Evgenia Medvedeva

[gonewiththewind25]

I'm actually quite okay with the way Zhenya did here. I think that there were so many positives as yoloaxel mentioned we could take from this competition. The thing that stood out to me most though, is how much of a fighter she is. It's really not easy to get back into skating after being off the ice for 4 MONTHS and moving to a new country, a new coach and a new training environment and for her to have even done as much as she did in this competition is quite commendable to me. I think that the issues with stamina will sort themselves out as she spends more time training and going through the program more than she has had the chance to. Also, the fact that she didn't win here seems like a non-issue to me because the mistake on the spin was quite silly. She seems a lot happier as a person and I think she connects with Brian and Tracy which is really important to her skating as well. The programs are also a work in progress for sure, the transitions will come in soon! There were negatives from the programs for sure, including the fact that she wasn't quite her usual self in terms of emoting but maybe thats down to the newness of the programs. Overall, I wouldn't be too worried but these are just my two cents!

 

[Artemisa]

Like SP .. I Think this FP isn't finish yet... she isn't ready .... give the girl some time ...of course gold here will please some minds but isn't the end of the world

 

[bubblecherry]

https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/s...gn=news-owned_medvedevaInterviewAutumClassics

Zhenya about her programs and competition!

It's good to know that she's really happy and optimistic! We should be too!!

 

[Watch]

Another interview: https://mrsport.ria.ru/interview/20180922/1142324747.html

I don't know if anyone wants to make a full translation, it's very insightful. I can do it later if noone does it first. The most unexpected part: Zhenya had serious troubles with her SP dress and her and Tracy basically redid it themselves in the changing room before the competition, trimming the skirt and cutting off gemstones, because it tured out too heavy We can expect a different dress for the GP.

Zhenya admits that she was exptremely nervous and had wobbling feet for the SP, sounds very collected and optimistic for the future, knows what she wants to change about herself, knows it won't be easy and is highly motivated. Also, they're working a hard to correct the edge on her lutz and she also mentions the axel. She notes, that one can never forget that old mistakes always creep back first when you're nervous, which is what happened here.

 

[Jeanie19]

Woke up, saw the results, got a bit upset, calmed down, thought I was being ridiculuos, watched the program

Well, it's clear she wasn't at her best at all, I liked the program a lot better in the training video from the day before. Here, there wasn't much of a tango mood present and she even got out of sync with the music for a bit. BUT I'm still very impressed how fast she got her jumps back, after a rather long pause in her training and with all the new changes. Despite that one fall in the end, her jumps looked solid overall and that's good news. More good news is that, like I said, I saw that she already could deliver on the tango mood in training, so she's going to do it in competition as well. It's a work in progress, everything's new, she's doing fine.

And there's really no shame in losing to Bradie, who's on an upswing (and I'm currently almost sure is going to stand on the Worlds podium this season). It's an experience and I hope Zhenya won't be too hard on herself about it. There's always a steep learning curve when you change your training environment so drastically.

I'm not a fan of Bradie. But she is U.S. #1 and her sp is good. She is not a B skater and she will be a force this season. And this competition will spur Evgenia forward.

 

[Vandevska]

She done 3Lo without problem at practices so I guess she was tired at the second half of the program
She looks healthier but I am not sure that her stamina is as good as before yet
Her spins are not good both at test skates and ACI - maybe they don't work on spins much and wait to fix her back/ spine
I want her to have a long sport life , I am ok with progress that taking time
The above was my brain is making sense
My heart wants her to win every competition she enters, crashes every record - which is none at the moment thanks to isu-

Yeah I agree about the stamina part. I remember those first years of Yuzu looking like he's dying at the end of the program, it might be a TCC thing together with being away for a few months ^^

 

[Jeanie19]

I don't want to comment performance because I believe everything was said already (I may only add that she performed better than I had expected before the competition).

I wouldn't panic about pcs. ACI was always this kind of competition where skaters are judged really harsh unless they are Kaetlyn Osmond. If she was at Lombardia I doubt she would receive any edge call and her composition scores would be solid 9s

I know. I wanted her at Lombardia. She needs that competition next year.

 

[bubblecherry]

I'm not a fan of Bradie. But she is U.S. #1 and her sp is good. She is not a B skater and she will be a force this season. And this competition will spur Evgenia forward.

Not only that but she has great tech content. She does multiple 3Lz3Lo. She's likely going to be on top this season along with a few Russian and Japanese ladies. With losing, now Zhenya knows what she needs to work on to be able to overcome people with greater tech content. Most importantly, she seems happy, optimistic, and pragmatic going forward so I'm confident she will do what she needs to do this season.

 

[qwerty1195]

The amount of people on this forum expecting Zhenya to be back on top condition after having a broken foot (being off ice for months post-Olympics), switching coaches, choreographers, and living situation astounds me. It's only been a few months for crying out loud.

She only had a few months to start rebuilding: getting new programs, retooling her jumps, spins, skating skills, etc.

Anyways, I see potential in her programs if she gets it together.

 

[silverfoxes]

The amount of people on this forum expecting Zhenya to be back on top condition after having a broken foot (being off ice for months), switching coaches, choreographers, and living situation astounds me. It's only been a few months for crying out loud.

Anyways, I see potential in her programs if she gets it together.

She is being held to an impossibly high standard. You'd think she had a complete disaster like poor Wakaba or Polina's FS today. In what universe is 208 a failure?

 

[Mrs. P]

58.75 TES is light years off from her norm before the injury. She is clearly still in her rebuilding phase leading towards more important competitions. This said the choreography needs more work IMO, too much simple stroking, it ought to be more intricate.

I think her TES was like 66+ something? Where did you get that number?

 

[NoviceFan]

I was thinking why would she enter a competition this early, when clearly she’s not ready - started training late, moved halfway across the globe to train under a new coach, recovered/recovered from an injury. Surely, her team’s goal was not to win (by that if she did, then they’ll take it). The goal was something else, maybe to try out what will and what will not work, practice the jumps they’re working on in a competitive setting, get used to competing, or maybe all of the above. I’m not used to her not being in top form - but a new and better one will emerge. She has always had the “it” factor that differentiates her from other skater. Hope her has good progress between now and her next competition.

 

[NoviceFan]

Braidie came prepared, but I’m not too worried about her. Her top form (her skate yesterday) still does not come close to Evgenia’s top form. But the improved Braidie does make the competition more exciting.

 

[MGstyle]

I think her TES was like 66+ something? Where did you get that number?

sorry I had read the sheet wrong - still low for her standard though.

 

[Mrs. P]

I thought of something...

When I started running again after giving birth to my daughter more than three years ago, it was a virtual reset. One of the things people told me when I started up again is to not get hung up on "what I did before" and that it's about working on where I am now.

I'm proud to say that after a lot of hard work, I'm back and even better than I was before I gave birth.

Zhenya needs to remember that. She is working on where she is now, not where she was before or chasing her past results.

ETA: Granted I wasn't anywhere near the elite level Zhenya was, but I think the same principles apply.

 

[melgirl25]

Back injuries are also tough for a skater as there is so much twisting of the torso and leg extension - all of that puts strain in the back especially if injury is still in an early stage of recovery. Hard to avoid doing this in skating.

 

[carmina]

Another interview: https://mrsport.ria.ru/interview/20180922/1142324747.html

I don't know if anyone wants to make a full translation, it's very insightful. I can do it later if noone does it first. The most unexpected part: Zhenya had serious troubles with her SP dress and her and Tracy basically redid it themselves in the changing room before the competition, trimming the skirt and cutting off gemstones, because it tured out too heavy We can expect a different dress for the GP.

Zhenya admits that she was exptremely nervous and had wobbling feet for the SP, sounds very collected and optimistic for the future, knows what she wants to change about herself, knows it won't be easy and is highly motivated. Also, they're working a hard to correct the edge on her lutz and she also mentions the axel. She notes, that one can never forget that old mistakes always creep back first when you're nervous, which is what happened here.

thanks for the link..
I was wondering why it seems little odd...

 

[bubblecherry]

sorry I had read the sheet wrong - still low for her standard though.

Her TES is about 13 points off from the Olys. About 10 points off from early last season. ~7 (?) of which could be made up if she simply went clean and got all of her levels. The other would have to come from higher GOEs, which will probably come slowly with time as she gets into better form. There's also a difference in backloading. She used to backload 5 jumps and now she can only do 3.

Let's not worry. She knows what she needs to do.

 

[Coryocris]

She is being held to an impossibly high standard. You'd think she had a complete disaster like poor Wakaba or Polina's FS today. In what universe is 208 a failure?

It's just people underestimating what moving to a new country is like. When I moved abroad I was so nervous that I missed my period FOR FOUR MONTHS. If that happens to a regular person... a top athlete with injuries before moving. People need to be more conscious before talking so lightly about losing form.

Her SP was better, I get it, but the FS was not that bad either. And she knows that this is improvement year, so we all should calm down and trust her.

 

[Persimmons]

A translation of her new Vaits interview is here.

The micro-objectives bit is what we expected, one step at a time. I don't expect we'll actually see major changes until the end of the season or even next season. There's no reason to push her body to peak again so soon. We have to be patient... although granted it's easier said than done when it's your fav.

One particularly interesting part from the translation:

-Was it easier to correct a double axel than a lutz?

- I would say that this jump just required a different approach. We tried various options - with a raised hand, without a hand, eventually found a position that was the most comfortable for me. And it went well. Well, yes, I flew a little bit in different directions in training at first, but successful attempts are becoming more and more often. If the problem sometimes appears, it has the same nature as lutz: old mistakes return when I get tired or under pressure.​

EDIT: I thought this was already in her FF but TAT and Averbukh are also supporting her these days, too! They gave some quotes, translation here, to the Russian media. TAT is dramatic with her figures of speech as always.