training under eteri

disappointed

february 9-23, 2018- pyeongchang olympics.

february was a weird month at our rink. eteri, daniil, and sergei were all in south korea with alina and evgenia for the olympics.
eteri called in sergei razanov and a few other coaches to help train us, but without alina, and zhenia the rink was very quiet.

during practice we weren't constantly getting screamed at, which was kinda nice for a change, but i also started to get a little lazy.

—

sasha, aliona and i, all thought that evgenia would end up with the gold medal, while alina ended up with silver, which was pretty much the universal opinion at the rink.

the day of the short program (11.02.18) had only strengthened our opinion. both girls skated great, but zhenia was just different than alina. it's hard to explain why, but as i got older it became more apparent to why i felt this way towards alina.

on the days when the girls skated,
(11.02.18)- team short, zhenia
( 12.02.18)- team long, alina
(21.02.18)- singles short
(23.02.18)- singles long
we were given permission from the coaches to watch the full broadcast, which could be 3-5 hours long.

everyone would huddle up into the entrance at sambo-70, and watch on a tv in the front.
it was like a movie night, but instead of a movie it's figure skating, and we have no yummy snacks/treats.

sasha, aliona, dasha and i always sat together gossiping about whichever skater we were watching. we all fantasized about being on olympic ice, and representing our country, but we were unsure of who would make it, and who wouldn't.

—

the day of the long program-
we all sat in anticipation before zhenia went for her program.
both girls were basically neck and neck, but we all still had hope that zhenia would come out with the gold medal.

we watched as she skated cleanly and beautifully, we watched as she cried happy tears, and we watched when the news came, she was second. everyone was in utter shock.

—

april 3, 2018

i was told by my doctors that i would be fully healed after 6 months, but for me it took about 4 ish months. i started training quads and my 3A at about 3 months post physical therapy. i was initially nervous because it wasn't fully cleared, but i knew my body, and i could handle the jumps at that point.

today, i was also told on the 5th of april, a russian media channel would be coming to the rink to interview me, and sasha, to watch us, and the other girls practice.
normally, i would be fine with this, we've done it so many times before, but after my injury i was uncertain if i could make an impact like i use to.

—
april 5, 2018

i woke up extremely nervous for my interview, but decided to push through.

my mom and i had picked out an outfit that wasn't too flashy, but also wasn't too plain.

sasha and i decided to match,
i wore my favorite light purple karisma top ( figure skating brand) with crystals on top, with the matching light purple crystal skirt and over the boot leggings, while she wore the same, but in light blue.
i usually wear karisma outfits since they make me feel pretty while training, and they look really nice on camera.