A huge contribution to the popularity of figure skating in Russia, already warmed up by many years of ice shows and Sochi success, at one time brought the confrontation between Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova. It lasted only two seasons, but even when it came to naught, it still echoed for a long time through the corridors of ice rinks and the nooks and crannies of the Internet. Everyone thought and wondered: do the girls hate each other? Avoid collaborative projects? Unable to even train on the same ice? These and other conspiracy theories accompanied all the actions of Zagitova and Medvedeva throughout their careers.
Something was thought up by journalists and fans, something took place in reality. But the most tangible and, perhaps, the only thing that matters in the duel between Zagitova and Medvedeva is the internal conflict that this story stirred up in them. I felt that I had done everything possible for the gold. Yes, and all her experience spoke about this — before Pyeongchang, after all, it was more than enough.At the same time, «everything possible» in fact turned out to be impossible, because she had to deal with height, head and injuries. Changing programs, dresses, skipping starts and at the same time giving skates of such quality and soulful ringing as Medvedev at the 2018 Olympics is aerobatics. But the «dead loop» turned into a landing at an alternate airfield, and at the moment it seemed unbearable to her. a single Pyeongchang duel also lacked mental turmoil. What if I'm one day old? Did I win right? Do I have the right to rejoice when someone else's life collapses nearby?Before the start of the Olympics, she was just a ninth-grader who is engaged in figure skating. And then — a star that inscribed itself in history, an object of general interest on the basis of love or hatred. In general, this is not a weak test for the teenage psyche. In addition, as we remember, shortly after the Olympics there was a disastrous World Cup in Milan, which added to Alina's self-doubt. And only a year later she will be able to find answers to all questions.
An important role in this confrontation was played by coach Eteri Tutberidze. Standing right on the fault of two tectonic plates, she almost in a twine tried not to let the plates disperse. “They are both golden,” Tutberidze said, and only rabid fans of one or the other girl could condemn her for such words. The first read in these words hypocrisy, and the second — depreciation. By the way, we wish all of us never to be in the place of Tutberidze and not to make such a choice — between alleged depreciation and hypocrisy.
Numerous fans, divided into two camps, created for both skaters something like an airless space — a sterile zone of exclusive adoration. They led fan groups, gave gifts in bags and armfuls of flowers. They arranged performances in support and an organized crowd came to tournaments and shows. This emotional capital, it must be admitted, helped Alina and Zhenya a lot. With such an airbag, it was a little easier for them to go through all the difficulties. Plus, an extensive loyal audience attracted sponsors and advertising contracts to them. Figure skaters in Russia have never felt anything like this before and have not monetized their success.The fact that Zagitova vs Medvedev is a click-intensive story was at some point recognized even by the heads of the sports directorate of Channel One and the Russian Figure Skating Federation. This became clear when Zhenya and Alina were chosen as the captains of the two teams as part of a commercial tournament for active skaters. And if earlier it was customary to blame the writing press for the hype at the duel of champions, now everything has finally fallen into place — it is foolish to deny the obvious.
br>
Zagitova vs. Medvedeva or Medvedeva vs. Zagitova is a really exciting story with twists and turns and rocket fuel potential. That Channel One Cup, by the way, went off with a bang and is still perceived by fans as one of their favorites.
But any intrigue has its time. Both Zhenya and Alina have come a long way since 2018, each with their own. They developed in different ways, tried the opposite, played different roles and became absolutely valuable in themselves. They deserve to be treated as a separate person who does not follow the tangle of Pyeongchang passions. Their internal conflicts no longer affect their lives.Therefore, when it became clear that Zhenya and Alina would perform at the Russian Challenge tournament, it knocked somewhere inside: «Sho, again?» Again, the whole intrigue of a huge show with a cool cast and expensive production will only revolve around whether Alina will become a champion again, will Zhenya take revenge, whose fans will win in a fight with bears?
Deep down, I even wanted the girls to break the patterns and put on a double number. Let's say, under «They won't catch up with us.» Yes, at least under We Are the Champions», but this rivalry, comparisons, fan wars and crazy vote cheating are not needed again. And then Alina managed to pull out the last starting number at the draw, which was subconsciously immediately perceived as a guarantee of victory. In general, it was anxious.
But the jury of the show were people who were far from figure skating. They do not resonate with the drama of Pyeongchang. They do not know who once looked at whom, who took a picture with what bouquet, who left whom and where he returned. They just saw two very beautiful girls performing in the same section and choosing different concept numbers. Both are great athletes with insane support from the audience. And that is all. Without any background, the judges rated both of them not high and not low, but much worse than Alina and Zhenya were used to.Alina was ninth with a score of 18.09 points, Zhenya was 14th with a score of 17.41 out of 20 possible. If you project this into real competitions, then the last time the girls took such places was perhaps at some «Snow White Cup» in early childhood.
But what is even more surprisingly, these are the results of the audience voting. Kamila Valieva won it — it is her fate that the whole compassionate figured community lives now. Pyeongchang 2018 was replaced by Beijing 2022, and these are its heroines now responsible for clicks and attracting new audiences. Tellingly, third place from the jury went to Anna Shcherbakova, another heroine of Beijing.
Until recently, it was impossible to imagine that the two main stars of women's single skating of the pre-quad era, the two leaders of giant fandoms, capable of conquering any sponsor and turning the course of any competition, would remain without awards in the show program tournament.
src=»/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/b444b6e464c064036db371d3d20998b3.jpg» />
br>
Medvedeva and Zagitova have long been hostages of the intersection of destinies and the engines of the interest of huge spectators in figure skating. It gave them a lot of whists, but it probably put a lot of pressure on them psychologically. One way or another, Alina and Zhenya have long earned the right to autonomous existence. The «Russian challenge» finally cut this dueling knot, which had long turned into an atavism.
Bulgakov's Margarita on this occasion flew on a broomstick and shouted: «Invisible and free!» Perhaps, two great athletes, Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova, can now experience approximately such emotions.