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The ISU recently awarded Eteri Tutberidze as their "best coach" - why don't we take a closer look at what they're endorsing every time they choose to make Eteri their golden standard?
A THREAD COLLECTING ALL THE PUBLIC EVIDENCE ABT ETERI'S KAROLYI-LIKE COACHING METHODS
A THREAD COLLECTING ALL THE PUBLIC EVIDENCE ABT ETERI'S KAROLYI-LIKE COACHING METHODS
"In 2014, Russian coach Eteri Tutberidze was proud to inform the press that Yulia Lipnitskaya, then her star pupil, sometimes existed almost entirely on a diet of “powdered nutrients.” At 15. While training for hours every day."
https://aleteia.org/2017/12/29/a-troubling-trend-among-olympic-figure-skaters/
https://aleteia.org/2017/12/29/a-troubling-trend-among-olympic-figure-skaters/
Eteri: "Every day Yulia struggles w/ weight. I never came across this in my work - she just can’t eat at all. I'm sorry she has to endure so much, but I can't do anything about it. She's great for coping w/ this. When she needs to lose weight, she only has powdered drinks" 1/2
"It’s hard for her, and the weight goes down very slowly - 100g/day. But she does, thank God. Last season, the weight increased, so there were injuries. Now Yulia holds weight, controls herself, although it's very difficult for her" 2/2 https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/156040605.html
Yulia Lipnitskaya later entered a clinic to treat her anorexia and retired from figure skating at 18 years old.
Alina Zagitova abt her time at the Olympics: “I was, you can say, not drinking water at all. That is, we [Zagitova and Medvedeva] just rinsed our mouths and spit it all out.”
Polina Shuboderova [former ET student]: "There's no concept of "tired, I can't." If you are tired or have an injury - you still go out and do it. Even if you have 2 toes broken, you go out and do the same thing 100 times a day. 200, if necessary."
https://fs-gossips.com/for-tutberidze-either-you-are-among-the-leaders-or-you-are-nowhere/
https://fs-gossips.com/for-tutberidze-either-you-are-among-the-leaders-or-you-are-nowhere/
Tarakanova: "My knee really hurt. I thought to withdraw, I could barely walk. But my coaches told me that I needed to show character, so I competed. I performed in a knee brace, but skated cleanly. When I returned on ice, I couldn’t even jump doubles" https://www.gazeta.ru/sport/2018/12/06/a_12084865.shtml
Zagitova abt growing: "It's difficult. My coach & I are looking at what can be slightly changed in technology so as not to concede. And about puberty when you're getting fat, I think this all is made up. You just need to shut your mouth and not eat!" https://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/Figurnoe_katanie/spbnews_NI835628_Alina_Zagitova_Pubertat__eto_vydumki_Prosto_nuzhno_zakryt_rot_i_ne_jest
Medvedeva: "Olympic season. I knew that I had to be as 'dry' as possible. In PC I weighted 1,5kg less than a year before at WC in Helsinki. It was a difficult period, but I had no other choice. Otherwise, I would not have skated that program of mine." [1/2]
"I didn’t have too many muscles, and in this case, the body retains water very strongly. You become heavy and kind of "swollen". Therefore, everything was really very tough and significant damage was done to my body." [2/2] https://rsport.ria.ru/20190323/1552048816.html
Eteri's close collaborator Daniil Gleikhengauz once did an interview where the host talked abt watching Anna Shcherbakova eat only 2 shrimps for dinner. He replied Anna is lucky to be like that because she's not obsessed with food like other girls can be.
Adonyev, one of Eteri's first students: "Eteri is a strict person at work, but I think it's ok. I've become the same. If smth doesn’t work w/ children, I force them. I yell, I can even give them a slap. It's absolutely right if you want results." https://twitter.com/figureskatingRu/status/1282957725182328832
These are only a few, very easy to find interviews.
No coach is perfect. Eteri isn't the only one. But with their award the ISU chose to endorse & support her and everything that she stands for and this could encourage other coaches to follow in her footsteps.
No coach is perfect. Eteri isn't the only one. But with their award the ISU chose to endorse & support her and everything that she stands for and this could encourage other coaches to follow in her footsteps.
In a time when other sports, like Gymnastics, are trying to subvert a culture of silence, oppression and exploitation of children, the ISU and the sport of Figure Skating seem to be choosing to stay behind and turn a blind eye to old-fashioned and damaging coaching methods.
