Back in 2021, Dasha Usacheva flew into the adult domestic level together with Kamila Valieva and Maya Khromykh , forming the abbreviation VUH, consisting of the first letters of their surnames. At that time, fans on the wave of success of the TSCHK (Alexandra Trusova, Anna Shcherbakova and Alena Kostornaya) enthusiastically looked for new triumvirates among juniors, and here you don’t need to look for anything — everything is in the palm of your hand.
Of the three, Daria, of course, was not the first. This role, it seems, long before the appearance of life on Earth, was prepared by Valieva, and by the age of 17 Kamila had already met all expectations, albeit with one well-known reservation. But Dasha had her own trick in some way — she was the only one of the TSC and VUH who did not own ultra-si, but this did not prevent her from getting some astronomical points by the standards of the quad era. In that very covid season 2020/21, there were times when she scored 235 points with a penny — Alina Zagitova's numbers are already in the rank of Olympic champion, by the way.
Dasha, by that time, only had the bronze of the Junior Grand Prix Final. And outside the cupboard with medals — sliding, stretching, swan plasticity and the unique ability to live lyrical images on ice, which she did not have a single opportunity to feel in real life due to her tender years. For this they put, for this they loved.
Daria from the beginning of her career was an unshakable destroyer of expectations. As a child, she didn’t seem to jump, but she took it and made her way to the school of the world’s main techies. She doesn't have quad jumps, and she beats ultra sissies. She is only 15 years old, and she sits in front of you and speaks so slenderly, so confidently, easily and smoothly, as if a little girl decided to try on her mother's shoes, and they turned out to be her right time.
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Then it seemed that some kind of ultra-c would appear in her life, that she would be given a program commensurate with her talent . The wall of medical masks is about to fall, and she will be selected for the main adult competitions. And there is the championship of Russia, the Olympics…
Of course, Dasha's career was broken by a hip fracture she received at the six-minute Grand Prix stage in Japan in the fall of 2021. No, you can, of course, weld rose-colored glasses to your head and start talking about the inexorable competition that did not appear as a result of ultra-si, phases of the moon, or God knows what nonsense, but the fact remains — after such severe injuries, return to the former level in figure skating is almost unrealistic. Now we can talk about it officially.
By the way, about «officially», I suddenly remembered the release of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) about Daria's injury, which appeared immediately after the news about the fracture was published. It, in particular, stated that the real diagnosis was a torn ligament in the growth zone (by the way, like any torn/torn ligament, it is treated only with an operation that Usacheva did not have), and also that «this injury requires not very long treatment, rehabilitation. In 99 percent of cases, the athlete returns to normal sports activities. the most 1%, or official information turned out to be inaccurate. However, okay. Made a little mistake, who doesn't happen to?
Another thing is much more interesting — how this fracture appeared in general. Given that Daria, according to rumors, already had quite big health problems before that fateful trip to Japan. It was probably stressful. That is, with due care, it could have been avoided. True, for this it was necessary to withdraw from the Grand Prix, depriving yourself of the chance to perform in a couple of extra tournaments before qualifying for the Olympics.
And at this moment, the figure community is divided into two categories — those who blame the coach Daria Eteri Tutberidze for everything, and those who push the responsibility onto the athlete herself. Wrong, I must say, both — and categories, and Dasha with Eteri Georgievna. What exactly was Tutberidze guilty of? That she could not conduct a medical examination on her own? What trains in a hard mode, although she is not the first and not even the only one in this business? Then we have two options — either to significantly strengthen the role of doctors (it would be very good), or close this professional sport to all hell.
As well as Daria — well, what? Perhaps only in an attempt to seize her chances, which she told me about in an interview. All her life she has been smashing walls, tearing her way through disbelief and other obstacles — and now she has a real opportunity in front of her. Enter the stage, qualify for the Grand Prix Final, get a rating, go to the Russian Championship in a different, higher status, and then, maybe Beijing? You just need to strain a little bit, be patient.
Throughout her career, she destroyed expectations, and at the most crucial moment, expectations destroyed her. Jumping in social networks, going on shows, trying to go into ice dancing — all this, perhaps, is already grasping at straws, and not a calm «we work on» in the style of Eteri Tutberidze. This is probably why Eteri Georgievna did not take Daria to the training camp in Novogorsk this summer, and a week ago she herself came to the coach with flowers and announced that she was leaving. And, apparently, he is not going to look for a new coaching team. at the turn of 17 years. And it's okay when they leave with titles, with regalia and prize money, and so … It's sad. On the other hand, did the audience love her for the medals and victories? She directly said that she wants to ride in such a way as to remain in the memory of people. And she certainly stayed. Both on and off the ice. And this means that everything was not in vain.