Russian Team

[Mirunna]

but this is what happens when she is on the crowd
she pops every single Flip!!! : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMyZIESJPgI
and that was even a Exhibition, Sotnikova has terrible Flip Technique couple with her being a known headcase

Isn't landing a jump in an exhibition harder because of the light? At least that is what I heard/read somewhere. She has a bad technique on her lutz but her flip is just fine. She had indeed problems with this jump this season, landing just 1 out of 3 in both GP, but she skated clean her last 2 SP (at nationals and euros, both competitions being very important) and landed one out of 2 in her LP in basically every LP she did this season. It's true she still didn't do 2 out of 2 in her LP but maybe she can do it here. Even if she doesn't and that's her only mistake a top 5 is very likely. I actually don't mind you calling her a headcase and predict terrible outcomes for her: at Euros she was on fire after you predicted a huge meltdown
I'm starting to believe you actually like Sotnikova and wish her well but since she is so inconsistent, you lower your expectation and predict the worse outcome so that you won't be disapointed again She is not the only inconsistent skater in the world but you pay a special attention to her

[sky_fly20]

. I actually don't mind you calling her a headcase and predict terrible outcomes for her: at Euros she was on fire after you predicted a huge meltdown
I'm starting to believe you actually like Sotnikova and wish her well but since she is so inconsistent, you lower your expectation and predict the worse outcome so that you won't be disapointed again She is not the only inconsistent skater in the world but you pay a special attention to her

I did "use" to like Sotnikova but when she became a headcase for many seasons
I give up on her, her Flip is so terrible I already know she will single it even before take off on her jump

[hanca]

I did "use" to like Sotnikova but when she became a headcase for many seasons
I give up on her, her Flip is so terrible I already know she will single it even before take off on her jump

I know, headcase for MANY, MANY seasons...whole two seasons!!! And it is doubtful that she actually become a headcase. Her whole figure changed within the last few years, so a lot of her problems could have been caused by puberty.

[silverlake22]

I did "use" to like Sotnikova but when she became a headcase for many seasons
I give up on her, her Flip is so terrible I already know she will single it even before take off on her jump

Well, she's still 16, and she was consistent her first season on JGP, it's just the past two season's that she has been inconsistent (and I suppose the season before she won everything on the junior circuit when she fell so much), and that may be primarily because of puberty. She may not have gotten much taller over the past year or so, but her body type definitely changed, her legs are very muscular now, her torso lengthened to become proportional to her limb length, a few years ago she was just a leggy little waif. I think the adjustment with puberty is harder and maybe takes longer for those who experience more sudden or considerable changes in body type, Adelina, Mirai, Caroline would be examples of this, compared to the likes of someone like Yuna or Mao, who grew up more gradually over a number of years and maintained a very slight/willowy build even after puberty. To me it seems like Adelina has a lot more speed and power now compared to a few years ago and that's why her jumps are a bit hit and miss - she's still getting accustomed to the speed and power. I think she can bounce back like Slutskaya did. In many ways she is reminiscent of Slutskaya, although Adelina already is more polished and has better lines than Irina ever did.

[ForeverFish]

^This. Tuktamysheva seems to have the same issue of her legs building muscle faster than the rest of her body. She's still tiny, which may make her weight distribution more uneven than Sotnikova's--even Lipnitskaia (who's also starting to experience puberty troubles) is taller than Tukt now. But getting back on topic, I don't think that any of them are going to have trouble with jumps once they clear this hurdle, except perhaps Lipnitskaia, whose jumps barely clear the ice as it is. Not everyone can maintain their adolescent legginess like Yuna and Mao, after all

[silverlake22]

Julia's jumps look fine to me except for the 2a, her axel technique is horrid and barely clears the ice, but the rest of her jumps seem decent in terms of size and technique. Liza has small jumps too, though textbook technique, which is why I think she's more consistent in landing them that Adelina who has monster jumps which obviously make things harder to control. Julia also has grown quite a bit this season and seems to be getting back on track so we will see with her, she has such tiny feet and does not have the gangly look of her teammates at JW so she might stay very small, sort of like Cohen. I'm curious to see what the Russian girls can do here. I hope they don't get themselves in a hole after the SP.

[sky_fly20]

Julia's jumps are fine its not smaller than Miyahara's or Radionova's who have tiny jumps. her 2A-3T-2T's and other jumps are Ok though Julia has terrible 2A and a bit of Lipping. its not worse than Sotnikova's Single Flip and Flutz

Huge jumps are useless if you cant land them take a look at Sotnikova,
Sotnikova is like a poor man's Slutskaya maybe more musical but without Slutskaya's confidence

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Wondering what people's take on Kovtun are. Poor guy. I'm sure the Russian federation is kicking themselves for sending their 5th place Nationals finisher, and it's likely left them with just one spot at the Olympics. If Plushenko shows up at next year's nationals, is there any point to the other guys even trying? Clearly ranking higher than others at Nationals is negligible, and no matter how Plushenko does - even if he places 5th - they'll likely send him to Sochi as their lone man, unless Kovtun has an incredible freeskate to secure 2 spots. I feel really bad for him, since he could possibly have vied for the World Junior title with less pressure and Menshov, who has had some excellent SPs this season, could have capitalised on the relatively weak SP field and positioned himself nicely to secure 2 spots.

[gmyers]

It's looking like the 2009 team in LA was better!! Wow. What a turn after this run of catastrophic SPs from Maxim, Adelina and Liza.

You can't blame Kovtun. He didn't earn this spot. He was given it. He didn't have to work for it. He had to work for his success in juniors and was JGPF champion. But for seniors everyone has been pushed aside for him. 5th at RUssian nationals. After Plushenko withdrew there were only two russian men at euros and he placed fifth there.

Does Plushenko really want to skate an SP and LP in team and SP and LP in singles? ANd if he did want to could he even last to the singles free skate? Does he just do doubles or triples in team? How does he conserve himself? Far as I know RUssia is completely damaged in both team and singles.

I can see no previous example in worlds of someone skating 2nd in the LP and ending in the top 10. I can't find an example.

[ciocio]

Wondering what people's take on Kovtun are. Poor guy. I'm sure the Russian federation is kicking themselves for sending their 5th place Nationals finisher, and it's likely left them with just one spot at the Olympics. If Plushenko shows up at next year's nationals, is there any point to the other guys even trying? Clearly ranking higher than others at Nationals is negligible, and no matter how Plushenko does - even if he places 5th - they'll likely send him to Sochi as their lone man, unless Kovtun has an incredible freeskate to secure 2 spots. I feel really bad for him, since he could possibly have vied for the World Junior title with less pressure and Menshov, who has had some excellent SPs this season, could have capitalised on the relatively weak SP field and positioned himself nicely to secure 2 spots.

Do you really think Plushenko will finish 5th if he's trained and healthy? If he's not, there is no point to send him at the Olys anyway.