- Joined
- May 11, 2018
Tatjana Flade wrote an article for the magazine "International Figure Skating" about Olympic champion Alina Zagitova. Featuring words from Eteri and Alina herself, it discusses the challenges she's facing as she continues on in the sport. Here's a few quotes from the articles as well as some summarizations. Due to copyright I am not allowed to post the whole thing, but if you'd like to read it PM me
“It was difficult for her. There was a loss of coordination and this is still present,” said coach Eteri Tutberidze. “I don’t want to say that we overcame all of this, but we are in the process of going through it. It has been tough. This happens when things don’t work for her, when there are demands on her, and though she is doing everything, she feels like she is running on the spot. It is like she is running with all her power, but she is not moving.”
“Due to her body changes, Alina now needs at least 30 or 40 minutes of solid practice before she starts to jump normally. Her new body does not yet have the muscle memory.”
The article goes on to discuss that Zagitova is very active on social media, which can sometimes be troubling for her as we all know some posts are not very positive. Alina added that she was extremely nervous at the test skates and took the negativity to heart.
Tutberidze knows it is not an easy task to continue competing at the highest level. "To try and appear worthy of being an Olympic champion is very hard morally, and probably hard to overcome," she said. "It is not a question of motivation, but rather a question of expectations. Alina understands what the fans expect from her, what we all expect of her, and so there is huge pressure on her from all sides."
They go on to further discuss Alina's new programs this year. Their wish is to develop her more artisitcally and as a well rounded skater. Zagitova wanted to skate to Carmen last season but Tutberidze felt as if she was not ready for the character, leaving it for this season.
"We mounted her two new programs and maximized the difficulty of the transitions and connecting elements," Tutberidze explained. "Everyone, including the federation, asked us to make it easier, but we didn't do that. They want it to be easier so she gets all the jumps done and it is easier for her. Obviously, it is tiring, the transitions are hard and the speed is fast. But this is the way we are developing her.
Her coaches brought back the triple lutz-triple toe combination that Zagitova had not attempted the past two seasons because it was not included in her programs. "She didn't do it at all during the time she was growing up and her body was changing, so it was hard to get it back, physically and mentally," said Tutberidze.
"It is kind of risky, but the long program ‘Don Quixote' (from last season) was built on risk and it won. These two combinations, the Lutz-loop and Lutz-toe loop, are both done with a different technique, which means she needs to have a different entry for the same jump. That is hard to switch in one program. But it is something she has to overcome. Obviously, it is in our minds that we might change that and do something different.”
"This year there was no way out. The only thing I told Alina was, either you match this character or I will not allow you to skate to it. After working with her for one and a half to two weeks, I saw — as strange as it might sound — this “meat” in her movements and glances when portraying the role of 'Carmen' and I liked it."
Zagitova discusses her experiences and how she's changed since the olympics, yet at the same time has remained the same.
"She is still Alina, a friendly, open-minded girl that has dreams like other teenagers. I like her very much. She is very talented, she is very beautiful, and she has something special. In addition to that, she works hard and understands that it is sometimes difficult. Even though she has fulfilled the biggest dream an athlete can have, she finds the motivation to go on."
"I have my motivation, but I won't tell anyone what it is," Zagitova added with a smile. "This is just for myself."
“It was difficult for her. There was a loss of coordination and this is still present,” said coach Eteri Tutberidze. “I don’t want to say that we overcame all of this, but we are in the process of going through it. It has been tough. This happens when things don’t work for her, when there are demands on her, and though she is doing everything, she feels like she is running on the spot. It is like she is running with all her power, but she is not moving.”
“Due to her body changes, Alina now needs at least 30 or 40 minutes of solid practice before she starts to jump normally. Her new body does not yet have the muscle memory.”
The article goes on to discuss that Zagitova is very active on social media, which can sometimes be troubling for her as we all know some posts are not very positive. Alina added that she was extremely nervous at the test skates and took the negativity to heart.
Tutberidze knows it is not an easy task to continue competing at the highest level. "To try and appear worthy of being an Olympic champion is very hard morally, and probably hard to overcome," she said. "It is not a question of motivation, but rather a question of expectations. Alina understands what the fans expect from her, what we all expect of her, and so there is huge pressure on her from all sides."
They go on to further discuss Alina's new programs this year. Their wish is to develop her more artisitcally and as a well rounded skater. Zagitova wanted to skate to Carmen last season but Tutberidze felt as if she was not ready for the character, leaving it for this season.
"We mounted her two new programs and maximized the difficulty of the transitions and connecting elements," Tutberidze explained. "Everyone, including the federation, asked us to make it easier, but we didn't do that. They want it to be easier so she gets all the jumps done and it is easier for her. Obviously, it is tiring, the transitions are hard and the speed is fast. But this is the way we are developing her.
Her coaches brought back the triple lutz-triple toe combination that Zagitova had not attempted the past two seasons because it was not included in her programs. "She didn't do it at all during the time she was growing up and her body was changing, so it was hard to get it back, physically and mentally," said Tutberidze.
"It is kind of risky, but the long program ‘Don Quixote' (from last season) was built on risk and it won. These two combinations, the Lutz-loop and Lutz-toe loop, are both done with a different technique, which means she needs to have a different entry for the same jump. That is hard to switch in one program. But it is something she has to overcome. Obviously, it is in our minds that we might change that and do something different.”
"This year there was no way out. The only thing I told Alina was, either you match this character or I will not allow you to skate to it. After working with her for one and a half to two weeks, I saw — as strange as it might sound — this “meat” in her movements and glances when portraying the role of 'Carmen' and I liked it."
Zagitova discusses her experiences and how she's changed since the olympics, yet at the same time has remained the same.
"She is still Alina, a friendly, open-minded girl that has dreams like other teenagers. I like her very much. She is very talented, she is very beautiful, and she has something special. In addition to that, she works hard and understands that it is sometimes difficult. Even though she has fulfilled the biggest dream an athlete can have, she finds the motivation to go on."
"I have my motivation, but I won't tell anyone what it is," Zagitova added with a smile. "This is just for myself."
Hopefully she gets more comfortable in the public eye. She already has accomplished a lot. 
