#sofia shevchenko

Time of Firsts and their captain, Evgenia Medvedeva presenting themselves at the Channel 1 Cup 2021.

Sofia Shevchenko gave a very open and candid interview where she discussed her decision to retire and her relationship with her coaches. Some parts really grabbed my attention:

About Svinin/Zhuk reaction to her decision to take a pause following NHK:

“In our situation, of course, it turned out that I was bad. But I've never been good for coaches, to be honest (laughs). What can I say. Igor is an amazing athlete. Probably, they wanted to keep him and put him with another girl. But when I said about the pause, the coaches didn’t even think about trying to keep us together. Like, go away - go away.”

About Russian nationals 2022:

“The Russian Championship was held with intrigues, scandals, investigations. Who is going to the Olympics, who is not going ... Honestly, I looked at it all and was glad that I was not a part of it. Otherwise, being there, I would be very worried.”

About her coaches clearly putting other teams first and investing more time in them:

“The question is not that there is a first couple - Sasha and Vanya. We have never competed with them. We accepted it, respected the guys, understood that this was the face of our group. We saw how hard they work and were very supportive. We absolutely agreed that more attention is being paid to them. The time they spent with the coaches is a huge milestone that we have not yet passed. And they deserve that time and attention. The question is that there were couples with whom we competed on an equal footing. We were not ready to constantly get under them just because it was profitable. Because this is a reserve for the future for other couples. Several times, of course, you can endure it and you need to go through it, everyone goes through it. But over the course of several years, the situation begins to put pressure, and you generally cease to understand where your place really is. We are not small and understood what was happening, but we could never openly say about it: “Guys, now we are leading the first pair, and you will be patient. You have such a role for now. Then we will take care of you. Now we need to stand here, in the future There are plans for you. You deserve medals, and you don't lose because you're disgusting."

About her coaches (and likely federation) sabotaging them:

“When the fans asked us questions about places and points, we stood, nodded and smiled politely. What else to do? Then the judges came up after the competition and said: "Your coaches asked to put you behind such and such." And you have a complete dissonance in your head. You think: "Why am I skating in this group then, if this happens?"Okay, so be it, if we are a team and then compensate for all this. But when the judges tell you that...”

About coaches reaction to skaters leaving:

“In our group it has always been like this: if you leave somewhere, this is a betrayal”

About wanting to train overseas:

“Of course, there was such a desire. But this has always been interpreted not as development, but as a betrayal. And, being a part of this system, you have to accept it.”

Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko skating their free dance at the 2019 Skate America.

Sofia SHEVCHENKO / Igor EREMENKO