‘Reminds me of Survivor’: Elizaveta Tuktamysaheva on insane level of competition inside Russian team

Russian figure skating ace Elizaveta Tuktamysheva has compared the battle for spots on the national team with reality show Survivor, where competitors are divided into two tribes.

In a lengthy Instagram post, the 2015 world and European champion said that competition for just three places on the national team will unfold between 10 immensely-talented skaters, adding that rivalry inside the team has never been so tough.

READ MORE: Picture perfect: Russian 13yo sensation Valieva wows figure skating world with Picasso routine

In a short video published on Tuktamysheva’s Instagram page, the 22-year-old presented 10 female skaters, including herself, whom she believes will fight for the right to represent Russia at the biggest international figure skating events.

“Next season will be my eighth at senior level, but I can tell you that the level of competition is higher than ever. It reminds me of the show Survivor where two tribes compete,” the skater wrote.

“My team made a promo in that style for the upcoming season with all Grand-Prix competitors.”

Last year, all three podium places at the Russian national championship were occupied by junior skaters who were not age-eligible to compete at senior level.

This year, they will make their senior debut on the international stage, meaning that Russia’s long-time leaders, Olympic and world champion Alina Zagitova and Olympic runner-up Evgenia Medvedeva, can be denied places on the team if the talented teenagers beat them at the national trials.

Russia’s new generation of skaters, led by Alexandra Trusova and Alena Kostornaya, have already made history at a junior level, becoming the first female athletes to successfully land quads in their programs.

Neither Zagitova nor Medvedeva have ever attempted to include a quad into their routines.