Russian teen titans are also friendly rivals
MOSCOW — Two-time world singles champion Evgenia Medvedeva’s seemingly smooth path to Olympic glory has run into an unexpected roadblock in the shape of her 15-year-old training partner, Alina Zagitova.
The youngster upset the 18-year-old Medvedeva, who had not lost since November 2015, with a jump-packed free skate at the European championships in January to suddenly emerge as co-favorite for the gold medal at the Pyeongchang Games, where they are competing under the OAR (Olympic Athletes from Russia) banner.
As Medvedeva sat out the Grand Prix Final in December with a fractured foot, Zagitova has seized her opportunity to shine in her first senior season and even threatened her older compatriot’s incredible world record scores.
In her short program at the Europeans, Zagitova came within 0.6 points of the 80.85 mark Medvedeva set last year.
“In practice we have a rivalry, but not in a bad way,” Zagitova said, adding that she and Medvedeva are good friends. “It’s like a game for us. If she does three triple jumps, I will try to do the same. It pushes us.”
The usually flawless Medvedeva seemed unhappy with her short program at the competition. When the music stopped, she even stuck out her tongue in apparent disgust, grimacing at a performance in which she stepped out of a double axel.
She trailed Zagitova by 1.7 points after the short program and finished a distant 5.38 back.
“I have my own way and I try to follow it,” Medvedeva said after her short program. “You have to look around sometimes because we compete in an individual sport and there are times when rivalry pushes you. But you have to concentrate on your own elements.”
The teammates share renowned coaches Eteri Tutafter beridze and Sergei Dudakov, and also have a choreographer in common, Daniil Gleichengauz.
Still, the teens are a study in contrasts.
Zagitova is laconic outside the rink but expressive on the ice, skating her free program to composer Leon Minkus’ Don Quixote in a flashy red tutu.
In her free program, Medvedeva interprets a tormented Anna Karenina, heroine of Tolstoy’s classic 19th-century Russian novel, a woman suffocated by society who takes her own life.
However, off the ice, the effervescent skater professes her love of Japanese anime, particularly Sailor Moon, and K-pop music.
Medvedeva radiates youth but is mature beyond her years. She embodies sobriety and exuberance, rigorous discipline and lightheartedness, all in a 5-foot-2 frame.
The double world champion recovers from training sessions in complete silence, except for the bubbling of the aquarium in her room “because the fish need to breathe”.
“When I come home from training, I go to my room and sit there in absolute silence,” she said after winning the Moscow Grand Prix event last year. “I might read a book or check social media. I recover very quickly in total silence.”
At the 2017 world championships, she broke her own world record with a combined score of 233.41 points and became the first woman to win consecutive world titles since American Michelle Kwan in 2001.
A month later, she improved that record to 241.31 points.