Eteri Tutberidze must be thrilled right now: with a gold and a silver medal won by her students – Julia Lipnitskaia and Sergei Voronov – she became the most appreciated coach at this year’s edition of the Europeans. You should have seen her in the lobby, after the men’s event, wearing her already famous fur collar: a proud lady with a beaming smile, a wonderful bouquet of flowers in her hands and a lot of people wanting to interview and congratulate her. Formerly known by the figure skating world as the coach of the wonderkid Julia Lipnitskaia, Eteri has become during the last couple of days one of the most familiar faces of these Europeans; and definitely the most successful coach in Budapest. In the Kiss and Cry, Sergei Voronov pointed to Eteri while waiting for the scores, after a wonderful free program – and the same Voronov talked about the Georgian mentality of his coach while trying to explain his consistency in skating throughout the season.
by Florentina Tone
Here’s a documented photo-story of Eteri Tutberidze’s joy and triumph in Budapest, through her star skaters, Julia Lipnitskaia and Sergei Voronov.