The world's best figure skater is performing to a soundtrack that includes audio of Bush announcing the 9/11 attacks

(Image credit: Screenshot/NBC Sports)

published 31 March 2017

Russian figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva, 17, is defending her 2016 World Figure Skating Championship title in Helsinki this week, and she is fully expected to win again. But this title could be garnered to a rather interesting choice of soundtrack — one that includes audio of George W. Bush announcing in 2001 that two planes had hit the World Trade Center, Deadspin reports.

The soundtrack is lifted from the movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, a story about a young boy whose father was killed in the 9/11 attacks. As Medvedeva's competitor, Ashley Wagner of the U.S., put it: "The only thing that I know about is her long program music is not my favorite piece of music."

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If the Russian hadn't included the audio from Sept. 11 and sirens and wailing, the music choice probably wouldn't have garnered much attention. (I highly doubt that, a year later, I'd remember the program for anything other than the precision with which she skates it and the fact that it earned her a second world title.) So despite Medvedeva's team's assurances that this program is not about Sept. 11 — they claim it's about "dealing with tragedy and uncertainty in today’s world" per the commentary at the European championships — Sept. 11 is clearly important to the program. The audio is precisely how tragedy is communicated to the audience since Medvedeva, as talented as she is, isn't really capable of pulling that off without a big assist. [Deadspin]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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