Well, I know the rumors were floating around for a few days, but I still find this shocking!!!! I'm totally gutted that I won't be seeing Lena and her "second mom" together anymore... :sad21:
Look how sweet they were!
https://s5o.ru/storage/simple/ru/ugc/99/a9/f0/43/ruu80f379e0df.gif
Ugh, I despise Buyanova. Good luck to Lena. Going to be tough for me to watch that KnC.
winky97! Long time no see! And I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU. I cannot STAND Buyanova either.
When I first saw the news that Adelina was moving to Plushenko, my first thought was that Buyanova is going to be desperate, so she will either try to poach Lena, or at the very least, she will make things hard for Goncharenko's team--or both. Because how can she justify all her perks as head coach (extra funding, the ability to set the ice schedule, and the ability to prevent choreographers/specialists from working with other coaches like Inna), if her only senior skater was Masha? At least when she had Adelina, she could say "I have the Olympic champion," but after Adelina left, Goncharenko was arguably the coach with the better skaters. So it didn't surprise me at all when she expressed righteous indignation that the Fed decided to send Lena WTT.
And it wouldn't surprise me if she made it almost impossible for Lena to stay in Goncharenko's group--by severely restricting their ice time, or preventing more specialists from working with them...
Or perhaps she went the other route and offered Lena an opportunity she couldn't resist--like nearly guaranteeing her a spot on the podium at Nationals, or a chance to work with the most expensive specialists.
To be fair, I have no idea if this is what happened.
Perhaps the decision had nothing to do with Buyanova. Perhaps Lena honestly decided that she had gone as far as she could with Inna, and she decided to change coaches. Maybe she thinks she'll have a better chance of making the Olympic team with Buyanova.
But I do feel like Lena was super loyal to Inna, so there has to be a major reason why she decided to leave. Lena's official VK page (the fan page, not her personal page) does say something like "
There were reasons [for the change]; it should be understood that she didn't say everything in the interview." So it's clear that something else is going on.
Maybe it was interference by Buyanova.
Or maybe, if the rumors are to be believed, it's because of Inna's health.
If this is the case, then the coaching change makes a lot of sense. But I'd be very sad for Lena and Inna, and I would wish good health and a speedy recovery to Inna Goncharenko!
If anyone is happy about this, it has got to be Buyanova! I can only imagine her celebrating now that she's *FINALLY* got the skater she's wanted for years.
So she better shower Lena with funding, give her plenty of ice time, and make sure she gets to work with the best specialists! I don't think Buyanova herself can teach Lena a single thing, but I hope that Inna has taught Lena to coach herself, so that she can identify what she needs and makes sure she makes the most of this opportunity. :yes:
The ONLY potential good I see coming out of this change is that 1) Lena can probably now afford to have a professional cut her program music (rather than Inna trying to do it herself), and 2) perhaps she can work with Peter Tchernyshev! I have been hoping he'd choreograph for her one day, but it seemed impossible as long as she was in Goncharenko's group.
And then perhaps he'll also go to competitions with Lena, so I can look at his pretty face instead of Buyanova!
Now that Lena is also with Buyanova (unfortunately), it will be interesting to see who the Fed favour more, her or Sotskova.
Masha who? -- That is how I think the Fed will react--they'll forget about her. Now that Buyanova has this charismatic, gorgeous, iron-willed skater who even shares her name, I think she will turn all her attention and all her political support to Lena. Of course, that assumes that Lena can actually land her jumps. But regardless of how Lena does, I unfortunately feel that Masha will slip in the ranks next season, with Zagitova and Tsurskaya moving up. There is no reason for the Fed to support Masha anymore.
It's interesting because I'm sure she has had growth issues like any other skater, but clearly some skaters (like Medvedeva) have dealt with it much better. I have to say, I wonder what would Lena be like if she worked with Eteri. Would she be backloading and tano'ing everything like Medvedeva?
Well, Medvedeva is lucky in that she hasn't grown as tall, and she's stayed quite slim. I doubt that most girls whose bodies changed as dramatically as Lena's did could manage as well as she did.
I can't imagine Lena working with Eteri at all, I have to say. Just a total clash of personalities...
**
Well, as sad as I am about Lena and Inna splitting ways, I have to admit that on the whole, it does seem like Lena's chances to make the Olympics have increased...
While we digest this news, here are some lovely banquet photos to distract us!
https://pp.userapi.com/c836637/v836637606/365c0/y9ng7AjUu_g.jpg
https://vk.com/wall33602606_10143
Lena and Yuzu--so pretty
