In 2022, three Sofias from Russia were supposed to go to the World Junior Championships in Sofia: Samodelkina, Muravyova and Akatieva. Perhaps this would have been a beautiful story, but it was not destined to come true: first the tournament was postponed due to coronavirus, and then the international ban for Russian athletes came.
A little over two years have passed: Samodelkina joined the Kazakhstan national team, Muravyova became a cousin of Plushenko’s Angels and won silver at the Russian adult championship, and Akatieva, the youngest of the three, was able to win the main title in the country, but then missed the season altogether.
In the skating event, we will see the star of the group, Tutberidze, again. What form is she in now and what did Sonya have to go through to get back on track?
Why did the skater miss a year?
“I want to leave a mark on figure skating.” Will we really not see Akatieva this season?
Stress fracture of the foot at age 16 – season less
In her youth, Sonya shone and won race after race; fans gave her the nickname Supersonic. Now everyone is in awe of the stable Margarita Bazylyuk, but in 2021 Akateva had such a series of jumps. At the Junior Grand Prix stage in Krasnoyarsk, Sonya set world records in the free program and in total points, surpassing the achievements of Kamila Valieva. So far, no one has broken these records.
Sonya is now 17 years old and had to overcome many obstacles. The change in the age limit and not the best date of birth – if our skaters were launched at the international level at this time, Sonya would still be skating in juniors. Finally, a stress fracture in her foot, due to which the skater left competitive life for more than a year.
It cannot be ruled out that the stars that shone in their youth begin to fade at the age of 16, also due to the heavy load on quads in childhood. Before our eyes, young figure skaters begin to perform quadruple jumps at the age of 10-11, and do so a lot and actively, and we can observe first-hand how this affects their health.
Sonya constantly jumped triple Axel and quadruple toe loop in programs from the age of 12, at 16 she suffered a stress fracture. During the season, news repeatedly appeared that Akatieva returned to training, tried to get back in shape, but to no avail – the injury still made itself felt. It took a long time to return to the ice, and at that time another athlete from Tutberidze’s team, Adelia Petrosyan, took the leading position.
How is Akatieva coming into the season?
Sonya landed the most difficult set in her junior international season: triple Axel – triple toe loop in the short program, trixel, two quadruple toe loops and quad Salchow in the free program. A season later, as an adult, Akatieva opted for one set of axel and two sheepskin coats and faced a tricky short program.
The injury and the missed season forced the skater to return to performing all the jumps, starting with the singles. Sonya made her first public appearance during Eteri Tutberidze’s show in Moscow. At that time, the triple flip and the lutz were in the process of restoration. By the autumn, Akatieva’s preparation does not yet allow her to attempt a complex series.
Sofya Akatieva on Tutberidze’s show
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
“I am still recovering from an injury. I plan to reintroduce Ultra-si, but gradually. I will do triple jumps on skates and as the season progresses it will become more difficult for us,” said Sonya.
At the open training session of Eteri Tutberidze’s group, Akatieva performed the free dance “Admiral” – the public did not see it at last year’s skating trials at Megasport. Not everything went well at the box office, which is why the skater was upset and cried, but Daniil Gleikhengauz encouraged her: “You are better prepared than you just showed. There were no bad performances during training.”
The last official start for Sonya at the moment was the final of the Russian Grand Prix – 2022/2023. It took place on the same stage as the current test skates. In Yubileiny, another Akatieva will take to the ice – mature, having gone through serious difficulties, but she will be no less interesting to watch than the young star Sonya, who broke records.
Details about the uniform of Tutberidze’s students:
Who did Tutberidze criticise and who did he praise in an open training session? We note down the most important things.
