The Skate Gatsby

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Ultra C elements

Hi! I recently realised that not everyone reading these posts knows figure skating terms so I will be explaining terms like Ultra C elements, under rotation, coaching camps, etc. in the next few posts.

So, what are ultra C elements and why are they so important? Ultra C elements are the most difficult jumps in women's figure skating, this list consists of the triple axel (3.5 rotations) and any quads (quadruple jumps, usually 3.5-4 rotations). Ever since Alexandra Trusova started the quad revolution in women's figure skating, these elements have become crucial in order to win competitions. Sadly, this often happens at the expense of the athletes health, since it requires dangerously low body weight, but that is a discussion for another day.

Sorry for this post being slightly rushed and informal, but I hope this clears it up!

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3A: From the dream team to catastrophe

Aliona Kostornaia, Alexandra Trusova and Anna Sherbakova, better known as 3A, are 3 Russian figure skaters coached by Eteri Tutberidze.

While they were juniors, they were always seen dominating competitions by placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Only losing to each other.

Alexandra Trusova, popular for starting the quad revolution in women's figure skating, was seen as the 'leader' of the group, she was expected to start winning everything when she turned senior. Aliona Kostornaia was seen as the most artistic, graceful and theatrical one, she can't jump any quads, but she does have a triple axel. Anna Sherbakova on the other hand, can jump quads, yet she is the least talked about in this trio.

They all turned from juniors to seniors at the same time, and contrary to what most people expected, Aliona Kostornaia starts winning all the competitions. In May 2020, it was announced that Alexandra (also known as Sasha) would be leaving Team Tutberidze for The Angels Of Plushenko. Only a month later, it was announced that Aliona would also be leaving Team Tutberidze for The Angels Of Plushenko. Eteri Tutberidze and Evgeni Plushenko had a dispute not long before this about another skater, Evgenia Medvedeva, and they were still not on good terms.

Sasha mainly moved to Plushenko so she could be #1 at the camp and have all the attention on her, specifically from Sergei Rozanov, who is a coach who previously worked at Eteri's camp, but moved to Plushenko. He is the coach that helped all of 3A to get their jumps, this is another reason why Eteri and Plushenko are rivals. Sasha was unhappy about her main competition, Aliona, also moving to Plushenko and being coached by Sergei. A schedule had to be made where neither of them could see each other on the ice or even leaving/entering the rink. Because Sergei started coaching Aliona again, Sasha didn't want to be coached by him anymore and she started working with a different coach.

A few months later, Aliona decided to move back to Eteri, but she was given a very hard time. She was forced to give an interview on Russian state television apologising for what she did and practically begging Eteri for forgiveness. Sadly, Aliona got infected with COVID this season, which took her out of most competitions this season. Eventually, Eteri allowed Aliona to return to her camp under one condition, she had to get her triple axel back within 2 months.

Sasha also moved back to Eteri later because of the Eteri bonus, which basically means that those coached by Eteri get higher scores in competition. This switch was just in time for the olympic season, for these olympics, there were only 3 spots for the Russians, and one of them was already taken by Kamila Valieva. There were 6 more olympic-level athletes who had to battle it out for 2 spots to go to Beijing. Due to the level difference between Russian figure skaters and the rest of the world, going to the olympics almost guarantees coming home with a medal. After Sasha showcased her 5-quad record breaking performance at Russian test skates, she was also set to go to Beijing. This whole season, Eteri's team spoke very negatively of Aliona during press conferences, calling her lazy and saying that her personality is the reason she can't land quads. Suddenly, Aliona posted a picture of a broken arm, which knocked her out of the battle to go to the olympics. There was still a battle between Jelizaveta Tuktamysheva and Anna Sherbakova over who would go to the olympics, but because the federation has a preference for Eteri girls, Anna was chosen to go. At the time, Anna didn't even have any ultra C elements in her programs, but she ended up performing ultra C elements at the olympics.

These heartbreaking olympics ended with Anna in first place, Sasha, heartbroken, in second, and Kamila, the favourite to win gold, in 4th place. I have a more detailed post about Beijing 2022 on my blog if you're interested.

These olympics marked the end of the dreamteam that was 3A, and this will go down in history as the death of figure skating.

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Heartbreak Olympics: Beijing 2022

It's decided; Kamila Valieva, Alexandra aka Sasha Trusova and Anna Sherbakova will represent Russia at the 2022 Olympics. They are all under the same coach, the infamous Eteri Tutberidze.

First up: the team event. This event consists of 8 parts, a short and a free program for each discipline. Surprisingly enough, Kamila Valieva, the favourite to win it all, is chosen for BOTH the short and the free program. This is surprising, seeing as both Anna and Sasha missed out on an opportunity to win a gold medal here. To nobodies surprise, Russia wins the team event. However, right before the medal ceremony, the ISU releases a statement saying that the medal ceremony will be postponed. After a while it becomes clear that someone on the Russian team has tested positive for a drug test. This is none other than the 'perfect' Kamila Valieva. While the investigation is ongoing, Kamila will be allowed to practise and compete, but if she ends up on the podium, there will be no ceremony.

With Kamila possibly out of the way for the gold medal, everyone looks at Sasha to win first place. When, on the 15th of February, the short program rolls around, Kamila places first, to nobodies surprise. Anna places second, and on third place we have the Japanese Kaori Sakamoto, and on fourth place, Sasha. Sadly, Sasha fell on her triple axel, which she had not been able to land even a single time in competition that season. This ended up dragging her total score down by a lot.

Next up: the free program. From the three Eteri girls, Sasha is up first. Her performance contains 5 quads and she lands them all, therefore making her the first woman in history to land five quads in the olympics. Sasha is pleased with her performance and thinks she will win the gold medal. This is because Eteri promised her that if she landed those 5 quads, she would win.

After Sasha, it's Anna's turn, she delivers a near perfect performance, landing all her jumps including two quads. At the kiss&cry, when Anna receives her scores and Sasha realises that Anna has more points than her, she breaks down crying and screaming "YOU ALL KNEW ". While this is all happening, it's Kamila's turn.

Everyone expects Kamila to deliver another perfect performance, but to everyones surprise, she delivers the worst performance of her life. She falls on most jumps, and the ones she does land are wobbly. As soon as the gets off, Eteri starts scolding her for her performance. When Kamila receives her scores at the kiss&cry, and realises she is off the podium, she says 'at least the medal ceremony won't be cancelled now' and breaks down in tears.

Anna Sherbakova is the new olympic champion, with Sasha Trusova second, Kaori Sakamoto third and Kamila Valieva in fourth.

Anna, who has just won the competition that she worked for her entire life, isn't celebrating. Her coach and all of her other trainers are busy trying to comfort either Sasha, who is still crying and saying she never wants to skate again, or Kamila, who broke down under all the pressure from the public. Anna later said that the first feeling she had when finding out she won, was empty.

Sasha, who hasn't won a major competition in three years, thought that this would be her moment, especially because Eteri promised her that win if she landed 5 quads. Some of the things Sasha said are: "Everyone has a gold medal, everyone, but not me. I hate skating. I hate it. I hate this sport. I will never skate again. Never," and "I haven't been winning major events for three years. I always try to reach a goal, I always add more quads,". This entire situation is even more heartbreaking when you add that Anna and Sasha used to be best friends, and they share their room at the olympics. Since the olympics, there have been no signs of them still being friends.

Anna, Sasha and Kamila have all endured years and years of abuse at Eteri's camp, from skating while injured to not being allowed to gain any weight. All of this just leads me to wonder, was it worth it?

Links:

Anna Sherbakova: short program, free program

Alexandra/Sasha Trusova: short program, free program

Kamila Valieva: short program, free program