Evgenia Medvedeva reveals details behind coaching change
The two-time figure skating world champion said in an Instagram live she wanted to work as "friends" with her coaches. "I left for this; to hear, and to be heard."
Figure Skating
Evgenia Medvedeva has revealed her reasoning for leaving famed figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze after the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games.
The Russian, who won silver in PyeongChang, moved to Toronto to train under Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson after she finished second behind teammate Alina Zagitova at the Games.
Now, speaking on an Instagram live with French skater Florent Amodio, the 20-year-old spilled the beans on her decision to leave Tutberidze, insisting the move was not motivated by wanting better results.
"I left Russia […] not to come the next season and beat everyone," she explained. "I did a lot in the sport. I won a lot in figure skating. So I left to work together with a coach like friends."
However, Medvedeva clarified that she did not see herself as "friends" with Orser and Wilson, merely that they work on the same level rather than coach and student.
"I don't know if it's right to say that we are friends with my coach," the two-time world champion said. "I really feel that we understand each other, we feel each other, and the main thing is that we hear each other. I left for this; to hear, and to be heard."
More "soul" in skating
Orser recently told the Olympic Channel that he felt Medvedeva was finally reaching her potential this season, saying: "When we did the Cup of Russia (Rostelecom Cup Grand Prix), I thought she probably had her best skate ever. It all came together, and it was incredible, it was athletic, it was beautiful."
The skater herself says working with the Toronto team has changed her style.
"I totally love jumping, that’s why I’m a singles skater. But at the same time, especially when I started to work with Brian and Tracy, I started to love skating. I put my soul into skating, doing performance."
Tutberidze has had a lot of success in her career and is known for pushing her skaters to do more jumps, with her "3A" posse able to pull off triple Axels and quad jumps.
However, one of them, Alexandra Trusova, recently announced that she would be leaving Tutberidze to train under Evgeni Plushchenko.