How so? What is different than if Medvedeva was still competing next week? Is her injury bad?
I believe it´s about building points for the Olympics. If Alina wins the GPF, then her reputation gains a boost, so that she automatically gets more points in PC´s. PC´s are what holds her back right now, compared to Evgenia.
In my opinion, while not wrong, it´s not a given. Adelina always lost to Yulia and yet won gold at the Olympics. If you skate rock solid at the biggest event of your career, then no judge can deny you the gold. I also think that Wakaba has that Sotnikova underdog thing, don´t count her out.
The gold for Russian skaters is not yet secure.