World champion figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva gave an interview on the Skillbox YouTube channel, where she openly reflected on acting and her feelings about it as a new frontier. She explained that acting never came naturally to her, yet she has always enjoyed the art of performance in front of a camera. The conversation explored the distinction between being a competitive skater and embracing roles under bright studio lights. Medvedeva described acting as a field she hasn’t fully explored or embraced yet, but she sees it as a domain she would like to develop gradually and thoughtfully, should opportunities arise in the future.
Throughout her skating career, Medvedeva notes that she was fortunate with opportunities beyond competition. Even after she stopped competing at the peak of her athletic days, she found a rich tapestry of activities to pursue, including ice shows that travel across stages and ice rinks, as well as master classes where she shares techniques and experiences with aspiring skaters. She emphasized that she enjoys being in front of the camera, where presentation, timing, and the ability to communicate a story through movement carry real weight. While she doesn’t frame these abilities as conventional acting skills, she acknowledges the camera’s demands and her own curiosity about how performance can live on screen. For now, the field remains largely uncharted territory, but she recognizes its potential and counts it among the activities she wants to cultivate over time.
Medvedeva’s career reached a peak at the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang, where the Russian women’s team secured a strong showing in both the individual event and the team competition. In the ladies’ singles, Alina Zagitova claimed the gold, while Medvedeva finished in a close second, separated by a marginal margin that underscored the fierce competition between the two skaters. The dynamic between these two athletes became a defining storyline of that Olympic season, highlighting the depth of Russian women’s figure skating at the time.
Beyond the Olympics, Medvedeva has earned multiple gold medals at the World Championships and the European Championships, cementing her status as one of the sport’s leading figures. Her last competitive appearance came in December 2019, and since then she has not issued an explicit official retirement announcement. The absence of a formal retirement plan has left room for speculation about her future steps — including return to competition or a continued shift toward performance-based engagements and media projects that leverage her polished stage presence.
In related commentary, Alina Zagitova has also spoken publicly about aspects of training and performing on ice, including reasons behind pauses or interruptions in practice. These discussions reflect a broader conversation within elite figure skating about balance, scheduling, and the evolving roles skaters pursue after peak competition years.