Blah Russian team

[DobrinFan]

Yes they are guaranteed one. But could you image Plushenko having to do both the team event and singles because Russia has one men's spot. Cause we all know if there is one spot it's going to Plushenko. Oh his knees

[silverlake22]

Could people just give Adelina a break?

She's 15 for god's sake, has a lot of pressure on her shoulders and difficulties to adjust to her changing body - nothing that's happening here or that happened throughout the season is a reason to write her off.

I'm not convinced Adelina's struggles are physical. Next to the other skaters, she still looks very small, I don't think she's really grown much if at all since the end of last season, maybe a few centimeters max, and her weight looks the same as before, the only difference I notice is that her face is a lot fuller. Plus we see her land her monster 3lz-3lo combo regularly and then botch her easier jumping passes. I think her issue is more mental/psychological to be honest, the pressure probably has something to do with it, and then maybe she's also suffering from lack of confidence do to the wild success her younger teammates Tuktamysheva and Lipnitskaya had this season. I'm sure she can bounce back, but it might be hard, and consistency/competition nerves could be something she always struggles with and she could end up having a Abbott-like career. Idk.

Also, I don't think it's all doom and gloom in regards to the men. Gatchinski is very strong and capable of getting big scores when he's "on", he's just not particularly consistent at this point, but considering his age, this can likely be improved over time. Also, Kovtun has a lot of promise. His 3a is a rock and his 4t is pretty solid/consistent for a 16 year old boy. He's still growing into his body and is therefore a little bit awkward, but a few years down the road he could probably be quite a respectable skater on the World stage, could maybe even be winning European medals. He has all the goods he just needs more time in the oven.

[NMURA]

The reason of sending Kovtun and Bush is simple. Give them the chances to gain some SB on the top 24 list. There's no GP worthy Russian senior men besides Plushenko and Gachinski now. The prospects of Voronov and Menshov are pretty dim.

[DobrinFan]

Well yeah I figured that much but they have a long way to go for those SB. I don't think the future of russian men are bright with any of their guys besides the obvious two. But that's JHMO.

[bestskate8]

And a GOOD Russian team is preparing for the next season now