For men and ladies will be decided at the Russia Cup finals, held in Tver, February 21-24. Apparantly Lutai is the only one already decided for either men or ladies. Klimkin opted out of trying for the other men's spot, so it will come down to Griazev and Dobrin. Ladies is kind of up in the air.
Russian world champion team
- Thread starter Kasey
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I don't get this. They are having another mandatory qualifying competition for the Worlds team. Aren't two (Russian Nats. and Euros) enough?
Russian Ladies champion Ksenia Doronina failed to qualify for the FS at Europeans, so she is off the list for Worlds. Russian bronze medalist Sokolova was 7th and silver medalist Ievleva was 11th.
Russian silver medalist Lutai placed top 5 at Euros, so that punched his World ticket. But Russian Men's Champion Griazev was 16th, and bronze medalist Dobrin was 18th.
It seems that all the Russian singles skaters are very inconsistent this year. Euros results didn't mirror Russian Nationals results at all. I guess the RFSF wants one more test skate to pick out a World team, although I'm not sure that would be a more valid indicator than Nationals or Euros.
I sense a certain desperation.....
Russian silver medalist Lutai placed top 5 at Euros, so that punched his World ticket. But Russian Men's Champion Griazev was 16th, and bronze medalist Dobrin was 18th.
It seems that all the Russian singles skaters are very inconsistent this year. Euros results didn't mirror Russian Nationals results at all. I guess the RFSF wants one more test skate to pick out a World team, although I'm not sure that would be a more valid indicator than Nationals or Euros.
I sense a certain desperation.....
I hope Ievleva gets sent. It's quite an accomplish to have no jump techinally higher than a T. Loop yet finish 6th in the SP and 11th Overall in her first senior international competition. That shows that the judges are aware of her polish moves, strong spins, and fine spirals. She's the only female skater from Russia that keeps me awake as of now....
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2004
Does it matter any less whom they send than any other country sends? Of course it matters who Russia sends to Tokyo.
I'll hold off on making any comments on whether or not Russia deserves more than one spot in singles for 2008 until after I've seen the 2007 competition. If their skaters somehow finish in the places needed to secure two spots for next year, then they deserve the two spots, simple as that.
What she said, word for word.
Again. If the team they send now gets the job done, why would they NOT deserve the spots they EARN this year?? It makes no sense.
Here's my opinion. In ladies, their top lady including sokolova(?) does not have the technical ability to even make into the top 10 at worlds. What sort of triples has she done this season? Her non-jump elements are non-existent, and her pcs has always been inflated. There are definitely more than 10 ladies in the world that are better skaters than her.The other Russian girls are even more embarrassing. I certainly don't think Russia deserves a second spot in ladies.
In men, if their top guy can only squeeze into top 5 at Euros, go figure.
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2004
Sokolova has the ability to make into the top ten at Worlds. Whether or not she will do so, remains to be seen. But it cannot be said that she has absolutely no chance. Sure, there could be a dozen other ladies who are capable of skating better than her, but they have to actually do it in Tokyo at Worlds. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. But why don't you wait until AFTER Worlds to get your panties in a bunch over the Russian skaters being overmarked or whatever your beef is.
Also, if one of the men makes it into the top 12 and the other one makes the cut to the long program, they earn 2 spots for next year again, because I think anything less than 16th place still gives them 16 points. So again, they would have EARNED the two spots, regardless of how low the finishes are. Whether you LIKE any of the potential athletes who will be competing there or not, they've earned the right to go, or will have after February 24th. Take a break on b*tching for a while, it could do wonders.
They are not enough, because e.g. the mens gave such a different result in Nationals and Europeans. It needs to be decided which two skaters might bring at least two places for next season´s Worlds. Lutai was second in Nationals and fifth in Europeans, so he is the only male skater who has already earned his place for Worlds. Griazev, the current Russian champion is another matter, as he was only 16th at Europeans and Dobrin (bronze medalist in Nationals) was 18th.
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2004
Well why not just hand out the medals now and noth bother with the competition at all.
You clearly seem fixated on only the top three skaters and the jumps that the skaters do and very little else. Russia is in a rebuilding state after its top skaters have either retired or taken the year off. The skaters need international exposure and practice at the big events like worlds in order to build on that experience and improve...DUH!
Ant
Iloveaxel, why you continuosly bash Russian skaters? Ievleva, Martinova and Doronina are young girls and they don't have experience. At their age Maria Butyrskaya wasn't better. Then in 1999 she won Euros and Worlds. So, one of them could be a medal contender in the future.
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Maria was pretty much in the same situation as Doronina in 1993. Well, even in a worse situation. She didn't make it out the qualifying round at Worlds and the Russian federation was pretty set against sending her to Worlds the next years even though she won the National Championships and placed her than the other Russian ladies at the Euros.
I think if Doronina works on her consistency, she might be able to win the trust of the Russian skating federation and be named to the World Team sometime in the future.
Correct. I feel sorry for the Russian youngsters . They are under great pressure to continue the tradition and it ain't easy.
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It's also funny how some of these skaters are the victims of their past successes. Sokolova would have hardly been scolded for skating below her standards had she not had a successful season the year before.
In fact, it's kinda funny that her success at being competitive at Euros and Worlds mattered little to the Russian federation last year. Had she been 7th at the Euros instead of 2nd and 9th at Worlds instead of 4th, they probably couldn't have cared less. Their top dog last year was Slutskaya.
The moral of the story is that the Russian federation severely condemns skaters who "underperform." They really put the squeeze on skaters who fall from a high placement to a lower one. Doronina is the latest victim of this tendency. She got trashed in the media a bit because her Euros result was underwhelming compared to what she had accomplished at the Nationals. She might have done better to take 3rd place at Nationals to avoid being burdened with high expectations and a slap on the wrist for failing to meet them. In Russian figure skating, it pays to fly under the radar! Russian ladies, listen up, whatever you do, do not win a spot at Nationals unless you are also ready to do well at the Euros ;-)
It's also funny how some of these skaters are the victims of their past successes. Sokolova would have hardly been scolded for skating below her standards had she not had a successful season the year before.
In fact, it's kinda funny that her success at being competitive at Euros and Worlds mattered little to the Russian federation last year. Had she been 7th at the Euros instead of 2nd and 9th at Worlds instead of 4th, they probably couldn't have cared less. Their top dog last year was Slutskaya.
The moral of the story is that the Russian federation severely condemns skaters who "underperform." They really put the squeeze on skaters who fall from a high placement to a lower one. Doronina is the latest victim of this tendency. She got trashed in the media a bit because her Euros result was underwhelming compared to what she had accomplished at the Nationals. She might have done better to take 3rd place at Nationals to avoid being burdened with high expectations and a slap on the wrist for failing to meet them. In Russian figure skating, it pays to fly under the radar! Russian ladies, listen up, whatever you do, do not win a spot at Nationals unless you are also ready to do well at the Euros ;-)
Ugh, I don't agree with this. I saw Doronina's JGP skate on YouTube as well as her Russian Nationals one. Even when she is landing her jumps, she is slow and lacking in expression. Her spins and spiral are horrible. Martynova and Ievleva are both much better natural skaters than Doronina and have much greater potential than Doronina does.
If Sokolova cannot get back the bit jumps (lutz and flip), she is in trouble. The Japanese, US and top Canadian skaters were not at Europeans. Her 7th place at Euros translates to 13th-15th place at Worlds, and Ievleva would likely barely qualify for the FS.
This is NOT about bashing Russian skaters per se. This is about reality check. levleva, Doronina, if they were in U.S., they would hardly get into top 20. Why should ISU give more slots to such a country with such a weak field? If Russia grabs one more slot, it only means the other countries will get one less. They will get more slots if they have better skaters, not depending on their past reputation.
Suppose they do have one spot for 2008. How high would their one lady have to score to restore 3 spots? If the one Russian lady made the top 6, would that guarantee 3 spots for next year's team?
See: http://www.frogsonice.com/skateweb/faq/rules.shtml#Q10
"For a 1-competitor team in the previous year, 1-2 points qualifies 3 entries, 3-10 points qualifies 2 entries and more than 10 points qualifies 1 entry."
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