Evgenia Medvedeva

[Scott512]

I am very sad about this situation and should probably take some time outside. Maybe see back in a few months and find out what happened to Zhenya.

I'm sure it's not what she wanted. I won't believe what RusFed, Sambo, EG say and what Zhenya herself is made to say. For me the last true words from Zhenya were the ones she said at the tests skate “I want very, very much to go back to TCC with my coaches” and everything she said about Brian. Nobody changes like this in 2 days.

I appreciate that Brian has spoken about this, by his words we can know a little more about this situation.

She was pressured and without escape and RusFed took advantage of the situation. But I think it was even better to retire than to return there. Now I understand her physical deterioration and her weight loss in just a few days. She had a decision to make and it was consuming her.
I'm sure she didn't want to be separated from Brian. I think Brian knows a lot more than he said but he doesn't speak to protect her, he knows how difficult it must be for her. I had been critical with Brian for accepting Rika (although now I do not know if she will go with him) but everything he said yesterday made me realize that he really loves Zhenya and has taken care of her. Even in his words he even left the door open for her to come back to him.
Now I believe that the strong and confident Zhenya is gone. Not only she is injured, I think her body will not hold up, she is also broken inside and that is reflected in her appearance. Her smile is no longer the same and her eyes no longer shine. She looks like a living dead. She knew what it was like to be free in Canada. Train in a healthy environment and with coaches who took care of her. Now it won't be the same. I'm sure her heart is in pain today.

Sorry to be negative but I'm afraid this story doesn't end well. I am so sorry for her.

I wish that one day she can get back to Brian. That relationship was much more than coach/athlete. He cared for her like no one else did.

If Zhenya is broken mentally then shes back at the place where she was great and perhaps some of that mental toughness and clutch skating can be reborn. Its a crapshoot but one she is taking. And after she retires what is Sambo 70 uses her in promos and to recruit talent. She would have an income from that and shows and endorsements and eventually go into coaching there or somewhere else in Russia.

 

[mdl]

I'm still so shocked that I don't know what to say. Like everyone else here, I'm not happy at all about the news. And since it came out of the blue, I'm sure that RusFed forced her to return to ET. I feel so sorry for Zhenya. I don't have a good feeling about the whole situation. It won't end well. I also wonder what Eteri's intention is. I don't want Zhenya to return to this toxic environment, I want her to return to TCC where she's being respected and treated nicely.
@Fluture: As far as I understand Brian just said that her chronic back injury came from practising the Biellman spin too much (in the past) or did I miss anything.

To me Khrystal and ET suffered huge reputational loses with Sasha and Alena gone and all the media war and also in general are in crisis:

- on technical side seems they are unable to solve the problems with the jumps their skaters have (not sure if they try at all)
- choreography - we see same style, same movements, recycled secondary programs (Je Suis Juliette is unforgettable)
- they were left with Anna in seniors - to me Anna, with all her technical bugs, can not beat the new Sasha, not to mention Alena and I think Alena will recover with Pushenko, plus there will be a program from Shae-Lynn. In general so far Plushenko won their little war and by the way, he does very well. So there was a high possibility for ET to lose every major competition in this season, which would have be really big blow. As for Kamila, apart from the spins, I do not see anything really outstanding, on the contrary, plus puberty, instability, etc, but I bet that Bolero will be kept for next season too ....
- and here comes Zhenya in the picture – the prodigal child, not in form, but with the best programmes, with all her titles, with very high PCS scores, stuck and not able to return to Canada not only in near, but in mid-term future, with great sponsor contracts, shows (this is not insignificant at all), etc. And now ET has extra weapon, she will put all effort to return Zhenya’s stability and with combination with the PCS, she can fight the quad and 3A girls, since we see that stability there is not guaranteed at all, girls are growing
- last but not least - the possible increase of age limit by ISU,which will make huge difference, if implemented

 

[sailormoon]

Eteri Georgievna brought only Shcherbakova and Valieva to the Russian Test Skates. Some skaters left Sambo 70 for Plushenko, which gave Evgenia an opportunity to return to the former club. Zagiova's retirement may have played a part, too. It was also obvious that remote coaching via a cellphone did not work for Evgenia. It is a win-win situation for both parties. Evgenia can get some real coaching in Russia without travelling back to Canada and Sambo 70 got a star skater back after losing a few big names.

 

[mdl]

I heard that RusFed found out and blocked her transfer to St. Petersburg. In fact, Zhenya and the St Petersburg authorities never met. Plushenko appears to have offered help 2 times. Urmanov was another possibility. But RusFed and Sambo blocked all possibilities.

Brian even said there were 4 options. EG was not handled in any of them. Zhenya told him about EG on Monday. It is obvious that she was forced.

And I have to say something else. Tatiana Tarasova really seems very false to me. I'm sure she has something to do with this too.

Yes, Laishev actually admitted this - he said that the transfer was a result of the combined work and effort from Rus Fed and Sambo....So no any other options was possible...

Brian gave great interview and he is really Great Person. It is really sad that this had to end like that.

As for TAT, I'm sure she was aware...which side she took I don't know, but nowadays the really powerful figure is not TAT, but it is ET. Even the way she allowed herself to attack publicly TAT last year speak for itself...

 

[Maia96]

If Zhenya is broken mentally then shes back at the place where she was great and perhaps some of that mental toughness and clutch skating can be reborn. Its a crapshoot but one she is taking. And after she retires what is Sambo 70 uses her in promos and to recruit talent. She would have an income from that and shows and endorsements and eventually go into coaching there or somewhere else in Russia.

I am one of those who believe that not everything is money in life. If you are destroyed inside there is no money to compensate for that.

 

[lupina015]

They took advantage of Zhenyas' bad position to bring her back to Russia.

I don't know what happened behind closed doors, but seriously .... If Evgenia was sincere in what she told the public (and covid-19 didn't happen, obviously), there is NO WAY she'd go back to her old coaching team.

"Long overdue" - ok, why exactly?
Everything improved under Orser. The only thing that was missing were her inflated scores. I'm really curious about that part.

 

[Scott512]

I am one of those who believe that not everything is money in life. If you are destroyed inside there is no money to compensate for that.

Brian cost a lot of money. If Zhenya gets better on the ice the Fed will cover everyhthng. EG has clout and can protect her and possibly get her mind right. Zhenya being stuck in Japan for a few months and being ridiculued for that worldwide had to hurt. Also not making show money this offseson had to hurt her and many other skaters. Her show money covered Brian as a coach then Covid hit made things so tough for her.

Where was she supposed to go for a coach Maiia? She was not leaving Moscow. She cant go back to Canada for several months. So its TT part 2 like it or not. Its her decision. But if Covid went away months ago she would be back at TCC. Its been the craziest year I can remember in figure skating and life.

 

[Scott512]

They took advantage of Zhenyas' bad position to bring her back to Russia.

I don't know what happened behind closed doors, but seriously .... If Evgenia was sincere in what she told the public (and covid-19 didn't happen, obviously), there is NO WAY she'd go back to her old coaching team.

"Long overdue" - ok, why exactly?
Everything improved under Orser. The only thing that was missing were her inflated scores. I'm really curious about that part.

Hopefully the Eteri bounce will come back for Zhenya.

This is a great coaching opportunity for EG. I think Zhenya will have more say that was a sticking point in 2018 and I think Zhenya will be able to say no to Eteri in ways that she could not before. Zhenya is a woman now. An adult. EG wont be able to just roll over her like before.

 

[anonymoose_au]

I heard that RusFed found out and blocked her transfer to St. Petersburg. In fact, Zhenya and the St Petersburg authorities never met. Plushenko appears to have offered help 2 times. Urmanov was another possibility. But RusFed and Sambo blocked all possibilities.

Brian even said there were 4 options. EG was not handled in any of them. Zhenya told him about EG on Monday. It is obvious that she was forced.

And I have to say something else. Tatiana Tarasova really seems very false to me. I'm sure she has something to do with this too.

This is so sad! Sima is such good friends. Zhenya, it would have been lovely for them to train together.

Plus I'm terrified for Zhenya's back, for someone who had to retire due to a back injury of her own, Eteri seems to have no insight into how bad they can be.

Yes! I've heard TAT is not to be messed with, but I never thought she'd be this... horrible. 6 months back she didn't have a single good word for Eteri and now it looks like she arranged Med's return to her. The mind boggles! She was so positive about Brian O too, clearly her opinion can't be trusted, she can turn on you any minute. (Don't get me started on that photo of her and Liza T and earlier this month her and Alina Z - two girls she's been utterly horrible to, the nerve!)

I hope Zhenya doesn't lose too many fans in the wake of this, but I'm not optimistic.

I hope she can make it though, you can't doubt Zhenya's determination. Davai to her!

 

[Jeanie19]

I hope Zhenya doesn't lose fans over this. I'm sure this is a very hard time for her, she needs our support.

And it might be good to heal her relationship with Eteri. They trained together for 11 years.
She has a beautiful friendship with Jason and Brian. She got to enjoy a different culture for 2 years.
When the pandemic is over and ice shows are back, she can reassess things then.

Also, the dance instructor, I forget his name, has always said nice things about her, she can enjoy those dance lessons.
She's friendly with Moris and Polina T. It's not all gloom.
It's shocking and it's sad, but corona virus changed everything.

 

[Lunalovesskating]

I hope Zhenya doesn't lose fans over this. I'm sure this is a very hard time for her, she needs our support.

And it might be good to heal her relationship with Eteri. They trained together for 11 years.
She has a beautiful friendship with Jason and Brian. She got to enjoy a different culture for 2 years.
When the pandemic is over and ice shows are back, she can reassess things then.

Also, the dance instructor, I forget his name, has always said nice things about her, she can enjoy those dance lessons.
She's friendly with Moris and Polina T. It's not all gloom.
It's shocking and it's sad, but corona virus changed everything.

I have seen a lot of support for Zhenya so far, despite many being sad, everyone adored Brian and Tracy Many undestand that Evgenia was stuck in Russia with no way of returning to Canada anytime soon and therefore had to make some difficult and important choices for her career due to this, I can't even imagine the stress and pressure she must have felt while being alone without her coach in Russia. I hope the support stays that way.
The only few (and I emphasize few) people I saw who were angry at Zhenya were people who never even liked Zhenya's skating. I literally saw someone post a few weeks ago on Twitter saying he does not like Zhenya's skating and only stans her because she left Eteri and then yesterday he posted that he thinks about unstanning because of that coaching switch and to that I can only say: "Please close the door on your way out! Good riddance!"
I became a fan of Zhenya, because I love her skating, I love her personality, I did not become a fan because she was coached by a certain coach, so this switch does not change my love for her.

 

[Scott512]

I dont understand some thinking Zhenya will lose many fans because she went back to TT and EG. What was she supposed to do? Keep performing at the test skate level? This was Zhenyas only move. The pandemic changed her career and she had to make this big decision on the fly. I hope it works.

Wasnt everyone here a fan of Zhenya in 2018 at the olympics and not a fan of Eteri? Well it can be that way again. Poor Zhenya takes a beating no matter what she does. Leave EG. fly to Japan return to EG to try to find some skating hope. I dont know how she handles it all.

Michelle and Tara were lucky they were great long before social media and skating forums.

 

[Lunalovesskating]

Ekaterina Bobrova gave an interview about Zhenya's coaching change. Medvedevanation translated a few parts of the interview

 

[Sherkane]

Zhenya would be still in the same situation she is now if she hadn't flown to Japan. She still would have to travel to Russia for the Russian Cups and then would be stuck there due to Canadian borders being closed. Nothing would be different.

Would she have travelled to Russia for the Russian Cups, with no possibility to return? It is all speculation on my side, but I don’t think so. She could have negotiated to stay in Canada and have her participation to Nationals evaluated based on her performance on the Grand Prix circuit, hence postponing the need leave Canada by a few months.

It seems to me that her first priority is training under the guidance of a coach and getting healthy. She has withdrawn from the 1st Russian Cup after all, so she may not even be eligible for Nationals this year. Unless RussFed pulls an exception, which is completely doable.

 

[Dmitryfromsiberia]

Поехала бы она в Россию на чемпионат России, без возможности вернуться? Это все предположения с моей стороны, но я так не думаю. Она могла бы договориться о том, чтобы остаться в Канаде и оценить свое участие в национальных чемпионатах на основе ее выступления на трассе Гран-при, отсюда отложить необходимость покинуть Канаду на несколько месяцев.

Мне кажется, что ее первоочередная задача - тренироваться под руководством тренера и поправляться. Она все-таки снялась с 1-го Кубка России, так что, возможно, в этом году она даже не сможет попасть в национальный чемпионат. Если только RussFed не сделает исключение, что вполне выполнимо.

 

[Dmitryfromsiberia]

I think Zhenya will perform at two stages of the Russian Cup. There will be a postponement of one Cup stage to a later date.

 

[Greengemmonster]

If I for one moment thought this was Zhenya's decision, based on complete freewill, sure it would have been puzzled me, but I would have felt at ease about it.

As it stands I am convinced some shady stuff went down. I will always support Zhenya and wish her the best but I'm so so so worried about her.

 

[Vandevska]

I became a fan of Zhenya, because I love her skating, I love her personality, I did not become a fan because she was coached by a certain coach, so this switch does not change my love for her.

This.

 

[Maia96]

Ekaterina Bobrova gave an interview about Zhenya's coaching change. Medvedevanation translated a few parts of the interview

Bobrova is another who knows more than she says.
But it confirms that I am absolutely convinced that Zhenya was forced.

By the way, according to what many fans are saying, the song that Zhenya played on the ukulele on Monday that she wanted us to discover is called hostage. For me it is very clear.

 

[fabienne1996]

Would she have travelled to Russia for the Russian Cups, with no possibility to return? It is all speculation on my side, but I don’t think so. She could have negotiated to stay in Canada and have her participation to Nationals evaluated based on her performance on the Grand Prix circuit, hence postponing the need leave Canada by a few months.

It seems to me that her first priority is training under the guidance of a coach and getting healthy. She has withdrawn from the 1st Russian Cup after all, so she may not even be eligible for Nationals this year. Unless RussFed pulls an exception, which is completely doable.

She would have still had to go to Russia for the Russian cups, do you really think rusfed would have made an exception for her.? And the granprix circuit its not really one this year, its only one event, and withdrawn doesntmean she doesn't get another event later on, many have withdrawn from the first stage, I think like with the junior gp last year that they can take another event later on.