An interview with Evgenia Medvedeva about money in figure skating
This is an interview on a YouTube channel about finance, so all questions are about money in sports and income after the Olympics.
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Evgenia: Despite the fact that figure skating is probably one of the most media-covered sports in the country right now, athletes in our sport gain financial literacy only when they have a stable income. Because when you are an athlete, an injury means a loss of income. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time at a tournament — loss of income. A broken lace — also loss of income. After all, everything we do on the ice, at World Championships, at the Olympic Games — earnings are the last thing on our minds. That’s probably what I meant.
Q: Evgenia, but I think you started earning money quite early. Do you remember how old you were when you received some noticeable, significant money for you at that time, and what did you do with it?
E: It probably wasn’t even money — it was equipment support. When I joined the Moscow national team at around 10 or 11 — the very first stage of getting into the national team for the Olympics, conditionally — I got in, and I didn’t really understand what that meant for me at all. I thought, cool, great, maybe they’ll give me a badge. And they gave me skates, blades, and a whole bag of gear with “Moscow” on it: sneakers, pants, another pair of pants, shorts, a jacket, another jacket. I was like: “Wow, free clothes. And skates, and they’ll even help sew a dress for you.”
Q: And before that, your parents invested everything?
E: Yes. Before that, of course. For me, that already felt like earnings. Like, wow — I’m not losing money? Amazing.
You could say I came from a poor family. My mom worked three jobs. I grew up without a father. Mom, grandmother, me, and two dogs. Only my mom worked. So there were financial difficulties in my childhood. And I’ve known the value of money since early childhood. So for me, to be given skates in my size, not hand-me-downs, not used, but new and free — exactly. That was a “wow” moment. But I think, I earned that, because skates were already expensive back then. Now it’s even crazier.
Q: In figure skating, is it possible to just not make it?
E: Everyone chooses their own path. And every athlete in such a dangerous sport as figure skating — dangerous not only for health, but because the competition is huge, and you can be infinitely talented but simply not make it. Every athlete is aware of that. It’s not like I meet colleagues and they say, “Well, you’re obviously all in brands, you cashed in over there, but they didn’t give it to me.” That simply doesn’t exist. The athletes perfectly understand that the earnings I have now didn’t fall from the sky.
Q: Do athletes go to the Olympics to earn money? What were you thinking at 16 or 18?
E: To perform well at the Olympics, to win the World Championships. No, the last thing I thought about was earnings. I mean, if you are an Olympic athlete and you go to the Olympics to earn money — I have bad news for you. That’s not love for the sport, that’s a profession you do because you need to feed your family. That’s great. But in our sport — at least, probably in football, volleyball, basketball, handball, boxing too — the approach is probably a bit different. Firstly, if you take football and boxing, mostly men do those sports. Men bring money into the family. The attitude is a little different. In figure skating — strictly in women’s skating, I don’t know how the guys feel about it. But girls think about victories, girls think about medals. And if they also get paid for it — wow! Of course, it’s nice. So our job was to bring medals to the country.
Q: How much do you earn?
E: Well, look — earn from what? I have a project “Bes kommentariev” (No Comments/devil comments. This is a play on words.) which includes one or two integrations exactly, advertising contracts, individual projects I’m invited to — either speaking engagements or offline training sessions. Also, let’s not forget that I am a figure skater in ice shows, and I produce my own ice shows. But the largest income comes from contractual obligations, of course.
Q: Have earnings in sports decreased after the sanctions?
E: I will only speak about figure skating. Motivation needs to be maintained because there are domestic competitions. The international Grand Prix stages have been replaced by Russian Grand Prix stages. Of course, compared to the tournaments that existed in my time — when there were both international and domestic tournaments — the prize money at Russian tournaments is completely different now. The tournament “Russian Challenge” — 5 million rubles for first place. Team tournaments — around 10, 11, or 12 people per team — 14 million rubles shared. When I competed, such sums simply did not exist. We hadn’t even heard of anything close to a million. Now, of course, the kids’ motivation needs to be preserved so that they continue skating and understand that figure skating does bring the dividends that, for example, my generation talks about — those who win World and European Championships. But this is the world we live in.
E: The media industry is one way to capitalize on your skills, and I have integrated this tool into my professional life. There is no textbook on how to use a figure skater’s career after sports. I might sound a bit snobbish, maybe whine a little or be dissatisfied with something — please don’t take it that way. For example, I’m sitting in a restaurant, and a woman just sits down at my table and says: “Evgenia, we love you so much. Can we take a photo?” I say: “No.” And she gets angry: “Why not?” I say: “Why yes?” “Why?” “Well, hello, first of all.” “You’re behaving incorrectly, Evgenia. This is your job.” This is a real story. I reflected for a long time — maybe I shouldn’t have refused. Then I thought: “What actually is my job?” My job is to commentate on competitions well and host tournaments well. My job was to represent my country well at the Olympic Games and World Championships when I was in sports. If this were a scheduled autograph session that truly is my job, of course I wouldn’t behave that way. But here I’m sitting with my fiancé, having dinner, and a woman sits down with us. That’s different. Many people probably confuse athletes with bloggers. Bloggers and singers are people who worked their whole lives for that recognition. And when people approach them, I believe that is their job — especially bloggers, because they have an online audience and an offline audience. Athletes win Olympic Games, and suddenly people say: “Oh, it’s you!” But an athlete never actually sought that out. An athlete sought their cherished medal. And God willing, they got it. And now they want to rest. Then they go to a restaurant, and strangers sit down with them. I just want people not to confuse these concepts and not to get offended. We athletes — we are a bit different. We strive for something else.
Q: One piece of financial advice you would give to your sixteen-year-old self.
E: None. Just keep winning World Championships. Well, if I think about it, those victories from that time — at 15 I moved up to seniors, at 16 my first World Championship, at 17 my second World Championship, at 18 the Olympics — that exact time period is what gave me the start of my recognition and, consequently, my earnings now and here. I did everything right, didn’t I? Yes, I think it’s absolutely great.
Q: How much money do Olympic victories bring if you sum everything up — prize money for the win, image bonuses, and advertising contracts?
E: I will answer honestly. I don’t remember, and I can’t say, because the Olympics still bring me earnings. And it’s impossible to calculate. Specifically the Olympics, yes — not the World Championships. The earlier ones too, but recognition mainly came after the Olympics. To answer more concretely — you come back from the Olympics, and then what? Advertising contracts, of course, come immediately, depending on the case. We’re talking tens of millions of rubles for a certain period — like two years, one year. Everything is spelled out in the contract with specific obligations. I can compare it like this: if, for example, in sports I earned 3 rubles, then after the Olympics, when recognition and earnings grew, I started earning — let’s say — 40 rubles. That’s not in millions, just a percentage ratio. I can’t say exactly. The number of zeros increased significantly, of course.
Q: Going back to the past — was it worth going to the Olympics with a broken leg?
E: Yes. Even on one leg, it was worth it. You know, my last in-depth medical examination before the Olympics — I went through it with a cast on my leg. Did anyone say anything about the cast on my leg? No. They said everything was fine. Yes, yes. They were like: “Well, we know your situation.” Well, it’s the Olympics. So the injury was there, it was serious, yes. Was it worth it? Yes! If I could have gone on one leg, I would have gone on one leg and done my job. That’s what I worked my entire life for. If it weren’t the Olympics but, conditionally, the European or World Championships — the conversation would be different. But this is the only chance in your entire life to show what you worked 20 years for. You can step on the leg — thank God. Probably, people who are not in sports won’t understand.
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There were other questions, but these seemed the most interesting to me, so I translated them.