Chapter 49: A Grand Slam in the Youth Group – a strait, and even more so…
When the last skater entered the ice, the entire arena fell silent. As the camera panned across the ice, the only sound that could be heard was the scraping of the skates against the surface.
Sidorov stood with his hands behind his back, gripping the scabbard tightly. Polina, pushed to the brink by Yang Yiyan's score, decided to try again with a double 3A setup, but she had been suffering from altitude sickness for the past few days.
Xia Yuezi held her breath, looking at the girl on the ice rink with a complicated expression.
In fact, it wasn't just these two coaches who were paying attention to the situation on the ice. At the backstage entrance, the athletes and coaches currently ranked second and third were also keeping a close eye on the ice.
As the music began, Polina started her performance, landing her opening 3A+2T, the sound of the impact on the ice resonating in everyone's hearts. Immediately afterwards, the second 3A followed.
Her body swayed slightly, but she quickly regained her balance, spreading her arms out to maintain equilibrium as much as possible.
After the same double triple A configuration was completed, the audience erupted in enthusiastic applause, but gradually fell silent for fear of disturbing the contestants' performance.
Yang Yiyan sat on the high platform, her lips pressed into a thin line, feeling somewhat uneasy. If Polina could maintain this form in her subsequent performances, her free skate score would undoubtedly surpass hers.
But her coach wasn't that nervous, focusing his attention on the second half of Polina's show.
When Polina first presented this program, Xia Yuezi and Meng Xin discussed it and agreed that Polina's coaching team had been overly ambitious this season, making her use a program that was now unmanageable.
Throughout the season, Polina made mistakes of varying degrees, except for one clean at the Russian Championships, especially in the second half of her triple jumps.
The music for this free skate is very fast-paced, and in the first half, it showcases her skating advantage and makes her look very performative.
However, in order to match the musical timing, Polina's slides in and out were very rushed, as if she had the urge to clock out after work. Moreover, her hand movements were too frequent, which prevented the program's focus from being highlighted and wasted her energy, causing her to make frequent mistakes later on.
Overall, the configuration has been upgraded, but stability has decreased.
As she jumped again, Sidorov and Xia Yuezi's pupils contracted almost simultaneously.
Polina didn't build up enough power before the jump, and the height and speed of this jump weren't enough for her to follow up with a triple jump. It was even a question of whether she could land the jump with a full rotation.
Polina made a mistake on her first jump, turning into a triple jump, and after hesitating, she gave up and did not continue with a T jump.
Her configuration for the latter half is 3F+3T, 3lz, 2A.
If you take the risk of jumping a second time after this one, you are very likely to be demoted, which will result in a significant loss of points.
Should she give up the combination jump to save the 3F score, or make up for it with the combination jump in the last two single jumps? After making so many mistakes this season, she should figure this out.
"Finally, he's learned his lesson," Sidorov murmured, a hint of relief on his face, but his expression remained tense and serious.
After the match ended, the entire stadium erupted in applause.
Polina knelt on the ice, looking down at the surface and breathing heavily. The glint of light reflecting off her eyelashes made it impossible to tell whether it was sweat or tears.
The consecutive mistakes meant that she would be at least five points lower than Yang Yiyan in terms of technical score. That's all the points the youth group can give, and even if the judges praise her, they can't possibly deduct five more points from her program content score.
Polina herself knew that Yang Yiyan's performance today was indeed better than hers, both in terms of difficulty level and program completeness; she truly deserved the gold medal.
The large screen in the center of the ice rink began to replay Polina's movements, and the judges' table also became busy. Xia Yuezi leaned against the barrier and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She turned around and looked at Yang Yiyan sitting on the high platform, her slightly reddened eyes now showing a hint of a smile.
The number on the screen finally settled at 198.79, and the Russian contestant's name fell to second place.
Polina's smile was somewhat forced. She won silver medals in three of the four A-level competitions in the youth group. The seventy-year-old coach sitting next to her did not scold her, but instead put his hand on her shoulder.
“It’s alright, Bonya, you made the right choice. We still have a long time ahead of us.”
Polina gave a soft reply and said nothing more.
She subconsciously looked at the sofa next to the waiting area, where Yang Yiyan was sitting quietly watching her.
Their eyes met briefly in the air before Polina looked away first and followed the coach backstage.
Xia Yuezi stood not far away, her gaze lingering on Polina's back for a moment before turning to Yang Yiyan who was walking over.
"What are your thoughts on completing the junior Grand Slam before moving up to the next level?"
Yang Yiyan shook her head and took a deep breath: "I never thought I would have this day. Actually, she's very good too. I always felt like she had an advantage in these two competitions..."
Xia Yuezi patted her shoulder and comforted her with the air of someone who had been through it all: "In the arena, the difference between winning and losing is very thin. Even world champions can be unable to get into the free skate one day. So, put away your feelings of inadequacy and just treat yourself as an opponent."
Seeing the confusion and struggle in the girl's eyes, she took the initiative to say, "Don't think about it anymore. Go to the stands and find a good spot. The pairs skating is about to start."
The final day's awards ceremony featured both women's singles and pairs skating. Domestic figure skating fans who could access the internet did so, while those who couldn't found the live stream, leading to a new high in activity on domestic figure skating forums.
Yang Yiyan was the last to enter the venue. After shaking hands and hugging the two athletes, she stood on the highest podium.
The award presenters were officials from the International Skating Union (ISU) who were former figure skaters. They seemed to have no major conflicts of interest with the skating associations behind the three skaters and were very amiable to everyone.
Xia Yuezi raised her phone, found a good angle, and zoomed in to take a picture of the medal.
Yang Yiyan stood on the highest podium, holding a gold medal in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other, flashing a bright smile at the camera.
Polina stood beside her, also holding up her silver medal. She turned to look at Yang Yiyan, a complex emotion flashing across her eyes, before giving the camera a sincere smile.
As the national anthem played, Xia Yuezi put away her phone, instinctively straightened her back, watched the red flag in the center slowly rise, and softly sang along to the national anthem.
Many ice skating fans couldn't help but tear up when they saw this scene.
Apart from pairs figure skating, they haven't heard the national anthem played in any other sport for many years.
There was no exhibition skating at this World Junior Championships, so we could pack our bags and head to the airport after the awards ceremony.
Several male coaches stood beside the bus carrying suitcases. Xia Yuezi put her luggage away and, as soon as she got on the bus, she saw Yang Yiyan sitting in the last row with one window open, looking at her phone against the glass.
"What are you thinking about? Be careful not to catch a cold."
Xia Yuezi walked over and sat down, draped her coat over her shoulders, closed the window, leaving only a small crack for ventilation.
"It's nothing." Yang Yiyan put down her phone and leaned her head back in her chair.
Xia Yuezi didn't ask any more questions. She picked up her phone and dealt with the pile of congratulatory messages, which also included other students' daily training reports.
The back seats were relatively empty, so Yang Yiyan leaned on the coach's shoulder, which allowed her to see the text on the screen.
She reached out and took Xia Yuezi's arm, speaking in a muffled voice, "Coach..."
Xia Yuezi didn't look away from her phone, only responded with a sound, and after hearing nothing more, she glanced at her suspiciously.
Why are you not saying anything again?
Yang Yiyan leaned lazily on Xia Yuezi's shoulder, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible: "Coach, I'm a little scared."
"What are you afraid of?"
"I'm afraid I won't perform as well next year and will let everyone down..." Yang Yiyan's voice choked up as she spoke.
Xia Yuezi put down her phone, pulled her arm out of Yang Yiyan's embrace, and hugged her. Her hand landed on Yang Yiyan's pocket and touched a small, square hard box.
Recalling Yang Yiyan's state when she got on the bus, she knew immediately that she had probably seen some negative comments on the forum again.
Teenage girls are psychologically sensitive and their emotions become more unstable. Even a small thing can be magnified in their minds. Xia Yuezi can only silently coax them and say nice things.
However, Yang Yiyan's concerns are not without merit. There are many female singles players who are brilliant in the youth group but relatively mediocre in the adult group, and some even disappear from the scene within two years.
Xia Yuezi recalled that she felt the same fear and anxiety when she first stepped onto the adult competition stage.
Glory can be a shackle, and also a source of disappointment.
Her heart softened: "But why do you think about things that will happen so far in the future? Although we athletes emphasize long-term planning and reasonable planning, it is all based on every 'now'. Just like the gold medal you just won, it was built up from every yesterday, and it will be tomorrow too."
"The competition in the adult group will be much more dangerous than what you see now. What you need to do is to make a realistic and unwavering decision about the future development. As for what netizens say, just listen to it and don't take it to heart."
Yang Yiyan's eyes reddened, and she reached out to wipe away the moisture from the corners of her eyes. She remained silent for a long time, as did Xia Yuezi.
She gently patted Yang Yiyan's arm, letting her think about it herself, but in her heart she was secretly planning to discuss the girl's future internet access with Yang's mother.
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Author's Note: Figure Skating Forum
1L: Both of you worked so hard, challenging yourselves under pressure in the high-altitude region. [Attached are photos from the awards ceremony]
2L: Yes, I cried too. They're both my children.
... (A series of technical discussions are omitted above)
19L: Speaking of which, hasn't anyone noticed that our country's coaches choked up when singing the national anthem?
20L: I know, I know. I was sitting in the first row at the time. In the video, Sister Xia was wiping away tears, and after Xiao Yan came down, the two of them hugged and cried.
21L: Forget the coach, even I, a mom-fan, cried my eyes out.
…………
299L: I'm already looking forward to next season. I hope the junior group won't be suppressed too much.
300L: This thread is closed. Thank you everyone for your rational discussion. No matter what the future holds, tonight's ice rink belongs to all those who strive for their dreams. [heart emoji]
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