She's only 17, but she's already practically invincible. When it comes to the main contender for Olympic gold in Pyeongchang 2018, everyone talks only about her. Evgenia Medvedeva is the main star of world figure skating, ascending to the sky after her other compatriots were the best for several years: in 2014 - European champion Yulia Lipnitskaya and Olympic champion Adelina Sotnikova, and in 2015 - world champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva. And since 2016, Medvedev has been the guarantor of success. Why? Because this Muscovite has everything a champion needs to become something more than a one-day wonder.

Standing just 1.57 meters tall, this schoolgirl wins fans by performing her meticulously detailed routines, demonstrating an iron will in her quest to become better and better, and offers the public the perfect combination of emotional intensity and athletic appeal. The young Russian woman allows herself small weaknesses or serious mistakes only occasionally.

Proof of this is her 16 victories in 18 competitions, including first places at the European Championships in 2016 and 2017, as well as in the Grand Prix finals in 2015 and 2016. Even skeptics have no doubt that this young girl with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy will win the title of world champion at the tournament in Helsinki. Evgenia Medvedeva is well on her way to becoming a truly big name in her sport.

Context

In search of objectivity

Rzeczpospolita 01/26/2017

Amazing evening of figure skating

The Christian Science Monitor 02/21/2014

Gymnastics vs figure skating

Slate 02/13/2014
The fact that she chose to perform the music for the film adaptation of the novel “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” which tells the story of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, speaks of her courage. The young Russian included the most difficult triple jumps and combinations in her program, constantly searching for a balance between the doable and the impossible, also thanks to the very sensitive guidance of her coach Eteri Tutberidze, who lived in the United States for six years.

The world and European champion draws inspiration from watching male champions. Her idols are Japanese Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu and her compatriot Evgeni Plushenko. She applauded Plushenko 11 years ago after his Olympic triumph in Turin. After that, she told herself: “I will go out on the ice and skate like him - but as a little girl. And I went out on the ice, but everything didn’t work out the way I imagined.” Since then, Evgenia Medvedeva prefers to remain herself. “She skates like an adult,” her coach Tutberidze says ahead of the short program at this Wednesday's World Championships of her top student, who in training endlessly repeats combinations of three triple jumps, which the International Figure Skating Federation, however, prohibits in competition. .

But it's okay. The world and European champion has already managed to break all world records for points. Furthermore: “She has this inner light,” says Eteri Tutberidze, “And I hope that it will shine even brighter for the public.” She is already included in the list of the top 30 European representatives of the entertainment industry, according to Forbes. However, being only one of 30 is not enough for Medvedeva. She, who claims the title of “queen of ice,” does not agree to less than first place.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editorial board of InoSMI.

It seems like it was quite recently. Yulia Lipnitskaya and Adelina Sotnikova shone on the ice Olympic Sochi, disrupting the enthusiasm of the fans and bringing gold medals to the country.

The glory was divided in half: Lipnitskaya, as part of the Russian team, won the team tournament, and Sotnikova became the first Russian woman in history to win olympic tournament singles

Then it seemed that their story was just beginning. But on the eve of the start of the new Olympic season, it became known that neither Yulia Lipntsika nor Adelina Sotnikova would be in Pyeongchang 2018.

Train has already left

Almost simultaneously, information came that 19-year-old Lipnitskaya was retiring from her career, and 21-year-old Sotnikova would miss the season due to injury.

The last statement was made by Adeline's coach Evgeni Plushenko. Yes, imagine, Plushenko, whose departure from big-time sports turned into an endless and boring series, seems to have decided to launch a sequel with the participation of Sotnikova.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to believe that Plushenko will return Sotnikova to the orbit of big sport. Firstly, he has no experience working with international level athletes, and secondly, time is working against Adeline. Yes, yes, sometimes it happens like this: your train has left, although you are only 21 years old.

If the situation in women's figure skating Russia's situation was the same as for men, where Plushenko, who appeared after an idle time, could easily turn out to be the best; surely both Sotnikova and Lipnitskaya would have calmly prepared for Pyeongchang.

But the fact is that our feminine figure skating brought an unprecedented harvest of outstanding talent. And the Sochi 2014 champions became the victims of this harvest.

Knockout from young competitors

Let us remember that after the Olympics Sotnikova missed the season: partly due to injuries, partly from a desire to take a break from sports. Adeline took part in a number of television shows, the public liked her in a new role, but still decided to return to the ice.

However, everything did not go as planned: 2nd place at the Mordovian Patterns tournament, 3rd at the Russian Grand Prix, and finally, an embarrassment at the Russian Championship in Yekaterinburg. Until recently, the best figure skater in Russia was only in 6th place.

All yesterday’s competitors, it should be noted, were even lower: Lipnitskaya finished seventh, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva- eighth, and Alena Leonova- ninth.

New star of Russian and world figure skating Evgenia Medvedeva ahead of the Sochi champion by 37 points! In boxing this is called a knockout.

But it’s not just about Medvedeva. Sotnikova was confidently ahead of a whole group of younger girls: Elena Radionova, Anna Pogorilaya, Maria Sotskova.

The times when Sotnikova was beyond competition are gone. The same applies to Lipnitskaya.

“Adeline wants to return. But he’s wanted it for three years already.”

This is not to say that this situation was hopeless. Sotnikova turned into a beautiful adult woman and could compensate for her competitors’ teenage successes with artistry.

But in order to challenge young people, it was necessary to focus exclusively on figure skating, to throw yourself into it headlong: and all this, I note, without any guarantees of success.

Last season, Adeline performed successfully, but not at championships, but at ice shows. And in the spring of 2017 it became known that from trainer Elena Buyanova, Having led Sotnikova to victory in Sochi 2014, she goes to Evgeni Plushenko.

“I practically didn’t see Adeline all last season. I found out where she was from the Internet. It’s a shame that she announced her decision by phone, sending an SMS. Knowing her, I understand: yes, it’s easier for her. But in life you need to be able to overcome yourself.

Regarding the renewal sports career, then for now this is a pointless conversation. As far as I know from the words of the athlete herself, she is now seriously injured, I think that she has not yet started training on the ice... Adeline wants to return. But he’s been wanting it for three years now. Zhenya wants to try it. But for now this is all in words. God willing, if they succeed, I’ll be glad. We are with Peter Chernyshev And Irina Tagaeva They did their job, gave the girl a profession, taught her a lot. Time will tell how Adeline will manage this,” Buyanova said, commenting on her pupil’s decision.

And now we find out that Sotnikova will not return to the ice in the Olympic season.

No options

And the train called “women’s figure skating” goes further and further. At the Russian Championships in Chelyabinsk in December 2016, Evgenia Medvedeva confirmed her class, and the fourteen-year-old became second Alina Zagitova, the world champion among juniors, who today is already pushing back those who pushed aside Lipnitskaya and Sotnikova.

Elena Radionova, who was considered the “second number” of the Russian national team after Medvedeva, turned out to be only fifth. Sotnikova’s eternal rival Elizaveta Tuktamysheva is eighth, and twenty-six-year-old enthusiast Alena Leonova, who won silver at the World Championships back in 2012, “flew away” to 13th place.

Maybe it’s for the best that neither Sotnikova nor Lipnitskaya were at this tournament?

Most of all, this is reminiscent of the situation in the world of chess during the Soviet era, when the international federation set a limit on the participation of Soviet grandmasters in world championships. Simply because without this limit, others besides the Soviet ones might not have appeared at the decisive stages.

Perhaps this is too bold an assumption, but I think that both Yulia Lipnitskaya and Adelina Sotnikova could compete for medals in Pyeongchang even now. But the friendly ranks of stronger compatriot competitors will not let them in there.

It's not a tragedy

There is no reason to make a tragedy out of this. legendary Irina Slutskaya whole career went to Olympic gold, but I never got to him. No one will take away the gold medals from Lipnitskaya and Sotnikova. There is a whole life ahead in which you need to find your place. Julia, it seems, has already realized this, but with Adelina it’s more difficult. Personal experience Evgenia Plushenko teaches that the fairy tale about the white bull called “return to big sport' may take a long time. This will definitely not add respect and love to Adelina Sotnikova.

The change of scenery in modern figure skating occurs much faster. Dominion threefold Olympic champion Irina Rodnina, stretching over a decade, today seems unrealistic. As well as three victories at the Olympics of the famous German single skater Katharina Witt.

American at the 1998 Olympics Tara Lipinski won the women's singles figure skating tournament at the age of 15 years and 255 days. Yulia Lipnitskaya became an Olympic champion at the age of 15 years and 249 days. Lipinski left amateur sports after her victory, believing that she had reached her peak. Perhaps sometimes leaving the sport at under 16 is the best possible decision.

18 August 2016, 20:41

Starts in September new season"golden" for Russia women's singles figure skating.

Russians consistently and confidently take first and prize places on European and world podiums. With Russia, the situation is more complicated, since competition in our country is great. The fight for gold at the national championship in 2015 was serious, and this is due to our talented and wonderful singles skaters, each of whom is unique.

It's time to get acquainted with our "magnificent six", Russia's main hope in this sport, and together worry about them throughout the next season.

16 year old current world champion Evgenia Medvedeva spent her first post-junior senior season, winning all the major starts. The list of her achievements includes victories at the Skate America 2015 Grand Prix series, the Grand Prix finals in Barcelona, ​​as well as a confident victory at the Russian Championship. At the European Championships she took first place; Russians also took second and third places - Elena Radionova And Anna Pogorilaya . At the World Championships in Boston (America), she not only won a gold medal, but also set a new world record. Zhenya ended the season by participating in the 2016 Team Challenge Cup, competing with other Russians for the European team, where she again set a world record.

Evgenia Medvedeva

17 year old Elena Radionova - the only one in history two-time champion world junior 2013-2014. Elena’s list of achievements includes many awards, including a silver medal at the 2015-2016 European Championship, victory at the 2015 Russian Championship, a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championship, and victory at the 2015 Grand Prix in Moscow.

Elena Radionova

18 year old Anna Pogorilaya shared with Evgenia Medvedeva podium at the 2016 World Championships and 2016 European Championships.

Anna Pogorilaya

Anya is the winner of the Grand Prix stage of Skate Canada 2015, multiple medalist international tournaments, double bronze medalist European Championships 2015 and 2016, as well as bronze medalist at the 2016 World Championships.

19 year old Elizaveta Tuktamysheva nicknamed the Scarlet Empress - world champion 2015, winner of many medals, winner of youth Olympic Games 2012, European champion 2015, Russian champion 2013, bronze medalist at the European Championship 2013.

Elizaveta was called a “child prodigy” because at the age of 12 she was already performing extremely complex elements. She became the sixth figure skater in the world to jump the most difficult Axel jump of three and a half revolutions.

20 year old's name Adeline Sotnikova known to everyone who followed the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014.

Adeline Sotnikova -the first and only Olympic champion in women's single figure skating in Soviet and Russian history.

Adeline - winner of many awards. She is a two-time silver medalist at the 2013 and 2014 European Championships, a 2011 world junior champion, a four-time Russian champion, and a silver medalist at the first Youth Olympic Games.

No less famous 18-year-old Olympic champion in team competitions Yulia Lipnitskaya rounds out our beautiful six.

Yulia Lipnitskaya. Photo by Mikhail Sharov.

“Girl in a red coat” - this is how Julia was remembered by the whole world at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Julia has many medals and titles in her piggy bank, such as gold olympic medal in team competitions, silver at the 2014 World Championships, Golden medal European Championship 2014, silver at the Russian Championships 2013 and 2014, gold at the Russian Championship 2012 among juniors.

Some positive photos of our talented figure skaters.

Evgenia Medvedeva and Anna Pogorilaya.

Yulia Lipnitskaya and Adelina Sotnikova.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Adelina Sotnikova, Elena Radionova and Yulia Lipnitskaya.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Elena Radionova, Yulia Lipnitskaya and Adelina Sotnikova. Photo by V.I.

Evgenia Medvedeva, Elena Radionova, Adelina Sotnikova.

Yulia Lipnitskaya and Adelina Sotnikova

Elena Radionova, Evgenia Medvedeva and Anna Pogorilaya.

Anna Pogorilaya and Evgenia Medvedeva.

Elena Radionova, Evgenia Medvedeva and Anna Pogorilaya.

(Center): Adelina Sotnikova, Yulia Lipnitskaya, Elena Radionova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva. Photo by V.I.

Good luck to our girls in the upcoming season!

Russian figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva, following the Grand Prix final, the Russian Championship and the European Championship, won the World Championship, which was held in Boston. Another Russian Anna Pogorilaya won bronze, and Elena Radionova took sixth place. Olympic champion Adelina Sotnikova, in an interview with the site, shared her impressions of the performance of her colleagues on the national team.

- Adeline, how are you? What are you doing now?
“I’m doing well, I’m training, preparing for the next season,” Sotnikova said in an interview that took place as part of the opening of the 20th international fitness convention World Class& Reebok. – My coach has not returned from the World Championships yet, so I can’t yet tell you about the upcoming training camp and the nuances of preparation.

- How do you like the performance of our figure skaters at the World Championships?
- I am very happy for our team, especially for the girls. I watched it on TV and rooted for them from the bottom of my heart. It was a fight for survival, and everyone skated with dignity. All three of our girls were the best at this world championship. I congratulate our team on the completion of the World Championship and wish them health and further success!

- After the short program, American Gracie Gold was in the lead. What were your thoughts at that moment?
“I was sure that our girls would do everything possible to ultimately get on the podium.

- Evgenia Medvedeva broke into the elite of world figure skating. How would you rate its rapid progress?
- I know Zhenya, she is a very hardworking person. It is clear from her that she wants to break through and will do everything possible for this. I respect and only support such people. Still, I myself was and remain the same person. I will work and do everything to return to the level I was at.

- Do Medvedeva’s victories excite you as an athlete?
- It spurs me on. In general, competition in Russia is very high, and not only Zhenya is my competitor.

- How would you rate Anna Pogorilaya’s bronze medal?
- When Anya entered the short program, the thought flashed through my mind – that’s it! Anya had such a confused face at that moment, as if she was thinking: Lord, what am I doing here? But when she stood up at the beginning of the program, I realized that she would do everything clean. And Anya skated the program in a way that she probably hasn’t skated this season. It was cool! I stood in front of the TV and applauded her. Anya overcame herself, was not afraid, coped with her anxiety and did everything so that Russia would have a medal.

- That is, Pogorilaya was more worried than the others?
- During the warm-up, I got exactly this feeling. Zhenya and Lenka Radionova looked confident in themselves at that moment, and Anya had such big eyes.

- According to the results of the free program, American Ashley Wagner nevertheless shifted Pogorilaya from second to third place.
- Knowing Ashley, I can say that she does not give up and fights to the end. And he does the right thing!

Boston, USA
World Championship
Women
Final position

1. Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia) – 223.86 points
2. Ashley Wagner (USA) – 215.39
3. Anna Pogorilaya (Russia) – 213.69
...6. Elena Radionova (Russia) – 209.81

She told the correspondents of the R-Sport agency Elena Dyachkova and Anatoly Samokhvalov about the lack of psychological preparation, how her young rivals Elena Radionova and Evgenia Medvedeva made her laugh, and about the competition at the upcoming Russian Championship.

Coach is like a second mother

A few can skate without a single blemish. “I tried to skate like this, and yet I think that I coped with the task, going out on the ice without a coach,” Sotnikova, whose coach was unable to attend the tournament due to illness, said at the beginning of the conversation.

The feeling was different. You feel a great responsibility, after all, you are already in a different status (Olympic champion), children look up to you, the whole world is watching. Of course, I want to show good skating to please the viewer, my parents, coaches, and loved ones. During the year I missed due to injury, I lost not physically, but more psychologically. I am physically prepared well enough to demonstrate my elements. During training, I showed quite a lot of them - both 3-3 cascades and regular jumps. But for best performances you need to work on your psychology to go out and cope with all the elements.

- Was there pressure?

More yes than no.

- What inconvenience was caused mainly by the absence of a coach? Wasn't Elena Germanovna's look enough?

Support. Imagine, you go out next to your mother for ten years, and then bam - she’s gone.

- But your mother was sitting on the podium.

But there wasn’t a second one (laughs). Elena Germanovna is like a second mother to me.

- Did you look for her?

I didn’t focus on this, because if you think about it, it’s not clear how you can roll back the program. I imagined that she was standing next to me, and that was all.

- Did you call her during the tournament?

Of course, we were on the phone.

- How does she feel?

She didn't tell me about this. But I know it's better.

“My skating has become more feminine”

Do you have a sense of athletic and artistic progress compared to the time of the Olympic Games in Sochi?

It seems to me that now I’m at a completely different level - as an actor, in terms of emotionality. Firstly, the “Dancing with the Stars” project gave me a lot, I began to feel music differently, since my partner in the project is a dancer, and he forced me to listen to every accent in the melody. It has become much easier on the ice, because now you hear the music and look for those accents to which you can add a hand, add a glance, move your head. I think that I have grown a lot in skating, because I skate differently, my skating has become more feminine. If you compare it with the Olympics, there is a difference. Even my coach, who choreographed the programs, Petya (Chernyshev), tells me about this. The difference, he says, is big. You just need to ride for pleasure, to give joy to everyone.

- It seems that you singled out Carolina Costner in terms of skating?

Yes, and I still highlight it. Her skating is magical, I don’t remember such a level performed by our girls.

- Is this level achievable, or is it nature?

Of course we can. If you work hard and want it, then everything is possible.

Chernyshev can't be wrong

At the press conference at the end of the Moscow Grand Prix, you looked interesting next to the young girls Elena Radionova and Evgenia Medvedeva. They are with sparkling eyes, and you are experienced, knowing life...

I wanted to say it yesterday, but I didn’t (laughs). I'll tell you now. I felt like I was so old compared to the young girls. I remembered how I used to sit at the same tables among Alena Leonova, Ksyusha Makarova, Katya Gerboldt. I was such a child when I won the Russian Championship at the age of 12. Now there are different emotions. It was so funny to me when they said: “For us this is such a great experience!”, “It’s like I won the Olympics” (Radionova’s phrase - approx. “R-Sport”). I sit and think to myself: “Uh-huh...”

- short program you changed for this season, unlike the free program. Was it the right step?

Yes, Petya (Chernyshev) was not mistaken. Petya can’t be wrong, in my opinion. He always gets to the point, sees what a person needs. We looked for music for a long time, played it, everyone liked it, everyone appreciated it.

- What is your attitude to the Russian Championship in Yekaterinburg, which will become a selection for the European Championship?

We are no strangers to competition, because the struggle goes on every year. Naturally, this year we will have even more strong girls. We need to calmly prepare, perform our elements, I have more experience, unlike them. Of course, I want to qualify (for the European Championships), everyone is eager, everyone wants to compete high level. Because everyone wants to reach the level you are striving for: Zhenya, Lenka, Yulia (Lipnitskaya), Liza (Tuktamysheva), who generally took off that season (became world champion - R-Sport note). I missed competitions very much, indescribably. Probably, this can be compared to when a person works for years, then suddenly - bam, rests for a day or two, and withdrawal begins. I had similar feelings.