Eteri could’ve played this with more subtlety. She could’ve orchestrated a rise for D/S that was less blatant, getting her daughter into the top 5 at nationals (which is higher than she had any right to be with her competitive results up to this season and the teams she would have had to beat to get 5th). That would’ve set her up well for the next quad, what with retirements and a further push in the post-Olympic season, and would’ve likely ended with a lot less criticism from both russians and the figure skating community in general. Instead she is doing everything to send her daughter to the Olympics this year. This makes me wonder if Eteri is unsure she will hold the same political power in four years as she does now. Let’s say the age increase for seniors happens. Suddenly fewer of her girls are competitive as seniors due to the unsustainable technique and overtraining. She’s not producing champions the way she was. She no longer has a chokehold on Rusfed.