Yevgenia Medvedeva will miss the Russian Figure Skating Championships in two weeks after being hospitalized and sidelined most of November and early December with an illness.
Medvedeva, an Olympic silver medalist and two-time world champion, confirmed an earlier report that she was diagnosed with the coronavirus, according to Russian news agency TASS.
She also said she had serious lung problems earlier this fall, which came after she was out more than a month with a back injury, according to TASS and Russia’s figure skating federation.
The 21-year-old said she returned to the ice this week but that it was impossible to be ready for nationals on two weeks of prep, according to the federation.
The Russian Championships are shaping up to be another showdown among the nation’s new generation of teens — Aliona Kostornaya, Anna Shcherbakova and Aleksandra Trusova, the world’s top three skaters last season in their senior international debuts, and Kamila Valiyeva, who can compete on the senior international level in the Olympic season.
Yelizaveta Tuktamysheva, the 2015 World champion who won Rostelecom Cup last month, is also among the contenders.
Olympic gold medalist and reigning world champion Alina Zagitova hasn’t competed in more than a year and is not entered at nationals.
Medvedeva or Zagitova could still technically be named to the three-woman team for March’s world championships, but those spots are expected to go to the top three finishers at nationals, assuming they are age eligible. The top two are guaranteed spots.
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