Irina - Calgary article (translated)

[chuckm]

Other stories in the Russian press (as mentioned on the FSU board) are saying Irina definitely is not going to Worlds.

My guess is she will not be there. She wasn't on the alternate list (Plushenko was), and ISU rules don't allow substitutions after the 2/28 deadline, except for "extenuating circumstances". Changing one's mind does not fit that description/

 

[R.D.]

Well, hopefully if the ISU didn't bend the rules for Mao to go to the Olympics, they won't bend them for Irina to go to Worlds.

But here's the thing- isn't Irina HERSELF quoted in that translation as saying that she was going?

 

[chuckm]

Maybe Irina belatedly decided she WANTED to go, but as the Rolling Stones song says, "You can't always get what you want".

 

[R.D.]

She didn't say she WANTED to go. She stated that she WOULD be there.


Then again, maybe she will be there but won't actually compete?

 

[Ptichka]

She didn't say she WANTED to go. She stated that she WOULD be there.

Then again, maybe she will be there but won't actually compete?

RedDog, you're reading too much into it. I'm sure that Irina just assumed at that time that if she wanted to go, she'd be free to do so.

 

[Ogre Mage]

Oh dear, this is becoming as bad as the old "Is Irina pregnant?" threads. Now it's "Will Irina go to 2006 Worlds?" At least with the Worlds, we will have a definitive answer soon ...

 

[millie]

I think that if they changes the rules for Irina at this late date, I think that this will be a set up for a fiasco in the future. She said that she wasn't going, her name is not on the list as an alternate, so how can they send her without breaking the rules. They couldn't break the rules for Mao so how can they do it for Irina. I would have loved to see Irina skate at Worlds. She made a mistake in the beginning when she said that she wasn't going. She should have told them that she was going and then if she changed her mind later there wouldn't have been a problem. But now there is a big problem and who will fix it!

 

[R.D.]

well, I hear that both Arakawa and Irina are not going- can someone confirm this?

 

[attyfan]

Here is a link to a translation of a Japanese article that I found on FSU. It said that Arakawa will not be going to Worlds.

http://webtranslate.livedoor.com/am...om-spo&display=2&c_id=livedoor&langpair=JA,EN

In case this doesn't work, here is the link to the FSU thread where I found it (scroll down to post no. 50):

http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/showthread.php?t=35773&page=4

 

[R.D.]

Thanks for the article. So The Trend lives on...

still wonder about Irina, though. Any confirmation on her status?

 

[Dee4707]

Ptichka thanks so much for the translation and pictures. Well, if Irina goes to Worlds, it will make for a good worlds.

Dee

 

[Mathman]

If Irina is not allowed to skate, and if Shizuka indeed has opted out, I guess that makes Sasha about a three fall favorite (if Sasha goes). With Fumie and Joannie rounding out the podium.

MM

 

[R.D.]

Three? you've got to be kidding! Maybe with ONE fall she can still win. But if she skates like she did in the Olympic FS (or worse), you cannot guarantee a win.

It sort of reminds me of MK at Worlds 2003. With Irina out, there was almost no way MK was going to lose that competition, even if she fell.

Suguri has beaten Cohen before. It's not over till it's over. Plus there's that annoying qualifying round thingy to consider.

 

[equestrianguy]

It sort of reminds me of MK at Worlds 2003. With Irina out, there was almost no way MK was going to lose that competition, even if she fell.

Yes, but MK didn't fall... She was spectacular!!! I wish we could see her in that form one more time...

 

[hockeyfan228]

Plus there's that annoying qualifying round thingy to consider.

Cohen's record in Worlds quali rounds:

2002:
Slutskaya, Cohen
Alt group: Kwan, Suguri

2003:
Kwan, Sokolova, Cohen
Alt group: Suguri, Robinson, Volchkova

2004:
Cohen, Sokolova, Sebestyen
Alt group: Arakawa, Ando, Kwan

2005:
Cohen (58.00/56.64), Ando, Sokolova
Slutskaya, Suguri (52.60/56.16), Kostner

The only year Cohen didn't place first or second in the quali was 2003, where she placed third behind the gold and silver medallist, and Suguri's best competition was Jennifer Robinson.

We'll certainly know how Cohen and Suguri fare against each other in the same group; regardless of whether Slutskaya skates, with Kwan (4) out, Cohen (2) and Suguri (5) will be in the same quali group, and, barring an odd number of withdrawals, so will Rochette:

Slutskaya (1) -- if she skates. Otherwise, Kostner leads the group.
Kostner (3)
Sokolova (7)
Liashenko (10)
Sebestyen (12)
Meier (14)
Pavuk (18)

Alt group:

Cohen (2)
Suguri (5)
Poykio (8)
Rochette (11)
Hegel (13)
Dytrt (15)
Liu (21)

Top 24 skaters from Moscow who are not listed as participating in Worlds are:
Slutskaya (1)
Kwan (4)
Ando (6) -- sub
Arakawa (9) -- replaced by Onda
Carter (16) -- Manzano's going
Kirk (17) -- retired
Johannsson (19) -- injured, Amanda Nylander listed
Pfaneuf (20) -- injured, #2 Canadian woman is Mira Leung
McCorkell (22) -- injured, no entries for GBR
Didier (23) -- France is sending Bobillier
Venhuizen (24) -- no entries for Netherlands

 

[Mathman]

But if she skates like she did in the Olympic FS (or worse), you cannot guarantee a win.

No guarantees, of course.

But in her last outing, she did "skate the way she did in the Olympic FS," and that was good enough to beat Suguri (clean), Rochette, Kostner, Meissner -- and Slutskaya.

 

[hockeyfan228]

And, duh, many thanks to Ptichka for the translation!

 

[mzheng]

So now days have been passed.
Go or No Go?

 

[R.D.]

No guarantees, of course.

But in her last outing, she did "skate the way she did in the Olympic FS," and that was good enough to beat Suguri (clean), Rochette, Kostner, Meissner -- and Slutskaya.

But the Olys are a high-stake competition where nerves are the biggest problem. Even some of the toughest competitors have faltered under that pressure.

At worlds I wouldn't count on a two-fall performance winning. Just not possible (OK, well, it might be, but it's probably 99% unlikely). That's why I said what I said.

It would be something if Suguri could win her first world championship. Two Japanese ladies taking the two major titles. The Japanese have arrived.

Or is there someone else waiting to seize the moment? Joannie? Carolina (is she going)? Can Kimmie medal? Questions to be answered hopefully soon.

Then after that, the great abyss...with Vancouver 2010 on the other side.

 

[demarinis5]

It sort of reminds me of MK at Worlds 2003. With Irina out, there was almost no way MK was going to lose that competition, even if she fell.

Yes, but MK didn't fall... She was spectacular!!! I wish we could see her in that form one more time...

I agree. She was spectacular at Worlds in 2003. One of my favorite performances of Michelle. IMO No one could have beaten her that year.