2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[Reddi]

Raf's interviews...
Just imagine for a second a lengthy Eteri's interview where she thoroughly analyses Raf's level of professionalism and his approach to coaching his athletes and explains what he's doing wrong. She then proceeds to express her specific preferences for Nathan's career, judge his skating quality ("the audience isn't interested in skaters like him", "he just began to skate beautifully, now it's nice to look at him") and estimates accordance of his performance with her idea of how the men's skating should look like. During the whole interview, she refers to Nathan exclusively as "that boy".

And then imagine the reaction.

 

[lpt]

U use breitbard as a source, really?[emoji85]

And what do you use as a source about Russia?

 

[lpt]

Raf's interviews...
Just imagine for a second a lengthy Eteri's interview where she thoroughly analyses Raf's level of professionalism and his approach to coaching his athletes and explains what he's doing wrong. She then proceeds to express her specific preferences for Nathan's career, judge his skating quality ("the audience isn't interested in skaters like him", "he just began to skate beautifully, now it's nice to look at him") and estimates accordance of his performance with her idea of how the men's skating should look like. During the whole interview, she refers to Nathan exclusively as "that boy".

And then imagine the reaction.

I can't even imagine. Also imagine for a second what would have happen if it was a Russian skater who was caught on cocaine, and not a French one. All hell would break loose.

 

[Orlov]

Raf's interviews...
Just imagine for a second a lengthy Eteri's interview where she thoroughly analyses Raf's level of professionalism and his approach to coaching his athletes and explains what he's doing wrong. She then proceeds to express her specific preferences for Nathan's career, judge his skating quality ("the audience isn't interested in skaters like him", "he just began to skate beautifully, now it's nice to look at him") and estimates accordance of his performance with her idea of how the men's skating should look like. During the whole interview, she refers to Nathan exclusively as "that boy".

And then imagine the reaction.

Sometimes I think that of all our well-known coaches (and Rafael, of course, is our coach), only Eteri has professional ethics. Others seem to not even know about the existence of such a concept.

 

[JazzUp]

I can't even imagine. Also imagine for a second what would have happen if it was a Russian skater who was caught on cocaine, and not a French one. All hell would break loose.

Hello, French athletes snort coke because of their intrinsic joie de vivre, and the Russian ones because of doping - big difference.

 

[Thrashergurl]

Anyone that truly followed skating and is a fan knows the field wasn’t weak when Kwan competed. It was a different scoring system. Trying to diminish her accomplishments makes the other skaters also look weak. None of these current Russian female skaters will win 5 World Championships, and 2 of the current 3 might not even win one...or a Russian nationals. I see Alina follows Kwan on Instagram and Kwan even commented on one of Alina’s posts. Obviously Eteri and Alina have a great level of respect for her.

Let’s see if the 3A accomplish more in their careers.

 

[Orlov]

Anyone that truly followed skating and is a fan knows the field wasn’t weak when Kwan competed. It was a different scoring system. Trying to diminish her accomplishments makes the other skaters also look weak. None of these current Russian female skaters will win 5 World Championships, and 2 of the current 3 might not even win one...or a Russian nationals.

I will even say more - no ladies skater in the whole world can repeat the achievements of Sonja Henie, three-time Olympic Champion, a ten-time World Champion. Truly, in the old days the grass was greener, the girls more beautiful, and the men stronger.

 

[Thrashergurl]

3 time Olympic champion . I wonder if that record will ever be matched?

 

[Mathman]

3 time Olympic champion ��. I wonder if that record will ever be matched?

Oh, you never know. Irina Rodnina won three Olympic championships, and that was fairly recently (the 1970s). Virtue and Moir have two golds and a silver, plus a team gold.

 

[Reddi]

Sometimes I think that of all our well-known coaches (and Rafael, of course, is our coach), only Eteri has professional ethics. Others seem to not even know about the existence of such a concept.

Sometimes it seems so. On the other hand, I can't imagine Moskvina behaving like that... Tchaikovskaya, Kudryavtsev, Mishin (although sometimes he gives rather biting remarks), let alone smaller coaches. In fact, I can't name many Russian coaches who would repeatedly discuss their colleagues (and colleague's students) in such a grossly inappropriate manner.

 

[Orlov]

Oh, you never know. Irina Rodnina won three Olympic championships, and that was fairly recently (the 1970s). Virtue and Moir have two golds and a silver, plus a team gold.

Something tells me that for this to happen again, it needs to go back to those blessed times when a decent woman sat in the kitchen, when Theresa Weld "received reprimands" at the 1920 Olympics "for performing a single salchow jump because her skirt would fly up to her knees, creating an image deemed too risque", and Sonia's short skirt above the knees caused a furor. When figure skating was in rich European countries, mainly with a northern climate or at least snowy mountains (Austria).

But we live in other times, unfortunately, when all sorts of Russians and Asians came to figure skating, and outside the kitchens came not some rich noblewomen, but all the women in general (just imagine this horror). Now that there is such a rush in women's figure skating, there will no longer be those fantastic records, alas. O tempora! O mores! Sigh...

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Oh, you never know. Irina Rodnina won three Olympic championships, and that was fairly recently (the 1970s). Virtue and Moir have two golds and a silver, plus a team gold.

Even Mao Asada, Irina Slutskaya and Michelle Kwan were at, or near, the top of the sport for three Olympic games. But it may be harder now if the sport becomes one where a skater isn't competitive once they turn 17.

 

[el henry]

Something tells me that for this to happen again, it needs to go back to those blessed times when a decent woman sat in the kitchen, when Theresa Weld "received reprimands" at the 1920 Olympics "for performing a single salchow jump because her skirt would fly up to her knees, creating an image deemed too risque", and Sonia's short skirt above the knees caused a furor. When figure skating was in rich European countries, mainly with a northern climate or at least snowy mountains (Austria).

But we live in other times, unfortunately, when all sorts of Russians and Asians came to figure skating, and outside the kitchens came not some rich noblewomen, but all the women in general (just imagine this horror). Now that there is such a rush in women's figure skating, there will no longer be those fantastic records, alas. O tempora! O mores! Sigh...

I would love to see all ladies’ skaters have long and prosperous careers and provide their fans with skating at the senior level for many many years.

That would indeed be a feminist modern stance and one which I am proud, as a feminist living in these modern times, to support. And also as a woman of a certain age who has fought for gender equality all my adult life.:thumbsup: I certainly do not believe that anyone would even try to frame one preference or the other as a feminist issue, would they?

 

[Amei]

Sometimes I think that of all our well-known coaches (and Rafael, of course, is our coach), only Eteri has professional ethics. Others seem to not even know about the existence of such a concept.

If a coach goes on a national radio/tv program (can't remember which it was) and discloses private text message conversations between them and 1 of their skaters or praises a teenagers ability to go without food - they shouldn't be falling in the category of having professional ethics; she is just like him.

 

[lpt]

If a coach goes on a national radio/tv program (can't remember which it was) and discloses private text message conversations between them and 1 of their skaters or praises a teenagers ability to go without food - they shouldn't be falling in the category of having professional ethics; she is just like him.

What "conversations" do you mean? Questions from one side and zero answers from another is not a "conversation". And noone "praised a teenagers ability to go without food", that's a lie.

 

[Orlov]

I would love to see all ladies’ skaters have long and prosperous careers and provide their fans with skating at the senior level for many many years.

That would indeed be a feminist modern stance and one which I am proud, as a feminist living in these modern times, to support.

First, I consider it natural and self-evident that men and women have equal rights and opportunities. In normal countries (for example in Russia), there are no problems with this. If this is what you call "feminism", then I do not see the logic in the statement quoted above. How exactly and why are equality and a long sports career linked?

Second, my main message that such sequences of "consecutive world champions" -

Lily Kronberger, four-time world champion, 1908-1911
Opika von Méray Horváth, three-time world champion, 1912-1914
[war]
Herma Szabo, five-time world champion, 1922–1926
Sonja Henie, ten-time world champion, 1927–1936

- are only possible in that areas where, for one reason or another, there is no full-scale competition. For me personally, this list is a clear evidence that it was a "sport of few", when for Sonja "her father hired the best experts in the world, including the famous Russian ballerina, Tamara Karsavina". After the 60s of the 20th century, no lady became world champion more than twice in a row. In my opinion, this is good and it shows the increasing involvement of people in this sport.

The words "long and prosperous careers" only seem beautiful. In practice, this only means that there is stagnation. Geniuses and talents are born every year, all over the earth. Nonstop. The task of mankind is to reveal them, to make them obvious. Until now, we can't do it completely because of our poverty, underdevelopment, injustice in the structure of society. But it is necessary to strive in that direction. You need fear the situation when you have a “king” or “queen,” a favorite of the public. This is similar to how the real kings and tsars ruled for a long time, and in the republics they introduced restrictions on the term of government.

 

[Orlov]

If a coach goes on a national radio/tv program (can't remember which it was) and discloses private text message conversations between them and 1 of their skaters or praises a teenagers ability to go without food - they shouldn't be falling in the category of having professional ethics; she is just like him.

First of all, professional ethics is not to make any comments about your competitors. Because otherwise, the confrontation is taken out of the professional field. And this is cheating.

"praises a teenagers ability to go without food" - typical nonsense

 

[Amei]

What "conversations" do you mean? Questions from one side and zero answers from another is not a "conversation". And noone "praised a teenagers ability to go without food", that's a lie.

The article where it's talked about Eteri praising Lipnitskaia being able to go without food, only powder nutrients.

And here's the interview about Medvedeva

 

[Mathman]

After the 60s of the 20th century, no lady became world champion more than twice in a row.

True, but Katarina Witt gave it a heck of a shot with a string of 4 golds and one silver in a five-year stretch. Something for modern girls to aim for.

Maybe with Alexandra Trusova, Anna Shcherbakova and Aliona Kostornaia, no one individual will win 4 in a row, but the three together might trade it back and forth over the next cycle. (Like Annet Potzsch andf Linda Fratianne in the late 1970s).

 

[Orlov]

True, but Katarina Witt gave it a heck of a shot with a string of 4 golds and one silver in a five-year stretch. Something for modern girls to aim for.

Maybe with Alexandra Trusova, Anna Shcherbakova and Aliona Kostornaia, no one individual will win 4 in a row, but the three together might trade it back and forth over the next cycle. (Like Annet Potzsch andf Linda Fratianne in the late 1970s).

They are three different people, not a triune being.

P.S. I hope you understand that 22 sports years consisting entirely of continuous sequences of multi-times champions is a systematic phenomenon. It cannot be compared with individual fluctuations.