Medvedeva could take part in it, who, like Zagitova, had not appeared at official tournaments since December 2019.

Despite this, she made a choice in favor of big sport.

“We have great respect for its decision.

I think there will be television projects more than once in which Zhenya will take part with me.

She returned to Tutberidze, then there was an injury, because of which she was forced to miss the tournament.

I wish her to recover as soon as possible and enter the competition.

And when she decides to go the other way, we will be happy to cooperate together, ”Averbukh said.

In addition, he defended the show, which, despite its popularity, is not to everyone's taste.

Previously, the "Ice Age" was criticized by the three-time Olympic champion Irina Rodnina.

She stated that she was not interested in him, as she considered an amateur performance.

“I am sure that the current interest in figure skating arose from the colossal interest in the television project, which was in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

These seasons of the "Ice Age" were watched literally by the whole country.

Many parents took their children to figure skating.

A lot of talented children, who are now 14-15 years old, got there, ”Averbukh said on the air of the radio“ Moscow speaking ”.