Childhood and youth
Sasha, the eldest of three children, was born in Ryazan in the summer of 2004. The girl’s parents support a cult of an active lifestyle in the family. Father is a master of sports in judo, hand-to-hand combat and sambo. Her mother was involved in athletics, and now Svetlana devotes all her time to raising Alexandra and her two younger brothers, Yegor and Ivan.
At the age of 4, the girl learned to roller skate, practically never parted with them, and somehow it just happened that she came to figure skating. According to the first coach Larisa Melkova, the talented student in the group quickly overtook the rest of the children and turned out to be very musical and jumping.
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Alexandra Trusova with her brothers
Soon, due to business needs, her father moved to Moscow and moved his family. Sasha continued to go to a sports school, and then ended up at the Khrustalny skating rink of the Sambo-70 Sports and Education Center. However, Trusova did not immediately come to the maker of sports biographies, Eteri Tutberidze.
For three years the girl trained with Alexander Volkov and his wife, choreographer Martin Dagenais, then moved on to Anna Tsareva. But Sasha wanted to have a good role model before her eyes, like Evgenia Medvedeva or Alina Zagitova. That’s how she ended up in Tutberidze’s group.
Childhood
Alexandra Vyacheslavovna Trusova was born on June 23, 2004 in Ryazan. Sasha’s father is a master of sports in judo, sambo and hand-to-hand combat. Trusova has two brothers.
Alexandra Trusova with her older brother
Alexandra has been involved in sports since early childhood - at the age of 4 the girl was given roller skates, which she skated with great pleasure, and soon the girl was sent to figure skating.
Alexandra Vyacheslavovna Trusova
When Sasha came to her first coach Olga Shevtsova, she could not stand on skates at all, but she easily and confidently mastered the basic techniques. According to Shevtsova, Trusova has very good physical data and an incredibly resilient body - many students are not able to withstand the loads that little Sasha could easily cope with. In her hometown, by the age of 8-9, the girl was already performing all double jumps.
By the age of 8, Sasha was showing decent results
After watching the Olympics in Sochi, Sasha firmly decided to connect her life with figure skating. As soon as Alexandra’s mother realized that her daughter would become a professional figure skater, she quit her job and devoted herself to her daughter’s athletic development. She is present at every training session of Alexandra.
At the age of 9, Alexandra firmly decided to become a professional figure skater.
For five years, Sasha went in for sports in Ryazan, and then, for family reasons, the Trusovs moved to Moscow, where the schoolgirl continued to work on her technique with famous coaches.
Figure skating
The jumps that made Alexandra famous are why the young athlete loves figure skating. I learned singles quickly, then axel one and a half turns and doubles. By the age of 11, Trusova had mastered a cascade, including a triple jump, and tried to do the triple axel, which is considered the most difficult, but it didn’t work out.
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Russian figure skater Alexandra Trusova
Then her coach switched the student to practicing quadruple jumps, and in April 2017, according to Sasha, she performed a Salchow. Russian Trusova became the first figure skater to perform two quadruple jumps in one program.
Alexandra loves multi-rotation jumps. So, in training for the Grand Prix final, she performed a cascade of six triple jumps. According to the athlete, she simply fulfilled the coaches’ request - “to have a lot of jumps.” Trusova is not afraid of the possibility of falling, and before entering the jump she developed her own “trick” - she looks straight into the eyes of the judges so that they cannot look away.
Who is Alexandra Trusova, who shocked the whole world of figure skating?
The inimitable figure skating mentor Eteri Tutberidze never ceases to amaze us. We had just begun to admire 15-year-old Alina Zagitova, who became a household name no earlier than November 2017, but had already taken Olympic gold from the beautiful 18-year-old Evgenia Medvedeva (MAXIM showed you an interview with her), when Eteri prepared the 13-year-old Alexander Trusov. Alexandra was the first in history to perform two quadruple jumps and won with phenomenal scores, ahead of both Zagitova and Medvedeva in the correspondence debate.
When the fantastic technical scores (92.35) lit up on the scoreboard, I wanted to rub my eyes and pinch myself. Are you having problems with the electronics there, at the Junior World Championships? These are some unrealistic numbers. Such scores simply don’t exist in the women’s program!
Retrospective: when a year ago Evgenia Medvedeva set the world record that still stands today, she had 82.40. Zagitova’s personal achievement in Pyeongchang is 83.06. But now the girl brought them both 10 points! With such a technical assessment, Trusova would have been seventh in the Olympic free program among... men in February. Yes Yes! And she would have pushed Russian champion Mikhail Kolyada into eighth place.
In a nutshell about this incredible athlete. Alexandra Vyacheslavovna Trusova was born on June 23, 2004 in Ryazan. That is, she will receive the right to compete in adult competitions in a season and a half - from the fall of 2019. Unless, of course, the miracle girl suddenly begins to grow sharply, which often leads to unpredictable consequences. Now Trusova’s height is 148 centimeters. And she trains in the same place as Zagitova and Medvedeva - at the Moscow Sambo-70 school with Eteri Tuberidze.
By the way, not far from her in terms of points and potential is another junior, Alena Kostornaya. That is, in four years at the Beijing Olympics it will be very difficult for Zagitova to win gold again. It will be difficult for Medvedeva to even get on the podium.
Because now women's figure skating is following the path that women's gymnastics followed not so long ago: it is no longer a women's sport, but a children's sport. Well, Tutberidze knows how to prepare children better than anyone in the world, setting the level of difficulty higher with each subsequent girl.
Moreover, you need to be in time before final puberty, when your figure, hormones and muscles change. That is, it is necessary not to slow down development, but to bring the athlete to her peak a year or two before her 15th birthday. At least that's how we see it.
Personal life
Sports do not interfere with Sasha’s studies at all. The figure skater goes to school in the evenings and loves mathematics. He spends his free time like an ordinary teenager: reading books in the fantasy genre, communicating on social networks, and posting photos from his trips there. When she travels, the girl takes with her a living “mascot”—Tina the Chihuahua.
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Alexandra Trusova in 2020
Trusova is accompanied by her mother during training and abroad, and mainly by her grandmother at tournaments around the country. Due to her young age, the athlete does not yet think about her personal life.
Already now Alexandra is making plans for the future. In an interview, she said that she wants to connect her life with animals. When I visited Koala Park between performances in Australia, I held and stroked all the animals I could hold.
Figure skater Alexandra Trusova left Tutberidze’s group - is this a betrayal?
There was a sensation in Russian women's figure skating.
Star trio of students of Eteri Tutberidze
, which in one incomplete season of adult skating managed to convince everyone of its incredible power, suddenly broke up.
It was hard to imagine that the girls, who looked so good together with the medals of the Grand Prix Final and the European Championship, would go side by side to new victories for many years under the wing of one coach. But it all ended much earlier than could have been expected.
Trusova has already notified Tutberidze of her resignation
Generation of young champions
In recent years, Russian fans could not help but admire the work of Eteri Tutberidze. Her methods made it possible not only to churn out victories, but also to develop figure skating, as well as increase the level of competition. Lipnitskaya mine gold?
- This is great.
When Medvedeva
and
Zagitova
, it’s even better. And when there are three contenders for first place in any major tournament in our team, it’s simply amazing!
Alexandra Trusova
,
Alena Kostornaya
and
Anna Shcherbakova
amazed everyone even before they came to adult skating. The results of the Junior Grand Prix and World Championships showed that Eteri raised a whole generation of young champions who were ready to do what no one else in the world had done.
Figure skating in Europe is over. Are Russian girls to blame for this too?
A German official criticized young Russian figure skaters. Oh, it would be better if he didn't do that!
The TSCHK group, as its fans lovingly called it, noisily burst into adult skating: it collected all the medals of the Grand Prix Final and the European Championship. Perhaps the girls from Russia would have taken the entire podium of the World Championship if it had taken place - the chances of this were very high.
Trusova gave up before our eyes
At the same time, the incomplete season allowed us to draw one important conclusion about the TSCHK trio. While Shcherbakova and Kostornaya performed close to their maximum at the main competitions, Trusova suffered setbacks. Although the word “failure” looks strange next to two awards of major starts in the debut season, it is quite acceptable.
Just remember how enchantingly Trusova performed a year ago! She was ready to update adult world records and playfully twirled quadruples. No wonder she was called the “Russian rocket” and “the most jumping figure skater in the world.” Even in October at the Japan Open, Alexandra performed four quadruple jumps in one free program. It was borderline fantastic!
A 14-year-old figure skater from Russia broke the world record. But it can't be counted
What is Zagitova like? Which Medvedeva? The best figure skaters in the world skate in Perm and may be left without the Olympics. Is this fair?
But at the main starts of the season, all this splendor disappeared somewhere. Trusova sometimes claimed five quadruples, but God forbid she landed three. The rest were torn off by the exhalation of the stands.
What went wrong? Why did the world junior champion give up before our eyes?
Alexandra Trusova
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
Who is unhappy with whom?
It is difficult to say with certainty what went wrong in the Trusov-Tutberidze combination.
One can only guess who was more dissatisfied with whom.
Perhaps Trusova, who is overcoming the stage of growing up, has found it more difficult to fulfill the demands of a tough coach. Maybe she gave it her all and needed support after failures at the main competitions, but she didn’t get it. Or maybe it was the other way around: Eteri Georgievna believed that her student was not working at her maximum.
“Couldn’t leave normally? Scary?" Tutberidze responded harshly to Medvedeva
And she finished off: “It was Zagitova who brought you to the silver medal at the Olympics.” Why does the coach kill his student? Or is this a desperate attempt to get her back?
There is also an assumption that Tutberidze’s coaching group liked to work with the flexible Shcherbakova more than with the restive Trusova - this also added extra fire.
Be that as it may, Alexandra has stopped in her development compared to last year. And obviously, this is precisely why the decision to completely change the training process is connected.
Betrayal?
And now one more question. Is Trusova’s act a betrayal?
Yes and no.
On the one hand, it is difficult to avoid parallels with Medvedeva’s departure from Tutberidze. There, too, there was a series of failures, a certain jealousy towards another student and a sudden separation. Let's see, maybe Trusova will explain her decision and even talk openly with the coach who made her famous, taught her everything she did and, perhaps, will make her a champion.
But for now, the separation looks quite harsh and disrespectful towards Tutberidze, especially if Plushenko
, who openly conflicted with Eteri.
"Trash pit of hate." What has Russian figure skating become?
Alina Zagitova's statement provoked a powerful scandal. Tutberidze responded harshly to Plushenko and Tarasova.
On the other hand, even at almost 16 years old, Alexandra, together with her parents, has the right to manage her own career. If Trusova decided that she could no longer progress in Tutberidze’s group, but that someone else would achieve success, that’s her business. Her victories or mistakes.
It is possible that Trusova will still be on the podium together with Kostornaya or Shcherbakova. All the more interesting. After all, the world has already forgotten what it’s like to win not according to Tutberidze’s method.
Alexandra Trusova now
The athlete continues to amaze the audience and judges. In the fall of 2019, Trusova started the season brilliantly. For the first time, with members of the European team, the girl visited Japan at the Japan Open tournament, where, together with Alina Zagitova, Denis Vasiliev and Javier Fernandez, she became the winner. At her performance, Sasha performed four quarter jumps in one program, which happened for the first time in women's single skating.
Alexandra Trusova - Free jumping at Japan Open 2019
In October, Alexandra won the Skate Canada Grand Prix. At the tournament, the figure skater set two new records for the number of points scored for the free program (166.62) and for 2 programs as a whole (241.02).
During the warm-up before the exhibition performances, the Russian woman surprised fans by performing a parallel quarter sheepskin coat together with another tournament winner, Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu. Alexandra posted the video on Instagram.
And in March 2020, the figure skater had the honor of representing the country at the World Championships in Canada. The Russian team also included singles skaters Alena Kostornaya and Anna Shcherbakova. Shortly before the competition, Trusova admitted in an interview that she was focused on practicing difficult elements and seriously counted on a good result. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the competition was cancelled.
And in the spring of the same year, it became known that the athlete changed her coach, choosing Evgeni Plushenko as a mentor.
Alexandra Trusova: “If you really want something, then you can achieve anything”
March 11, 2018
Alexandra Trusova, a student of Eteri Tutberidze’s group, won the World Junior Championships in Sofia, not only writing her name in the history of world figure skating, but changing the idea of the capabilities of the human body. The 13-year-old athlete performed two four-revolution jumps in the program for the first time - a quadruple Salchow and a quadruple toe loop. Thus, the Russian woman set new guidelines for the next stage in world women's singles skating. Alexandra Trusova spoke about her victory, quadruple jumps and desire to be first in everything in an interview with Tatyana Flada.
- Sasha, what are you experiencing now?
— I’m very glad that I won the junior world championship. I'm glad I jumped two quadruples in the program. I prepared and did it. But I still haven’t fully realized what happened. Too little time has passed. I can't quite believe it!
— Before the award ceremony, did you talk on the phone with Eteri Georgievna?
- No. I was not able to talk to her then. Our Federation leaders called, they congratulated us and were happy for us. And our coaches Daniil Markovich (Gleikhengauz - approx.) and Sergei Viktorovich (Dudakov - approx.) were the first to congratulate. They were with us in Sofia. Thanks to our entire team and Eteri Georgievna.
— During the award ceremony, you wore your hair down and amazed everyone.
“I haven’t cut my hair since birth, they only trimmed the ends, which is why it’s so long.” And then I saw a cartoon about Rapunzel, and as a child I wanted to be like her.
— Can you tell us about your feelings during the short and free program skates?
“I just wanted to skate cleanly, show everything I can, and it seems to have worked out.”
— How did you feel when in the free program you jumped first a quadruple Salchow, then a quadruple toe loop?
“I was glad that the quads worked out.” But I knew that I had two more complex cascades ahead, the whole program was ahead, so I pulled myself together and completed everything that was needed.
— Everyone is talking about your quads, there are videos of your program everywhere on the Internet. But you look completely calm.
- Yes. I tried my best in training. During training, the jumps were clean, and sometimes even better. But these are competitions, so at the World Championships the quads were not as good as we would like.
— The quadruple Salchow was simply gorgeous.
- It could have been better too. Salchow - yes. But the quadruple sheepskin coat definitely could have been better.
— When did you start learning quadruple jumps?
— I started learning the axel in three and a half turns. I tried it for the first time a long time ago, when I was 10 years old with another trainer. But then the axel didn’t work out. Then I moved to Eteri Georgievna Tutberidze. After riding for six months, we tried the triple axel again. He didn't go. Then we switched to the quad Salchow. And I jumped it in April last year. I started learning the quadruple sheepskin coat after the junior Grand Prix finals, in December.
— Did the coaches suggest you try a quadruple Salchow?
— Yes, because I thought that first you need to learn the triple Axel, then the quadruple Salchow... One by one. And they said that you can try the Salchow right away, because my triple Salchow is very high, not in length, but in height.
— Did you first learn jumping on a fishing rod?
— Axel often jumped on the fishing rod, but Salchow not often. At first I tried the quadruple Salchow on a fishing rod several times, then I decided to go for it this way. It worked out fine. She just jumped and jumped. I wore special pants so that falling would not hurt. I jumped - it worked the first time, the second time... And off it went.
- It seems that everything is so easy and simple.
- No, it was a long time. The competition ends and you start learning new jumps at the end of the season. You don’t skate programs at this time, and there is an opportunity to learn something new. There is time before the New Year, you can do this.
— At the Grand Prix final, you said that in addition to the Salchow, you wanted to learn a quadruple toe loop. Said and done. Was the sheepskin coat easier?
— Salchow and sheepskin coat are similar. You simply jump the Salchow from an edge, and the sheepskin coat from a tooth. Salchow is more convenient for me. But Daniil Markovich (Gleikhengauz - approx .) says that my sheepskin coat is better.
— Do you do any special exercises to twist your jumps so that they are so high? Or is it, so to speak, natural data?
— I actually don’t spin very fast. My grouping is based on the height of the jump. And I jump so high, probably by nature. But if you train jumping every day, then anyone can do it. You just have to go, do it and don’t be afraid. I just really wanted to do it. And I wasn’t afraid to try. If you really want something, you can achieve anything.
— The process of learning quadruple jumps is probably the same as learning triple jumps. But when you fall from quads, does it hurt more?
— A quadruple is one more revolution, which is why you jump higher. And if you fall from such a height, and I have high jumps, then, of course, it’s unpleasant. When I fall, everyone around me turns away... But in fact, it only hurts to fall on my hips. That’s how I fell from a quadruple at the Grand Prix final, it didn’t hurt very much. Everyone said: “Horror,” but I didn’t feel any pain.
“That’s why you wear special pants during training, so that, God forbid, you don’t get injured.” You said you want to learn other quadruple jumps?
- Yes. Of course, I would need to learn the triple axel. Quadruples without a triple axel are somehow wrong. But we'll see. And we’ve been wanting to try the quadruple lutz for a long time. Now if there are no more competitions, we’ll try. First, the Lutz must be on the fishing rod, but without raising your hands. And I’m already jumping with my hands in the air. I'm used to it.
“You said that you always wanted to do something that no one else has done.” Why?
- To be the first in the world.
— Weren’t you afraid to try such difficult jumps?
- No. A quadruple is another revolution. You spin until you stop, until you fall. This is first. Jumped, fell, fell. And then once - it seems that you can already leave the jump. So again and again. And it works.
— What did your mother say when you decided to try the quadruple? Scared?
“She didn’t tell me about this.” She just said: “Well, go ahead, try it.” What can mom say if I decide? She agrees with me. He is always happy when I jump, when it works out. If I said what I want, then I do it. Mom doesn't interfere in our training matters.
— What did the boys or other athletes tell you after the free program?
— Lesha Erokhov, Roma Savosin, Yasha, a boy from Belarus, came up and congratulated. Lesha always tells me how to do quadruples. He also does these jumps. He has three quadruples and two triple axels in his program. And when the coaches are busy, and we have a lot of people, especially when there is only one coach left, Lesha helps me, tells me what needs to be done.
— What about the boys who don’t do quadruple jumps yet?
“Sometimes they clap when they see what I’m doing.” And sometimes they look, maybe they envy. I don't know how to say this correctly.
— Your technical score in the free program at this championship was higher than that of the girls who competed at the Olympic Games. And if you had participated in the Olympics in Korea, you might have become third. But there are age restrictions. What do you think about this?
— Of course, I would like there to be no age restrictions. But, on the other hand, they should be. The Olympic Games are held every four years, and it is necessary for as many different athletes as possible to win.
Of course, I am upset that due to age restrictions I will not be able to compete at the Russian Championship next year. And I would really like to.
— You won all the main junior tournaments, next year you will still compete at the junior level. What will be your motivation?
— I want to skate programs with quads more often and cleaner. I will improve my performances so that I can get more points and set records.
— Would you be interested in competing with boys?
- Yes. But this is impossible.
— By the way, here in terms of points, although the girls have one less jump, you could become second in the boys’ competition.
- But boys have a different coefficient.
— Taking into account the components, theoretically you could win.
“I think that Lesha Erokhov would not forgive me for this.”
— In addition to quadruples, your programs have two complex cascades - flip - loop and lutz - loop. When did you start jumping them?
— I learned Lutz-rittberger last year. At the Russian championship I was third, second, behind the older girls. But they jumped cascades with a sheepskin coat, so I decided to learn with a loop. At that time, Alina Zagitova was still performing in juniors, she jumped such a cascade, and I decided to learn it too. I taught and taught, and when it started to work out, I asked the coaches if it was possible to insert it into the program? I went and skated well. But right before the competition, Eteri Georgievna checked me. I was spinning, and she once turned on the music, I had to skate a program with a Lutz and a loop. It worked out before the Russian Championship.
—— Figure skating is not only about jumping.
- It's a pity.
- Do you like jumping?
— Most of all I love jumping. But if everything else wasn’t there, it would be easy.
— What about the other elements, choreography, sliding... Do you like it?
— We always do a roll-out before training, at the end of training we do spins and treadmills... I’m interested in when the programs are put on. I don’t look for music for programs myself. It's the coaches' choice. I listen to different music, but I wouldn’t want to skate to the one I listen to. I do not know why. Probably to separate personal life and figure skating.
— Is figure skating a job or a hobby for you?
— Now that I’ve started competing at world championships and Grand Prix stages, it’s probably work. But it always seemed to me that work is something where you don’t want to go. Coming and sitting in the office... Boring. And I like figure skating. And I always train with pleasure.
— Who are you friends with in the group?
- With everyone. We have a girls' locker room. There aren't very many people there, but we communicate. I am equally friendly with everyone, on equal terms. But my closest friends are my family. We have a big family. I am not as comfortable with strangers as with my own people. And I have no shortage of communication.
- You have a dog that you love very much. Did you miss her?
- Yes. When they called via video, I called her, but she didn’t understand where the sound was coming from. She turned her head, such a look...
- See you soon. What are your plans now?
- Come home, come to training, we’ll see.
- What about rest?
— I would like to go to the sea. To Italy, Spain. We could take Tina (the dog - note) there. In Europe, many people travel with dogs. There are many pet stores there. And I love dressing Tina. She really doesn't like it. But I buy her dresses and harnesses. She is like a Princess to me.
- Like a doll.
- But alive.
— Maybe we should go to the World Championships in Milan and see how others perform?
- I don’t think we’ll go. We need to train. And in Milan I would relax more. Rest is rest, and work is work. Moreover, the vacation is not so far away.
Tatiana FLADE, Sofia
Photo by Mikhail SHAROV
In the photo: Alexandra Trusova and Alena Kostornaya, Alexandra Trusova with her dog Tina (archive)
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Trusova
Quadruple to the side
In short, this is the story of the queen of quadruple jumps Sasha Trusova. At the 2020 Russian Championship she won silver, but in 2020 she moved down a notch. The European Championship, despite the abundance of fearless, albeit not always performed, quadruples, brought bronze. Alena Kostornaya confidently beat Sasha at the Russian and European Championships even without quadruples. Anna Sherbakova - already with quadruples - too.
All three are students of Eteri Tutberidze, and Kamilla Valieva is also growing up in her school, approaching the level of the leading three in the country, Europe, and also the world. The national team also includes Olympic champion Alina Zagitova, although her future is not entirely clear. A conflict, rather psychological, could not help but brew. This already happened when Zhenya Medvedeva left for Canadian Brian Orser.
And Trusova acted as if from the same carbon copy. The search for reasons and dissatisfaction with oneself probably developed into certain reproaches towards the coach. The age of athletes is short, and figure skaters are even shorter. A 15-year-old girl who moved from quiet Ryazan and has been studying with Eteri Georgievna and her team since 2020, splashed out her accumulated emotions in such a standard way.
Tutberidze’s team learned about the decision to leave the legendary team from Sasha Trusova’s relatives. It’s probably really difficult to announce such a decisive step yourself. How much have you lived, experienced, and conquered together with your coach? Young Alexandra Trusova is already an established figure skater. And she entrusted her future to the two-time Olympic champion, the great genius of ice and long-lived sportsman Evgeni Plushenko.
Now the young coach Evgeniy Viktorovich Plushenko will have to help Trusova. The king of quadruples himself, he must find a new artistic image for the pupil. Give advice on how to express emotions on the ice.
Zhenya always trained with the same coach - Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin. Based on this indicator, the eternal and victorious couple Plushenko-Mishin can be safely entered into the Guinness Book of Records. So it will be even more interesting for Evgeniy Viktorovich to prove that an athlete can grow with another mentor.
Competently
Irina Slutskaya, two-time world champion, seven-time winner of European championships:
— How can I comment on this? And so, the process is normal, the situation is ordinary. At the end of the season, skaters move from one coach to another. Athletes are in search, they want to improve, to solve more complex tasks, which for various reasons have not yet been accomplished. Sasha Trusova did the same.
Of course, the former mentor is offended. After all, so much effort was given. But what can you do? Parting is also part of a coach's fate.
Zhenya Plushenko received very good, already prepared material. He has a real opportunity to truly prove himself. A new stage in coaching has arrived. Everything is in his hands.
