Julia Lipnitskaia: One of the rising queens of Skating!

Urmanov says in his interview that Julia's debut is comparable with Yu-na Kim's one.

odd though other people in comments mistake her last name and call her
JULIA LIPINSKI ???? is that an omen for 2014 ?

I find Julia's consistency quite remarkable. She seems like a pretty focused/mentally tough competitor so that's a huge plus for her. She has had one of the strongest seasons for a lady in recent memory. I love her tight rotations in the air, even though she's not that big of a jumper. That could be an issue if she grows; when the puberty monster attacks her she might lose some of that rotation and if she can't compensate with height on her jumps she might end up prone to URs.

She's a flutzer (I don't really care about flutzes/lips anymore) but her technique is pretty solid. Her spins are very gumby (not necessarily pretty IMO) but that sets her apart. Julia presents herself well. There's a lot of polish to her for her to only be 13 years old.

The main thing I dislike about her skating is her choreography. I think her programs are run-of-the-mill-Morosov with about 8 or 9 leg lifts thrown in...to no effect BTW. By the time she lifts her leg the third time, I start getting annoyed. Leg lifts are not choreography. Morosov makes me wanna punch him in the throat sometimes! Julia's programs are a waste of her good qualities. She needs the right music and choreographer to really bring the artist out of her. She doesn't dazzle me yet...but with the right tools she has the potential to.

It's still too early to proclaim her a queen of skating. She's clearly the top junior skater of the year, but time is a heartless b*tch when it comes to skating. Circumstances can change a lot in one or two years. Growth spurts, injuries, pressure and expectation. Best to just enjoy her for now...b/c things may look very different by the time Soichi rolls around.

^

Julia's 3T-3T is actually solid and gets good height, her 3 Loop has good technique
her lutz is high though she flutzes sometimes, Im only worried is her 2A, it gets little height and she may need to change that after
she hits puberty. hopefully she trains other 3-3 jumps a 3F-3T for next season

I agree though she needs to leave Morozov
and let Tarasova choreograph her like she did with Adelina

hurrah said:

Since the inception of CoP, tall skaters who can power skate and jump big tend to do well. Shizuka is 166cm, Yuna is 164cm, Mao is around 165cm (maybe taller), Carolina Kostner is 169cm. That's why I think that in the end, it will be the taller Russian babes who will do better at Olympics.

(Miki at 162cm would be considered small in this bunch. Laura Lepisto is 164cm.)

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I totally agree with you. That's why I expecting Polina Korobeynikova. Like Gracie she seems to already have encountered puberty, which, combined with solid jumping technique.

Lipnitskaya's jump is too small, which would be a problem in her senior years.

johnny 80 said:

I totally agree with you. That's why I expecting Polina Korobeynikova. Like Gracie she seems to already have encountered puberty, which, combined with solid jumping technique.

Lipnitskaya's jump is too small, which would be a problem in her senior years.

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I think you're right about Polina K. If I were to bet money on who will be Russia's no. 1 at Sochi, it would be her.

hurrah said:

I think you're right about Polina K. If I were to bet money on who will be Russia's no. 1 at Sochi, it would be her.

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I like Polina K. but I don't see her as Russia's no. 1 in Sochi. IMO it will come down to Liza vs. Julia (unless the puberty monster destroys the career of either or both).

johnny 80 said:

Lipnitskaya's jump is too small, which would be a problem in her senior years.

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I thought so, too. Some of her jumps reminded me of Lipinski's, which is not good if big jumps are the goal.

sky_fly20 said:

odd though other people in comments mistake her last name and call her
JULIA LIPINSKI ???? is that an omen for 2014 ?

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non-skating-fans will have that confused for decades...the same ones that still think there's a famous American skater named Kristy Kwan.

what's even funnier is that Tara was born June 10, 1982 and won in Nagano on February 21, 1998..making her winning age: 15 years, 8 months, 11 days. Julia was born June 5, 1998. Ladies freeskate in Sochi will likely be on the 20th or 21st...Julia would be 15 years, 8 months, 15/16 days IF she wins..., I'm sure Sochi tv commentators will have lots of fun with that comparison

^
hopefully won't jynx anything but yes that was about it
if all goes well, it will be the perfect time with the perfect place, year for the competition

hurrah said:

I think you're right about Polina K. If I were to bet money on who will be Russia's no. 1 at Sochi, it would be her.

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Yes, Polina K. has a chance she has kept all her jumps and she is done with her growth spurt, she's a tall lady almost as tall as Kostner
jumps are big and really artistic. Julia, Polina K. Adelina and Liza if all are healthy could battle it out for a spot, but I feel a bit sorry for Leonova as she is fighter
but Im sure she will fight with the younger girls to earn her place.

i do think julia's axel will give her issues down the road...her leg does not lift up and it seems to me she rotates is a little crooked in the air (kind of like alissa's). if she ever goes to try triple axels it's going to be a problem.

how tall is elizaveta? how much more do you think she will grow/has she already had a growth spurt?

another thing i wonder is how much julia's proportions will change...when caroline was young her body seemed well proportioned but now her torso is very long for her legs. makes me wonder if something like that will occur. hopefully not.

also-- just watched both of polina k.'s programs at euros. i'm already a fan, i think she's great. she has some very nice lines and her spins are good. floaty jumps too. and her LP dress is beautiful! how old is she? she looks a bit tall.

I don't see it. Yes, Julia is very talented for a 13 year old but what will she be like at 18? It's way to early to know if she'll even still be in the top tier by then. I think Adelina has more presence than Julia and I think Liza has more technical ability. Julia's one great attribute is her flexibility, but you cannot win championships with that. It will be interesting to watch all these talented youngsters come of age in the next couple of years.

macy said:

i do think julia's axel will give her issues down the road...her leg does not lift up and it seems to me she rotates is a little crooked in the air (kind of like alissa's). if she ever goes to try triple axels it's going to be a problem.

how tall is elizaveta? how much more do you think she will grow/has she already had a growth spurt?

another thing i wonder is how much julia's proportions will change...when caroline was young her body seemed well proportioned but now her torso is very long for her legs. makes me wonder if something like that will occur. hopefully not.

also-- just watched both of polina k.'s programs at euros. i'm already a fan, i think she's great. she has some very nice lines and her spins are good. floaty jumps too. and her LP dress is beautiful! how old is she? she looks a bit tall.

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Elizaveta won't grow much or not grow anymore she is like her parents who are a short ethnic group. she is Udmurt I think
Julia's body when she grows old will probably look like a typical rhythmic gymnast, she does stretching everyday for 4 hours and can maintain her narrow hips
I don't know if getting long legs will be the problem when she gets older, Julia won't fill that out much but she needs to change her 2A technique that will cause problems in the future.

and Polina K. is an inch shorter than Koster

I just looked up the Udmurts, and they're fascinating. I didn't realize Elizaveta was anything but ethnic Russian. Their original language is Uralic, not Slavic. There are fewer than a million Udmurts. Man, become a skating fan and see the world.

Julia doenst have the rythmic body structure even now, I know she started out in rytmics but I think her shoulders are not as wide and her legs are more muscled, I m amazed she stretches for 4 hours a day, how many hours does she train?

I just looked at Udmurts too, first time I heard this!!
from
http://www.udm.ru/history.html

Anthropologists relate Udmurts to the Urals branch of the large European race which has some features of the Mongolian race. The Udmurt people are distinguished by a large number of red-haired people who (together with the Irish) are probably one of the most "gold-haired" ethnic groups in the world. Most of them are of the middle size, often have blue or gray eyes, high cheek-bones and wide face. The Udmurt people are not of an athletic build but they are very hardy.
Talking about the traits of Udmurts (such an indefinite and subjective sphere) we usually note their goodwill, hospitality, delicacy, shyness, restraint of feelings turning to secrecy, thrift to stinginess, patience to self-sacrifice, insistence to obstinacy. Many experts are delighted with the exceptional diligence and hard-working of the Udmurt people.

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Elizaveta is listed as 156 cm (5'1.5") but appears shorter than that, at Russian Nationals she and Julia were standing next to each other and were about the same height, Julia maybe a little taller. Julia is listed as 151 cm (4'11.5"), but she may have grown some because on the podium at JW, she only looked 2-3 inches shorter than Adelina, who said on her formspring she is between 160 and 163 cm (5'3" to 5'4"), so Julia is maybe more like 5'0" or 5'1" (152-155 cm) now. Tukt is probably around 150 cm (4'11"). As for the taller ladies, Shelepen says she is 165 cm (5'5") and done growing. Korobeynikova is listed as 166 cm (5'5.5") on her isu bio, which is one inch shorter than Kostner who is listed as 169 cm (5'6.5"). My guess is that Julia will not grow as tall as Shelepen or Korobeynikova because at her age, those girls were taller with the long bambi legs and had a beanpole look to them which Julia does not have. I would guess Julia ends up around 158-162 cm when she finishes growing, which would be right in the normal range for a ladies singles skater. Of course, she may end up taller, but usually you can tell from ones build at 13-14. Julia is built more like a gymnast with broad shoulders, narrow hips, and a longer torso compared to her legs. She may be able to keep this body type even when she goes through puberty and if she can it should help her keep her jumps and control.

Tukt will probably not grow much more, maybe a couple inches at most. Her parents are reportedly very small and she is already starting to look more womanly without shooting up much in height over the past few years. I think she will be more like Sasha and stay very petite even when she is full grown.

seniorita said:

Julia doenst have the rythmic body structure even now, I know she started out in rytmics but I think her shoulders are not as wide and her legs are more muscled, I m amazed she stretches for 4 hours a day, how many hours does she train?

I just looked at Udmurts too, first time I heard this!!
from
http://www.udm.ru/history.html

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Yes, less than a million people, I think Elizaveta's people , the Udmurts are like one of the listed disappearing languages and an endangered ethnic group.

and Im sorry, I meant Artistic Gymnastics not rhythmic
broad shoulders, narrow hips, slender and lithe legs. Julia is actually is getting a growth spurt so lets see if this will affect her next season.

so far only Polina K. and Shelepen are done growing

I dont know how even the girls like Shelepen and Sotbikova are guaranted that the spurt is over? Dont people grow after 15 or 16? Although Shelepen looked like tall even in juniors a couple of years ago, you knew she wouldnt stay short. I think Julia is too soon to know, same Elisaveta. Cause I thought Agafanova would stay small and now she grew up a lot!

Yes, Seniorita, I think girls sometimes grow a bit after their early teens, especially when their maturation rate is slowed because of extreme exercise. Didn't Dan Zhang grow recently? I think the only thing that can say for sure whether a girl has stopped growing (besides just waiting and seeing!) is an examination of the growth plates of the bones. I don't know what kind of scan (X-ray, perhaps?) is done to see this, but you can't tell for absolute certainty just by looking at someone.

seniorita said:

I dont know how even the girls like Shelepen and Sotbikova are guaranted that the spurt is over? Dont people grow after 15 or 16? Although Shelepen looked like tall even in juniors a couple of years ago, you knew she wouldnt stay short. I think Julia is too soon to know, same Elisaveta. Cause I thought Agafanova would stay small and now she grew up a lot!

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Polina Shelepen said on her formspring that she had already stopped growing, I assume a doctor told her this, or she went for a yearly checkup and was the same height as the year before. Usually doctors can tell this by looking at a bonescan or x-ray to see if the growth plates have fused, or a more general rule is that a girl will stop growing in height 2 years after the onset of menses. Of course in elite athletes this may be different, as puberty may be delayed and some female skaters probably do not even menstruate at all due to being muscular with such a low body fat percentage, but if growth plates are fused, that is one way to know that a person is done growing.

As for Korobeynikova, she is not yet 16, so she could grow more, but she looks mature already like she's already gone through puberty and her big growth spurt, so if she does grow more it will likely be in the form of filling out and maybe adding on just a cm or two to her current height.

Usually girls will go through a big growthspurt in their early teens, shooting up around 3 to 6 inches in a short period of time such as a year, and then afterwards, some stop growing nearly right away, while others may continue to grow for a few more years, maybe as many as 4, but the growth is much, much slower, just a cm or two each year, and it is during this period when weight is usually gained. Off the top of my head, I can think of Mirai as one who had a major growthspurt but then stopped growing (taller) almost immediately afterwards, she went from like 4'11" to 5'3"/5'4" in one season when she was 15, but I think she has stayed the same height since. The same appears to be true of Gracie who supposedly grew 5 or 6 inches last season but has now stopped growing according to her coach. Polina Shelepen also grew a lot after her first season on the JGP, but has been around her current height of 165 cm since the middle of last season and claims to be finished growing now. Christina Gao was the same way, very tiny her first season on JGP, then just one season later she was several inches taller and looked almost like a different person. Mao and Yuna didn't have as major growthspurts, shooting up maybe 2-3 inches around 14 or 15, but continued to grow more gradually until they were around 18 or so. The gradual growthspurt is probably easier to adjust to, but it means a longer period of constantly adjusting. Tukt seems to be following the pattern of growing more gradually, as for Adelina, she shot up in height back in 09-10 season when she struggled, then this year her body changed and she grew some more, but I really think the main cause of her struggles this season was all the pressure. It's too soon to tell what pattern Julia will follow, but considering she's already grown significantly since last season and doesn't have the bambi legs and puppy paw hands and feet look, she may grow up more gradually as well.

Also, Agafonova did grow a lot but she is still quite tiny. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...42168424.76512.255007411190874&type=3&theater Vanessa Lam is only 154 cm and Polina is maybe a hair shorter, so after her big growthspurt she is still only around 153 cm or 5'0", she just used to be even tinier before. And she turns 16 soon so she will likely not get much bigger.