Kavaguti and Smirnov punishment for failure in Vancouver | Golden Skate

Kavaguti and Smirnov punishment for failure in Vancouver

pksandy

Spectator
Joined
Nov 7, 2006
Yuko Kavaguti y Alexander Smirnov, arrive to St. Petersburg yesterday from Vancouver, ready to prepare for the worlds in Turin, the young Russian pair, have been forbidden to speak with the press, and according to Sasha's mother has in an interview on a website, :mad:Tamara Moskvina, still crushing them by failure happened in Vancouver, and almost give they a death sentence, especially to Yuko, who has been the most affected by what happened in Vancouver. according Tatiana Smirnova, Alexander's mother, the federation instead of supporting them, they will be punished and they will reduce the salary. and besides, :cry:they feel very bad, too sad and depressed, as Tamara still blame them, that Russia lost the gold in pairs, for the first time since 1964.

here the link, http://www.tvernews.ru/content/view/13517/1/

I think Tamara:disapp: is being very unfair, they did everything that was on their side. come on, already saw that Russia would lose the gold in pairs, and that's happened since Totmianina and Marinin, retire in 2006, russia did not have even one good pair to compete. rather than the Russian Federation, congratulated them, for having been positioned in such a short time together as pair in the top five, humiliate and despise, the failure was not of them, was of the Russian federation, for not supporting to the young promises and believe that Totmianina and Marinin, last for ever. As Tatiana Totmianina said, Russia should support the sport again, if they want to get back in number one:agree:.
 

TtonyV7

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 11, 2007
As much as I do not like this team overall, this is just crushing.

Many wonder why the decline in Russian Figure skating. This is one of the many reasons.....
 

Hsuhs

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Well, hopefully they won't reduce the pairs funding, I doubt being poor will boost the team's spirits.

I think, Yuko and Sasha could use a makeover starting next season, esp so for their long programs, b/c they seem to have better SPs than LPs.

Wonder if tyrannic fs coaches allow ppl like sport psychologists to "interfere with the process", Yuko hasn't been looking exactly happy recently (at least through the tv screen), even when she & Sasha win.
 

Mafke

Medalist
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
If this is true and not press hype.

I hope the whole Soveit sytle program (use people until they're no use to you anymore and then dump them in the garbage) needs to be flushed down the toilet where it belongs. This is no way to treat human beings. And let's see Tamara "Орден Трудового Красного Знамени" Moskvina sacrifice half as much as Kavaguti has before she starts giving her ****.

If it's not true, then ...... (Emily Litella voice) never mind.
 
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Joined
Jul 11, 2003
They faltered, in my opinion, because Moskvina tried to make them into a Berezshaya/Sikhilarudzie. That was not possible with Kav/Smir or with anyone else for that matter. Neither of them had the required technique, although Smirnov had a way of making it look balletic with flow. Kavaguti did not grow up in an atmosphere if Bolshoi ballet.

Having said that, the punishment, for me, was totally unnecessary, and the embarrasment was worse.

Will they skate again and show up in Torino?
 

colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
:think:Well Kavaguti ,herself, always wanted to look exactly like Berezhnaya , even as a young'un skating for Japan , so we can't blame Moskvina entirely for that. It is a little creepy that she entered into the plan so wholeheartedly , though. At the end of the day , even the best copy is only an imitation , so I never like to see a skater being so closely modeled after someone else.

It makes me worry for skaters like Leonova and Borodulin, as well. Can they ever be the best that they can be, if they're trying to be just like someone else ? What natural ability, expression , etc. gets smothered in the process ?
 

figuristka

Medalist
Joined
Dec 15, 2003
They performed very well in their short and made too many errors in their Free, but considering what level they were recently it was not a surprise for them to finish just out of the medals. Its not like they went into this as gold medal favourites, they never were considered rivals to S/Z and with P/T skating so brilliantly and the Germans skating fairly well, i think they may still have placed 4th with a better skate if it was fair. Yes their Free was a bit disappointing but its unfair to blame them so much when perhaps the realistic chance was more possibly the bronze. Or Silver if the others had not been as strong. Now that S/Z retired, they need their federation's support as they along with the other russian team have a good chance at medals, and good placements for future Worlds.
 

heyang

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
makes me go HMMMMM. In Torino, S/Z were not 100% healthy and still got bronze. If they had been healthy, it was highly possible that T/M would not have won the Oly Gold medal. Would they have been treated the same alleged way as K/S? If Russia went to the Olympics thinking that K/S were going to get gold, their view was not realistic. A podium spot was somewhat realistic without S/Z in the picture - once, they came back to competition, it reduced the probability of K/S on the podium.
 

Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Yuko Kavaguti y Alexander Smirnov, arrive to St. Petersburg yesterday from Vancouver, ready to prepare for the worlds in Turin, the young Russian pair, have been forbidden to speak with the press, and according to Sasha's mother has in an interview on a website, :mad:Tamara Moskvina, still crushing them by failure happened in Vancouver, and almost give they a death sentence, especially to Yuko, who has been the most affected by what happened in Vancouver. according Tatiana Smirnova, Alexander's mother, the federation instead of supporting them, they will be punished and they will reduce the salary. and besides, :cry:they feel very bad, too sad and depressed, as Tamara still blame them, that Russia lost the gold in pairs, for the first time since 1964.

here the link, http://www.tvernews.ru/content/view/13517/1/

I think Tamara:disapp: is being very unfair, they did everything that was on their side. come on, already saw that Russia would lose the gold in pairs, and that's happened since Totmianina and Marinin, retire in 2006, russia did not have even one good pair to compete. rather than the Russian Federation, congratulated them, for having been positioned in such a short time together as pair in the top five, humiliate and despise, the failure was not of them, was of the Russian federation, for not supporting to the young promises and believe that Totmianina and Marinin, last for ever. As Tatiana Totmianina said, Russia should support the sport again, if they want to get back in number one:agree:.

Almost a death sentence??????
 

Mafke

Medalist
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
I sometimes get the impression that certain Russian officials and coaches are ..... delusional. Gold was never a realistic expectation and someone needs to slap Moskvina, hard, if she thought it was.
They were a solid possibility for bronze if they skated very well and the Germans or a Chinese team faltered. They should be happy with fourth. And .... who else does Moksvina (or the Russian federation in general) have in the pipeline? They're talking mighty tough for a federation that badly needs K/S.

Perhaps they're trying to keep K/S from realizing that at present the federation needs them more than the other way around?
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I loved moskvina but what kind of people that do this. I didn't think she was this cold. This is one of 2 teams of of Moskvina that I've never like but this whole thing of being in trouble is ridiculous. I don't understand this thinking of punishing people for losing in a sport. This is life and not something to ever be punish for. What's weird is they are thinking this pair was a favorite anyway and on S/Z level. I guess they expected something since all of sudden they were getting these ridiculous inflated scores.

They were a solid possibility for bronze if they skated very well and the Germans or a Chinese team faltered. They should be happy with fourth.

I totally agree.

Delusional seems to be the theme of these Olympics for these coaches and officials. First there's Plushenko and team not seeing that he need to maximize his points even with a quad. I wonder if S/D realized what great programs the other teams had and that theirs didn't measure up at all. Then we have this pairs story thinking if they were clean that they would win over the other clean top teams.

It's sad.
 
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aurora100

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Yuko Kavaguti y Alexander Smirnov, arrive to St. Petersburg yesterday from Vancouver, ready to prepare for the worlds in Turin, the young Russian pair, have been forbidden to speak with the press, and according to Sasha's mother has in an interview on a website, :mad:Tamara Moskvina, still crushing them by failure happened in Vancouver, and almost give they a death sentence, especially to Yuko, who has been the most affected by what happened in Vancouver. according Tatiana Smirnova, Alexander's mother, the federation instead of supporting them, they will be punished and they will reduce the salary. and besides, :cry:they feel very bad, too sad and depressed, as Tamara still blame them, that Russia lost the gold in pairs, for the first time since 1964.

here the link, http://www.tvernews.ru/content/view/13517/1/

I think Tamara:disapp: is being very unfair, they did everything that was on their side. come on, already saw that Russia would lose the gold in pairs, and that's happened since Totmianina and Marinin, retire in 2006, russia did not have even one good pair to compete. rather than the Russian Federation, congratulated them, for having been positioned in such a short time together as pair in the top five, humiliate and despise, the failure was not of them, was of the Russian federation, for not supporting to the young promises and believe that Totmianina and Marinin, last for ever. As Tatiana Totmianina said, Russia should support the sport again, if they want to get back in number one:agree:.

I've always respected Mosvikna as a pairs coach but not any more. If she really thought that Kavaguti and Smirnov had a realistic chance to win the gold, she is the one who should take the blame or at minimum a good head shake or a hard therapy.
 

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
They did not skate up to standards but they knew it. They were visibly disappointed with their skate, I don't see why Tamara has to rub it in. I think the best thing to do in a situation like this is just forget about it and try to come back strong at worlds. They were never ever exactly Gold Medal favorites, so 4th place in not THAT disgraceful. I think the main problem was mis communication about the quad, they did not know if they were doing it or not until the warm up, when he obvioulsy got the memo they were doing it and she did not. After that it threw the whole program off.
 

Nadia01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
I can't believe they're blaming the skaters. They were never favored to win OGM!
 

BlackAxel

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
This is just so sad :( ..... Many naysayers can say what they want regarding Kavaguti/Smirnov, but I thought they were a really hard working team. I do agree that Kavaguti's feet are not pointed, but are Yu-na's feet pointed?? Also, Kavaguti will never ever be like Berezhnaya no matter how much she tries. If anything, Kavaguti needs to be herself and really improve within rather than trying to emulate Elena. Many people want to be like Michelle Kwan but do they ever turn out like her? Yu-na had the same dream and currently she is making a name for herself and younger girls are looking up to her.

What I feel that K/S need to improve in are their skating skills and choreography. Their sp is very graceful and sophisticated and their lp is a total opposite with a carnival-circus theme. Whenever i hear The Blue Danube, all I think of is Spongebob and him jellyfish-hunting:think: ...... if K/S skate to a more sophisticated and mature lp, I really think they will be rewarded and will be on more podiums rather than off.
 

Ivana

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
If it's true, this is just so wrong...
I've always valued Tamara Moskvina as a coach, but I don't think I'll do it in the future. As much as I like this team, they were never really medal contenders, even with clean programs. It was clear that both chinese pairs and savchenko/szolkowy, with just a slightly better performance as on europeans, will finish before them (if no serious meltdown happen).
It would be milion times better, if instead being mad at them, she would motivate them and help them to improve their weaknesses so they can shine next time. They already know that this wasn't their best performance, there is no need to punish them anymore.
 

viv

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
...It would be milion times better, if instead being mad at them, she would motivate them and help them to improve their weaknesses so they can shine next time. They already know that this wasn't their best performance, there is no need to punish them anymore.

ITA, and it would have helped if she had given them a decent LP instead of that ridiculous Viennese Waltz. :sheesh:
 
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