Women are not the only discipline in skating…Aren't the seeded skaters 1-3, and 4-6, from Worlds? If so, this is a non issue because Worlds #3 was Alysa, and she's retired.
Didn't Morisi K. state that he is retiring from Olympic eligible competitions?#4 Mariah Bell moves up to #3, and #7 Haein Lee moves up to #6.
In Men, if Vincent Zhou is not participating in the GP, then Morisi Kvitelashvili moves up to #3, and #7 Daniel Grassl moves up to #6.
In Men, if Vincent Zhou is not participating in the GP, then Morisi Kvitelashvili moves up to #3, and #7 Daniel Grassl moves up to #6.
I hope he is…? I mean, they need all hands on deck with ever discipline even with 5 stages. I mean, Malinin is great, but they need more than just him from the States?Are there any indications Vincent isn't participating?
Are there any indications Vincent isn't participating?
Okay, this really sucks. But maybe Grassl now has a better chance to medal. I hope he does.
If Morisi is out, then Camden Pulkinen moves up to #3 (yay!)Didn't Morisi K. state that he is retiring from Olympic eligible competitions?
The only thing sad is Skate America is in Norwood, about a 35 min drive for him. When he was at Brown last, he drove to Worcester and Boston to train, Norwood is much better.Vincent has said he is 100% committed to returning to Brown. He has said in other interviews he left Brown because he could not achieve the academic results he wanted and train seriously at the same time (his rinks were considerable drives away).
of course, he could theoretically return for Nats and 4CC, but my best guess is that his headspace now is on academics, and he will not do the GP.
Phil Hersh tweeted that sources are telling him that a city in England may take the last GP that doesn't have a location. He also stated that GP assignments will be released Friday (July 15th)
Oooh - hope you're right!There are rumours they will give the ex-China GP to Sheffield.
I wouldn't be surprised if we had them on Monday or Tuesday either, given past years.This is good news. Though to be totally clear, he's saying the assignments will be made on Friday, but may be announced publicly a day later (so no one freak out if we don't have them on Friday).
It's a real competition with very strong skaters, but that doesn't mean Russia (the Federation and individual skaters) wouldn't prefer to compete on the official ISU Grand Prix. So it's in the Federation's interest to try to discredit the ISU GP as much as possible and draw fans' attention towards their internal competitions. This allows Russia to continue to assert that they are the best and that the rest of the world needs Russia and envies Russia's success/prowess/cultural superiority/etc. (I am not saying individual skaters necessarily believe this - I'm sure some do and some don't - but it's absolutely the stance of the government.)There is nothing mock about Russian GP. It’s a real competition staffed with skaters who can only compete internally. The pairs will be stronger than the international series, the rest—at least au par or a bit weaker. Objectively, Russians have strong skaters, and enough of them to create competitive environment with results that are not a given. There will be plenty to watch on both circuits, and Russians can stop complaining they don’t have enough spots & nobody would be shortchanged.