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Post by Admin on Dec 11, 2020 4:47:37 GMT
Russian figure skating champion Evgenia Medvedeva is set to miss the upcoming national championship, citing health problems, having revealed she was infected with Covid-19 last month. The two-time world gold medalist returned to her long-time coach Eteri Tutberidze at the beginning of the season, but hasn’t yet been able to demonstrate any of the results of their renewed cooperation, because she’s been forced to rest and recuperate. “I sustained a spinal injury in the autumn, which forced me to take a month-long break in training. I spent a lot of time in hospital before I finally started feeling better. But just when I resumed full-time training, I got infected,” Medvedeva said, on confirming that she had contracted Covid-19. “I didn’t train in November or at the beginning of December because of my illness. I was hospitalized because my lungs were seriously affected. Now I’m feeling healthier, but I only returned to the ice on December 8,” the skater added, making it clear she won’t be ready for the national championships, which will kick off in two weeks. As well as Medvedeva, two more top skaters, including reigning European champion Alena Kostornaia and 2015 world gold medalist Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, were confirmed to have contracted Covid-19. Russia’s best figure skaters are expected to gather in Chelyabinsk at the end of the month to battle for spots on the national team.
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Post by Admin on Dec 13, 2020 6:44:30 GMT
Yevgenia Medvedeva will miss the Russian Figure Skating Championships in two weeks after being hospitalized and sidelined most of November and early December with an illness.
Medvedeva, an Olympic silver medalist and two-time world champion, confirmed an earlier report that she was diagnosed with the coronavirus, according to Russian news agency TASS.
She also said she had serious lung problems earlier this fall, which came after she was out more than a month with a back injury, according to TASS and Russia’s figure skating federation.
The 21-year-old said she returned to the ice this week but that it was impossible to be ready for nationals on two weeks of prep, according to the federation.
The Russian Championships are shaping up to be another showdown among the nation’s new generation of teens — Aliona Kostornaya, Anna Shcherbakova and Aleksandra Trusova, the world’s top three skaters last season in their senior international debuts, and Kamila Valiyeva, who can compete on the senior international level in the Olympic season.
Yelizaveta Tuktamysheva, the 2015 World champion who won Rostelecom Cup last month, is also among the contenders.
Olympic gold medalist and reigning world champion Alina Zagitova hasn’t competed in more than a year and is not entered at nationals.
Medvedeva or Zagitova could still technically be named to the three-woman team for March’s world championships, but those spots are expected to go to the top three finishers at nationals, assuming they are age eligible. The top two are guaranteed spots.
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