2018-19 Russian Ladies' figure skating

[katymay]

If I say— Alina (whisper), will I be crucified? ))

I loved her Olympic program. Just...perfection. My favorite (Russian) lady from the past will always be Irina. I still remember this incredibly difficult footwork series that she never got enough credit for. And those powerful jumps. And I don't remember the year or the competition, but once as a junior she fell on almost every jump in her program. Dick Button took on this sanctimonious tone while she was sitting in the kiss and cry, and said, "Oh poor girl...there will of course be tears"...but when she looked up she was laughing.

 

[katymay]

My thought about her current program for the FS is that it doesnt have any places for rest. It’s very fast throughout and with all the transitions I wonder if she would have been better off with a program that incorporated some slower sections to give her a breather.

I think at this point they MUST do this. I notice that they built in a few rest spots for Trusova this year, and this year, unlike last year, Trusova is running out of gas (puberty related most likely). I remember though at Japan Open Alina had no problems with stamina or power, so you sort of wonder what is going on. Is she eating enough? Sleeping enough? Injured? Exhausted? All of the above? Also though the Japan Open was pressure free, and I've never seen Alina skate so freely. It was beautiful to behold.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I remember though at Japan Open Alina had no problems with stamina or power, so you sort of wonder what is going on. Is she eating enough? Sleeping enough? Injured? Exhausted? All of the above? Also though the Japan Open was pressure free, and I've never seen Alina skate so freely. It was beautiful to behold.

Personally, I think Alina's problems are due to nerves. As others have said, she has skated some excellent exhibition programs following her shaky LPs recently. She's also making mistakes throughout her programs, not just at the end in which stamina might be a factor. It's a lot of pressure to enter events as the favorite, so she might just need more time to adjust to those expectations.

 

[ladyjane]

I think at this point they MUST do this. I notice that they built in a few rest spots for Trusova this year, and this year, unlike last year, Trusova is running out of gas (puberty related most likely). I remember though at Japan Open Alina had no problems with stamina or power, so you sort of wonder what is going on. Is she eating enough? Sleeping enough? Injured? Exhausted? All of the above? Also though the Japan Open was pressure free, and I've never seen Alina skate so freely. It was beautiful to behold.

Like the way she skates in het exhibition...that really was something. Showed she could still do the jumps and enjoying it! I really love the Russian ladies, just hoping they will stay on for years and years.

 

[Skater Boy]

What amazing analysis Jane. Agree about Irina. Unreal record. But I forgot about Catherine The Great and I forgot Maria has such an awesome Rusnats record. Back then the Russian girls had a decade or so to develop their careers. Not so today. Most girls are done or past their prime by 20 and it's sad. The depth of Russian ladies talent has never happened before.

20 how many made it to twenty? Well Leonova started doing well over 20. Liza but think about it Pogo, Sotnikova, Lipinskaya, Radinova, Evgenia and now maybe Alin are over before they hit 20. Let's hope Evgenia and Alina do a reversal of fortunes like Liza.

 

[Watch]

Great point about Yulia. She was magic and revolutionary for a few years. 11 million views and counting. I am some of those 11 million plus views.

Yes, and it's a damn tragedy for figure skating that that was basically the end of her career. Still hurts to think about it. Yulia had the uniqness and character to her skating that skaters that age rarely do. Do I still rewatch her Olympic short? Yes. And I would have been excited to see her develop and grow and discover more sides of her skating. Instead she had an extremely painful fight for her career that she lost to an eating disorder. The last time we saw her on competitive ice was simply heartbreaking for all the bad reasons. Yulia is not an example of why short careers in fs are actually great. Longevity might not be everything, but peaking at 15 and then succumbing to mental illness trying to keep it up, is certainly not something to strive for.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Yes, and it's a damn tragedy for figure skating that that was basically the end of her career. Still hurts to think about it. Yulia had the uniqness and character to her skating that skaters that age rarely do. Do I still rewatch her Olympic short? Yes. And I would have been excited to see her develop and grow and discover more sides of her skating. Instead she had an extremely painful fight for her career that she lost to an eating disorder. The last time we saw her on competitive ice was simply heartbreaking for all the bad reasons. Yulia is not an example of why short careers in fs are actually great. Longevity might not be everything, but peaking at 15 and then succumbing to mental illness trying to keep it up, is certainly not something to strive for.

I never thought Yulia was destined for a long career. It isn’t in the cards for everyone and I think that’s alright but I think she just didn’t know where to go after achieving her goal which was to get to Sochi. She hung around and tried to fight because it was all she’d known her whole life but the competition was tough and she never even made it back to Euros or WC. I honestly think she lost motivation and with it the desire to train and get back to the level she once was at. She has done some recent ice shows and still has those crazy spins down.

I say thank god she peaked when she did because now she can be a coach and broadcaster with the credibility of a successful Olympic athlete with a WC medal. She’s found her way and is still inspiring young skaters. She is in Japan right now doing a clinic and I think she looks great and happier than ever

https://sun6-3.userapi.com/c849120/v849120179/1044f4/5SiMMKsrXoY.jpg

 

[zounger]

My thought about her current program for the FS is that it doesnt have any places for rest. It’s very fast throughout and with all the transitions I wonder if she would have been better off with a program that incorporated some slower sections to give her a breather.

Indeed, it looks more difficult compared to other programs. In Alina's case I don't think it's the program or the body changes only,but also the tiredness from continues effort to be on top shape for three seasons in the row. Three seasons, probably is the limit in a sport like figure skating. You need a fallow period for your body too. That's why I don't agree with RusFed and her team (even if she wanted to) to send her to every competition possible this season. She has to be more selective from now on to avoid "over-burning" and injuries.

I'm not sure how it works in figure skating exactly, but my guess is that before every competition there is some period of intensity in training to peak the maximum at it.

 

[[email protected]]

Interesting about Perm. Sam, is Peter The Great the greatest Russian of all time?

Speaking of the greatest who is the greatest female Russian figure skater of all time? Irina, Zhenya or Alina? Close call.

Greatest male Russian figure skater of all time? Yagudin or Plushenko? Due to longevity it would have to be Plushenko.

There are no clear criteria of overall greatness. And there is sometimes a thin line to differentiate the public perception. No one would dare to name Hitler a great man. But number of casulaties and genocide aside how is he different from widely praised Napoleon? The latter also ravaged other European countries helping ailing French economy at Italy, Germany, and Austria's expense. Hundreds of thousands of people died because of his ambitions. Borodino (he was "smart" to attack Russia) was the bloodiest one day battle of all times by then with about 100 000 people dead either on the field or due to wounds.

Hence, if we understand that tyrants may participate in the competition the greatest Russian of all times may be among the following:

1. Vladimir. He more or less founded Russia in the end of the 10th century and adopted Christianity
2. Peter the great. He made Russia European country, built St. Petersburg - a great city on a swamp
3. Lenin. He changed the history having implemented the biggest social experiment of all times (although with questionable results)
4. Stalin. He had all the reasons to fail big time. Yet, despite the unheard of costs he not only managed to win over Nazis but his legacy made it possible for the USSR to remain a relevant player for some decades after his death.

There is no greatest female Russian figure skater so far. I hoped that Medvedeva would become one but it has not happened.

Plushenko is the one. He was more than a figure skater. He was an icon.

 

[Scott512]

Interesting fact about Irina Slutskaya. She was NOT selected for the world team in 1999 because she finished 4th at Nationals. It didn't matter that she had just won bronze at the GPF and took silver at Worlds and Europeans the year before (and was 5th at the Olympics). According to Wikipedia: "Slutskaya then considered leaving competition but decided to continue."

Irina made a good decision to continue.

 

[Scott512]

There are no clear criteria of overall greatness. And there is sometimes a thin line to differentiate the public perception. No one would dare to name Hitler a great man. But number of casulaties and genocide aside how is he different from widely praised Napoleon? The latter also ravaged other European countries helping ailing French economy at Italy, Germany, and Austria's expense. Hundreds of thousands of people died because of his ambitions. Borodino (he was "smart" to attack Russia) was the bloodiest one day battle of all times by then with about 100 000 people dead either on the field or due to wounds.

Hence, if we understand that tyrants may participate in the competition the greatest Russian of all times may be among the following:

1. Vladimir. He more or less founded Russia in the end of the 10th century and adopted Christianity
2. Peter the great. He made Russia European country, built St. Petersburg - a great city on a swamp
3. Lenin. He changed the history having implemented the biggest social experiment of all times (although with questionable results)
4. Stalin. He had all the reasons to fail big time. Yet, despite the unheard of costs he not only managed to win over Nazis but his legacy made it possible for the USSR to remain a relevant player for some decades after his death.

There is no greatest female Russian figure skater so far. I hoped that Medvedeva would become one but it has not happened.

Plushenko is the one. He was more than a figure skater. He was an icon.

Brilliant points about Vladimir and Napolean. True.

For sure Plushenko is the greatest.

I guess at this point it's too close to call he's the greatest female Russian figure skater of all time with any certainty. One thing is for certain and that is the girls skating now for Russia will not have the longevity that Maria and Irina had.

 

[Scott512]

If I say— Alina (whisper), will I be crucified? ))

Of course nyet This is a kind place. Alina certainly had the best single season any female Russian figure skater ever had and it was also the greatest debut season in history figure skating woman or man.

 

[karina17]

An exchange that I saw on Konstantinova’s Instagram account:

Commenter:
please retire. please do not make russia team to lose 3 quota in WC, give you many chances, but you cannot perform well once in an international competition.

Konstantinova:
pls retire from my acc ��*��

 

[DenissVFan]

An exchange that I saw on Konstantinova’s Instagram account:

Commenter:
please retire. please do not make russia team to lose 3 quota in WC, give you many chances, but you cannot perform well once in an international competition.

Konstantinova:
pls retire from my acc ��*��

Why are some people like this

 

[chopinskate]

An exchange that I saw on Konstantinova’s Instagram account:

Commenter:
please retire. please do not make russia team to lose 3 quota in WC, give you many chances, but you cannot perform well once in an international competition.

Konstantinova:
pls retire from my acc ��*��

Ha. She's got spunk.

 

[Watch]

An exchange that I saw on Konstantinova’s Instagram account:

Commenter:
please retire. please do not make russia team to lose 3 quota in WC, give you many chances, but you cannot perform well once in an international competition.

Konstantinova:
pls retire from my acc ��*��

Good on her for firing back, but screw people who write things like that. Nothing drives me up the wall more than this kind of behaviour. Hateful comments people post elsewhere are bad enough, but posting it where the skater is definitely going to see it? That's so out of line.

 

[sweetice]

Greatest Female Figure skater would be Irina to me. Two olympic medals, Two world titles, 7 European titles plus a lot of other medals at World's and Euro's. And what about Maria Butyrskaya? Granted, no Olympic medals, but I think she was the first Russian lady to win a World's title, and also has three European titles to her credit, beside various other medals. Both ladies skated for a long time too. In that sense neither Zhenya nor Alina are there yet.

I agree. Longevity and continuity of results are more important than single peaks, if you define the greatest.

Be the personal favorite, may be because of a single result or a program, it's just another thing.

 

[Scott512]

dear Scott, what are you doing???

https://goo.gl/images/NHHW7F

Yes Slutskaya gets the title because of all her international medals. But Butyrskaya beats her when it comes to Nationals. Maria was on the podium for 11 consecutive years between 1992-2002 and won the title 6 times. An amazing record.

An exchange that I saw on Konstantinova’s Instagram account:

Commenter:
please retire. please do not make russia team to lose 3 quota in WC, give you many chances, but you cannot perform well once in an international competition.

Konstantinova:
pls retire from my acc ��*��

Many chances for Stasya? 1wc is not many. 1 euro is not many. Expected 3rd finished 4th.

She handled it well. It's one thing to criticise Stasya here but don't insult and hurt her like that on her own IG. Ridiculous. Reality says Stasya will not make another national team with 3a coming next season so people should relax.

 

[Scott512]

20 how many made it to twenty? Well Leonova started doing well over 20. Liza but think about it Pogo, Sotnikova, Lipinskaya, Radinova, Evgenia and now maybe Alin are over before they hit 20. Let's hope Evgenia and Alina do a reversal of fortunes like Liza.

I hope the trend is reversed but with all the talent coming it will be hard. I hope Radianova Pogo etc do shows for years and love it.

 

[Edwin]

I assume too the top rinks in Russia use “periodisation” as their main technique to maximize the performance capabilities of their skaters. Esp in the young and adolescents.
Adult skaters are usually disciplined and dedicated enough to work towards their peak by themselves.
National championships coincide with the peak in training intensity, the intensity is lowered a little thereafter so the athletes’ bodies adapt and are at their best possible strength, stamina and endurance at the following World Championships, 5-6 weeks later. Nutrition schemes and psychological stress training are used alongside the physical part.

You can wear an athlete out though by too many periodisations without proper recuperation in between the duty periods, or by trying to maintain the highest peak intensity for too long. All Russian sports have used periodisation extensively already in Soviet days. In sports where optimum low weight is critical, as in gymnastics, periodisation is tough on the athletes.
Ice skating is less weight critical, but no doubt in the trainer's handbooks there are tables and graphs of optimum weight per theoretical body type in relation to age and height in post-menarche females drawing on statistical data collected over decades of research on high level sports in children and adolescents.

Read this for general info:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_periodization
and:
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/...-understanding-the-3-cycles-of-periodization/
https://www.peakendurancesport.com/...planning-training-optimal-sports-performance/

There are many more links and any sports university's library or bookstore has books on theory and practice of periodisation in various sports.