Evgenia Medvedeva: I will do everything in my power to return stronger
Evgenia Medvedeva and Brian Orser about boot problem and withdrawal from Russian Nationals 2020.
Evgenia: Such a force majeure situation happened with me for the first time, no one had foreseen this, we all are shocked a bit. During the official practice session I fell from a jump and my boot got broken. We urgently tried to find a new pair, but we could find neither my model nor my size.
We found something similar, I skated, we changed the blades, put them on the other boots, but it did not work out very well. We put the blades back on the old broken boots, came up with another lacing, wrapped with tape. It was enough for a short program, I did the maximum, and I didn’t plan to withdraw. But at the morning practice before a free program, I realized that everything is completely bad with the skates.
Unfortunately, the boots are not yet a month old – no one has foreseen such a situation. It happens, this is not a disaster, this is a problem and a failure.
It can be said that it was dangerous for you to perform in a free program?
– I’m afraid so. Perhaps this is what motivated my decision. For me it is very difficult and deeply unpleasant. I know that they were waiting for me and I am in a great shape.
How did Brian Orser react? Maybe he tried to persuade you to perform on other boots?
– Brian is worried, even more than me. He was with me all the time. He helped to go on the ice in a short program – 6 minutes have been wrapping a boot with tape so that it could hold on somehow. Sat with him until late in the evening trying to find a solution. And in the morning, also thought for a long time, but objectively nothing worked out.
The Russian Nationals are a selection for the European and World Championships. When will we see you next time at the official competitions?
– My next appearance is autumn test skates. Then Grand Prix, maybe B events. But now I have a lot of time and a lot of work – ice shows, performances, Tokyo Olympics. I will have enough time to focus on training new elements. I will do everything in my power to return stronger.
I have a progress in learning quad jumps. Progress is not as fast as I would like. But there is progress.
I understand that someone may be very worried and disappointed, upset – in the situation, in me, in my boots. Honestly, I don’t know how to express what I feel now. This is the first time in my career that I have withdrawn from competitions.
But this is an experience that will temper me and I will become even stronger. I will continue to work, I love you all and we will see each other again many times.
Interview for Channel 1, text version by Anton Pilyasov for sports.ru
Brian Orser: It will take us some time to sort out this sad situation. Of course, we didn’t want to end the season like this. Medvedeva was in fantastic shape, she was prepared for this competitions. Boots are only a few weeks old, so we did not expect this. It’s tragically terrible after such a hard work.
by sport24.ru dd. December 28th, 2019
Related topics: Brian Orser, Evgenia Medvedeva, Russian Nationals
Evgenia, not only do I think you’re an incredible skater, you’re also an inspiration to us all. You don’t let setbacks get you down. You simply bounce right back more determined than ever. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and will be cheering for you every step on the way. Best of luck!!
I think you are a very graceful ice skater and a champion. Don’t let those little girls get under your skin. You are the real deal, sweetie and we love you and YOUR skating!❤