- Joined
- Mar 20, 2013
It means that we would have Gold Medalists – Volosozhar & Trankov and Stolbova & Klimov, Davis & White and Virtue & Moir? Interesting idea.
No words about Russian Federation, they didn’t agree with it, I am sure they were angry because of this article. Morozov was always working for himself on the first place, not for Russian Federation, no matter how much paid he was (he trained so many foreign skaters - Takahashi, Amodio, Cappellini & Lanotte – not with happy faces of people from Russian Federation). Btw Cappellini took Gold Medal from Ilinykh at this year European Championships, Takahashi was beating Russian men constantly, Amodio won European Champinships in 2011 and got Bronze medal next year and Silver Medal in 2013 (Kovtun was 5th there). Morozov can be hardly call a Pro-Russian coach only. But I never said that it surely WAS Morozov, he was one of my two possibilities – which is a speculation only.
Connection with Ice Dance cathegory comes easily into one’s head, because that is the cathegory where falls and missed elements are not so usual. You can understand that a pair couple looses a victory with program including three falls (Savchenko & Szolkovy lost Silver Medal because of two falls in elements), the Team competition includes Pairs and single cathegories where a falls may change a results dramatically (Mao Asada jumped to 16th place after short program and jumped back to 6th place after free skate in Individual Event – who could predict it?). Ice Dance skaters are making less mistakes and falling less so even with clean skate, not everybody will go for medal. With possibly ten dance couples skating clean programs – who will judges choose for a podium? The ones who were medalling at Grand Prix Final? Reigning World Medalists? The best level skaters? The most supported skaters? Or surprisingly those who were the best overall? It is much more about personal preferences of judges, more than in any other cathegory.
I am reading interesting things at Golden Skate Forum…but there is not even 10 percents of similarity with “behind the scene“ talks during competitions. And judges are at those “behind the scenes“ atmosphere. Things which are not discussed here…those things are discussed there…and judges live in it and they can be easily influenced by it.
I remember that one of ice dance judge persisted in comments towards Faiella & Scali and Khoklova & Novitski, one year that judge was saying that Faiella and Khoklova are great and partners are not on their level, second year the same judge was swearing that Scali and Novitski are so great but they are poor boys of having not so good woman partners and third year that judge came back to previous talks about Khoklova being better then Novitski. The same judge was singing of happiness about Coomes & Buckland that they have so deep edges because it is a British school of Torvill & Dean. If you watch C&B edges, you will see no angle, because they have no deep edges and almost no edges overall. Such experts are hidden on judges places. Those are nice examples how are judges influenced by “behind the scene“ talks when Platov and British Federation are propagating their couple.
Well, if not for the fall on the twizzels I&K would've won the European title this year.
Hardly Morozov fault. A coach should be pro their skaters, whether they are russian, french, USA etc.
Most coaches don't seem have strong patriotic feelings. After all, they were surrounded by international peers since childhood. But their employers, a.k.a. Federations, do give them a lot of flack. Zhulin was reported to have received lectures from the Federation for coaching Russian skaters' rivals.