I like him, but I don't see how you can proclaim his skating skills as the best of this event...
Erm.
Kovtun's SS are definitly one of his weaknesses. He worked a lot on his IN and PE (IMO, at least), and his programs suit him, but his SS are...by far the weakest in this event.
SS are pretty objective, really...
qwertyskates said:Hmm...judges at recent events seem to disagree, he won Silver (I think underscored at CoC), Gold (Rostelecom), 5th here but I think both he and Lipnitskaia were a bit underscored in LP. He used to skate poorly but I'm impressed by the speed and distance of his Sochi trajectory. Personally, I'm not fond of him, but I'm not letting the past derision (truly ugly jumps before but now, it's his strength....) influence me - respect is due for his maturity and composed recovery from the SP. He could medal in Sochi if he keeps at this rate, I won't underestimate him.
Ha, I'm NOT a Kovtun fan, but I think if he nails all his quad-sal-triples & other combos while Hanyu falls on his quad sals, the Sochi advantage will carry him home, so to speak. It's not his PCS but TES, I know, it sounds sacrilegious after Hanyu's scores here, but he is no shirk in chalking those up either. Consider the speed of his trajectory, this year alone,- within a few months, he's already a different skater. The old Kovtun surfaced for a bit in the kiss and cry after SP, but he pulled together to deliver a very decent LP. Anyways, it makes Sochi interesting, we'll see.
Yes, I think he would go for at least what he tried in the CoC/CoR SP and LP, quad-sal-triple, quad sal, quad toe, 3axel-double, etc., improve his spins, change his costume, he's the traditional type of skater that the Russians love. Advantage too for Patrick, but I'm sure there'll be a sky cam there! Kovtun is one of those few who can pack a lot into the 2nd half too, eg Casablanca, so you're right, 5 quads is not out of the question. But then Plush might just show up.
qwertyskates said:Ha, I'm NOT a Kovtun fan, but I think if he nails all his quad-sal-triples & other combos while Hanyu falls on his quad sals, the Sochi advantage will carry him home, so to speak. It's not his PCS but TES, I know, it sounds sacrilegious after Hanyu's scores here, but he is no shirk in chalking those up either.
Ack, double post...please delete.
Kovtuns BV at CoC was 74.01. If you add 10 points for a 4T instead of the 2T, you're at 84+. That's still about 4 points behind Hanyus GPF BV of 88+, and if his only mistake is a fall on the 4S, Kovtun very likely won't even win the TES. The fall GOE would cancel out the BV advantage, but then the fight would be about +GOE on the other elements, and I guess Hanyu would get a little better GOE, even in Russia. If Hanyu makes more mistakes/worse one like poping the 4S, than it's another story...
Ack, double post...please delete.
Yeah, 164 is actually pretty good, considering he tripled a quad and neglected to do a 3rd combo (e.g. 2A-3T at the end). His spins could indeed use higher levels. To me his SP is his shining point - reminds me of Lambiel at some points and excellent interpretation and steps. His SS are not nearly as good as you make them out to be, but he still has years of experience to accumulate.
qwertyskates said:But what if he tacked on another quad combo? He's delivered a very fine 4S-3T at CoC SP. He's capable of that and getting +GOEs. Hanyu's 4S is shaky...and he would have no home advantage. Not to scare Hanyu but he has to improve in his weaker areas, especially those preferred by host.
Ha, I'm NOT a Kovtun fan, but I think if he nails all his quad-sal-triples & other combos while Hanyu falls on his quad sals, the Sochi advantage will carry him home, so to speak. It's not his PCS but TES, I know, it sounds sacrilegious after Hanyu's scores here, but he is no shirk in chalking those up either. Consider the speed of his trajectory, this year alone,- within a few months, he's already a different skater. The old Kovtun surfaced for a bit in the kiss and cry after SP, but he pulled together to deliver a very decent LP. Anyways, it makes Sochi interesting, we'll see.