Something is in fashion, something goes out of fashion, and something is eternal – for example, what fans called the word “zagimed” a few years ago. Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva have not competed on the ice for a long time (and in principle do not compete), but their confrontation in 2024 is more alive than ever!
Now figure skaters are competing in the media space and seem to be trying to outdo each other: conflicts are again arising over music, projects on and off the ice.
Battle for YouTube – 1:0 in favor of Evgenia
Medvedeva launched her show on YouTube in 2023. The figure skater opted for an interview in an unusual format: the guest of her show reacts to the audience’s comments addressed to him and with this help he can easily raise sensitive topics in conversation. Evgenia has already been visited by both figure stars – Alexandra Trusova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Ilya Averbukh and famous media personalities – stylist Gosha Kartsev, comedian Ivan Abramov and others.
Before the New Year, Lina Fedorova invited Medvedeva to her podcast and voiced a rumour that Alina Zagitova might also have her own show. “What kind of show do you think Alina Zagitova might produce?” Lina asked, to which Zhenya joked: “Probably something about inevitability.”
How skaters collided on New Year’s Eve:
“Someone else in 2018.” Zagitova and Medvedeva arranged a batch for the New Year!
Zagitova publicly responded to this joke directed at herself with a post: “It’s 2024, but someone is still in 2018.” In February 2024, Alina announced the launch of her YouTube show. On the air of the SKA hockey club’s TV club, the skater even announced the name of the project: “My show will be on YouTube soon. It will be called “posters”. Find out for yourself what will happen there. When should we expect to leave? We haven’t decided yet, but everything is ready.”
Several months have passed since then and Alina’s programme has not yet been published. Perhaps more will come out in the future – Zagitova has many projects.
I did not share the music for the number.
In April, the two champions faced each other again, this time in their home element. The Moscow show “Champions on Ice” hosted the premiere of Alina’s number to a waltz from the film “My Affectionate and Tender Beast”. Evgeniya had also skated to this music before: in the Ice Age project she had a number together with Fyodor Fedotov.
Zagitova and Medvedev in numbers to Evgeniy Doga’s waltz
Photo: “Championship”
A few hours before the show, Medvedeva posted a short excerpt from her performance with Fedotov on social media, and at first no one understood why the skater did this. But when Zagitova came out on the ice in a veil, everything became clear. It would seem that the story could have ended there – Zhenya and Alina already had misunderstandings because of the music – but the next day everything suddenly continued… in Perm.
After the performance of Carmen, Evgenia met an unknown woman who began to pester her with tactless questions, and it quickly became clear that she was a fan of Zagitova. In the conversation, Medvedeva was even reminded of her defeat at the Olympics.
“The woman started filming me without my consent and in a very violent way, violating my personal space. Taking my hands and asking me what I thought were probably not the most pleasant questions. About my grandmother, about the music I skated to in Ice Age with Fyodor Fedotov. And saying how I am so-and-so… To sum up the situation, I came to the conclusion that these people are truly the most devoted fans. And my fans. Because the woman bought a ticket with her own money and sat for the entire performance. And she waited for me for more than 40 minutes on the street, can you imagine?” – the figure skater said on her Telegram channel.
Who came up with the idea for their own show first?
A new round of confrontation is their own ice shows, which the skaters announced almost at the same time.
We follow the schedule: on Monday, July 1, at 16:16 Moscow time, Zagitova publishes a poster for her own project “Keepers of Time”. On the same day, there is a photo shoot with Medvedeva, with whom she shares the backstage and, according to fans, attacks Alina. An hour before the announcement, Zhenya appears on her Telegram channel in a dress for the short program of the 2016/2017 season, and this gives us to understand that Medvedeva’s shooting was for the announcement of her anniversary program.
Medvedeva’s announcement took place on Saturday, July 6, on Moscow Sports Day. The figure skater invited her fans to her birthday party at the CSKA Arena and noted that at this show they will be able to see her iconic numbers. “We are now actively working on creativity, I think you will definitely see my programs from the distant past in dresses that fit me,” the figure skater said.
Tickets went on sale almost immediately after the announcement, so this powerful project was definitely being prepared in advance. The same can be said for Zagitova’s fairy tale; in her own words, the show required “months, days and nights of continuous work.” After the announcement, Alina also posted a video about the preparation of costumes for the show.
It will be very interesting to watch both projects, and these shows are not direct competitors: “Keepers of Time” is planned in Kazan, and Medvedeva’s anniversary show will be held in Moscow. It is curious, of course, that these projects happened at the same time. However, could things have turned out differently for Zhenya and Alina after so many years?
Evgenia told a lot about her program:
Medvedeva launches her own show after Zagitova! What did she say about it?
