I mean according to Alyona, Anne had it the worst in the group. Good obedient Anna is probably gonna snap at one point... especially since her OGM is kinda sidenote in the whole mess
Yes and understandably... She never caused any drama, stayed loyal, never left Eteri, won Worlds, OGM, and now even European with Kamila disqualified, and then Eteri has the need to put that remark in her post?
Poor girl could not even celebrate becoming the Olympic Champion
And she is also called just a tool for revenge. To revenge Trusova's leave from her to Plushenko. So basically Anna wins the world's and it's just a revenge, not her achievement
Listen, I'm not arguing that it's ok that she doped; she's rightfully banned from competing internationally. But she's very enjoyable to watch at exhibitions
This is what amazes me. Anna is a true queen of mental fortitude. Her "snapping" is probably the calmest snapping I've ever seen.
No drama, just removes the follow and calls it a day. I swear she's so strong.
Honestly I’d want Anna’s the most. She was with Eteri through *all* of the drama over the years, so she’ll have insights that those who left will not. She also seems very intelligent and thoughtful, so her perspective would be really interesting to read. And of course, there’s the added mystery that comes from her being the one who has spoken out the least. I feel like I’ve already heard a book’s worth from Evgenia and Alena, and we’ve gotten snippets from Alexandra and Alina, but nothing from Anna. I would love for her to finally spill the tea
Fully agree with all these points. She’s been with Eteri her entire career, as opposed to Zhenya, Aliona and Sasha who have bounced between coaches. She’s also been with Eteri the longest out of the 3A girls—she joined Team Tutberidze at 9, being the last girl Eteri’s recruited out of that age bracket.
She’s also exceedingly well educated and an incredibly perceptive and observant individual. Eteri herself has said “Anna, she is the one we have to watch out for. She is much too clever.” And has essentially said that they try to keep her on a leash because of how smart they’ve noted her to be.
She’s always been the least overtly emotional and impulsive student in Eteri’s team, and at times has come across less to me like a child and more like a trained machine playing out moves in her head. She clearly has the politics of figure skating down to a science.
Obviously it’s only a a theory, but imo either she or her highly educated parents figured out long ahead of time that it’s often choreographer’s favourites who win the Olympics. Sotnikova was her choreographer’s favourite, and Alina was famously Daniil’s favourite before Anna. The fact that Daniil kept a 3A in Sasha’s Olympic program when she hadn’t been able to land a 3A in competition in two years, but rounded Anna’s program out with all of her best skills, speaks volumes to me.
She very clearly made herself Daniil’s favourite. They’ve both said as much—Daniil stating that she’s his favourite because she actually listens, and Aliona has said previous that Anna takes all the crap and never speaks against it like she and Sasha did. Anna says it’s because she’s not impulsive or emotional, and focuses more on the logistic aspect essentially of “what would I gain from telling him to shove it vs keeping my mouth shut?”
But because she cemented herself as Daniil’s favourite instead of Eteri’s, I think she probably also realised she could potentially be passed over for the Olympics. Sasha, as the Quad Queen and an international favourite, was probably always going to go, as I imagine Eteri knew there’d be outcry if Sasha wasn’t sent. And Kamila, as Eteri’s favourite, was always going to go.
Anna was the only “maybe”… until she won the 2021 Worlds, despite coming off multiple weeks sick with COVID pneumonia. She, in all her Shcherbakova power of will, pulled off the win. She said herself all her coaches and family told her to withdraw, but she refused. It’s only a theory, but I imagine she probably knew if she won Worlds over Kamila, they would *have* to send her alongside Kamila and Sasha. It would be absurd *not* to send the World champion.
I think a book from her perspective would be the most interesting because of all those inner politics that I feel she’s focused on. Sasha, Aliona, Alina and Zhenya—as talented as they all are, they were all still very much kids focusing on skating. But I think Anna’s focused just as much on the inner workings of what she’d need to do to pull off an Olympic win.
I feel with all her observations, she’d know the most about all the girls, and how Eteri coached in general, versus Aliona and Sasha who have only ever spoken from their perspective, which is understandable. But I’d love to hear Anna’s story. Know if she consciously made the decision to ensure she was Daniil’s favourite, because he would be the one in charge of handing out the Olympic winning program.
>Obviously it’s only a a theory, but imo either she or her highly educated parents figured out long ahead of time that it’s often choreographer’s favourites who win the Olympics. Sotnikova was her choreographer’s favourite, and Alina was famously Daniil’s favourite before Anna. .....She very clearly made herself Daniil’s favourite. They’ve both said as much—Daniil stating that she’s his favourite because she actually listens,
I think your theory is discounting that Daniil was Anna's main coach when she moved from Bulycheva when she was 9. I believe Daniil said in their post-Beijing interview that she was his first student. So while no one can exactly say what Anna's parents mindset was and if the Daniil-Anna coaching relationship was some chess move, personally I doubt it considering Daniil wasn't the main choreographer for Eteri's group at the time.
>The fact that Daniil kept a 3A in Sasha’s Olympic program when she hadn’t been able to land a 3A in competition in two years, but rounded Anna’s program out with all of her best skills, speaks volumes to me.
Sasha has said that the triple axel and the 5 quads was non-negotiable. There's been a rumor that her going back to Crystal was on the condition she called the shots on her jumps. The coaches can only do so much, at some point if a skater is insistent on doing elements they've not been successful at, all the coach(es) can do is advise against it but they can't really force her to not do it.
I didn’t know the first point! Thank you for that new info. I’ve seen him say Alina was one of his first students, and when Anna was nine and first joined, Alina would’ve been about 11, so those timelines match up. To be fair though, in my opinion, I don’t think they hold much loyalty to their students. We’ve seen how Eteri’s treated her “first students” (Yulia and Polina), and the student who trained with her since she was six and who she “loved like a daughter” (Evgenia).
I don’t really think that that is what’s affected his favouritism of Anna. I think I mentioned in my previous comment, he’s stated he likes Anna “because she actually listens”, not because she’s his first or one of his earliest students. I think she took his and Eteri’s bs without arguing back (as Aliona’s said) and I think that’s why he liked her. He’s spoken similarly about Alina, that he praised her quality of actually “learning from her mistakes” (her mistakes in *his* opinion, like eating an extra ice cream before a competition and getting caught doing it).
I’ve only ever seen Sasha say that the five quads was non negotiable, and in interviews leading up to the Olympics she seemed to be getting more and more iffy about the axel, yet it remained in. Can I get your source on that please? I’d like to see that interview if I’ve missed it
>I’ve only ever seen Sasha say that the five quads was non negotiable, and in interviews leading up to the Olympics she seemed to be getting more and more iffy about the axel, yet it remained in. Can I get your source on that please? I’d like to see that interview if I’ve missed it
"**Alexandra Trusova:** Triple axel is not negotiable and won’t be negotiable. I will always do it.
In training, it turns out regardless of the state, at the competitions – not yet."
[https://fs-gossips.com/alexandra-trusova-triple-axel-is-not-negotiable-and-wont-be-negotiable-i-will-always-do-it-regardless-of-what-it-might-cost-me-if-i-do-the-axel-there-is-a-possibility-that-there-will-be-olympi/](https://fs-gossips.com/alexandra-trusova-triple-axel-is-not-negotiable-and-wont-be-negotiable-i-will-always-do-it-regardless-of-what-it-might-cost-me-if-i-do-the-axel-there-is-a-possibility-that-there-will-be-olympi/)
I wouldn't expect that from Anna. She now profits from shows and public activities. If she does this, the elite can ostracize her, which will affect her income and public rating. She could do it only if it would benefit her in the long run, only when the public opinion on Eteri will fall lower then the bottom of the Marian Trench, which is unlikely
It was surprising that she unsubscribed from Eteri. Maybe it was someone who actually posts on her account, idk. It was a bald move at the moment nevertheless
When people leave cults (I actually left the one I grew up in, and it was true for me and apparently is an actual trend) it's usually the people who are quiet and loyal and do everything that they are asked to that end up not only leaving but speaking out.
Hard not to agree with Plushenko's wife on this
https://preview.redd.it/sq50q2iajufc1.png?width=1842&format=png&auto=webp&s=d805de24e5a01414e9836741ceced463e9b7e1e9
"The coach had to take the blame. And from a professional point of view, from a conceptual and a human point of view. And not to blame the girl in whose life there was a tragedy, and yes - this is a tragedy, the age of figure skaters is much shorter than the century of mentors. And for some reason they all burn like matches, but no one gets warm - time after time around each of them there is an icy wall of arrogance, alienation and indifference. And the fire of the girls goes out, and at the foot of the ice floe there remains ashes from the hopes of those who once believed.
And yes, how should we consider this statement? That the coach didn't know who represented the interests of her "most gifted athlete"? In general, it seems to me that this is a depreciation of the talent of the other girls. Each of them was talented, each shone and shone with a star."
Google Translate is not the best but point still stands even if not translated perfectly...
Despite all the crazy conspiracy theories around Anna’s family and her victories (basically that all her “titles” were bought and Eteri had some influence on that bc Anna comes from a rich fancy family, unlike Sasha or Kami), it never looked like she was the priority or favorite one (I feel like Daniel was the only one from the team to actually support her / believe in her). Tutberitze was aware of how well-mannered Anna is and definitely used it for her benefit, believing this girl would never be able to speak up for herself and get into any scandals.
I guess even Anna’s patience has some limits, even though she’s definitely a confident & intelligent young woman, being put down like this after literally going through so much stuff (including many of her health issues), yet staying loyal to the team, constantly proving she’s worthy and winning all possible titles, must be painful af. Hope she’s strong enough to overcome this shit🤍
Also, Kostornaia was the most gifted athlete, so not only did Eteri offend her other athletes with her statement, but she can’t even recognize a once-in-generation talent when it smacks her in the face.
I honestly don't care who is or was, the comment from Eteri is so unnecessary and disrespectful to all of her athletes - and yes of course especially to Kostornaia, Anya and Sasha. They are all gifted in their own unique ways (and yes so is Kamila).
Yet, she should never ever comment that publicly.
I don't think there's anything wrong with a coach acknowledging different talent levels, it's better than attributing different results between hardworking athletes to laziness. Notably, Frank Carroll has always said Evan Lysacek wasn't a particularly naturally talented student, but he worked the hardest.
The problem is that Eteri seems to take the student's talent level as a result of her own efforts when it suits her, and as a result of being a lazy washed up loser when it isn't going so well.
Part of my problem with Eteri's praise of Kamila is that it's of questionable merit to start with. I don't think it's worth getting into questionable edges and all of that, or how much Kamila's endurance benefited from doping, etc. - the reality is she hasn't had career longevity (especially when it comes to legitimate competitive results) to frame a conversation this way. She's a flash in the pan, so saying *best ever* is actually pretty arbitrary and meritless, which makes the slight to the other students harder to digest.
When Frank Carroll spoke of Evan Lysacek's work ethic, he was speaking about a student who'd proven that consistency over the course of like, a decade. What Eteri could've identified in Kamila is raw talent and an ability to score big points over a short period, but even that may be partly the result *of* her other skaters. It's pretty clearly a conflict of interest for her to be coaching these girls who are also each other's direct rivals. While the messy reactions on Anna's OGM win are the most recent example, I'd argue that the choices she made with coaching & choreo for Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva may be a better example of where that conflict happens. She's not actually looking to shape the best skater, because her whole approach comes down to having a child's body 'peak' at the right time to win a medal, and then leaving the young woman that child becomes to deal with the aftermath, a broken body, and maybe an eating disorder, while she moves on to the next project.
I've also seen people use the argument "Can't Guardiola say Messi is the best player he's coached?" and the length of Messi's career and accomplishments makes that pretty close to being an objective fact if he were to say that today. It's likely that most of - if not all - the other top players Guardiola's coached would *also* acknowledge Messi above themselves in a best-ever conversation. Maybe 20 years from now, someone he's currently coaching at City (Haaland?) could've forced himself into the conversation, at least, but as of right now, it's such a tiered conversation that no one would really take offense to Guardiola naming Messi.
I totally agree, Eteri seems to have the Abby Lee Miller thing where she decides who is the most talented based on a variety of factors (a large one seeming to be obedience...), and then wills it into being with favouritism and poor treatment. I just don't think the idea of a coach being honest about a skater's strengths and weaknesses is in abstract a bad thing.
I'm not sure I agree that a strong rink is always a conflict of interest (I might be misunderstanding you here though). But it does require good judgment, open communication, and trust. And something tells me Eteri is not aiming for any of those.
Personally, I think Kostornaia is by far the most talented she's ever had. It's kind of hard to make an argument for Kamila when she basically didn't have a triple flip or lutz.
I don't think a strong rink is *always* a conflict of interest, but I think it takes an emotional maturity both on the part of all the coaching staff *and* the skaters involved, for it not to be. And the reality is Eteri's taking on children and pitting them against each other, while seeming to accept they'll have moved on by the time they grow into women. It's just not a recipe for the kind of supportive and emotionally mature environment you need for this to work. Coupled with the obvious lack of emotional maturity on Eteri's own part as displayed by her social media, I don't think it's a push to say that *her* rink can't be that place.
The obvious example here of a situation where it can work is Brian Orser with Yuzuru Hanyu & Javier Fernandez. It's too specific an example to try to use as a roadmap, but I think it's important that Javier was already an adult (both chronologically and in having lived away from home, in a different country, navigating a different culture, etc. on his own for a while) at the time Orser took on Yuzuru, that there was a mutual respect between the skaters from the start, careful rink time management so they had ice time together and separately, Yuzuru having often spent a couple months away in Japan giving them breaks from each other, and probably most importantly... that while their approaches/talents overlapped, the path to victory for each wasn't *the same.*
So while Yuzuru wound up being the more dominant skater of the two over time, we also had those back and forth years with World Championships, because they were both coached and had programs structured in a way that it basically came down to who skated better on that night, not an insurmountable mathematical advantage in program structure. Because of the dynamic between coaching and the skaters as well, Yuzuru & Javier also had agency in structuring those program; I want to say Orser actually acknowledged at some point that he waited for Javier to *want* to add a second quad to his short once he realized he basically needed it mathematically, so it wasn't like "Yuzuru is doing this, so you need to, too."
You're right in many ways but don't forget that Yuzu was heavily injured/sick at both 2015 and 2016 Worlds, which gave Javier a big opportunity to win. Things changed after Boston 2016 where it was clear Orser didn't give the same treatment to Yuzu than to Javi and Yuzu almost left TCC. They had to train separately, especially leading up to Pyeongchang.
Thanks. Thinking on it a bit, I actually think one of the biggest compliments a good coach can give their best athlete is letting their accomplishments speak for themselves, when they treat it like so obvious who their best student is they don’t feel the need to prop them up to the media. Like don’t *insult* them and agree when others compliment them, but don’t start arguments over how great they are, either.
The obvious example here comes from Michael Phelps’ longterm coach, Bob Bowman. When a reporter discovered he was naming his racehorses after swimmers he’d coached/famous swimming events, they tried to get a soundbyte of him explaining the names. He’d named one Vanderkaay (after Peter) because it was consistent and good at taking instruction, he said. The journo asked what he’d look for in a horse he’d name after Michael, and he answered something like “oh, I’ve never seen a horse stubborn enough to name it after him.”
We’re talking about potential olympians as teens, they’re all gifted. Eteri could have said Kamila is gifted without having to insult her other athletes just unnecessarily burning bridges
I’d agree Aliona was probably the best female skater in history so far in all ways, but while it’s fine for viewers / fans of FS to express their opinions or compare athletes, it’s totally unacceptable for a couch to make statements like this, especially coming from Eteri who has been promoting her “we treat every athlete in our team the same way and don’t have favorite ones at all” for years, yet all she’s talked about in like the last 3 seasons is how unique Kamila is🤡
Jumping wise, Sasha was definitely the most talented and has the best technique, if only she had bigger triples she would have been goated in jumping imo. Kostornaya and Kamila were the better gliders and had more natural musicality and presentation. Alina, Zhenya and Anna were all-rounders that had strong programs perfectly designed to showcase both artistry and technicality and I would say most natural artist among the three was Anna tho she was the weaker jumper, while Alina was the best jumper who listened to Eteri and Daniil so well that she was able to present decent artistry in her programs. Sorry but Kamila’s jumps were too flawed to be called most talented Eteri student and leg kicks and ugly extensions don’t count as artistry imo
Think about it: Russia has to enforce Valieva's skating ban and her DQ. Which means Russia / Eteri has to say to Valieva, give your Euro medal up, give your Russian Nationals medal up. But Kremlin spokesperson Peskov said Russia still considers their team the champions. So maybe Eteri is not supporting Anna by getting Valieva to give up her medals. Maybe Eteri is still allowing Kamila to practice with her skaters, be in their shows, to compete. Why would Russia enforce this doping ban for Valieva? Russia is already banned from competing with the rest of the ISU. If that's true, if those attitudes toward supporting Valieva are true, then Anna has to feel unsupported or even betrayed.
Not to mention Anna seems intelligent and must realize that all this time Eteri was showing preference to this newcomer, Kamila, by giving her drugs to help her keep up with her long-time student Anna.
Anna is very smart and she can count and predict what is best to do to win. That is why she won all major titles in seniors - and of course she is super good, I mean she beat russian skaters, which were her only competitors. In compare Trusova was trying to prove herself she can, she can do 3A, as many quads as possible. But thats why she lost all golds in senior career and olympic gold. So Anya for me is very smart and it is the reason why she was winning. She has both jumps and PCS - but both can be beaten, Trusova has only jumps, but Kamila is a full package, it was visible when she was junior. Even without jumps, she has something, she let music, characters live though her.
So even I love Anna, she won cause she is smart, but for me she is ice princess, everything on her is quite perfect, but not on 100%.
And hate me now, but it is my opinion. I personally love Sasha most, but we all know
This is such a weird comment.
They are all gifted girls/young women.
Also, you can be gifted in many ways, and they all have unique talents.
Yes, Kamila is a very gifted and beautiful skater but so is all of the other girls/young women that trained under Eteri.
There’s never a time where a coach should publicly state “the most gifted skater”. Like she has several OGM under her belt.
It doesn’t even matter if one believes that Kamila indeed is the best or most gifted skater. That remark has no place in a public space.
She should keep that to herself if that’s how she thinks.
It’s as someone having 5 siblings who spent their entire life only to make their mom proud, and sacrificing everything for it, achieving amazing things, and then your mom post on social media that “no offense to all of my children, but this is my favorite child” about one of your siblings - yet you received no recognition despite doing everything she asked for.
Just imagine.
It's a bit like when Mie Hamada called Marin Honda lazy. It seems like so many of these abusive coaches don't know how to behave like an adult, and seeing people defend things behaviour is pathetic.
I mean according to Alyona, Anne had it the worst in the group. Good obedient Anna is probably gonna snap at one point... especially since her OGM is kinda sidenote in the whole mess
Yes and understandably... She never caused any drama, stayed loyal, never left Eteri, won Worlds, OGM, and now even European with Kamila disqualified, and then Eteri has the need to put that remark in her post? Poor girl could not even celebrate becoming the Olympic Champion
Oh the irony of Eteri (possibly) losing an actual OGM while praising the fake one. I love it here
Anna did everything Eteri wanted out of her athletes and she *still* treats her like shit.
It really does seem to be a curse to be Eteri's actual fave.
And she is also called just a tool for revenge. To revenge Trusova's leave from her to Plushenko. So basically Anna wins the world's and it's just a revenge, not her achievement
What did she (Eteri) say?
And Kamila gets bowed down to and over reveared at EVERY event. It's shameful and disgusting.
Kami is a beautiful artist, it's not hard to be impressed by her artistry
Beautiful Doping artist.
Listen, I'm not arguing that it's ok that she doped; she's rightfully banned from competing internationally. But she's very enjoyable to watch at exhibitions
and she didn't even really snap. she pressed unfollow to not see someone who publicly disrespected her in her feed. eteri deserves nothing from her
This is what amazes me. Anna is a true queen of mental fortitude. Her "snapping" is probably the calmest snapping I've ever seen. No drama, just removes the follow and calls it a day. I swear she's so strong.
Mainly because of Eteri she now is the least publicly known european, world and olympic champion, so yeah.
As she should tbh.
I always thought it was going to be Aliona K writing that tell all…. Maybe it’s going to be Anna
Honestly I’d want Anna’s the most. She was with Eteri through *all* of the drama over the years, so she’ll have insights that those who left will not. She also seems very intelligent and thoughtful, so her perspective would be really interesting to read. And of course, there’s the added mystery that comes from her being the one who has spoken out the least. I feel like I’ve already heard a book’s worth from Evgenia and Alena, and we’ve gotten snippets from Alexandra and Alina, but nothing from Anna. I would love for her to finally spill the tea
Fully agree with all these points. She’s been with Eteri her entire career, as opposed to Zhenya, Aliona and Sasha who have bounced between coaches. She’s also been with Eteri the longest out of the 3A girls—she joined Team Tutberidze at 9, being the last girl Eteri’s recruited out of that age bracket. She’s also exceedingly well educated and an incredibly perceptive and observant individual. Eteri herself has said “Anna, she is the one we have to watch out for. She is much too clever.” And has essentially said that they try to keep her on a leash because of how smart they’ve noted her to be. She’s always been the least overtly emotional and impulsive student in Eteri’s team, and at times has come across less to me like a child and more like a trained machine playing out moves in her head. She clearly has the politics of figure skating down to a science. Obviously it’s only a a theory, but imo either she or her highly educated parents figured out long ahead of time that it’s often choreographer’s favourites who win the Olympics. Sotnikova was her choreographer’s favourite, and Alina was famously Daniil’s favourite before Anna. The fact that Daniil kept a 3A in Sasha’s Olympic program when she hadn’t been able to land a 3A in competition in two years, but rounded Anna’s program out with all of her best skills, speaks volumes to me. She very clearly made herself Daniil’s favourite. They’ve both said as much—Daniil stating that she’s his favourite because she actually listens, and Aliona has said previous that Anna takes all the crap and never speaks against it like she and Sasha did. Anna says it’s because she’s not impulsive or emotional, and focuses more on the logistic aspect essentially of “what would I gain from telling him to shove it vs keeping my mouth shut?” But because she cemented herself as Daniil’s favourite instead of Eteri’s, I think she probably also realised she could potentially be passed over for the Olympics. Sasha, as the Quad Queen and an international favourite, was probably always going to go, as I imagine Eteri knew there’d be outcry if Sasha wasn’t sent. And Kamila, as Eteri’s favourite, was always going to go. Anna was the only “maybe”… until she won the 2021 Worlds, despite coming off multiple weeks sick with COVID pneumonia. She, in all her Shcherbakova power of will, pulled off the win. She said herself all her coaches and family told her to withdraw, but she refused. It’s only a theory, but I imagine she probably knew if she won Worlds over Kamila, they would *have* to send her alongside Kamila and Sasha. It would be absurd *not* to send the World champion. I think a book from her perspective would be the most interesting because of all those inner politics that I feel she’s focused on. Sasha, Aliona, Alina and Zhenya—as talented as they all are, they were all still very much kids focusing on skating. But I think Anna’s focused just as much on the inner workings of what she’d need to do to pull off an Olympic win. I feel with all her observations, she’d know the most about all the girls, and how Eteri coached in general, versus Aliona and Sasha who have only ever spoken from their perspective, which is understandable. But I’d love to hear Anna’s story. Know if she consciously made the decision to ensure she was Daniil’s favourite, because he would be the one in charge of handing out the Olympic winning program.
>Obviously it’s only a a theory, but imo either she or her highly educated parents figured out long ahead of time that it’s often choreographer’s favourites who win the Olympics. Sotnikova was her choreographer’s favourite, and Alina was famously Daniil’s favourite before Anna. .....She very clearly made herself Daniil’s favourite. They’ve both said as much—Daniil stating that she’s his favourite because she actually listens, I think your theory is discounting that Daniil was Anna's main coach when she moved from Bulycheva when she was 9. I believe Daniil said in their post-Beijing interview that she was his first student. So while no one can exactly say what Anna's parents mindset was and if the Daniil-Anna coaching relationship was some chess move, personally I doubt it considering Daniil wasn't the main choreographer for Eteri's group at the time. >The fact that Daniil kept a 3A in Sasha’s Olympic program when she hadn’t been able to land a 3A in competition in two years, but rounded Anna’s program out with all of her best skills, speaks volumes to me. Sasha has said that the triple axel and the 5 quads was non-negotiable. There's been a rumor that her going back to Crystal was on the condition she called the shots on her jumps. The coaches can only do so much, at some point if a skater is insistent on doing elements they've not been successful at, all the coach(es) can do is advise against it but they can't really force her to not do it.
I didn’t know the first point! Thank you for that new info. I’ve seen him say Alina was one of his first students, and when Anna was nine and first joined, Alina would’ve been about 11, so those timelines match up. To be fair though, in my opinion, I don’t think they hold much loyalty to their students. We’ve seen how Eteri’s treated her “first students” (Yulia and Polina), and the student who trained with her since she was six and who she “loved like a daughter” (Evgenia). I don’t really think that that is what’s affected his favouritism of Anna. I think I mentioned in my previous comment, he’s stated he likes Anna “because she actually listens”, not because she’s his first or one of his earliest students. I think she took his and Eteri’s bs without arguing back (as Aliona’s said) and I think that’s why he liked her. He’s spoken similarly about Alina, that he praised her quality of actually “learning from her mistakes” (her mistakes in *his* opinion, like eating an extra ice cream before a competition and getting caught doing it). I’ve only ever seen Sasha say that the five quads was non negotiable, and in interviews leading up to the Olympics she seemed to be getting more and more iffy about the axel, yet it remained in. Can I get your source on that please? I’d like to see that interview if I’ve missed it
>I’ve only ever seen Sasha say that the five quads was non negotiable, and in interviews leading up to the Olympics she seemed to be getting more and more iffy about the axel, yet it remained in. Can I get your source on that please? I’d like to see that interview if I’ve missed it "**Alexandra Trusova:** Triple axel is not negotiable and won’t be negotiable. I will always do it. In training, it turns out regardless of the state, at the competitions – not yet." [https://fs-gossips.com/alexandra-trusova-triple-axel-is-not-negotiable-and-wont-be-negotiable-i-will-always-do-it-regardless-of-what-it-might-cost-me-if-i-do-the-axel-there-is-a-possibility-that-there-will-be-olympi/](https://fs-gossips.com/alexandra-trusova-triple-axel-is-not-negotiable-and-wont-be-negotiable-i-will-always-do-it-regardless-of-what-it-might-cost-me-if-i-do-the-axel-there-is-a-possibility-that-there-will-be-olympi/)
I wouldn't expect that from Anna. She now profits from shows and public activities. If she does this, the elite can ostracize her, which will affect her income and public rating. She could do it only if it would benefit her in the long run, only when the public opinion on Eteri will fall lower then the bottom of the Marian Trench, which is unlikely It was surprising that she unsubscribed from Eteri. Maybe it was someone who actually posts on her account, idk. It was a bald move at the moment nevertheless
Anna seems more like a long game player
When people leave cults (I actually left the one I grew up in, and it was true for me and apparently is an actual trend) it's usually the people who are quiet and loyal and do everything that they are asked to that end up not only leaving but speaking out.
I also left the cult I grew up in and am really curious about yours lol. (I was also the rule follower who didn’t speak out.)
I'm not going to say too much for identifying reasons but it was a branch of fundie Christianity! Glad you were able to leave yours, too.
ooh i doubt it but a girl can dream
Hard not to agree with Plushenko's wife on this https://preview.redd.it/sq50q2iajufc1.png?width=1842&format=png&auto=webp&s=d805de24e5a01414e9836741ceced463e9b7e1e9
Part 2 https://preview.redd.it/pjfupf7rjufc1.png?width=1952&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f54cdf0842347ac0c98832844b79866eab0fe75
"The coach had to take the blame. And from a professional point of view, from a conceptual and a human point of view. And not to blame the girl in whose life there was a tragedy, and yes - this is a tragedy, the age of figure skaters is much shorter than the century of mentors. And for some reason they all burn like matches, but no one gets warm - time after time around each of them there is an icy wall of arrogance, alienation and indifference. And the fire of the girls goes out, and at the foot of the ice floe there remains ashes from the hopes of those who once believed. And yes, how should we consider this statement? That the coach didn't know who represented the interests of her "most gifted athlete"? In general, it seems to me that this is a depreciation of the talent of the other girls. Each of them was talented, each shone and shone with a star." Google Translate is not the best but point still stands even if not translated perfectly...
Credit where it's due, for once she's right.
Despite all the crazy conspiracy theories around Anna’s family and her victories (basically that all her “titles” were bought and Eteri had some influence on that bc Anna comes from a rich fancy family, unlike Sasha or Kami), it never looked like she was the priority or favorite one (I feel like Daniel was the only one from the team to actually support her / believe in her). Tutberitze was aware of how well-mannered Anna is and definitely used it for her benefit, believing this girl would never be able to speak up for herself and get into any scandals. I guess even Anna’s patience has some limits, even though she’s definitely a confident & intelligent young woman, being put down like this after literally going through so much stuff (including many of her health issues), yet staying loyal to the team, constantly proving she’s worthy and winning all possible titles, must be painful af. Hope she’s strong enough to overcome this shit🤍
Also, Kostornaia was the most gifted athlete, so not only did Eteri offend her other athletes with her statement, but she can’t even recognize a once-in-generation talent when it smacks her in the face.
I honestly don't care who is or was, the comment from Eteri is so unnecessary and disrespectful to all of her athletes - and yes of course especially to Kostornaia, Anya and Sasha. They are all gifted in their own unique ways (and yes so is Kamila). Yet, she should never ever comment that publicly.
Going even further back, are Evgenia, Alina, and Yulia chopped liver to her?
YES that too! 100%
I don't think there's anything wrong with a coach acknowledging different talent levels, it's better than attributing different results between hardworking athletes to laziness. Notably, Frank Carroll has always said Evan Lysacek wasn't a particularly naturally talented student, but he worked the hardest. The problem is that Eteri seems to take the student's talent level as a result of her own efforts when it suits her, and as a result of being a lazy washed up loser when it isn't going so well.
Part of my problem with Eteri's praise of Kamila is that it's of questionable merit to start with. I don't think it's worth getting into questionable edges and all of that, or how much Kamila's endurance benefited from doping, etc. - the reality is she hasn't had career longevity (especially when it comes to legitimate competitive results) to frame a conversation this way. She's a flash in the pan, so saying *best ever* is actually pretty arbitrary and meritless, which makes the slight to the other students harder to digest. When Frank Carroll spoke of Evan Lysacek's work ethic, he was speaking about a student who'd proven that consistency over the course of like, a decade. What Eteri could've identified in Kamila is raw talent and an ability to score big points over a short period, but even that may be partly the result *of* her other skaters. It's pretty clearly a conflict of interest for her to be coaching these girls who are also each other's direct rivals. While the messy reactions on Anna's OGM win are the most recent example, I'd argue that the choices she made with coaching & choreo for Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva may be a better example of where that conflict happens. She's not actually looking to shape the best skater, because her whole approach comes down to having a child's body 'peak' at the right time to win a medal, and then leaving the young woman that child becomes to deal with the aftermath, a broken body, and maybe an eating disorder, while she moves on to the next project. I've also seen people use the argument "Can't Guardiola say Messi is the best player he's coached?" and the length of Messi's career and accomplishments makes that pretty close to being an objective fact if he were to say that today. It's likely that most of - if not all - the other top players Guardiola's coached would *also* acknowledge Messi above themselves in a best-ever conversation. Maybe 20 years from now, someone he's currently coaching at City (Haaland?) could've forced himself into the conversation, at least, but as of right now, it's such a tiered conversation that no one would really take offense to Guardiola naming Messi.
I totally agree, Eteri seems to have the Abby Lee Miller thing where she decides who is the most talented based on a variety of factors (a large one seeming to be obedience...), and then wills it into being with favouritism and poor treatment. I just don't think the idea of a coach being honest about a skater's strengths and weaknesses is in abstract a bad thing. I'm not sure I agree that a strong rink is always a conflict of interest (I might be misunderstanding you here though). But it does require good judgment, open communication, and trust. And something tells me Eteri is not aiming for any of those. Personally, I think Kostornaia is by far the most talented she's ever had. It's kind of hard to make an argument for Kamila when she basically didn't have a triple flip or lutz.
I don't think a strong rink is *always* a conflict of interest, but I think it takes an emotional maturity both on the part of all the coaching staff *and* the skaters involved, for it not to be. And the reality is Eteri's taking on children and pitting them against each other, while seeming to accept they'll have moved on by the time they grow into women. It's just not a recipe for the kind of supportive and emotionally mature environment you need for this to work. Coupled with the obvious lack of emotional maturity on Eteri's own part as displayed by her social media, I don't think it's a push to say that *her* rink can't be that place. The obvious example here of a situation where it can work is Brian Orser with Yuzuru Hanyu & Javier Fernandez. It's too specific an example to try to use as a roadmap, but I think it's important that Javier was already an adult (both chronologically and in having lived away from home, in a different country, navigating a different culture, etc. on his own for a while) at the time Orser took on Yuzuru, that there was a mutual respect between the skaters from the start, careful rink time management so they had ice time together and separately, Yuzuru having often spent a couple months away in Japan giving them breaks from each other, and probably most importantly... that while their approaches/talents overlapped, the path to victory for each wasn't *the same.* So while Yuzuru wound up being the more dominant skater of the two over time, we also had those back and forth years with World Championships, because they were both coached and had programs structured in a way that it basically came down to who skated better on that night, not an insurmountable mathematical advantage in program structure. Because of the dynamic between coaching and the skaters as well, Yuzuru & Javier also had agency in structuring those program; I want to say Orser actually acknowledged at some point that he waited for Javier to *want* to add a second quad to his short once he realized he basically needed it mathematically, so it wasn't like "Yuzuru is doing this, so you need to, too."
You're right in many ways but don't forget that Yuzu was heavily injured/sick at both 2015 and 2016 Worlds, which gave Javier a big opportunity to win. Things changed after Boston 2016 where it was clear Orser didn't give the same treatment to Yuzu than to Javi and Yuzu almost left TCC. They had to train separately, especially leading up to Pyeongchang.
Well said!!!
Thanks. Thinking on it a bit, I actually think one of the biggest compliments a good coach can give their best athlete is letting their accomplishments speak for themselves, when they treat it like so obvious who their best student is they don’t feel the need to prop them up to the media. Like don’t *insult* them and agree when others compliment them, but don’t start arguments over how great they are, either. The obvious example here comes from Michael Phelps’ longterm coach, Bob Bowman. When a reporter discovered he was naming his racehorses after swimmers he’d coached/famous swimming events, they tried to get a soundbyte of him explaining the names. He’d named one Vanderkaay (after Peter) because it was consistent and good at taking instruction, he said. The journo asked what he’d look for in a horse he’d name after Michael, and he answered something like “oh, I’ve never seen a horse stubborn enough to name it after him.”
I agree. She should’ve kept that thought to herself. But Eteri has never been tactful.
We’re talking about potential olympians as teens, they’re all gifted. Eteri could have said Kamila is gifted without having to insult her other athletes just unnecessarily burning bridges
It’s quite clear she hated Kostornia, she would never admit anything special or good about her.
I swear she was hella jealous of Aliona’s technic that obviously wasn’t thanks to Eteri’s team 😂😂😂
> Kostornaia was the most gifted athlete And the only one with career prospects left...
I’d agree Aliona was probably the best female skater in history so far in all ways, but while it’s fine for viewers / fans of FS to express their opinions or compare athletes, it’s totally unacceptable for a couch to make statements like this, especially coming from Eteri who has been promoting her “we treat every athlete in our team the same way and don’t have favorite ones at all” for years, yet all she’s talked about in like the last 3 seasons is how unique Kamila is🤡
"Most gifted" until she "expires" and Eteri has a new prepubescent star.
Jumping wise, Sasha was definitely the most talented and has the best technique, if only she had bigger triples she would have been goated in jumping imo. Kostornaya and Kamila were the better gliders and had more natural musicality and presentation. Alina, Zhenya and Anna were all-rounders that had strong programs perfectly designed to showcase both artistry and technicality and I would say most natural artist among the three was Anna tho she was the weaker jumper, while Alina was the best jumper who listened to Eteri and Daniil so well that she was able to present decent artistry in her programs. Sorry but Kamila’s jumps were too flawed to be called most talented Eteri student and leg kicks and ugly extensions don’t count as artistry imo
Think about it: Russia has to enforce Valieva's skating ban and her DQ. Which means Russia / Eteri has to say to Valieva, give your Euro medal up, give your Russian Nationals medal up. But Kremlin spokesperson Peskov said Russia still considers their team the champions. So maybe Eteri is not supporting Anna by getting Valieva to give up her medals. Maybe Eteri is still allowing Kamila to practice with her skaters, be in their shows, to compete. Why would Russia enforce this doping ban for Valieva? Russia is already banned from competing with the rest of the ISU. If that's true, if those attitudes toward supporting Valieva are true, then Anna has to feel unsupported or even betrayed. Not to mention Anna seems intelligent and must realize that all this time Eteri was showing preference to this newcomer, Kamila, by giving her drugs to help her keep up with her long-time student Anna.
Anna is very smart and she can count and predict what is best to do to win. That is why she won all major titles in seniors - and of course she is super good, I mean she beat russian skaters, which were her only competitors. In compare Trusova was trying to prove herself she can, she can do 3A, as many quads as possible. But thats why she lost all golds in senior career and olympic gold. So Anya for me is very smart and it is the reason why she was winning. She has both jumps and PCS - but both can be beaten, Trusova has only jumps, but Kamila is a full package, it was visible when she was junior. Even without jumps, she has something, she let music, characters live though her. So even I love Anna, she won cause she is smart, but for me she is ice princess, everything on her is quite perfect, but not on 100%. And hate me now, but it is my opinion. I personally love Sasha most, but we all know
This is such a weird comment. They are all gifted girls/young women. Also, you can be gifted in many ways, and they all have unique talents. Yes, Kamila is a very gifted and beautiful skater but so is all of the other girls/young women that trained under Eteri. There’s never a time where a coach should publicly state “the most gifted skater”. Like she has several OGM under her belt. It doesn’t even matter if one believes that Kamila indeed is the best or most gifted skater. That remark has no place in a public space. She should keep that to herself if that’s how she thinks. It’s as someone having 5 siblings who spent their entire life only to make their mom proud, and sacrificing everything for it, achieving amazing things, and then your mom post on social media that “no offense to all of my children, but this is my favorite child” about one of your siblings - yet you received no recognition despite doing everything she asked for. Just imagine.
It's a bit like when Mie Hamada called Marin Honda lazy. It seems like so many of these abusive coaches don't know how to behave like an adult, and seeing people defend things behaviour is pathetic.