Cleaning up after pandas
In Russia, the ice show season has ended, so some skaters went on a tour of China. Domestic athletes were met there by crowds of fans; interest in the performances was not affected in any way by the ISU decision to redistribute medals in the team tournament of the 2022 Games. Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov, as part of a group, visited the Beijing Olympic skating rink just a few days before the announcement of this verdict and managed to enjoy the still unclouded memories of the victory.
Usually the skaters' show schedule is quite busy, but this time, in the intervals between performances, they managed to visit the main attractions of the Celestial Empire. Thus, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva visited the Great Wall of China, which left her with mixed impressions.
“At first I was absolutely delighted. Such a story! But God, how many people there are, what lines there are!.. We stood in one for an hour and a half. All stages of acceptance have passed... Perhaps someday I will return here again, but definitely not in the coming years,” the athlete shared in her Telegram channel.
A few days later, a large group of Russian guests visited the panda reserve in Chengdu. Moreover, they not only observed the symbol of China, but also took part in the process of caring for the animals. Elizaveta, together with Evgenia Medvedeva, Alina Zagitova and Vladimir Morozov, put on special work suits and went to clean the enclosures and prepare food: to make it easier for the bears to chew on the bamboo, it is split into several parts.
“I got up at 6:30 a.m. to look at the pandas and clean up their poop. Because you have to pay for everything in this life. But I’m not upset, because they say that they don’t smell,” Zagitova said on the social network.
When it was time to just walk around the park, Tuktamysheva faced a problem: due to her small stature, she couldn’t see the pandas behind the high sides of the enclosures. Then Katsalapov sat the ex-world champion on his shoulders like a child and gave her the opportunity to enjoy the sight of bears chewing bamboo.
Kushanashvili’s attacks and Gallyamov’s response
And while the girls alternated performances in China with rest, Otar Kushanashvili sharply criticized Zagitova and Medvedeva for their work as presenters on television and in YouTube shows, respectively. According to the journalist, former figure skaters do not make any efforts for self-development and do not prepare for interviews, and Alina ended up on Channel One “through connections.” The screen star was not impressed by the Olympic champion’s performance as a singer.
“If Zagitova believes that “inevitable” is normal, and also “written before our eyes”... “What is written before your eyes?” Zagitova goes on stage with Zivert and tries to sing - horror. How does Medvedeva conduct interviews? Sitting in front of her... Milokhin, and she can barely read the piece of paper... People don’t read, they don’t develop. What kind of charisma are you expecting? They don’t have a profession, nobody at all,” Kushanashvili said in an interview with Sport24.
Alexander Gallyamov stood up for the girls. He noted that he would be glad to personally meet Kushanashvili and listen to his advice, “whatever it may be,” and dedicated a “friendly epigram” to the TV presenter:
“The once great Otar
bites now like a mosquito.
With the learned air of an expert,
he decided to touch upon the FC.
But there is a problem: “They shout to him,
Otarik, please!
Most likely, those who are
slightly over ninety-eight.”
Figure skater Alina Zagitova and singer Zivert
RIA News
© Alexander Wilf
Picking Tarasova and Rudkovskaya
Tatyana Tarasova and Yana Rudkovskaya staged another spat in the press. The producer often becomes the object of criticism from the famous coach and, despite the fact that he always emphasizes his respect for the specialist, he does not go into his pocket for an answer. This time, the wife of Evgeni Plushenko spoke out on the case of Kamila Valieva. Rudkovskaya emotionally turned to Eteri Tutberidze, calling on her to take the blame for what happened to the skater. She also accused the coach of arrogance, which, according to the producer, “oozes from every line” of the post published on the social network.
“Seriously, Eteri Georgievna? Whose victim are you? Another girl, an unfortunate child whose career was ruined and her dream taken away? Her parents, who probably sacrificed everything to serve their daughter’s sports career? Or the entire team, for which this gold Olympic team medal (which was taken away - Kamila’s points were subtracted) is perhaps the first and last in their career? Why should we follow you in asking the question, did anyone defend Camila in court? Ask someone other than you? You should have protected her! And before the court, and before the world, and before the country, and before itself,” Rudkovskaya wrote in the Telegram channel.
Earlier, Tarasova made a similar message, saying that if she were in a similar situation, she would take the blame upon herself, but would protect the child from the horror that he had to face. But the coach, oddly enough, did not like Rudkovskaya’s words.
“Who is Yana Rudkovskaya to discuss Eteri Tutberidze? This is just Zhenya Plushenko's wife. You don’t need to ask me about her at all!” - Tatyana Anatolyevna was indignant.
The producer retorted that she would like to be “only a wife and a housewife,” but there are several factors that prevent her from doing this.
“I am a co-owner, co-investor and founder of the Plushenko’s Angels Academy, general director of the Plushenko’s Angels Academy, producer of all Evgeni Plushenko’s shows. So the option “to stay at home and be only a wife and mother” is not yet available and, I think, will not appear soon,” Rudkovskaya said.
Reaction of Moskvina and Zhulin
The redistribution of medals at the 2022 Olympics in the team tournament affected the skaters of several coaching staffs, but Tamara Moskvina and Alexander Zhulin spoke out the most clearly about this. The coach of Anastasia Mishina and Alexandra Galliamova said that both athletes and mentors have to accept and “swallow” the ISU decision, but no one has a decadent mood.
“Why should they give up?.. We will continue to train with the hope that we will win back at the next Winter Olympics - 2026. It is already known that they will take place in February in Italy. Now all my students and coaching staff continue to do their job and try to work as best as possible,” the famous specialist is quoted as saying by Argumenty i Fakty.
True, Moskvina is not confident that the return of Russians to the world stage will take place in Milan. “Our skaters will go to the Olympic Games. What year is still an open question,” she added.
Zhulin said that he would not like to receive gold medals at the Olympics in some roundabout way, as is happening with the US team.
“I liked the reaction of American figure skater Nathan Chen, who said: “This decision is definitely a victory for clean sport. However, the fact that this happened at all is not a victory for anyone.” If I were an active athlete or coach of a team that received gold medals in the same way as the US team, I would not need such a victory. “This whole thing smells bad,” said the 1994 Games silver medalist.
RIA News
© Alexander Wilf
Preparing for the show program tournament
This season, figure skaters have three major competitions left - the Spartakiad, the Channel One Cup and the Russian Challenge. And if everything is clear with the preparation for the first two - the athletes will present the same programs as earlier in the season - then regarding the third, both potential participants and their coaches will have to rack their brains. To participate in a tournament with a substantial prize fund (last year the winner received 5 million rubles), you need to come up with an original number that has never been presented to the public. Applications are submitted in advance, and the final composition will be determined by a special jury.
Matvey Vetlugin, whose gorgeous parody performance last year remained greatly underrated, plans to change the concept this time.
“At show programs you can expect something more lyrical from me if they let me in there. We've already laughed, and more than once - we need to cry. If you evoke emotions in this format, they must be the strongest. I want it to be a shock, for it to touch me,” said Alexei Mishin’s student.
Matvey Vetlugin
RIA News
© Alexander Wilf
At the tournament a year ago, Pyotr Gumennik not only skated, but also played the piano. The bronze medalist of the 2024 Championship has not yet figured out how to surprise the judges and spectators this time.
“There was one idea, but we abandoned it, so I can tell you. We wanted to take the famous composition “4'33''” (a musical piece by John Cage, the content of which is the sounds not of musical instruments, but of the environment. -
RT
) and perform something conceptual to it. But that would be too much,” said Peter.
But Alexandra Trusova does not plan to participate in the qualifying round this time. Last year, she applied for a pairs routine with Alexander Enbert, but they were denied entry, since according to the regulations, only those pairs who had skated together during their competitive careers could take part in the competition.
“I probably won’t apply. But if they invite me, I’ll take part,” Trusova said on Okko.
Angelopol's response to critics
Valery Angelopol is training hard with Alexandra Shinkarenko in Plushenko's Angels. In addition to Natalya Linichuk, who headed the dance direction at the academy, one of her students, two-time world champion Maxim Stavisky, works with the duet.
Angelopol finds time for other activities besides working on the ice. So, he recently starred in his own video for the Pharaoh song “Sonata to Her.” Not all fans liked it, but the athlete responded emotionally to the critics. Valery stated that he still has a lot to go through to return to his previous level, but after all the career turmoil he did not become embittered, but, on the contrary, became more open and is trying to express himself and try new things. He also very sharply demanded that subscribers not impose their opinions on his experiments.
“All my life they write to me that I travel at the expense of my uncle and someone else... So, no: all my life I traveled at my own expense, spent days on the ice! And they demanded much more from me than from others... I do what I want to do in my free time from work and training. I do not like? I didn’t call you... If you can’t say anything good, take care of yourself. I have everything,” Angelopol wrote in his Telegram channel.
Vasilisa Kaganovskaya and Valery Angelopol
RIA News
© Alexander Wilf