A few things I've always been curious about with Yulia...
1) Yulia obviously had a falling out with Eteri, but are there specific incidents and dynamics that led to this falling out?
2) Similarly, with regards to Yulia's anorexia, I've read comments suggesting that Eteri contributed to this, but is there actual proof of this? Like, there's a difference between a coach who makes sure her athletes are mindful of their weight, which does have an impact on skating, versus a coach who insists that her athletes target weight levels that are extreme and unhealthy.
3) How has Yulia's relationship with her mom evolved and what's its current status? I read somewhere that Yulia had a falling out with her mom at the same time as her falling out with Eteri - which suggests that both Eteri and Yulia's mom might have been contributing to some of her issues - but it also seems that Yulia's mom might have been supportive of her seeking treatment and her choice to retire?
4) Speaking of Yulia's mom, I read somewhere that she's at least partially of Jewish descent, and has close relatives who suffered the Holocaust. Is this true? If so, I wonder if it had any influence on Yulia's choice of her famous Schindler's List "Girl In The Red Coat" program? And perhaps also her decision to seek anorexia treatment in Israel? I know publicizing your Jewish roots has never exactly been a popular thing to do in Russia, sort of like Zhenya and her Armenian roots : ).
5) I also read somewhere that part of Yulia's falling out with Eteri and potentially also her mom involved her decision to move out from home and live with a boyfriend, who perhaps was based out of Sochi as opposed to Moscow. This was all apparently against their wishes. Is this true? It seems Yulia's now single or at least no longer with this boyfriend, though?
6) Speaking of, does Yulia reside these days in Sochi or Moscow? It seems the Academy is mostly based in Moscow, no? Though it also seems she still posts a decent number of photos from the Sochi area.
7) What's Yulia's relationship with the current crop of skaters, such as Zhenya, Alina, Sasha, Alena, Anna, etc.? Given the awkward dynamic she still has with their coach, is she friendly with any of them or, perhaps the opposite, has tension with them, perhaps in particular Zhenya, who sort of immediately followed her? Do any of them cite Yulia as an influence or inspiration? (BTW, the photo someone recently linked to of Yulia and Sabine Zagitova is ADORABLE. I don't know if she'll ever be a famous skater, but
Little Zagitova is my favorite.)
8) What do people sense are Yulia's and Elena's longer-term intentions with Academy Ilinykh Lipnitskaya? Do they have goals of building a coaching organization that could eventually compete with the likes of Team Tutberidze? Or is this simply a one-off academy to train youth skaters?
Sorry for all the questions! There are clearly some super knowledgable people in this thread, though, so I hope to get their insights.
