The Tutberidze Effect | Page 17 | Golden Skate

The Tutberidze Effect

Edwin

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Jan 5, 2019
Daniil Gleikhengauz: “It seems to me, first of all, the trainers needed to step over the barrier in their heads that girls can do quadruples”

Daniil Gleikhengauz, trainer and choreographer of the group Eteri Tutberidze after the Grand Prix finals, answering questions from foreign journalists, commented on the performances of the wards in Turin, explained what were the prerequisites for the development and execution of their quadruple jumps, talked about his love for ballet and the creation of new programs.

-- Alyona Kostornaya won the senior Grand Prix finals, as a year ago the junior final in Vancouver. What can you say about her performance in Turin?

- Alyona deservedly won the Gold medal. She cleanly performed two programs. She was great in choreography. She showed that you can score huge points and set world records with the content she has.

We will continue to work. One must progress anyway. Let's wait and see, if there is an opportunity, we will start learning the quadruples. It’s hard to talk about this while the season is going on, because there’s no time for it, and the risk of injury is too high.

-- Another student of your group Anna Shcherbakova became the Silver medalist. How do you rate her skating runs?

- In Turin, Anya has so far had her best performance in the short program. She set a personal record, so there were no questions about the short program, except that she needs to add a triple Axel to the program.

As for the free, for the first time we went for a quadruple Flip. We knew it was a risk, already skating a program with two quadruple Lutz’s, to achieve a clean performance. We discussed this, and Anya herself wanted to raise her difficulty and try a new quadruple. Indeed, where to try, if not at the Grand Prix finals? Try and take risks.

Ahead of the Russian championship and, God forbid, the main starts - it is necessary to skate out a more complex routine. Therefore, I congratulate Anya on how she coped with the new version of her free program and at the same time received very good components, which allowed her to take second place.

-- Aleksandra Trusova won the bronze medal, performing five (!) quadruple jumps in the free program, which is beyond the power of many men.

- Sasha went to the triple Axel in her short program. We only recently taught her to, and while the stability of execution leaves much to be desired. It was such a risk-risk, but this is Sasha! Therefore, there is even nothing to discuss. It is impossible to dissuade Sasha from not jumping something more difficult.

We understand: the goal is the Olympics, and preparations for it are already underway. The sooner Sasha starts to skate on that content and those programs that she wants to show there, the easier it will be for her at the right time.

Skating a free program with five quadruples - it's hard to say something about this. Although Yuzuru Hanyu and Nathan Chen have shown that it is possible to jump five quads in one program at a high level. Sasha in Turin did not get the quadruple Salchow - she made a “butterfly” and lost 10-12 points.

Such a number of quads is always a risk. One mistake and you are third, one good exit and you are first. This is what adds interest. Of course, maybe at the most important moment we can control the number of quads to the end so that Sasha gets the maximum result. But while she is growing up, progressing, she wants to do it, and it is impossible to stop a person in his desire to develop.

-- Alina Zagitova perfectly performed her short program, and made mistakes in her free one. What do you think happened?

- These were two days of completely different emotions.

We were very proud of Alina after her short program, because she showed the perfect combination of all the elements in er skating from jumps to sequences, spins. In addition, she emotionally conveyed what I wanted to see in this production. And the opposite happened in her free program ...

It’s hard for me to say what happened with Alina inside, before and after the skating run, because the emotions an athlete experiences from victories or defeats cannot be felt by other people. We can only support Alina and be with her at this difficult moment. Alina is a person with a strong character.

-- Another skater of your group Daniil Samsonov won Bronze at the first junior Grand Prix final in his career. This athlete impresses beyond his years as a serious and mature person. This is true?

- Danya is distinguished by his attitude to business, training. He is always collected and serious. It's hard to get a smile from him. But it’s good for work. Dani has a goal. Clearly, we are talking about the Olympics. And he approaches his goal. He is still a young athlete. The first year, the first season performing in the juniors at international level.

Unfortunately, in the short program, Dania made a mistake on the triple Axel, although he can skate out this program cleanly and gain very good points. In Turin, of course, this was not enough for the overall result. There were errors in his free program. We lost one cascade. And the fact that he took 3rd place with such skating runs, I think, is still a good result.

Next we will prepare for the National Championship. In Turin, we skated with one quadruple, in training with two - Lutz and Flip. It just needs to be skated out to be more stable.

-- The girls of your group, American Alysa Liu, our Lisa Tuktamysheva, Japanese women, jump in their programs quadruple jumps and triple Axels. In your opinion, what caused this phenomenon in women's skating?

- It seems to me that, first of all, the trainers needed to step over the mental barrier in their heads that girls can do quadruples. The whole question was that we never saw this. Yes, there were isolated cases, but no one thought it was necessary, was possible. And the main difficulty was to mentally cross this line. Now we see it is quite real, already some do it. Not only in Russia. And this suggests that we pushed the whole world towards development, and the world answered us. There are more and more rivals, owning the same quadruple jumps. This progress cannot be stopped.

I think now it will become commonplace, as was the case with the boys. After all, before, the boys jumped a triple Axel, then a quadruple Toeloop, and this went on for quite some time. At best, two quad Toeloops jumped.

Then Timothy Gable jumped the quadruple Salchow. Then Brendan Mroz performed the quadruple Lutz. And those who jumped the quadruples thought: “Since we are jumping Salchow, why can't we Lutz?” Lutz is easier for many than
Salchow. And the boys began to jump other quads, not just Toeloops. The number of quadruple jumps in programs has increased.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the same thing happened in women's figure skating. The number of athletes who jump the triple Axel has increased. Now we come to the fact that a girl who begins to engage in figure skating, for her, these jumps become the norm. She sees a competition where athletes jumps quadruples and Axels with three and a half turns. And the girl goes to training with the thought that she also wants to jump quadruple.

It just happened a jump that was supposed to happen, because the difficulty in women's single skating has already “stagnated”.

Of course, it was hard to accept, because we didn’t see female figure skating in this form before. But for young people who come and stgart in figure skating, after some time it will seem strange that once the girls did not jump fours.

-- So, to a greater extent this is a matter of psychology?

- Yes, just the trainers themselves were not ready to accept it. And athletes, by the way, too. Now our athletes are calm about the very idea of ​​studying quadruples and triple Axels. And then there is no such thing that we go on a jump from the first attempt. We trained for a long time on the fishing rod, with protection, physically, but it was still scary. Any attempt at a quadruple is a risk. But, as practice shows, you can get injured while off ice, anytime, anywhere. Therefore, when studying complex jumps, one must always be focused, control everything so that the athlete does not go into complex elements against a background of fatigue and so on. But this is the work of the trainers ...

No matter what they say, quadruples in girls are becoming the norm. And everyone will strive to jump difficult jumps.

-- But there are people who say it is dangerous. Although earlier they said the same thing when women started riding horses or bicycles, for example.

- If we talk about figure skating, the issue of height and weight plays a role. If the boy’s height is 180 and weight is 70, and he jumps quads, then the average height of the girl is 160 and weight is 50. And the girl can also make this jump. Moreover, the girls are more stretched, soft, flexible, and when your body is well prepared, the muscles are elastic, the probability of injuries is less.

Look at Yuzuru, how his ligaments and muscles are perfect when he “explodes” into a jump and completely relaxes them afterwards. Even when he falls, it is often seen how much he softens the fall by relaxing.

-- Like a cat.

- Yes, like a cat. Therefore, I do not understand the reasons for this outrage, why girls should not jump quadruple jumps. Now Lisa Tuktamysheva has shown everyone: if you have the proper technique, you can jump triple Axels and learn a quadruple at any age. With the possibilities of pushing off and twisting that Lisa has, if she had set a goal from childhood to learn quadruples, if it was necessary during that period of her career, then she could’ve jump all five quads. But maybe four, with the exception of the Rittberger. It was simply not necessary at that time, and Lisa did not learn these jumps. And now she started to learn and it turned out that she could jump them.

-- Moreover, as you said, for girls with their height and weight - this is less traumatic than with the guys.

- Naturally. In addition, girls are much more attentive to how to approach this process. They will always stretch their legs, make the necessary massages, never be too lazy, run, warm up, cool down, so their body will be restored after exercise. Boys are more likely to “forget” this. On my own I remember: 5 minutes and I was off. And the next day, my muscles cramped, went into a complex element, jerked slightly and got a microtrauma.

Therefore, it is very important after any workout to completely relax the body - stretch, massage, procedures ...

After such a recovery, the next day you can start the same training loads and the risk of injury will be minimal.

-- Your mother was a ballerina at the Bolshoi Theater, why didn’t you follow in her footsteps, didn’t you choose ballet?

- Because from the age of four I was engaged in figure skating, and in ballet they’re only taking from seven. By that time, I had been skating for three years and did not want to leave. I cried and screamed that I won’t go to ballet. Although my mother took me to figure skating with the aim that I should prepare for entering a ballet school.

-- Your mother Lyudmila Shalashova recently passed away. And you staged an exhibition program for Alina Zagitova in memory of your mother. Can you tell me how this idea was born?

- The demonstration program that Alina performed at the Sapporo Grand Prix is ​​dedicated to my mother, who left us more than a month ago ... This number was born to me 3 days after everything happened. I came to training and told Alina that I had such an idea. Alina asked: “Would you like to perform this number yourself?” It was very nice of her, but I still decided to convey my feelings, emotional feelings, through Alina and thank her very much for agreeing. This number symbolizes a new life, something natural, connected with nature, beautiful, understandable to people. This one is like rebirth, bright memories. It was so easier for me to bear and survive the bereavement.

-- How did your mother help Alina?

- Mum was engaged in choreography with our entire group. She practiced all the programs in the dance hall — each hand, each gesture. She worked a lot with Alina in the Olympic season on the Black Swan and Don Quixote. She was very close with Alina, and Alina gave my mother a birthday kitten, who now lives with me. Kitty has grown. Its character is very similar to Alina ...

Alina had a trusting relationship with my mother. And for Alina, my mother’s departure was a heavy blow, as for all the athletes in our group.

-- Excuses for bringing back those emotions ... Tell me, you didn’t do ballet, but do you like ballet?

- Of course. How can a ballet not be liked? It’s just that my life is closely connected with figure skating, and it seems to me that we, skaters, have a little more opportunities than in ballet. Using ice, skates, you can do a little more than on the floor.

-- Do you have a favourite choreographer in ballet?

- Maurice Bejart.

-- Why him?

- Because he has this peculiar and special choreography. I try to do something different in my programs and in my work. Each choreographer should have his own style. And in order to be remembered, he must do what no one has done before him.

-- There are a lot of students in your group, how do you manage to stage different programs for everyone?

- This is the most difficult. I am ready to appeal to musicians to write more new music faster, because from many composers such as Max Richter, Dario Marianelli, I used almost all of their compositions. They need to work faster, because we stage a lot of new programs, and they write new music slowly.

Of course, I make programs together with Eteri Georgiyevna. For so many programs, a huge number of ideas are needed.

-- Thank you and good luck.
----
from: https://fsrussia.ru/intervyu/4820-d...to-devochki-mogut-prygat-chetvernye.html?sl=1
 
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Casual

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 26, 2018
I have no idea if the girls are starving themselves, but I don't blindly buy the "naturally thin - genetics" explanation, especially after the whole Julia mess. Time will tell.

If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it may be genetically a swan... but most likely, it's a duck.
 

Casual

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 26, 2018
As for "body-shaming" argument... The original fight against "body-shaming" was meant to protect human health by stopping unhealthy dieting etc. in the name of thinness or "beauty". What this forum does is the opposite, when it attacks those who are naturally worried about what looks like unnatural (drug or diet induced?) thinness of some of the athletes - it effectively validates unhealthy attitudes in the name of some "perfect" goal, because it shuts up any and all concerns about possible starvation or doping of athletes, most of whom are very young people and deserve our genuine concern.

The original call against "body-shaming" was meant to stop those perfectionist attitudes which shamed natural imperfect bodies, and usually larger sizes, and thus resulted in unnatural dieting, plastic surgery, and grievous harm to health, because they made people want to conform to what a "perfect" (usually "thin and beautiful") body should look like.

Accusations of "body-shaming", thrown whenever a concern is raised over what looks like not a genetic, but a drug or diet induced stunted physical development or extreme thinness, is a perversion of what the original "body-shaming" argument was meant to achieve, because it shields what might be a cause of grievous harm to health from public scrutiny.
 

Casual

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 26, 2018
A) I’m not russian
B) stereotyping Russians is horrible
C) you can’t own up to your own words

A) Nationality and mentality is not the same thing. Also, non-Russian-speakers are usually pretty clueless about the 200+ ethnicities of FSU, so forgive them their confusion about who is and isn't "Russian" in terms of self-identification of those they would consider "Russian". :biggrin:
B) Yes, totally. Every stereotype is hurtful, since it denies individuality and usually stresses the most negative common traits. Everyone would like to be a not "stereotypical whatever".
C) See A.
 

SkatingFan9

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 13, 2019
If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it may be genetically a swan... but most likely, it's a duck.


Yes, yes...all people look alike. Someone simply cannot be naturally thin. They must be starving themselves (or even doping). Unless you are a doctor and have personally evaluated them, you should be quiet.
 

SkatingFan9

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 13, 2019
None of this is about you being concerned for anyone’s health. Just be honest: this is about you throwing doping and/or starving accusations around (without any real evidence or proof) only because you are angry that certain skaters from a certain country are winning everything and you don’t like it. So, you are trying to discredit their results and everything they worked for as being achieved the ‘unnatural’ way.

What you are doing is also the very definition of body-shaming. Not every person looks the same or is built alike. Some people are just naturally thin. Some people have difficulty putting on weight no matter how much they eat. For you to disparage their appearance under the guise that you are merely “worried” is disgusting.
 

KatGrace1925

Medalist
Joined
Apr 4, 2016
I think some have real concern because of past issues, but I also think there is a fine line in how concerns are expressed. These are young girls, they could genetically be small or eating very little. It actually is frustrating for people who are naturally slender and tiny to be accused of having eating disorders, my sister was put in counseling in college because the girls around her thought she had an eating disorder because she was naturally very thin. She had no such issues but it caused her a lot of stress that everyone seemed to think that about her. I'm glad these girls likely do not study english or browse these forms cause the conversation could be damaging if seen and it's not something that's really happening.
 

Casual

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 26, 2018
Yes, yes...all people look alike. Someone simply cannot be naturally thin. They must be starving themselves (or even doping). Unless you are a doctor and have personally evaluated them, you should be quiet.

"You should be quiet" may sound appropriate in North Korea, but not on English-speaking board.
 

Casual

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 26, 2018
None of this is about you being concerned for anyone’s health. Just be honest: this is about you throwing doping and/or starving accusations around (without any real evidence or proof) only because you are angry that certain skaters from a certain country are winning everything and you don’t like it. So, you are trying to discredit their results and everything they worked for as being achieved the ‘unnatural’ way.

What you are doing is also the very definition of body-shaming. Not every person looks the same or is built alike. Some people are just naturally thin. Some people have difficulty putting on weight no matter how much they eat. For you to disparage their appearance under the guise that you are merely “worried” is disgusting.

When you hear behind your neighbors' closed doors the sounds of crashing furniture, shouts and cries - do you keep silent because maybe they're just playing, or do you try to find out if maybe the husband is killing the wife? Keep silent - she may end up dead.

There's a public benefit in discussing these issues. If the choice is "a little girl may be naturally extremely thin" vs. "a little girl may have been starved and/or drugged", it's not noble to keep silent and never raise any concerns, just in case it's unusual genetics. Because if you're wrong, and it's not genetics after all, community's silence aids and abets the cycle of abuse.

Just as calling police over a possibly battered wife - there's usually more harm in keeping silent when you see something alarmingly unusual, because the consequences are so dire if it's "something" and not normal. How do you know "it's natural, so keep silent"? What if you are wrong? What will be the result of shutting down any discussion about it - will it protect or hurt the girls and boys of figure skating?

To put a noble mantle of a fighter against body-shaming - while trying to shut down any public discourse about possible abuses of children's bodies - is the very definition of hypocrisy. What makes it worse is your insistence that everything is focused, as you put it, "on skaters of a certain country". (Never mind that that particular country has been proven to engage in the state-sponsored doping and cheating, and therefore, there shouldn't be any doubt in anyone's mind that any and all shenanigans are possible, where that particular country is concerned. Fool me once, twice, thrice... sooner or later people lose trust.)

You may only care about skaters from a certain country - but I think about them all. I don't care if they are Russian, Chinese, American, French, Canadian, or Kazakh... It doesn't matter. If it's unhealthy, it should not happen. Anywhere, to anyone. Keeping silent is not conducive to healthy community. JMHO
 

Casual

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 26, 2018
I think some have real concern because of past issues, but I also think there is a fine line in how concerns are expressed. These are young girls, they could genetically be small or eating very little. It actually is frustrating for people who are naturally slender and tiny to be accused of having eating disorders, my sister was put in counseling in college because the girls around her thought she had an eating disorder because she was naturally very thin. She had no such issues but it caused her a lot of stress that everyone seemed to think that about her. I'm glad these girls likely do not study english or browse these forms cause the conversation could be damaging if seen and it's not something that's really happening.

I agree with this argument. I also want to remind everyone the maxim of "what is the greatest harm". What is worse - to be unfairly investigated because people think you might be an abused wife or an anorexic girl (where in fact you aren't), or for your warning signs to be ignored in favor of your privacy (where in fact you were abused or starved)?

More harm in keeping silent, because the consequences are very different.
 

Scott512

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2014
There is slender and there is to slender ... Trusova is slender and doesn't give the same perception that scherbakova ... even if genetics is important people have a normal( or proximal to a normal) BMC ... I don't know if she is anoretic or not ( I hope not and that her team always put her health first) but I would like to have one or two extra pounds because she looks like glass .. so i get the worry

If you're talking about Anna I think she is just naturally reed thin. I think we would all like to see her heavier and a little thicker but then she wouldn't be able to do what she does on the ice at 15 years of age. Or could she? That is the question.

To me Sasha looks much stronger than Anna. Both are fantastic. And then there's the third of 3A Aliona. She is tiny but looks pretty healthy and is magic on the ice.
 

SkateSand

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 1, 2003
Daniil Gleikhengauz: “It seems to me, first of all, the trainers needed to step over the barrier in their heads that girls can do quadruples”

Daniil Gleikhengauz, trainer and choreographer of the group Eteri Tutberidze after the Grand Prix finals, answering questions from foreign journalists, commented on the performances of the wards in Turin, explained what were the prerequisites for the development and execution of their quadruple jumps, talked about his love for ballet and the creation of new programs.

----
from: https://fsrussia.ru/intervyu/4820-d...to-devochki-mogut-prygat-chetvernye.html?sl=1

Thank you so much! :love:
 

SkatingFan9

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 13, 2019
You’re being disingenuous. I hope that you don’t really think you’re fooling anyone? This has nothing to do with your concerns for anyone’s health and you wanting a real conversation and to raise some kind of awareness. This is all about you and your animosity towards certain skaters of a certain country for winning all the medals, and you are now trying to diminish and discredit their results and all their hard work as being achieved the unnatural way such as via doping. Admit it.

Should I quote all of your hate-filled, toxic posts regarding these very same skaters who you’re now suddenly oh so very concerned about? Those posts sure don’t sound like someone who is just merely worried and is an objective voice of reason. They sound like someone very angry with an agenda. What do you think?

By the way, since you seem so convinced that these girls are doping and/or starving themselves, why don’t you indulge us all by explaining why you think this to be the case. Give us some verifiable facts about them also. No guessing.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
As for "body-shaming" argument... The original fight against "body-shaming" was meant to protect human health by stopping unhealthy dieting etc. in the name of thinness or "beauty". What this forum does is the opposite, when it attacks those who are naturally worried about what looks like unnatural (drug or diet induced?) thinness of some of the athletes - it effectively validates unhealthy attitudes in the name of some "perfect" goal ...

I think that sports has it's own special place in this debate, over and above the general societal problem.

A sumo wrestler or a U.S. football player will be successful in his sport if he balloons up to 400 pounds (500 is better). We have learned that a bicyclist cannot endure the Tour de France if he is not on drugs. Many of these athletes will live adult lives of perpetual health problems and may die young because of it, but oh well, they won a championship or a super bowl and provided the cheering onlookers with entertainment.
 

Casual

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 26, 2018
You’re being disingenuous. I hope that you don’t really think you’re fooling anyone? This has nothing to do with your concerns for anyone’s health and you wanting a real conversation and to raise some kind of awareness. This is all about you and your animosity towards certain skaters of a certain country for winning all the medals, and you are now trying to diminish and discredit their results and all their hard work as being achieved the unnatural way such as via doping. Admit it.

Should I quote all of your hate-filled, toxic posts regarding these very same skaters who you’re now suddenly oh so very concerned about? Those posts sure don’t sound like someone who is just merely worried and is an objective voice of reason. They sound like someone very angry with an agenda. What do you think?

By the way, since you seem so convinced that these girls are doping and/or starving themselves, why don’t you indulge us all by explaining why you think this to be the case. Give us some verifiable facts about them also. No guessing.

Oh, please. You're so laser focused on sweeping under the rug anything potentially critical of the "athletes from a certain country", one can't help but wonder what is going on with you and that country?

I don't take "patriots" seriously, sorry. They speak a different language and never the twain shall meet.
 

Edwin

СделаноВХрустальном!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Sergey Nikolayevich Dudakov was awarded the honorary badge of the Russian Olympic Committee.

Dudakov is a Merited Coach of Russia. Since the season 2011/12 he has been working in the Eteri Tutberidze group. Under his leadership, Olympic Champion Alina Zagitova, two-time world champion Yevgeniya Medvyedeva and other famous athletes trained.
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From: http://olympic.ru/news/news-russia/ispolkom-okr-soglasilsya-s-rekomendatsiyami-nabsoveta-rusada/

#РаботаемДальше
 

Scott512

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2014
Sergey Nikolayevich Dudakov was awarded the honorary badge of the Russian Olympic Committee.

Dudakov is a Merited Coach of Russia. Since the season 2011/12 he has been working in the Eteri Tutberidze group. Under his leadership, Olympic Champion Alina Zagitova, two-time world champion Yevgeniya Medvyedeva and other famous athletes trained.
-----
From: http://olympic.ru/news/news-russia/ispolkom-okr-soglasilsya-s-rekomendatsiyami-nabsoveta-rusada/

#РаботаемДальше

That is wonderful news. Great congratulations to Sergey on his very deserving coaching honor.
 

Edwin

СделаноВХрустальном!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Figure skating in Russia is incredibly popular now. First of all, thanks to the successful performances of our ladies singles.
Since 2014, only Russian athletes have become Olympic champions, we also almost never gave away World Championships (exceptions were in 2014 and 2018, where Mao Asada and Caitlin Osmond won the post-Olympic tournaments.

Behind almost all victories stood one person - Eteri Tutberidze. It was she who led Yulia Lipnitskaya and Alina Zagitova to the gold of the Olympic Games and made Yevgeniya Medvyedeva World Champion two times. And two more years in a row, Anna Shcherbakova, Alyona Kostornaya and Aleksandra Trusova occupy all the places in the top three at the Championships of Russia - they also train at Khrustalniy.

All this could not have happened if Tutberidze had a sports career. At first she skated in singles, then went into dancing and even managed to take several prizes in the USSR Cup. After that - she performed in ballet on ice, and at the age of 18 she moved to the USA to participate in ice shows. Since 1994, Eteri Georgievna began working as a trainer in America, but after the largest terrorist attack in the history of this country on September 11, 2002, she returned to Russia.

Since 2008, Tutberidze has been working in the Khrustalniy branch of the Sambo-70 Sports and Education Center. True, she does not work there alone, but along with several other specialists - first of all, with Sergey Dudakov and Daniil Gleikhengauz.

The name Eteri Tutberidze is one of the keys in the world of figure skating. It is thanks to the success of her students in women's skating that it is almost impossible to win without elements of ultra-si - quadruple jumps and triple Axels, as well as without high-quality non-jumping elements. One can endlessly debate about her working methods, but it is impossible to deny that they are currently the most effective.

Ten years ago, almost nobody knew about Tutberidze. This changed at the Olympics in Sochi, when Yuliya Lipnitskaya became champion with the team. Of course, the athletes from Khrustalniy won medals until 2014, but then the successes were local, more at the junior level.

We followed the development of the coaching career of the Russian coach and highlighted all the key points that helped Tutberidze become the most outstanding specialist in women's single skating in the last ten years.


2009-2012: Polina Shelepen and the first successes at the junior level

The first fairly well-known student of Tutberidze was Polina Shelepen. Since childhood, the skater has trained with Eteri Georgiyevna. Moreover, the athlete began skating in the Silver Sharks sports school and only a few years later, together with her coach, moved to Sambo-70. Polina recalls that when they first went out on the ice in Khrustalniy, she was very surprised at the girls having their own locker room and two skating rinks - before, ice had to be shared with hockey players. But the main thing was not that.

“ Although it wasn’t important for me where to go, the main thing was with Eteri Georgiyevna, ” Shelepen told.

Under the guidance of Tutberidze, Polina won the junior Grand Prix five times and took silver in the finals twice. Moreover, for the first time she almost won the final tournament of the commercial series - the athlete was in the lead after a short program and in the final results lost only by about a point to the Japanese figure skater Kanako Murakami.

But in the seniors, the skater was not able to achieve such results. In 2013, Shelepen decided to change her sports citizenship and compete for Israel, but in 2014 she completed her career and began working as a coach.

It is interesting that even then Eteri Tutberidze believed that girls would someday be able to perform quadruple jumps. They even taught Polina a quad, but at that time there was no need for ultra-si elements - even cascades of two triple jumps were considered incredibly difficult.

“ I was 12 years old when Eteri Georgiyevna suggested:' Let's try the quadruple. ' At that time, I had already learned everything and I was bored in training, at that time there was still no fashion to jump with my arms. Then I fell a couple of times, twisted half a turn. Then we returned to the quad when I was 14 years old. I’ve already fallen from a clean jump, but since it was before the competition season, the attempts were suspended, and there was no purpose to learn it. ”

2011-2014: Olympic champion Yuliya Lipnitskaya and Tutberidze's coaching breakthrough

Until 2009, Polina Shelepen was the main star in the group of Eteri Tutberidze. But everything changed with the transition to "Sambo-70" of the future Olympic champion Yuliya Lipnitskaya. The skater moved from Yekaterinburg to Moscow at the insistence of her mother - by this time she had already learned all the triple jumps, and there was no room for further growth at home.

Already in 2010, Lipnitskaya became fifth in the Russian Junior Championships, and the next year - fourth in the senior tournament. In the 2011-2012 season, Yuliya immediately won two junior stages of the Grand Prix, won the series finals, as well as the Junior World Championships. The following year, the skater made her senior debut, taking medals at both stages of the senior Grand Prix. A year later, Yuliya became the first in this commercial tournament, took silver in the finals and at the World Championships.

But the main moment in Lipnitskaya’s career was the Olympic Games in Sochi. In the individual competition, the athlete did not perform very well - she took only fifth place, falling in both programs. But then it didn’t matter - the skater was predicted a long and successful career.

Yuliya became famous thanks to her Olympic performances in the team event. There she managed to skate both programs cleanly, which helped the Russian team win by a wide margin. Many fans and experts still say that this victory happened thanks to Lipnitskaya - the 15-year-old girl in the red coat instantly became a living symbol of the Sochi Games and the idol of millions.

Those forecasts did not materialise however. Lipnitskaya began to grow, stability disappeared, and with it self-confidence. The athlete left the Tutberidze group for Alexey Urmanov, but even there failed to achieve particular success. As a result, anorexia and retirement at age 19.

Despite all this, the star of Yuliya Lipnitskaya lit up in Sochi. And with hers, Eteri Tutberidze's. From that moment, almost all victories in women's single skating were achieved by the athletes from Khrustalniy.

2013-2015: Successes of Tutberidze in men's single skating

Eteri Tutberidze became a successful coach thanks in large part to the victories of her female students at the junior and senior levels. With male singles it is more difficult, but there were some successes in men's skating.

Sergey Voronov twice became Champion of Russia, but at the international level he won his main medals precisely under the leadership of Tutberidze. At the 2014 European Championships, the skater performed three quadruple jumps in two programs - when this was still considered difficult. As a result, Voronov for the first time in his career was in the top three at the European Championships. True, the athlete did not get to the Olympics in Sochi - where the only quota went to Yevgeniy Plyushchenko. But in the same year, Sergey took two second places at the stages of the Grand Prix and took bronze in the final. In the same season, the skater again hit the top 3 at the European Championships, this time winning the Bronze.

In 2009, Adyan Pitkeyev joined the Tutberidze group. The season 2013-2014 was the most successful for him - he performed in juniors and took silver in the Grand Prix finals, winning one of the stages, and also got into the top three at the junior World Championship.

Perhaps the main achievement in Adyan’s career was the performance at the senior stage of the Grand Prix of Russia in 2015 - he was the leader after a short program, ahead of world champion Javier Fernandez. As a result, the skater became second overall.

Pitkeyev was considered a potentially very strong athlete - he had excellent jumps and spins. The only thing he lacked was expressiveness and emotionality in the programs. Adyan had a great future, but in 2017 he ended his career. The cause was a back injury and constant pain, because of which the skater could not really train. Many began to say that Pitkeyev's health problems arose due to excessive loads - this is often mentioned when they talk about the Tutberidze group.

But Adyan himself denied this: “ In short: the loads are exactly the same to win the Olympic Games. So what's the problem? When there is a result - everything is fine. ”

2015-2018: Victory at the Youth Olympic Games and the first gold of the Junior World Championships in the boys

In the season of 2015-2016, Polina Tsurskaya won the junior competitions. She won both stages of the Grand Prix, the Final, the Junior Championship of Russia and the Youth Olympic Games. But she missed the World Championships due to injury. The following year was also unsuccessful - Polina won the junior stages of the GP, but withdrew from the finals, and became only tenth in the World Championship.

Many fans remembered Tsurskaya thanks to her performance in the of the senior Grand Prix in Japan - where she became third. Specialists especially noted the beautiful jumps of Polina. They looked like mens - powerful, high and flying far. But due to injuries in the spring of 2019, the athlete had to end her career.

Two-time Silver medalist of the World Junior Championships Serafima Sakhanovich also trained in the Tutberidze group for some time. In the 2014-2015 season, the skater won two stages of the Junior Grand Prix, took Silver in the final and in the World Championship. But at the end of 2015, due to financial difficulties, Sima returned to Petersburg to her former coach Alina Pisarenko.

Perhaps the biggest success of Eteri Tutberidze in men's single skating today is associated with Alexey Yerokhov. In 2017-2018 season, the athlete qualified for the final of the Junior Grand Prix, where he became fifth. But he won the World Championship among juniors. Alexey became the first Russian athlete since 2004 to win this tournament.

2013-2018: Medvyedeva’s two-year series of victories

During her career, Yevgeniya Medvyedeva twice won all the major starts in figure skating - the Championships of Russia, Europe and the World and the Grand Prix finals, and once again won all the significant junior tournaments. Only the Olympic Games did not submit to her - the athlete became second both in the individual and team events.

Her success is largely connected precisely with Tutberidze - since 2007, Medvyedeva has been training in Khrustalniy. The skater did not lose tournaments to anyone for two years, while becoming the first skater in history who scored 80 points in the short program and 160 in the free program. And this is without ultra-si elements.

After the Olympics, the skater moved to Canada and began to train with Brian Orser. But, perhaps, it was thanks to Zhenya that everyone knew about Tutberidze. If at the Olympics in Sochi the coach was overshadowed by the skater (it was Yuliya who received the most compliments and enthousiasm), only later they started talking about the coaching genius of Eteri Georgiyevna.

Medvyedeva herself has repeatedly said that she received a lot in the Tutberidze group. Even the ability to care for herself and use cosmetics: “ I use cosmetics from an early age, from 11 years old on an ongoing basis. So I have quite a lot of experience. But it was not my mother who taught me, but Eteri Georgiyevna Tutberidze. If she saw some kind of makeup error, she always corrected it. She always demanded that we have neat hairstyle, so that all the girls went to training looking nice and beautiful, as this reflects in your state of consciousness. If you are outwardly ready, your consciousness itself is raised, to combat readiness. ”

2016-2019: Olympic champion Zagitova and the “Golden Slam” in figure skating

Olympic champion Alina Zagitova became the first figure skater in the history of Russian figure skating, who managed to win all the major tournaments. Moreover, both in junior and senior level. And she did it in just three seasons.

In 2017, Zagitova immediately won her two stages of the Grand Prix, and the Final of the series, the Championship of Russia and Europe. It was at the last of these starts that she first beat the two-time world champion Yevgeniya Medvyedeva. And after that, Alina took the Gold at the main tournament in the career of any athlete - the Olympic Games.

But at the World Championships, Zagitova failed, taking fifth place. The next season was not so successful for the Olympic champion - in the Grand Prix finals, she became second, fifth in the Russian Championship, and lost to Sof'ya Samodurova in the European Championship. But for the World Championships, Alina managed to get herself together and win the only tournament that she had not been able to before.

And at the same World Championships, another skater from the Tutberidze group, Elisabet Tursynbayeva, for the first time in the history of women's single skating of Kazakhstan, took a medal in a similar tournament. And another historical event - Elisabet became the first athlete who performed the quadruple jump in senior competitions.

Interestingly, Zagitova was able to collect Gold medals at all starts without performing elements of ultra-si. Her crown jump is a cascade of triple Lutz + triple Rittberger - in 2017-2018 no one else did it. And Alina took her own path by performing all the jumps in in the second part of her free program - this requires special physical preparation and endurance.

2017-2019: Trusova, Shcherbakova, Kostornaya and the Elements of Ultra-Si

In 2017, Aleksandra Trusova and Alyona Kostornaya took part in international competitions for the first time, and in 2018 Anna Shcherbakova joined them. Such a strong trio of junior has not yet been seen in the history of world figure skating before. Athletes from Russia have always been distinguished themselves by excellent spins, step sequences, difficult jumps and stability (at least in juniors). But it was with the advent of these skaters that figure skating stepped forward und upward.

In the 2017 final of the Junior Grand Prix, athletes from the Tutberidze group occupied the entire podium - Trusova won, the second was Kostornaya, and the third - Anastasiya Tarakanova. In the same season, in the Junior World Championships, Sasha and Alena again left no chance for anyone, taking Gold and Silver.

The following season, the girls continued to excel in the juniors. In the Grand Prix finals, they again got into the top 2, only this time they switched places: Kostornaya won, and Trusova became second. Anna Shcherbakova also performed at the same tournament, however, unsuccessfully - she remained fifth. But Anya almost won the Junior World Championships in the same season, losing to Trusova only by a fraction.

In the same season, these skaters for the first time entered the competition in the seniors and so far did not leave anyone any chance at all. They won all the starts in which they took part - tournaments of the Challenger series, Grand Prix stages and Finals, Championship of Russia. Moreover, each of them owns elements of ultra-si - Alyona Kostornaya performs three triple Axels in both her programs, and Anna Shcherbakova and Aleksandra Trusova - quadruple jumps in their free programs.

At the senior championship of Russia, these three girls have taken all medals for two years in a row. Only their order on the pedestal changes. A year ago, Shcherbakova won, Trusova became second, and Kostornaya third. At the recent Championship in Krasnoyarsk, Sasha and Alyona switched places, and Anya won again.

2019: a new generation of figure skaters from Khrustalniy

It seems that new talents are constantly appearing in the group of Eteri Tutberidze. Maya Khromykh, Dar'ya Usacheva and Kamila Valiyeva reached the junior level this year. Kamila has already managed to win the final of the Junior Grand Prix, and Dasha became the third there. It is interesting that Valiyeva managed to win without having executed a single ultra-si element in her free program due to her injury (she owns a quadruple Toeloop). At the same time, her main rival, American figure skater Alysa Liu did several triple Axels and a quadruple Lutz in the same competition.

In the same Grand Prix finals, another student of Eteri Tutberidze, Daniil Samsonov, took the Bronze. He has not very stable so far - in particular, he does not always succeed in quads. But the skater has great potential - Daniil perfectly performs triple jumps, does amazing spins and interprets music well.

And now in the Tutberidze group there are athletes who, by age, cannot yet participate in international starts. But they perform well at the Russian level. First of all, it’s Sof'ya Akatyeva and Veronika Zhilina, who already own quadruple jumps and triple Axels.
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From: https://sport24.ru/news/other/2020-...deva-zagitova-trusova-shcherbakova-kostornaya
 
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