Russian ‘quad queen’ furious after Beijing silver
Russian quad-jumping prodigy Alexandra Trusova could not contain her anger as the teenage star settled for Olympic silver in Beijing despite producing a historic free skate routine on Thursday.
The 17-year-old Trusova became the first female skater ever to land five quadruple jumps in one program as she amassed a tally of 177.13 for her free skate performance – which was the best of the field in Beijing.
When added to her short skate score it earned Trusova a competition total of 251.73 – but that wasn’t enough to finish ahead of fellow Russian star Anna Shcherbakova.
Shcherbakova was given 175.75 by the judges for her free skate, handing her an overall tally of 255.95 when combined with her superior short skate score.
Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto was third with 233.13, while Russian pre-event favorite Kamila Valieva – who had been leading after the short skate – ended fourth as the pressure of her doping case ordeal appeared to take a heavy toll in an error-strewn free skate.
Despite her silver medal, Trusova seemed far from happy with the scoring.
“I landed five quads. You saw the results, you know everything. I’m not satisfied, glad that I did five quads,” the skater nicknamed ‘the Russian Rocket’ told the press, according to the Match TV Telegram channel.
“[About] the words that I will not take to the ice anymore? You will see,” Trusova added, referring to a phrase she had apparently said in a moment of despair which was captured on camera.
“Has my attitude towards [coach] Eteri Tutberidze changed? No, it hasn’t changed to anyone. It’s not my fault that I’m followed by cameramen. I asked them to let me leave.
“I’m satisfied with my skating and my performance. Why am I crying? Just because. I’m here for three weeks already without my mom and my dogs. That’s why I’m crying,” she concluded.
Soon after the competition Trusova was seen crying next to the 'kiss-and-cry' area while coach Sergey Dudakov attempted to comfort her.
"I hate this sport! I hate this! I won't do this anymore," she shouted without noticing that she was being recorded by cameramen.
Shcherbakova added the Olympic title to her 2021 world championship crown.
The 17-year-old becomes the third successive Russian woman to win Olympic individual gold, after success for Adelina Sotnikova in Sochi in 2014 and Alina Zagitova four years ago in South Korea.
