Russian Nationals 2008 - 2009

Kazan, 24-28.12.2008
List of participants

http://www.goldskate.ru/news/fullnewseng.shtml?newsid=379

MEN

1. Miliukov Konstantin Kazan
2. Borodulin Artem Moscow
3. Bariev Ivan Moscow
4. Voronov Sergey St.Petersburg
5. Gachinski Artur St.Petersburg
6. Grigoriev Artem Moscow
7. Griazev Andrey Moscow
8. Dobrin Sergey St.Petersburg
9. Kovalev Stanislav Moscow
10. Lutay Andrei St.Petersburg
11. Leushin Denis Moscow
12. Menshov Konstantin St.Petersburg
13. Mikhaylov Nikita Moscow
14. Nikolaev Alexander Moscow
15. Sezganov Vladislav St.Petersburg
16. Tretiakov Ivan Moscow
17. Uspenski Alexander Moscow
18. Uspenski Vladimir Mosocw
19. Sheplonov Maxim St.Petesburg

Substitutions:
1. Obliukhov Timofey St.Peterburg
2. Usatov Roman St.Peterburg

WOMEN

1. Artemieva Maria St.Peterburg
2. Vasfieva Dinara Cheliabinsk
3. Gerbolt Katarina St.Petersburg
4. Gershkovich Alima Moscow
5. Gozeva Oksana Moscow
6. Ivleva Alexandra Moscow
7. Kozireva Ekaterina Moscow
8. Leonova Alena St.Peterburg
9. Martinova Arina Moscow
10. Naidenova Olga Moscow
11. Petushkova Nina Moscow
12. Sotnikova Adelina Moscow
13. Tarasova Eugenia Moscow
14. Tuktamisheva Elizaveta Glazov/St.Petersburg
15. Shelepen Polina Moscow

PAIRS

1. Abdulova Daria/Stepanov Semen Perm
2. Efaeva Elena/Patlasov Artem Perm
3. Iliushechkina Liubov/Maisuradze Nodari Moscow
4. Imaikina Sabina/NovoselovAndrey Perm
5. Kawaguchi Yuko/Smirnov Alexander St.Petersburg
6. Krasilnikova Ksenia/Bezmaternikh Konstantin Perm
7. Kuklina Ekaterina/Kushtanov Eduard Perm
8. Martiusheva Anastasia/Rogonov Alexei Moscow
9. Mukhortova Maria/Maxaim Trankov St.Petersburg
10. Novik Tatiana/Medovikov Konstantin Moscow
11. Ozerova Ksenia/Enbert Alexander St.Petersburg
12. Sheremetieva Ekaterina/Kuznetsov Mikhail Moscow

Substitutions:
1. Vasilieva Ekaterina/ Tokarev Anton Moscow


ICE DANCE

1. Bobrova Ekaterina/Soloviev Dmitri Moscow
2. Gorshkova Kristina/Butikov Vitali Moscow
3. Domnina Oksana/Shabalin Maksim Moscow reg.
4. ZlobinaYulia/SitnikovAlexei Rostov-na-Donu
5.Kolotilina Olga/Bortsov Alexander Moscow
6. Mikhailova Natalia/Sergeev Arkadiy Moscow
7. Platonova Anastasia/Grachov Alexander Moscow
8. Rubleva Ekaterina/ShefeIvan Moscow
9. Khokhlova Jana/Novitski Sergei Moscow
10. Chistiakova Alexander/Kurochkin Vladimir Moscow

Riazanova & Guerreiro are probably skating juniors.
Have Mikhailova & Maximishin competed this year? And why aren't Ilya Tkachenko and his new partner (I think it's Isabella Tobias?) competing? I know they can't skated internationaly for a year but this is nationals. I hope they aren't injuried....

So its official Plushenko is not coming back since he is not on the Nationals list.

cloudkicker09 said:

So its official Plushenko is not coming back since he is not on the Nationals list.

Click to expand...

I'm not at all surprised. From the moment I discovered that Plush wouldn't be competing in the GP series, my intuition "knew" that he wouldn't follow through with his so-called return. He's not my cup of tea, so I can't say that I miss him. *shrugs shoulders* :indiff:

I expect Voronov will successfully defend his title, but my current favourite Russian skater (outside of Fedor Andreev, that is ) is Borodulin. I only discovered him at this year's CoC, but he captivated me from the very first second he started skating. Despite not having a 3-Axel under his belt, I just love his passionate style and how naturally he expresses the music. I have a very good feeling Artem will be able to nab the silver medal here.

Although Voronov isn't my type of skater (either that, or his programs don't seem to suit him----I can't quite figure out what it is :think, I still have a bit of a soft spot for him because his LP quad at SC was the first clean one I witnessed in person, not to mention that I think it's TOTALLY adorable that he loves all things Canadian! He's like the reverse of Weir!

This might sound like a dumb question, but it's been something I've been asking myself for a while: are the 2 Uspenski's related?

siberia82 said:

I'm not at all surprised. From the moment I discovered that Plush wouldn't be competing in the GP series, my intuition "knew" that he wouldn't follow through with his so-called return. He's not my cup of tea, so I can't say that I miss him. *shrugs shoulders* :indiff:

Click to expand...

Wasn't that because he didn't were that high ranked of ISU? He didn't compete last season either and didn't score that much. Or am I completely wrong?

Yes!

Vladimir Uspenski is the younger brother of Alexander Uspenski.

Eevun said:

Wasn't that because he didn't were that high ranked of ISU? He didn't compete last season either and didn't score that much. Or am I completely wrong?

Click to expand...

Plushy has not skated in competition since Torino 2006, so he has no ISU ranking points. But I think the federation could still have given him one the of the CoR slots.

Buttercup said:

But I think the federation could still have given him one the of the CoR slots.

Click to expand...

The Russian federation already did it last year but not this year because Piseev already has verified that the continuous speech about his return are only it, only little talk.
Plushenko has his own tour and he is in a program of tv, does not train with Mishin ect

Plushenko will remain professional, why come back when you have won all global titles, besides I think he would struggle as the sport has moved on in the past few years and Plushenko was not choreographically good, he had to rely on his excellent technical skills. If you put his LP of Torino to Buttle's LP of world's this year, Buttle was far superior artistically and choreographically.

Back to Russian National's the Pairs and Ice Dance seem straight forward to decide placements but the Men's and Ladies seem open to me.

No, Ksenia Doronina, I understand she is still injured might be a good opportunity here for Alena Leonova to claim top honours. I hope Katarina Gerboldt makes the top 2. Arina Martinova we shall see if she is back to some kind of form but I fear she might be a past number!!

Artem Borodulin I feel might win the mens title but Voronov might pull it off as he seems to be the best hope for Russia at the minute.

Time will tell

Thanks for the alert, luckyguy!

Ah, there will be some great videos online; what a fine Christmas present!

russell30 said:

Plushenko will remain professional, why come back when you have won all global titles, besides I think he would struggle as the sport has moved on in the past few years and Plushenko was not choreographically good, he had to rely on his excellent technical skills. If you put his LP of Torino to Buttle's LP of world's this year, Buttle was far superior artistically and choreographically.

Click to expand...

But Plushy was a an excellent and, perhaps more importantly these days, a consistently clean jumper and seemed to be able to pull off quads and quad combos without a hitch; he also got good levels of step sequences, and not just because he could flail his arms with the best of them (though I must say, no other skater comes close to making what he's doing look so much harder than it probably is )). Not many of the current guys could compete with him if he's in good form - figure skating still requires that you get the job done on the tech side.

However, at age 26, after knee surgeries and 3 years off from competitions, having skated mostly under 6.0, I'm not sure he could come back to that level, and he's probably too busy with other things to bother trying.

After watching that 'show' routine I put in Le Cafe, it was clear his free skate is still 'working the audience' as it was in competition. However, this skate shows many weakness including a wonky 3T. I'm not aware of the date of that show piece, but if it were recent, it reminds me of the World Champion Boxer who, after going down hill, in his final days as a boxer resorted to Wrestling.

and, yes, He was a super jumper!




My hopes for Russian Nats: Borodulin, Lutei and Voronov in that order.

Joesitz said:

After watching that 'show' routine I put in Le Cafe, it was clear his free skate is still 'working the audience' as it was in competition. However, this skate shows many weakness including a wonky 3T. I'm not aware of the date of that show piece, but if it were recent, it reminds me of the World Champion Boxer who, after going down hill, in his final days as a boxer resorted to Wrestling.

Click to expand...

Joe, I noticed that post but there was no link or file for download that I could see. The boxing/wrestling metaphor could be quite apt, but having only seen Plush at the Golden Skate Awards in recent months, I can't really say. He still flails his arms a lot on the steps .

Buttercup said:

Plushy has not skated in competition since Torino 2006, so he has no ISU ranking points. But I think the federation could still have given him one the of the CoR slots.

Click to expand...

Right. Forgot about the federation give. Thanks Buttercup.

Ladies: bleh. Though I am interested in the battle of the babies, Shepelen versus Tuktamisheva.

Men:
I actually think that Tretiakov could have a chance to reach the podium, he had a good outing at the NRW Trophy, 7 Triples including a clean Triple Axel. His presentation isn't that great, but I think he is a skater with more potential than Voronov - presentation wise.

There are two skaters who are juniors, who don't have any chances to reach the podium, but I am looking forward to see them.
Nikita Mikhaylov I just love to watch, such elegance and purity of skating - though he just doesn't have the jumps or the consistency. I hope for a miracle, but he isn't that young any more either (year 1989).
Alexander Nikolaev had his first international appearances this season and did quite well with a 3rd and 6th place on the JGP circuit. But he doesn't have a 3 Axel, he doesn't have much experience and looks a bit more awkward than your typical Russian skater.

Konstantin Menshov could be good for a surprise too, he was 4th at Nebelhorn Trophy and at the Coupe de Nice - which isn't overly impressive, but he is definitely ambitious, had two Quads and a 3 Axel in his long at Finlandia and didn't really fall on them (he didn't really land them cleanly either - but he didn't fall ). His short program at Finlandia included a clean (+0.4 GOE) 4T-3T, he just had lousy levels on the non-jump elements. So he is Voronov's equal as far as the technical base mark is concerned. I wouldn't count this guy out.

I used to love the post-Yagudin/Plushenko generation, it was exciting to see them till one or two years ago, but nowadays it's just tiring. Dobrin was so charismatic on ice, last year he looked not himself at all, it was horrific to see. Lutai seems to have no confidence at all, at least one disastrous outing at each competition - he looks so tentative, nearly afraid out there - it makes me forget his excellent edging and the once soft feathery jumps. Griazev just seems to be one of the most unlucky skaters around, all those injuries, followed by inconsistent outings - combined with relatively bland programs and no progress performance-wise.

Borudulin is the future for sure, but he definitely disappointed me with his low technical content this season so far. I liked him better than Rippon last season, but this year Rippon impressed me much more with his gutsy outings, and the progress he made on the artistic side. Borudulin seemed to have regressed a bit. I don't think he will make the podium.

1. Menshov
2. Voronov
3. Tretiakov

russell30 said:

No, Ksenia Doronina, I understand she is still injured might be a good opportunity here for Alena Leonova to claim top honours. I hope Katarina Gerboldt makes the top 2. Arina Martinova we shall see if she is back to some kind of form but I fear she might be a past number!!

Click to expand...

Doronina has mono. I think that if Leonova skates like she has been doing all season, she'll easily be the top age-eligible skater. However, the youngsters have been doing quite well. Tuktamysheva & Shelepen have had triple-triples ratified in national competition (3T+3T for Tuktamysheva and 3F+3Lo and 3Lz+3T+2T for Shelepen). Adelina Sotnikova is another one to watch for, she has fantastic style and is attempting 3F+3Lo and 2A+3T.

The pairs field is excellent! Can't wait for that competition.

Domnina&Shabalin and Kawaguchi&Smirnov don´t taka part in this competition

calica said:

Domnina&Shabalin and Kawaguchi&Smirnov don´t taka part in this competition

Click to expand...

Any reasons given? Are one of Kawaguchi and Smirnov injured? D&S I would assume it was his knee; they might even be doing things strategically at this point.

calica said:

Domnina&Shabalin and Kawaguchi&Smirnov don´t taka part in this competition

Click to expand...

Oh no - all the suspense gone then. The only two really competitive disciplines.