'At the Olympics we will be competing under the white flag, but we are still 'Athletes from Russia'. Turning senior she remains unbeaten this season with wins in China and France, the Grand Prix finals, the Russian national championships, and the Europeans, where she produced a personal best of 238.24 points to shade Medvedeva by less than seven points.ĭancing to Black Swan in her short program and Don Quixote in her free dance, she is unusual in that she backloads her routine with all her jumps executed in the second half, to earn extra points.īoth Zagitova and Medvedeva are among a group of Russians competing as neutrals at the 2018 Games with Russia serving a country ban for state-sponsored doping. Zagitova burst onto the scene in 2016-2017, being crowned world junior champion and becoming the first junior to break the 200 point barrier. Pyeongchang promises to serve up an electric rematch between the two pals. The injury had sidelined her for the Grand Prix Finals in Japan, and the Russian national championships, opening the way for Zagitova to step in and claim both titles. Returning after time off to recover from a broken foot, Medvedeva was narrowly eclipsed by her training partner, close friend, and now deadly Olympic rival. 'I could hear kids shouting and people shouting 'Go on Alina'', she said after claiming the continental crown at the Megasport Palace rink in Moscow last month.
