‘I need to lose a minimum of three kilos’: Olympic champ Zagitova on readiness to land quad
Reigning world and Olympic champion Alina Zagitova has revealed plans on adding extremely complicated quadruple jumps to her future programs, stressing that she needs to lose weight before attempting the move.
The 17-year-old said that she needs to minimize the risk of injury before trying to land the ultra C jump which has become an essential element in women’s skating since coach Eteri Tutberidze’s girls created the so-called quad-revolution last year.
“I am a person who takes action before speaking,” Zagitova said. “That’s why I cannot promise anything right now. First of all I need to do many things to prepare myself mentally and physically. I need to lose a minimum of three kilos, if not more. This is mandatory.”
Zagitova finished second at the season-opening Grand Prix in France, losing to her younger teammate and training partner Alena Kostornaia who splendidly landed two triple axels in her free program.
Olympic gold medalist Zagitova had the most technically complicated program at the 2018 Winter Games, where she ousted Russia’s longtime leader Evgenia Medvedeva.
However, with the arrival of the so-called quad-generation, Zagitova’s former excellence has become overshadowed by talented youngsters who have taken leading positions right from the beginning of the season, winning all four Grand Prix events that have been held so far.
