I'm finally going through my videos and photos from Skate Canada and I found a video of Zhenya's SP from the warm-up practice last Friday. Enjoy.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gcbgocbh0dj43dz/IMG_8596.MOV?dl=0
I promised I share some thoughts and I know they're super late, but you can take them for what they're worth.
Anyway, the first thing, which I mentioned in my Skate Canada recap, is that I almost didn't recognize her at first. I want to be careful how I say it, but I'll say that she looked good. She looked healthy and strong and I noticed more power in her skating from when I saw her several years ago (2016 Worlds/Team Challenge Cup).
But the girl is not soft, not by a bit. I think people think because she's still getting used to the transition and because she's so personable that she's suddenly lost her competitive chops. Pretty much at every practice I went, she was all business and focused. She would wave and smile at fans once in a while, but she didn't take any time to take gifts or do autographs afterward.
Her double axel looked great, as everyone noted (you can hear the woo-hoo from the audience member in the video above, lol). Her lutz was right where I was sitting (3rd row) so I had a good look at the edge. It's definitely not out of the woods, but it was definitely more ! than (e) at times. You can tell she's still getting used to the new technique, but I do believe it's starting to click. Her 3F-3T looked good and she consistently hit several of them in the ladies warm-up --- it was frustrating to see her miss it the one time she needed it -- in the competition. It's going to take some time for the muscle memory to take hold for the new technique, but there was a lot of small wins, like the good 2A and the overall better skating.
The audience was LOUD for her, as you guys heard. It was not just Canadians though, I heard quite a bit of Russian in the rows around me, so there are likely Russians living in Canada or Medvedeva fans who traveled to Canada to see her. She has plenty of international fans, such as the cute 20-something fans who made the flower crown for her. I met one of them -- he sat with me and another GS-er during the pairs/men free skate. There was another group of Canadian skating fans that made signs in Russian and wave them at her when she skated past them. She waved and smiled when she saw the.
I wish I got to meet with some of you who were there, but I had a good time texting with Novicefan during the ladies free skate! Man I was so nervous for her! But she did so amazing. As I said, her determination and anger made that tango work. But I hope they'll keep working on the feel of the tango. I really love the dress for the FS -- I think it looks better in person.
I really enjoyed her interactions with Brian during the practices and warm-up. Brian is very much have taken her under her wing and it's quite endearing. And she seems quite comfortable with Brian, which is great! I also really loved seeing her interact with Liza during the medal ceremony. It was like they both realized they had an opportunity to prove that you can have a long-term career as a Russian ladies skater. In a sense, I think Liza's win was motivating to her because it was like she could see the future for her if she was willing to put in the work and endure the tough times.
I think she's definitely still a work in progress, but I expect she'll do even better at IdF.
I really appreciate your relation from competition.
What we see in TV is often so different from what we can experience in ice rink. I’m so happy Evgenia receives such support from her fans without getting distracted. I’m quite optimistic about TdF. SC was unfortunate when it comes to SP but I saw huge difference performance and quality wise after the month from ACI so I believe in France it can be even better
I was thinking at some moment about attending TdF but unfortunately university won’t let me take Friday off. However I hope somebody from Zhenya’s squad will be there to support her and to give us later his/her thoughts
topic: In terms of quality for produce, meat, bread, etc., I prefer Farm Boy, which is also normally less expensive than Whole Foods. Though they've just been bought by Sobeys, so I don't know if that will change at all. I don't think there's one near TCC though. There are 15 in Ottawa because it started in the area, so I go there all the time when I'm home. But only a couple in Toronto currently.
I am already nervous...
