Evgeni Plushenko confirmed Sports information about Alexandra Trusova’s intention to start at the test skates of the Russian national team and even presented this news as a sensation — the vice-champion of the Olympic Games — 2022 is not just actively training, but has already “returned to sports.” But is everything so certain at the moment? We'll tell you why it's still too early to talk about the imminent and full return of the Russian rocket to competitions.
Wedding or sports? Yes, Alexandra Trusova wants to return. Evgeniy Viktorovich — we are unlikely to reveal the secret if we say that he again became the main coach of the figure skater — added a little color to the event, saying that she had already returned. Which, of course, is not entirely true at the moment. But only for now.
Alexandra is preparing for the test skates, which will take place on September 14-15 in St. Petersburg. And in parallel — to the wedding with figure skater Makar Ignatov. What is more important here for a 20-year-old girl is a question that neither Plushenko nor Sasha’s official support group can answer. And yet, it seems that her plans for the performances have already finally taken shape, so now she faces a non-trivial task — to cope with both the wedding hassle and the acquisition of physical shape, sufficient to not lose face. And this, after a year and a half of inactivity, is still a task with an asterisk.
So what exactly is the matter with the form? Many have already noticed that Alexandra has become noticeably lighter and faster on the ice, even compared to her spring show counterpart. She handles the short and free program quite easily, and has a full set of triple jumps and combinations with them. Somewhere very close is her superweapon — the quadruple lutz.
In short, there is little that can prevent her from entering the skating rinks. And yet, even in this case, it is hardly worth talking about a return right away — because, according to our information, a full-fledged comeback is not planned for this season. If all goes well and Sasha is really prepared for the skates, she will go to a limited number of tournaments this season — just to get a feel for the competitive ice again.
Ridiculous fantasyWhy is there no talk of a full return yet? Firstly, because there is a high risk that there will be no upcoming Games for our team due to the political situation. And if there are, then with one quota in each event — and the main contender for it will clearly not be Sasha, who missed too much to immediately crush the current leaders.
And secondly, because running ahead of the locomotive and trying to force getting into shape at all costs is a direct path to injury, possibly even serious. And injury and other health problems at this stage will be detrimental to motivation. An example is Anna Shcherbakova, who almost certainly would have tried to return last year, but illness intervened in the plans, and everything dissolved.
And, to be honest, I can’t wait to see how it will be. Women's single skating has never seen such stories in the modern era, but it seems that Sasha can handle it too. Even taking into account the fact that at the moment it seems like an absurd fantasy.
The new age limit, by the way, was invented precisely for this purpose — so that there would be long careers and high-profile comebacks. And if thanks to him we see Trusova’s quadruple lutz again in competitions, then maybe it wasn’t all in vain? The price is high, but at least the reward is appropriate.
In conclusion, I would like to wish Alexandra not to stop, and everything else will certainly come. Knowing her character, there is no doubt about it.