Tutberidze on Petrosian: “There’s no point competing at the Olympics without ultra-C elements. With no ranking, it’s easy for judges to give low component scores.”

Eteri Tutberidze emphasized that there is no point in competing at the Olympics without ultra-C elements, discussing Adeliia Petrosian’s preparation and technical challenges.

original source: Sports

Eteri Tutberidze spoke about Adeliia Petrosyan’s preparation for the Russian Championships and the technical content planned for the Olympics. Here’s a translation.

“Q: Returning to the Russian Nationals. Whose preparation was the most difficult?

Eteri Tutberidze: Of course, the greatest emotional burden was on Adeliia Petrosian. We were dealing with an injury, and at one point it seemed we wouldn’t be able to skate at all. Then we were allowed to skate, but at some point, even stable triples disappeared. All of this led to a kind of panic.

After that, we urgently needed to restore the ultra-C elements. In general, the Axel is what I’d call a “visiting” jump for us. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not. At the Russian Nationals, it showed up in the short program, and in the free skate, it showed up but took all the remaining energy for the toe loops.

Honestly, right now we’re still considering the final content. It will depend on what looks more consistent. But to skate at the Olympics without ultra-C elements makes absolutely no sense.

Because we’ll be starting in the first warm-up group, we have no ranking, and there’s nothing to make us stand out, so it’s easy for the judges to give us low component scores. Components are always given relative to warm-up groups and ranking. No matter what you do, there are no jumps that can make up the difference between us and the leaders.

Q: Can I ask about the program layout?

Eteri Tutberidze: No, we don’t know yet. If the Axel remains a “visiting” jump, we’ll probably focus on toe loops. I don’t know. She’s progressing quickly compared to herself, but still, there isn’t enough confidence to go out and do it in the program when it counts. That’s probably the main factor.

Q: The triple Axel worked out. What about the quad toe loop? Is it just a mental block?

Eteri Tutberidze: No, it’s not in her head. Ultra-C elements can never be 100% consistent by nature. It’s a combination of the right speed, takeoff, and rotation. There are too many factors involved.

And you can’t fool the audience: when athletes perform ultra-C elements, it’s always more interesting for the audience. There are no guarantees, and everyone is excited to see if the skater will land it or not. The audience’s reaction matches that excitement.

By the way, I want to say that St. Petersburg and the Russian Nationals there surprised me a bit, because the audience was so engaged, reacting to every element and supporting the skaters so much. I think it was the first time I’ve seen an audience like that. It was wonderful,” Tutberidze said in an interview with Okko.

Related topics: Adeliia Petrosian, Eteri Tutberidze, Olympic Games