Little diamonds of Russian figure skating
Three pre-teen figure skaters have triumphed in the girls’ competition at the latest stage of the Russian cup in Perm, once again hinting to become the main stars at the Sochi Olympics in 2014.
Reigning Russian champion Adelina Sotnikova took a confident lead after the short program, and was equally as brilliant in her long performance.
A touching Eastern fairy tale on ice by the 13-year-old left no one in the house indifferent and proved enough to secure an undisputed title at the competition.
In chase was Elizaveta Tuktamysheva who, despite a few apparent faults, was keen to hold onto her second position.
In the girls' event all eyes were on Darya Medvedeva.
Her performance was supported in person by none other than Aleksey Mishin, who trained Evgeny Pluschenko to his 2006 Olympic gold and is preparing the star for the upcoming games in Vancouver.
The routine worked out perfectly, as the little Russian diamond left no doubts as to who was the best in the girls' singles event on the day, with her renowned trainer celebrating her success.
“I think I did pretty well today, though there were still a few little mistakes in my performance. Sometimes I do even better – so I wouldn't call my skating today the best I'm able to give,” Darya Medvedeva said.
Russia’s national team head coach Valery Artyukhov was also impressed with Medvedeva's performance, and pointed out that she's not alone in representing the best Russia can offer in the near future.
“Taking a look at the girls’ event podium, I'd say those three performed at a very high level of skating. First of all, the two girls from St. Petersburg – Darya Medvedeva and Valeriya Kachalina. Medvedeva even got some bonus points for two very complicated elements within the same program. Plus Cristina Zaseeva, who represents CSKA [Moscow], did very well here. I'm sure they will become our leaders in women's single skating in the near future. Though that's not all, as we have some more talents to grow,” Valery Artyukhov said.
