Elena skated like c**p in the GP this season---nary a lutz nor a flip in sight. Her performances at Nationals were only slightly better, but not much.
And I don't think the Russian judges were putting her down at all, if anything they held her up. Here's why:
Short Program
Alexandra Ievleva was placed first in the SP. She landed 2L+2T, 3T, 2A --- all clean as a whistle. Two of her spins were level2 and one was a level3, her footwork was level3, and she had a Level4 spiral sequence. She got +GOE on every element exept the footwork section. I saw her SP on Youtube and she has lovely lines, smooth movements and great expression, and her high PCS scores were well deserved.
Elena was placed 2nd. She landed a very good 3Z+2T, but then she doubled the 3L and double-footed the landing on it. Her 2A was good. Elena had a level3 spiral sequence and a level 4 combination spin, and a level3 flying camel spin, but her layback was just level1 and her footwork, only level2. Her spinning is not very good, as she got 0 GOE on the flying camel, and only +0.07 on the level1 layback.
Elena lost to Ievleva in the SP because Elena doubled and two-footed the loop, which cost her 4.5 points, and her non-jump elements were worth 1.66 points less than Ievleva's. And she had the gall to complain that Ievleva was doing easier jumps!
Alexandra Ievleva skated a squeaky clean program, and she skated it with spirit and expression, grace and flow. Elena's program was lackluster by comparison, yet her PCS scores were 2.92 higher than Ievleva's. IMO, Elena was held up in the PCS because she is Elena Sokolova.
Arina Martynova was 3rd in the SP, and IMO she was held up slightly also. She did 3Z2T (two-foot), popped an axel and fell, and then singled the flip. However, her non-jump elements were nearly all level3 and 4 and she got +GOE on all of them. She had the second highest PCS score after Elena, but I have to say having seen the SP that everything except the jumps had good flow and expression.
Ksenia Doronina struggled but landed the 3Z2T, stepped out of the 3F, and had a good 2A. Presentation is not her strong point, nor are her non-jump elements. She was 4th in the SP. I saw her SP on YouTube and it was slow, and her spins traveled quite a bit. She was not impressive.
Free Skate
Ksenia Doronina unexpectedly came back and won the FS. she landed 3Z, 3F, 3L (ur), 3T+2T+SEQ, 3S, 3Z+1T, 2A. Her non-jump elements were mostly level 1s and level2s, except for the combination spin (3) and spiral sequence (4).
Elena Sokolova was 2nd in the FS, but she was almost 7.5 points behind Doronina. It's odd that she complained about the lack of difficulty in Ievleva's SP because Elena's FS didn't have much more. She landed 3Z (2 ft), 1L, 2A, 2S, 3T+2T (the only combination), 3L, 2T. All her non-jump elements were only level1 and level2. Once again, she received the highest PCS score in the FS.
Ievleva struggled a bit in the FS, but she finished only 1.82 points behind Elena, which enabled her to pass Elena for the silver medal. She did 3L2T, 1Z, 3L(ur) fall, 2S (ur), 3T+2T, 3S+1T, 2A. Her non-jump elements were mostly level1 and level2, except for the spiral sequence (4). However, she did receive +GOE on all of them, and the 2nd-highest PCS score after Elena.
The final scores were:
146.20 Doronina
145.70 Ievleva
144.89 Sokolova
The fact is if Elena had landed the 3L in her SP and if she had done the lutz combination in the FS, she would have won the competition hands down. Or she could have brought her non-jump elements up a level and skated with speed and flair, as she once used to do.
The Russian federation isn't pulling any "tricks" on Elena. The judges gifted her with high PCS scores despite the lack of content in her programs and her lethargic performances. But Elena must have thought that since she was the last of the world-class Russian ladies she could coast on her laurels this season, and she was brought up short.
I hope she wakes up and smells the coffee, because if she doesn't her career is about to come to a screeching halt. She has the ability and talent to beat the younger ladies, she just has to be committed to working hard to do so.
)), in his camp. (If Mishin were dissed in Russia, he could make a fantastic living doing developmental and coaches training camps across the world, which would bring up the level of skating in the rest of the world, and spend the rest of the time at a dacha, sipping mint juleps.)
