2016-17 State of Russian Ladies skating | Page 83 | Golden Skate

2016-17 State of Russian Ladies skating

So again, again and again: the limitation of three skaters per country is wrong, wrong and wrong. Why do we watch all those skaters who can barely make 50 points or less in SP, while we could watch Radionova, Tuktamysheva, Leonova, etc?
54 points is a qualifying limit for this Worlds FS. That's like 16th in the Russian Nationals! Ridiculous! I prefer to watch top 16 Russians that all those Norwegians, Lithuanians and Brazilians, who can barely skate at all!

I think it's good for different countries to get experience to take back home and improve the sport locally. One example would be Yao Bin. He and his partner finished last in every Pairs World and Olympic event they competed in. By competing in those events, Bin had an opportunity to observe and compete against the most skilled athletes in the sport, and use his experience to coach the next generation of Chinese pairs skaters. His students have won dozens of World and Olympic medals, including an OGM and multiple WGMs. Also, two of Yuna Kim's coaches had very low placements in international events, so we may not have ever seen her ascend to the top of the sport had those skaters not had opportunities to compete alongside the very best.
 
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One competition left to achieve a Seasons Best score, WTT, for GP assignments and really none of the Russian ladies can improve their guaranteed spots. Leonova is on the bubble.

Guaranteed 2:
Medvedeva- 1st Worlds
Sotskova- 8th Worlds

Guaranteed 1:
Pogorilaya- 4th SB
Zagitova- 7th SB
Radionova- 8th SB
Tsurskaya- 19th SB
Elizaveta- 20th SB
Leonova- 23rd SB

No guaranteed spot (outside top 24 SB or WR):
Stanislava- 27th SB
Serafima- 41st SB
Julia- 52nd SB
Fedichkina- 53rd SB
Ogoreltseva- 56th SB
Lozko- 57th SB
 
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Radionova is the last skater to win over Medvedeva. That's surely something. I hope that Elena comes strong next season. For me the no nonsense team for the Olympics is Zhenya, Alina, and Elena. No matter how I adore Anna she is still hit and miss.

Anyway, it is going to be exciting who is #2 and #3.
 
One competition left to achieve a Seasons Best score, WTT, for GP assignments and really none of the Russian ladies can improve their guaranteed spots. Leonova is on the bubble.

Guaranteed 2:
Medvedeva- 1st Worlds
Sotskova- 8th Worlds

Guaranteed 1:
Pogorilaya- 4th SB
Zagitova- 7th SB
Radionova- 8th SB
Tsurskaya- 19th SB
Elizaveta- 20th SB
Leonova- 23rd SB

No guaranteed spot (outside top 24 SB or WR):
Stanislava- 27th SB
Serafima- 41st SB
Julia- 52nd SB
Fedichkina- 53rd SB
Ogoreltseva- 56th SB
Lozko- 57th SB

What Anna has no second GP spot guaranteed? Now I'm shocked for real. That means no GPF. :( How do the junior skaters who go into seniors get two spots then?
 
Team Tutberidze for Olympic triple - Gold, Silver and Bronze. Evgenia, Alina and Polina in our team! :agree:
 
What Anna has no second GP spot guaranteed? Now I'm shocked for real. That means no GPF. :( How do the junior skaters who go into seniors get two spots then?

Juniors get 2 spots because they usually have a top 24 SB and Anna is 4th on that list so don't worry, Anna WILL get a 2nd spot. Most if not ALL the ladies with a top 24 SB get 2 assignments. Which is why it's important to be in the top 24 ;)
 
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Why did Anna get so dramatic after a melt-down in competitions? Knelt down at the gate crying... Oh my goodness, give me a break! The pressure to win was not on her shoulder, but why did she collapse like this? Injury should not be a convincing reason. This time I will give a thumbs-up to her coach for trying her best to comfort Anna in the K-and-C, and more importantly, Anna should calm down a bit and figure out how to change her frail personality after the Worlds. After all, she is still the 2nd best senior girl in Russia.

Now it is Zagitova's good chance of moving to seniors. Evgenia, Alina and Anna will be a dream team for the Olympics, imo.
 
Olympic season will be very interesting, but I'm kind of not sure how ladies will go through it. I see only four more or less stable ladies: Evgenia, Alina, Anna and Polina. What about others - there is many questions.

Radio has very good personality on the ice, but almost all her jumps are dirty. Even at JWC 2014, where she won and skated Averbuch's program (which I very like, especially her dance in the end :love: ) Frida, she already had issues with her combo - it wasn't completely clean, there was a little messy on landing. And after growing up - problems have grown too.

Masha Sotskova - I like her skating skills, and her combos, but overall... Her best skate still was at Russian Nationals 2016. RemyRose mentioned, that head of RusFed said, that she did good at Worlds. But we all saw her scores at Russian Nationals and at intertanional events. Very big difference. And I'm afraid, maybe Buyanova will again apply her power and Masha will get for average skate at Russian Nationals around 140-145 points. And at Euro or Olympics again will get only (and sadly well-deserved) 120-125 points.

Who else? Stanislava, Elizaveta, Adelina... And someone said, that for Alisa Fedichkina no need to go to seniors. :laugh: Yeah, right...

Oh, just wondered. Is in history were moments, where skaters skipped Juniors and at once went to Seniors? I mean, Dunya Panenkova - she's eligible for Olympics. Still, she is slow, but she has solid jumps and almost all with hands over her head. Will be funny if at Russian Nationals 2017 she will be in the top three. But it's better option, if not to mention first four girl.
 
Olympic season will be very interesting, but I'm kind of not sure how ladies will go through it. I see only four more or less stable ladies: Evgenia, Alina, Anna and Polina. What about others - there is many questions.

Radio has very good personality on the ice, but almost all her jumps are dirty. Even at JWC 2014, where she won and skated Averbuch's program (which I very like, especially her dance in the end :love: ) Frida, she already had issues with her combo - it wasn't completely clean, there was a little messy on landing. And after growing up - problems have grown too.

The only one I think is a sure bet is Evgenia. She's proven time and time again she's rock solid and will deliver a near perfect performance under any kind of pressure. Even Anna, who did wonderfully all season long cracked under Worlds pressure. I don't think one performance is going to make or break Anna's ability to get on the Olympic Team (and it really shouldn't IMO), but one would have to be delusional to think the Russian Fed won't remember this performance when choosing the team next year. I think out of all the ladies you listed, Elena R is the most solid competitor, though her gritted out landings may prevent her from making the podium if everyone else goes clean. I love Elena R, but she has to work on her landings and posture. I feel like she stagnated this season (and maybe last season too) and I'm not sure if puberty is to blame, lack of motivation/training, or her coaching team. Whichever it is, I hope she and her team get it together b/c I need to see her on Olympic ice! Out of all the girls, I feel like she has not reached her full potential yet, and when she does, it will be amazing :love:.

As for Alina, she is wonderful and talented and possibly may pass Evgenia one day, but I'm not going to make any predictions about her until she competes as a senior. Same goes for Polina. It is also incredibly interesting to me that Alina stated she is not sure if she will turn senior next year. To me, it is a no brainer as she is age eligible and currently the reigning World Jr Champion. This might be her best shot at getting an Olympic medal, as who knows what will happen in another 4-5 years.
 
Elena R has good reason to hope for next season, but it's really time for her to get a new coach. Her packaging/choreo/movement needs an overhaul. When she's clean international judges will overlook her unrefined style because she's so charismatic, but she'd get more love with more refinement.

I love Maria S. For her first Worlds, not bad. I think we will see improvement from her next season.

Anna broke my heart. I don't even want to talk about it.

Assuming all is well with Alina and Evgenia next season, the other spot is wide open. Heck, I'm not even counting out Liza for a comeback of sorts.
 
Why did Anna get so dramatic after a melt-down in competitions? Knelt down at the gate crying... Oh my goodness, give me a break! The pressure to win was not on her shoulder, but why did she collapse like this? Injury should not be a convincing reason. This time I will give a thumbs-up to her coach for trying her best to comfort Anna in the K-and-C, and more importantly, Anna should calm down a bit and figure out how to change her frail personality after the Worlds. After all, she is still the 2nd best senior girl in Russia.

Now it is Zagitova's good chance of moving to seniors. Evgenia, Alina and Anna will be a dream team for the Olympics, imo.

She may not have had the pressure to win but she did have tons of pressure all the same. She wasn't expected to win but I bet the fed. thought she should medal or at worse come real close. She knows that too and probably expected the same which is why she was so heartbroken at the end.

The competition in Russia is tough and a skater can be dropped fast. She can't afford to lose the support of the federation even by a little. She has a history of meltdowns and that was supposedly behind her and now it rears its ugly head again. The fed. know her history and her performance here will definitely not escape their eye. If it comes down to petty points at nationals next year this meltdown at worlds can easily make a difference.

As for her being 2nd best senior girl in Russia? That sounds more like fan opinion then fact and Russian nationals prove it. In their eyes its probably Evgenia #1 and then everybody else in a blood bath. It appears they personally like Sotskova over her as well. Anna has never been solidly on the team and there has always been somebody else of the moment above her. The only reason she has made it where she is is because of her fighting spirit and the downfall of others. A few youngsters coming up and Olympic eligible is not a good thing for her. Her position is not safe at all and she can easily be left off the Olympic team.
 
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Exactly. She's been working so hard all this season. This is her life. It is like World ending for her. It's like people only want to see the pure joy of someone cheering after a great skate, but are embarassed when someone breaks down after a huge failure. Anna knew what that performance meant, she knows she is expendable in her own country. She isn't stoic or able to hold back her tears in that moment, and that breakdown was very genuine.

It's not like a Carolina Kostner break down, who has chance after chance, because of her nationality. Anna is an emotional girl capable of great emoting. I would've been very surprised if she just shrugged it off. But even then with her 'forced' smile in the KnC she knew the audience had her back. It was very heartwarming the way the cheered her up. Compare this to her other KnC after a bad skate. I think she's tougher than she's been in 2015. And if she doesn't make it to the Olympics, well, than that's horrible, but as a 20 year old she has matured. She will survive. And maybe even take the Gold at next years Championships if the Olympians don't compete.
 
My heart ached for Anna. She had such a great worlds in Boston last year and seeing her live was lovely. She is very powerful. She had a great season, really, and I felt for her this year. I want all the ladies to be injury free, have their best skates, and be happy with themselves. Anna is capable of coming back stronger than ever and I hope that's what she does.
 
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