Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya passes away at 20 | Page 6 | Golden Skate

Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya passes away at 20

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
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May 19, 2018
Rest in peace, Katya. :pray:

:cry: What a tragic waste of a beautiful, valuable young life.

Suicide is never the answer!
 

Scott512

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Feb 27, 2014
That is so easy to say. I would be less rigorous. No outsider can understand another's suffering.
Truer words were never spoken. Such a sad situation. Outsiders just cannot understand with somebody else is going through who does this. I’m sure it’s almost impossible for people on the inside to figure this out as well. Tragic.
 

CaroLiza_fan

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The Sydney Figure Skating Club are hosting a celebration of Katia's life this Sunday. Due to poor weather forecast and tightened 'rona restrictions, this will be live-streamed.

That is so good to hear that the Sydney Club is organising a tribute to Katia. It really does show just how much she was taken to heart in Australia.

And on that subject, may I just say that that was a lovely thing that Greg did organising the fundraiser for Katia's funeral. And congratulations on raising so much!

Date: Sunday 26 July 2020

Time: 10:00am AEST

Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwiaNPj_A_2s_5npcaGHUww

For those of us in Europe, that is 00:00 GMT (01:00 BST / 02:00 CEST / 03:00 MSK) tonight / tomorrow morning (depending on how you look at things).

As far as I know this will not be geoblocked.

Do you know if it will be archived? I really hope it will be. Because I am sure I am not the only one that would like to see it, but will not be able to watch it LIVE. (Need a good night's sleep before the MotoGP).

CaroLiza_fan
 

karne

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Do you know if it will be archived? I really hope it will be. Because I am sure I am not the only one that would like to see it, but will not be able to watch it LIVE. (Need a good night's sleep before the MotoGP).

I don't know, but I hope so. So far, it is beautiful.
 

anonymoose_au

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I watched it. It was very moving and it was so bittersweet hearing how Katia made such an impression on everyone and made so many friends at Canterbury ice rink.

https://youtu.be/mgYRMmYcCEU - You can watch it here.
 

CaroLiza_fan

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I watched it. It was very moving and it was so bittersweet hearing how Katia made such an impression on everyone and made so many friends at Canterbury ice rink.

https://youtu.be/mgYRMmYcCEU - You can watch it here.

Thank you for the link. I watched it this morning, and it was a beautiful service. Sarah Durbridge did a brilliant job officiating it.

Usually when watching an archived livestream, I would normally wind straight through to when the live pictures started. But, I didn't this time, because they were playing a beautiful instrumental version of "The Music Of The Night" at the start. And I started welling up when they followed this with a similar instrumental version of "Everything I Do, I Do It For You". I was singing along in my head and, because of the context, the lyrics did seem to take on extra meaning.

I loved that Harley's family performed an aboriginal ceremony at the start. It was just a shame that all of it except for the didgeridoo was drowned out by the background noise from the rink (it sounded like there was a resurfacing going on).

Danielle O'Brien's eulogy was so touching. You really got an impression of just how much Katia had become part of the community. And found out more about her personality. These stories really brought a smile to your face. And the same goes for the messages from other skaters that Sarah read out towards the end of the service. I particularly liked the stories about Katia being mischevious when teaching Russian phrases, and the story from the Adult skater telling us about Katia being so keen that she stayed on to watch the Adult competitions at Nationals after her own competition was finished. (And yes, I too got emotional when we reached Sarah Batey's message!)

When Peter Lynch was talking about Katia and Harley's career together, you could tell how proud he was of them. And when he came to her last few months, you could see how angry he is that none of the bodies were able to give Katia the help and support we now know that she needed to cope with her career ending so abruptly. So I have to applaud him for admitting that they had failed in their duty to her, and for the very important message that he ended with.

I hope the weather was good enough for the outdoors part of the service that followed to go smoothly. Although it would have been nice to see Harley releasing the doves, I am glad that he got the opportunity to do it in a more intimate manner. And similarly, I am glad that Harley was not actually shown on camera during the service. This must have been extremely hard for him, so it was the right thing to do to let him grieve out of public view.

All in all, it was a beautiful service. So, I have to congratulate the Sydney club, and our celebrant, for the excellent job they did. As somebody who skates at the rink herself, it can't have been easy for Sarah. But she presided over it brilliantly.

A fitting tribute to Katia.

CaroLiza_fan
 

karne

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It was just a shame that all of it except for the didgeridoo was drowned out by the background noise from the rink (it sounded like there was a resurfacing going on).

<snip>

I hope the weather was good enough for the outdoors part of the service that followed to go smoothly.

The background noise wasn't the rink or the ice being resurfaced.

Katia sent us rain. Wild, torrential, soaking rain. Simultaneously a gift for the dry lands that need it and an expression of our sorrow.
 

CaroLiza_fan

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The background noise wasn't the rink or the ice being resurfaced.

Katia sent us rain. Wild, torrential, soaking rain. Simultaneously a gift for the dry lands that need it and an expression of our sorrow.

Oooh. I know you said that the forecast was for bad weather, but I didn't realise that the rain would be heavy enough to cause that much noise! :drama:

Sorry to hear that you are still experiencing problems from your dry summer. As I am sure you can understand, it is no longer being reported on the news on this side of the world. But, I hope that you get the rain you need.

I have to say, I do like your explanation for what caused the rains.

Adding to your analogy, may I suggest that the heaviness could be Katia's way of showing her anger at the disgraceful way her death was reported in a certain British newspaper (which I will not even give the dignity of naming). The sensationalist headline really made my blood boil. And made me feel ashamed to be British.

But, let's not dwell on that. Let's remember the positive impact she made on so many people from different parts of the world in the short time that she graced this planet.

By the way, thank you to the ISU for uploading to their YouTube channel both of Katia and Harley's programmes from when they won the Junior World Championships. It was really bugging me that their SP was not available.

CaroLiza_fan
 

Alex D

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Joined
Sep 23, 2013
Rest in peace, Katya. :pray:

:cry: What a tragic waste of a beautiful, valuable young life.

Suicide is never the answer!

It´s less about an "answer" as most people with depressions don´t even know whats wrong with them, but more about an ending of tremendous torture / suffering. Our society usually looks at mental health issues as "stupidity" or "weakness", but the truth is, that everyone can be affected by it. It can be as hard to deal with, as a physical illness, just that quite often, physical illness can be seen and is therefore accepted by society, while mental health problems are hidden inside and therefore not considered an illness.

And as with physical illness that some people can no longer endure and therefore ask for relief, mental health problems can lead to the same desire.

In school I had a friend, he was the first with a car, had wealthy parents and was liked by everyone. We always went clubbing, he never drunk anything so he always brought me home in the morning. One day, we went out again, had a great night as usual on the dance floor, meeting our friends, laughing a lot. In the morning he drove me home, nothing unusual about him, an hour after he dropped me, he drove his car into a tree.

I spent many months asking myself why, went through our 20 minute drive that morning again and again, trying to figure out if I said something wrong or should have noticed something. Believe me, no matter how small you think someones problems might be, for them it could mean everything and it is wrong to judge a person based on what you think about his or her situation. My friend had no girlfriend, a small reason you might say, but for him reason enough to die.

As for Katia, she was a much stronger person than most of us I am sure, she lost her dad when she was a teenager which is incredible hard to deal with for a young girl, yet she found the strength to train at Sydney and be successful with Harley on a circuit that does not allow any mistakes if you want to reach the top.
That such a strong personality could still not overcome her demons is not a sign of weakness, but that those demons can cover the sky in clouds, turning it pitch black forever.

These "answers" you might be refering to, like becoming a coach, manager or reporter, working in sports you know, is not what you see in such a moment and quite often you just want every thought about sports to go and yet, you cant be without those thoughts. You are unable to move on, every "mental step" hurts, your thoughts tear you apart. Its a mix of fear and loneliness.

Fear, as you have nothing to fall back on. You have been an athlete all your life, and now all of a sudden you need documents, certificates of exams to "move on" like for applying to a university, school or for a job. It feels as if you are back at the start of your childhood, but not with the benefits of being a child, but the burdens of being an adult.
You are overwhelmed with what society expects from you and you miss your friends that still do sports, but being in touch with them also hurts, so quite often you prefer to not get in touch and become more lonely every day. Now Katia was 20, which also adds the financial pressure of having to pay for your life.
There is a lot more that must have gone through her mind day in and day out, but maybe my explanation might help understanding the feelings of her and why she lost her battle.

Edit:

There is something I should have posted already in my first post and I apologize that I didnt.

If anyone is reading this who can relate to those feelings, dont give up and keep fighting. One person or situation could turn your situation in a more positive direction any second, this isnt a one way street and just like one bad happening changed your life into the negative, one good can change it again but this time into the positive!
 

pandatours

On the Ice
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Feb 12, 2015

I didn’t know her mother didn’t move to Australia with her...I know not every skater is privileged enough to have their parents live with them in another country but she was so young to have moved so far, and already processing her grief in an unhealthy way. Perhaps her mom and the Australian federation felt that she would be okay because her coaches were Russians. But it seemed like they trained her and Harley really hard and barely reacted to her drinking problem.

I think ultimately, Katia was unable to cope with losing skating. But I also believe that more could have been done to help her while she was still alive. What a tragic loss
 

TallyT

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Apr 23, 2018
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Australia
I didn’t know her mother didn’t move to Australia with her...I know not every skater is privileged enough to have their parents live with them in another country but she was so young to have moved so far, and already processing her grief in an unhealthy way.

It makes me feel even more for her poor mother, even above what we have heard about how grief-stricken she is. She must have thought it was for the best, for Katia's future, and now she has to live with questions for ever.

Does anyone know how Harley is doing?
 

MiraiFan

Final Flight
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Oct 6, 2016
I think Harley is currently training in France. The article was so sad... the funding cuts were horrible for her--cannot imagine the stress of trying to survive and being effectively homeless while dealing with alcohol issues and health problems. So many people failed her on so many levels.
 

CaroLiza_fan

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That's a really dark article. Very tragic.

Unfortunately, the article is behind a paywall. Could somebody tell us what it was saying?

I didn’t know her mother didn’t move to Australia with her...I know not every skater is privileged enough to have their parents live with them in another country but she was so young to have moved so far, and already processing her grief in an unhealthy way. Perhaps her mom and the Australian federation felt that she would be okay because her coaches were Russians. But it seemed like they trained her and Harley really hard and barely reacted to her drinking problem.

Danielle O'Brien mentioned in her eulogy at the memorial service that Katia was very close to her Mum, and that she missed her a lot. So, it came as no surprise to them when Katia went back home when she found out that she could no longer compete.

I think ultimately, Katia was unable to cope with losing skating.

I agree. Skating was her life, and without skating there was no point in life. We all know that what I said in the previous sentence is not true. But somebody in the depths of depression is not able to think like us. They just see what they have lost. And for Katia, losing skating was too much for her to cope with.

But I also believe that more could have been done to help her while she was still alive. What a tragic loss

Looking back, there is undoubtedly more that could have been done for Katia. Peter Lynch said as much at the memorial service. But, he and we have the benefit of hindsight.

It is not always easy to spot when somebody is struggling. People with depression can be very good at hiding it. But hopefully lessons will be learnt from this.

It's too late for Katia, but if people are trained to spot the signs, even if they are well hidden, then all being well something like this can be prevented from happening again.

It makes me feel even more for her poor mother, even above what we have heard about how grief-stricken she is. She must have thought it was for the best, for Katia's future, and now she has to live with questions for ever.

I just cannot imagine what that poor woman is going through. Losing her husband a few years ago, and now losing their only child. My heart really goes out to her.

It is all so tragic.

CaroLiza_fan
 

CaroLiza_fan

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There's a link in this tweet
https://twitter.com/telegraph_sport/status/1296764151289667585
That goes to a version of the article that isn't behind a paywall.

Thank you so much, NanaPat. :thank:

Just read the article and I really don't know what to say. It was so heartbreaking and so angering at the same time.

Well, I do know what to say to Seb Coe. Just shut up! How can you seriously compare switching countries to human trafficking?! Switching countries is about getting an opportunity to compete for another country when there are no opportunities to do so in your own country. Human trafficking is something much more sinister than that.

Seb may have been a great athlete in his day, but in recent years he has shown just how out of touch he is with sport in the modern day. And anyway, he was a runner. Things are done differently in figure skating than they are in athletics, for the simple reason that they are very different sports.

But, back to the topic.

It was very interesting to read about the effects that lack of funding had on Katia. I don't know about other people, but when I hear about cuts to funding, I tend to think of it as skaters having to cut costs by getting cheaper coaches that are maybe not as good, or by reducing the amount of time they hire a rink for. It never occurred to me that it could also mean less money for things like food and accomodation. So, that was eye-opening.

And then there was the way that the lack of money affected what help could be got for Katia when her health problems became apparent.

The thing that concerns me most is the number of times that Katia collapsed before somebody finally got her to go and get checked out. In situations like this, you don't just take the person's word that they are "OK". Because if somebody is determined and driven enough in what they are doing, they will lie and play down their condition in order to get back to doing it. And sportspeople are notorious for doing this. They need to be protected from themselves.

Overall, this is a long story of failed opportunities to get Katia the help she needed, both for her physical health problems (her epilepsy), and for her mental health problems (her depression, manifest in her drinking).

I really hope that widespread changes to the systems and attitudes will arise out of this tragedy.

CaroLiza_fan

P.S. There are a couple of related stories linked to in the "More Olympics" section at the bottom of the page:

  • "Ice Skating Concussion: Katia Alexandrovskaya's Death Must Help To Shine A Light On The Sport's Dealy Risks" [I assume there is a typing error, and it should read "deadly risks"] (5 hours ago)
  • "The Deal To Bring Katia Alexandrovskaya To Australia Was Legitimate, Says AOC" (2 days ago)

Unfortunately, when you click on them, you come up against the paywall.​
 

NanaPat

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Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Country
Canada
P.S. There are a couple of related stories linked to in the "More Olympics" section at the bottom of the page:

  • "Ice Skating Concussion: Katia Alexandrovskaya's Death Must Help To Shine A Light On The Sport's Dealy Risks" [I assume there is a typing error, and it should read "deadly risks"] (5 hours ago)
  • "The Deal To Bring Katia Alexandrovskaya To Australia Was Legitimate, Says AOC" (2 days ago)

Unfortunately, when you click on them, you come up against the paywall.​

You could see if there are tweets (with alternate links) about the additional articles. But do it fast, as the account tweets A LOT.
 
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