Third Olympiad in a row Russia takes gold in women’s figure skating. Adelina Sotnikova won in Sochi, Alina Zagitova won in Pyeongchang, and Anna Shcherbakova became the champion in Beijing, who was already congratulated by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The leader of our team, Kamila Valievawhich has already shown an incredible level of skating in team competitions on Beijing ice, couldn’t handle the incredible pressure. Let’s call it pressure. Who is to blame for them, and whether it was possible to save Camila, will now be sorted out.
Another Russian woman, Alexandra Trusova, did the impossible at her box office – she landed five quadruple jumps at once. Before her, only a few male skaters could do this. Alexandra has silver.
It was not for nothing that the free program of figure skaters was called the culmination of the XXIV Olympic Games. The first of our girls on the ice was Alexandra Trusova. And at these Games, she fulfilled her cherished dream: in one program, under the composition “Cruella”, she landed five quadruple jumps at once.
Silence settled in the mix zone, everyone is carefully watching the performance of our girls. Everyone is looking at the screens. Employees, operators of TV channels are carefully watching how Russian figure skaters perform.
What Sasha Trusova did is a historic achievement for women’s figure skating. Previously, this was only possible for men. Not everything turned out the way she planned, there were errors during landings, but at the same time she stayed on her feet, she never fell.
For such an incredible performance, she received a record 251.73 points for herself and immediately set the highest bar, which only two skaters, Anna Shcherbakova and Kamila Valieva, could surpass.
Anna Shcherbakova performed cleanly quadruple flip and triple sheepskin coat. Then another quad flip, his ultra-c signature jump. Spins, cascades – everything was perfect. As a result, the judges rated her program very highly – 175.75. And although Anya lost to Trusova in the free program, she was in first place in terms of total points. And then Kamila Valieva came on the ice. From the first jumps, it became clear that, unfortunately, she could not withstand the pressure that lasted all the last days.
Couldn’t hold on to the axel after that did not keep the programplucking one element after another. Even in the ligaments, excitement was felt. Only towards the end of the program Camila managed to pull herself together, but it was already clear that this was not the rental that would make it possible to win a medal.
She finished skating and cried, but the stands still gave a standing ovation. And then they also shouted – “well done.” As a result, she was only fourth, stopping one step away from the Olympic medal. There were tears after, but the hugs of the coaches and the support of the audience still helped to come to my senses.
Not only Kamila Valieva could not restrain her emotions: Sasha Trusova was crying at the awards ceremony, which could not have taken place at all if Kamila had got on the podium. But today, a new Olympic champion, Anna Shcherbakova, is rising to the highest level. Alexandra Trusova enters first. Journalists are interested in how she evaluates her performance
“I am satisfied with the performance, but not with the result,” Trusova said. And she added: “I haven’t seen my mother and dogs for a long time, I miss you like hell.”
Anna Shcherbakova still cannot believe that she is an Olympic champion. In five years, she has gone from junior championships to world-class competitions. The first junior season was tragic for the athlete – in 2017 she broke her leg. But the next year, despite the injury, she fully trained. She became the champion of Russia and the world. And now – a new height.
“Probably, each athlete has some kind of incredible path. I received great experience from each competition, I have changed a lot during this time. I am incredibly happy that at such an important moment the main competitions of the four years are held – the Olympic Games, that I participate in them But what I won, I don’t even understand yet, ”admitted Shcherbakova.
At home, Anya’s parents were rooting for her. All this time they did not communicate with the press, they were afraid to jinx it, and only after the victorious performance of their daughters shared their impressions.
“You know, all her previous victories were in a state when no one expected them, including us. Therefore, I didn’t expect any victory either. But somehow it still works. It’s amazing. She is very independent. She herself sets herself up, doesn’t want someone to help her,” said the athlete’s father.
He has not yet had time to talk with his daughter, he only sends greetings on television.