Alina Zagitova

[Edwin]

Here is the full 20 minutes interview from today's Nine o'Clock News: https://www.1tv.ru/news/2019-12-13/...gitovoy_dlya_programmy_vremya_polnaya_versiya , where Alina talks a lot more.

Hopefully a full transcript will follow soon.

 

[Vemvane]

I am both shocked and yet also not surprised that Alina is missing Nationals, and presumably the rest of the season. She has been in a pressure cooker for so long, pretty much since winning that Olympic gold medal, and she is so young. Taking time off is a very sensible decision on her part, and her team's part, I think - let her have downtime, let her rest, heal up her injured hip, let her skate in shows, without the intensity of competition. It will do her good - she has held up for so long, through the storm about whether she deserved that gold medal and Evgenia's subsequent departure from their coaching team, through the 2018 Worlds where she had the pressure of holding on to those three Worlds spots for Russia, a season of growing pains post-Olympics, where she was held under a microscope and scrutinised to see if she was worthy of the title of Olympic Champion, and then her 'redemption' at Worlds 2019. That is a lot for a fifteen/sixteen-year-old to deal with, and it speaks volumes to her innate mental strength that she has done what she has done. Silk hiding steel, that is Alina.

I hope she enjoys her well-earned break, and that it leaves her mentally and physically refreshed. She is such a talented skater, lovely to watch as a performer and an athlete both, sweet-natured and humble despite her achievements. She has grown as an artist since the Olympic season - her current exhibition is absolutely exquisite, and makes me so emotional - and I hope there will be many more years ahead to watch her grow and bloom as a skater, because at seventeen, this is really only the start. She has achieved so much, experienced more in just seventeen years than many of us experience in a lifetime, and while I will miss her the rest of this season, she knows what is best for herself.

 

[FreeSkater]

Sensational interview with Alina Zagitova for the program "Vremya" Full version
Alina Zagitova 20191213 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Torino 2019 6 205.23
FULL Interview 720p 25fps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz_PAta4b_I

Alina, please know, that without you all this is meaningless.

 

[Finley]

Sensational interview with Alina Zagitova for the program "Vremya" Full version
Alina Zagitova 20191213 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Torino 2019 6 205.23
FULL Interview 720p 25fps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz_PAta4b_I

Alina, please knowthat without you all this is meaningless.

You are making me cry at work....

 

[BabySloth]

Okay I should be writing a paper for university right now but what am I doing? Yes rewatching Me Voy from GPF and almost crying and then Zagipatra from Japan Open to cheer me up...I thought I would be okay with her taking a break but only an hour later I realized how much I will miss her....

 

[zounger]

Alina will compete again and will be epic. Until then thank you for all the beautiful (and sad) moments. It was a privilege.

εις το επανιδείν...

 

[lesnar001]

It will do her good - she has held up for so long, through the storm about whether she deserved that gold medal and Evgenia's subsequent departure from their coaching team, through the 2018 Worlds where she had the pressure of holding on to those three Worlds spots for Russia, a season of growing pains post-Olympics, where she was held under a microscope and scrutinised to see if she was worthy of the title of Olympic Champion, and then her 'redemption' at Worlds 2019. That is a lot for a fifteen/sixteen-year-old to deal with, and it speaks volumes to her innate mental strength that she has done what she has done. Silk hiding steel, that is Alina.

Excellent points.
And in some cases the pressure on her wasn't fair at all....
A) There should have been no "storm" at all about her OGM. Shame on certain high-level loudmouths in Russian skating circles.
B) She shouldn't have been "scrutinized". She didn't "fluke" her way to the OGM. She won in a highly competitive field. One of the best skated Ladies Olympics.

Innate mental strength is right. And maturity well beyond her years.
And yet she has repeatedly been "scrutinized" for her "mental state" just because she is unhappy when she underperforms.
Those critics know nothing about her mental condition, and even less about what makes an elite athlete "tick".

Enjoy your break from competition Alina.
Personally (and selfishly) I hope you get bored pretty quickly!

 

[Edwin]

Enjoy your break from competition Alina.
Personally (and selfishly) I hope you get bored pretty quickly!

First off is finishing school. In the full 20 mins interview she talked about not taking lessons and lagging behind. Having to catch up in holidays etc. She talked about callouses from booting up several times a day, pain, injury, the daily grind, tiredness and mental fatigue, things you start to look at differently when you get older, have accomplished almost all your 'tasks'.

She talked about sitting final exams and the preparation towards those, and entering Sports Institute to start a trainer education.

Who knows what else comes her way so she won't feel bored without ice?

 

[Scott512]

Excellent points.
And in some cases the pressure on her wasn't fair at all....
A) There should have been no "storm" at all about her OGM. Shame on certain high-level loudmouths in Russian skating circles.
B) She shouldn't have been "scrutinized". She didn't "fluke" her way to the OGM. She won in a highly competitive field. One of the best skated Ladies Olympics.

Innate mental strength is right. And maturity well beyond her years.
And yet she has repeatedly been "scrutinized" for her "mental state" just because she is unhappy when she underperforms.
Those critics know nothing about her mental condition, and even less about what makes an elite athlete "tick".

Enjoy your break from competition Alina.
Personally (and selfishly) I hope you get bored pretty quickly!

Alina has been pounded since she won Olympic gold and now she's been pounded into submission. Hopefully just temporarily. but I am sad and upset especially at her coaches sister who keeps running her damn mouth.

I will ask one thing here where do you think the sister gets this crap about
Alina being unmotivated and lazy from? There is only 1 answer people and you know the answer.

 

[nussnacker]

Alina has been pounded since she won Olympic gold and now she's been pounded into submission. Hopefully just temporarily. but I am sad and upset especially at her coaches sister who keeps running her damn mouth.

I will ask one thing here where do you think the sister gets this crap about
Alina being unmotivated and lazy from? There is only 1 answer people and you know the answer.

Please, Scott, we don't need that here.

 

[Lunalovesskating]

During one of the clips from training that was shown during the interview Alina was doing an Ina Bauer into Lutz into spread eagle. Wow. The new transitions she is trying? Maybe a program for her ice shows next year?

 

[Finley]

Alina has been pounded since she won Olympic gold and now she's been pounded into submission. Hopefully just temporarily. but I am sad and upset especially at her coaches sister who keeps running her damn mouth.

I will ask one thing here where do you think the sister gets this crap about
Alina being unmotivated and lazy from? There is only 1 answer people and you know the answer.

We've got to let that stuff go.

We have Sleeping Beauty to look forward to and Art on Ice and who knows what else.

Edwin's post really made me think. This is an opportunity for Alina to discover who she is outside of skating for a brief window of time. I'm going to be happy for her to have this chance even if I'm sad for myself.

Personally, I think Alina will try to come back next season. I think Eteri is right and she will miss it. I think she might possibly explore other training options when she is 18, and legally considered an adult, maybe even outside of Russia.

I know this sucks right now, but we really don't know what's ahead. It's probably better that she take this break on her own terms instead of continuing to get burned out going down the same road she was travelling.

 

[lesnar001]

During one of the clips from training that was shown during the interview Alina was doing an Ina Bauer into Lutz into spread eagle. Wow. The new transitions she is trying? Maybe a program for her ice shows next year?

Yeah. I liked that a lot. And the Ina Bauer was held out, not one of those "you blink you miss it" ones they usually give her.
Earlier too, she did a 3Lz-3Lo.

 

[Scott512]

Please, Scott, we don't need that here.

of course we don't need that but we have to deal with reality.

I hope this break for Alina recharges her batteries if they even need to be recharged.

We've got to let that stuff go.

We have Sleeping Beauty to look forward to and Art on Ice and who knows what else.

Edwin's post really made me think. This is an opportunity for Alina to discover who she is outside of skating for a brief window of time. I'm going to be happy for her to have this chance even if I'm sad for myself.

Personally, I think Alina will try to come back next season. I think Eteri is right and she will miss it. I think she might possibly explore other training options when she is 18, and legally considered an adult, maybe even outside of Russia.

I know this sucks right now, but we really don't know what's ahead. It's probably better that she take this break on her own terms instead of continuing to get burned out going down the same road she was travelling.

It's hard to let it go for many reasons. If Alina needs to discover herself I hope this break in the action helps her do just that.

The reality is we never really know what to expect. And all this nonsense from her coaches sister has got everyone flustered. Her short program at Grand Prix final was so darn good. Now...

 

[BabySloth]

And all this nonsense from her coaches sister has got everyone flustered.

Just let's ignore that poor attention-seeking woman, both her and her opinion are irrelevant.

 

[Finley]

Here is a really nice translation of Alina's words -

https://fs-gossips.com/alina-zagitova-i-know-the-price-of-victory/

She mentions that her coaches are family and they have been through a lot together. Good and bad. The fact that she wants to continue to train at Sambo says a lot.

And it must be said, we cannot blame Eteri for her sister's social media conduct.

 

[lopsilceci]

This is some shocking news. I feel better after reading all your posts

Figure skating won't be the same without Alina for the rest of the season. I was hoping we could see her beautiful programs at least once more since they still had so much potential for growing and improving.

Didn't know that the Me Voy song is about leaving..... So sad and beautiful.

You're right. This program just took a whole new meaning.

As for retirement, I also don't think Alina is leaving competitive figure skating forever.
If anyone deserves a break, it's her. After being in a pressure-cooker for three seasons in a row... there's only so much a person can take. I'm sure she must have thought about this for a long time and finally decided it was time to rest. Her happiness, physical and mental health come first, and after this season, whatever decision she makes, I'll support it, even if it breaks my heart.

I'm also looking forward to whatever Alina does now. There's a whole world of exciting possibilities out there for a young, beautiful and talented lady as her.

And if she does return to competition next season, she will be stronger, healthier and better. She's the comeback queen, after all

 

[nussnacker]

of course we don't need that but we have to deal with reality.

We don't know what's happening behind the scenes with that woman. However, we know that Eteri and her closest ones, Diana and Eteri's mom, love/d Alina very dearly.
Eteri's mom always took care of Alina, and Diana is her closest friend.
Alina was the only student of hers she invited to her birthday, Eteri regularly posts Alina and Diana together calling them "my girls", and I do honestly think that they are actually close.

The sister, apparently wasn't exactly close with Eteri for some time, judging by her saying 'I almost lost my sister'. She was scandalous before, and Eteri was caught on tape telling her to stop it or she will leave.

I don't know what's going on in the background, but I do believe Eteri wishes only the best for Alina and that there's a reason Eteri wasn't on good terms with her sister.

I do think, that it's a personal conflict for her at this point. After she lost her parents, I believe she wants to stay close to all her sisters and brothers, simply because they are the only people she has now. I think whenever something like this happens, people try to make it up with their brothers/sisters, despite all the differences, because we think we'll regret it if we don't do so, or maybe because we'd think that's something our parents would want to see us do.

So I can imagine her being stuck in between 2 fires, of having a sister who has a history of not being able to control herself, and Alina with whom she's also close.

 

[patee]

It's impossible not to get emotional by the sad news... Words can't describe the incredible journey Alina has been on since winning the Junior WC in 2017. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to follow her all through the way. It was amazing to see that beautiful, little girl fulfilling her potential to the full becoming an iconic figure skater at such a young age. I remember how excited I was when the 2017-18 season started, 'cause I really wanted to see Alina challenge the reigning queen, the unbeatable EM. Hell, she challenged her! By the time the OG started, I'd become Alina's hardcore fan and rooted for her like I never had for any other skaters before. And since she won the Olympics, I almost died every time she stepped on the ice to compete. I was in a kind of trance, when the unthinkable actually happened in Milan in the FS in 2018 and the same happened to me (in a positive way this time of course), when our breathtakingly beautiful Carmen proved the swarm of hat**s wrong in Saitama this year. I will never forget all the beautiful characters Alina impersonated from the charmingly graceful Red Ballerina, the ethereal lady of the Phantom of the Opera and the cool, fierce fighter a la Lara Croft to the seductively gorgeous Carmen, the passionate, heartbroken young woman of Me Voy and the irresistible pharoah queen, Cleopatra. (The list is not complete of course.) She's just started to becoming a mature, beautiful young woman on the ice, that's why it's such a shame she can't carry on performing more characters of that kind, not at competitions at least. (Hopefully later, but to be honest, although I'd really love to see it happen, I'm quite skeptical about her future come back. The field will be even stronger in the future and I just don't see Alina being able to catch up with the always stronger new generations, even if she wanted to so badly. She's won all the titles that can be earned in figure skating. Seriously, why should she "torture" herself? If there's no real motivation and the field is extremely competetive, her body and soul would say no (sooner than later), even if her mind would say 'go for it!'.)

Now a new chapter starts in her life and I hope whatever she persues in the future, she'll find joy and happiness in it. And of course I really hope to see her wear skates for a long, long time...

 

[Seruleane]

Here is a really nice translation of Alina's words -

https://fs-gossips.com/alina-zagitova-i-know-the-price-of-victory/

She mentions that her coaches are family and they have been through a lot together. Good and bad. The fact that she wants to continue to train at Sambo says a lot.

And it must be said, we cannot blame Eteri for her sister's social media conduct.

Crying again. Alina is so honest and humble. I love how direct she is in her interviews. I hope she knows how proud we are of her, how much support and love she has no matter what else she does in her life. I hope she will enjoy herself on the figure skating shows, and graduate from the Sports Institute if that is what she wants. If she finds the motivation and desire to come back and compete, I'll be right here cheering her on! If she wants to do something else, well I will be cheering her on too. Thank you, Alina for everything! :luv17: