Evgenia Medvedeva: “Skating is such a close-knit community, which is why the suspension of Russian athletes was such a heavy blow. How could this happen? We were all in this together – Japanese, Canadians, Chinese, Americans, Finns, French…”
Evgenia Medvedeva speaks on international figure skating and Russian athletes’ future
original source: Kp.ru dd. September 11th by Pavel Sadkov, Olga Rodina
Evgenia Medvedeva shared her thoughts on the current state of international figure skating, expressing admiration for Ilia Malinin and Kaori Sakamoto and reflecting on the absence of Russian athletes from major competitions. She remains optimistic about Russia’s return to the world stage. Here’s a translation of her comments.
“Q: Do you follow international competitions, even those without Russian athletes?
Evgenia Medvedeva: Of course, though not with the same level of interest, but I hope the situation improves soon. That said, I have to note Ilia Malinin, who competes for Team USA. He’s a wunderkind – an incredibly talented skater and, in my opinion, the brightest contender for Olympic gold. I truly believe that if he skates flawlessly, he’ll win gold by a significant margin. I’ve spoken to Ilia multiple times; he’s a great guy who loves skating and is genuinely invested in the sport’s future. And he speaks perfect Russian…
Q: Does that make him more endearing?
Evgenia Medvedeva: Definitely! His parents are originally from Uzbekistan and were born in the USSR. If I’m not mistaken, they also achieved high placements in major international events. So, when you see someone you can loosely call a compatriot, speaking the same language, of course, you wish them success. I just hope everything works out for him! Skating is such a close-knit community, which is why the suspension of Russian athletes was such a heavy blow. How could this happen? We were all in this together – Japanese, Canadians, Chinese, Americans, Finns, French… After international competitions, we’d celebrate wins, commiserate over losses, and support each other.
Even after three years, it’s hard to accept the situation. You watch competitions on TV and hear one skater speaking Russian, and another has Russian parents, and you think, “What about us?” But little by little, we’re making our way back, and that’s a huge relief.
Q: Do you think there will be a decline in Russian figure skating by the time athletes return to international competitions?
Evgenia Medvedeva: What decline can we talk about when, since our suspension, we’ve barely seen cleanly executed quad jumps from the women abroad? Yes, there have been triple axels. A triple axel is considered an ultra-C element, but still, recent World Championships, European titles, and Grand Prix victories have been won with only triple axels. Back in my day, I won with a set of two 3–3 combinations and clean triple jumps.
Meanwhile, on the international scene, we’ve had Sasha Trusova, Kamila Valieva, Anna Shcherbakova, and Alena Kostornaia – all of whom performed not just one quad but two, sometimes even four. Sasha Trusova landed five quads at the Olympics! Over the last three years, we haven’t seen performances of that caliber on the international stage. So, no decline – only progress! Especially when you consider other sports like fencing, tennis, and swimming, where Russian athletes continue to excel.
Q: You spoke highly of Ilia Malinin as a standout leader and Olympic contender. What about the women? Do you see a clear favorite?
Evgenia Medvedeva: It does feel like there isn’t a single, obvious frontrunner when you compare the gap between the leader and second place. Let’s look at Adeliia Petrosian’s results. I believe everything will go well for her – let’s hope and pray. Then there’s Japanese skater Kaori Sakamoto, who has proven herself to be extraordinary. During what I’ll call our “disqualification period,” she became a three-time World Champion, despite not performing any ultra-C elements. Her skating is powerful, expansive, and beautiful, with incredible jumps. She’s an inspiring skater, especially considering she’s already 25 years old, which is considered a mature age for a figure skater.
Kaori likely sees the Olympics as her big opportunity. She already has a bronze medal from the last Games, and I imagine she’s aiming to move at least one step up on the podium. It’s difficult to predict – it really is. We have Adeliia, who we hope is in great form, but her preparation is being kept under wraps, which I think is the right approach. Let’s keep it that way.”
Related topics: Evgenia Medvedeva
I have been a fan of Evgenia but it is sad to see such deliberate avoiding of awareness in her statement “We were all in this together – Japanese, Canadians, Chinese, Americans, Finns, French…”…notice that Ukranians appear nowhere in her words. Ukranian facilities and skaters and civilians continue to be bombed every day, it is not some forgotten event