2020-21 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[Vilord]

Anastasia Gubanova did worse internationally that year than many many other players/contenders for that final spot. I don't think scoring 160 at a JGP was something the Fed was ever going to accept - she's never been given another GP event (either junior or senior) since.

Also because Junior Worlds took place first they (RusFed) didn't realize when naming their teams that Stanislava was going to have to skate both - they expected her to just do Juniors.

I think this might be the case why she was held down at junior nats compared to konstantinova but I find it unfair. Mainly because it was clear that that season was gubanovas main "growing" season and that she needed to seriously adjust her technique to the point where her jumps where barely recognizable as the same between her sole JGP and junior nats that year.

 

[Fluture]

And Polina had a stronger international case that year than Stanislava. She had medaled at one senior GP and placed 4th at her second GP, outscoring Stanislava internationally. Polina scored above 200 internationally whereas Stanislava didn't. However, Polina placed below Stanislava at senior RusNats - and that's where things were decided.

And that was a whole lot of stupidity. In my memory, Polina had completely bombed the FS at Nats, taking her out of contention for the OG. I recently went back and watched those Nats and...that was not the case at all. In fact, Stanislava and Polina made the exact same obvious mistake - the former popping the 3F in her SP, the latter a 3Lz in the FS. But beyond that, Polina was the much, much stronger jumper, whereas Stasya had a ton of uncalled URs. Watching it now, I‘d even say Polina could have a case against Sotskova for making the main team - Sotskova‘s URs, too, were egregious yet never called.

Those Nats were just a mess in general, filled with politics. They had to put Zagitova and Sotskova first and second because it would have been a bad look for their Olympic candidates to lose to juniors/other ladies. But imo, Kostornaya was better than both and Tsurskaya should have beaten Sotskova, or at the very least, been the first alternate.

With all the talk about bad luck/unfairness for Gubanova...Tsurskaya’s fate was almost as bad. First those injuries that didn‘t allow her to establish herself in juniors, then Med/Zag getting the bonuses for Team Eteri, while Sotskova was pushed for CSKA... even her GPs were unfortunate. She performed best at NHK, imo, but there was no way they‘d let a relatively unknown first year senior (not JWC like Alina) win over Medvedeva and Kostner. She just didn‘t have time to establish herself. I know she‘s happy now as a coach but given that she was probably one of the most stunning technicians in recent years...just sad to think what could have been.

And thinking back to how terrible that year was in terms of national judging, I‘m really not looking forward to next season...

 

[chasingneverland]

I think this might be the case why she was held down at junior nats compared to konstantinova but I find it unfair. Mainly because it was clear that that season was gubanovas main "growing" season and that she needed to seriously adjust her technique to the point where her jumps where barely recognizable as the same between her sole JGP and junior nats that year.

Yeah, I think unfortunately they just didn't trust her...and never have again

I do think they might have done things differently if they knew that Evgenia was going to withdraw from World's (especially if Evgenia had let them know before Junior World's started)...but I'm still not sure they would have 100% sent Anastasia G.

It's also why despite a disastrous showing at World's Stanislava wasn't crucified for it - because she was never supposed to be there, Polina probably wasn't ready??, it was more like Stanislava stepped in to help them (the Fed) rather than failed in their expectations for her, and it was the third spot (which pretty much doesn't have any implications for World's spots.) (Alina and Maria messed up at World's here - badly - but even still managed to (barely) hold on to the 3 spots (so Stanislava's scores really didn't matter at all - nor were they really ever going to.))

 

[chasingneverland]

And that was a whole lot of stupidity. In my memory, Polina had completely bombed the FS at Nats, taking her out of contention for the OG. I recently went back and watched those Nats and...that was not the case at all. In fact, Stanislava and Polina made the exact same obvious mistake - the former popping the 3F in her SP, the latter a 3Lz in the FS. But beyond that, Polina was the much, much stronger jumper, whereas Stasya had a ton of uncalled URs. Watching it now, I‘d even say Polina could have a case against Sotskova for making the main team - Sotskova‘s URs, too, were egregious yet never called.

Those Nats were just a mess in general, filled with politics. They had to put Zagitova and Sotskova first and second because it would have been a bad look for their Olympic candidates to lose to juniors/other ladies. But imo, Kostornaya was better than both and Tsurskaya should have beaten Sotskova, or at the very least, been the first alternate.

With all the talk about bad luck/unfairness for Gubanova...Tsurskaya’s fate was almost as bad. First those injuries that didn‘t allow her to establish herself in juniors, then Med/Zag getting the bonuses for Team Eteri, while Sotskova was pushed for CSKA... even her GPs were unfortunate. She performed best at NHK, imo, but there was no way they‘d let a relatively unknown first year senior (not JWC like Alina) win over Medvedeva and Kostner. She just didn‘t have time to establish herself. I know she‘s happy now as a coach but given that she was probably one of the most stunning technicians in recent years...just sad to think what could have been.

And thinking back to how terrible that year was in terms of national judging, I‘m really not looking forward to next season...

No. Polina deserved to go to the Olympics that year - or at least Euros or Worlds. It's not even that she did badly - it's that Evgenia and Alina were locks, and they were never going to put three Eteri skaters on that team. (Not at the time - CSKA and other coaches and the Fed itself would never allow it - if they could avoid it at all.) So Polina had the daunting task of needing to not just skate better than Maria and other contenders - she needed to be waaay better (she needed to be so good the couldn't ignore her) - as a first year senior (she was only 16). And that was..just too much - there was just too much pressure on all her skates - she had literally no leeway.

(That's why to look at why Stanislava went to both you have to look at both teams/RusNats (both junior and senior) and the politics in place.)

And you know they weren't going to send Polina to the Olympics, because otherwise why didn't they send Polina to World's when Evgenia withdrew? She did better than Stanislava internationally (she actually scored over 200 internationally which is something Stanislava didn't do that year) and Stanislava JUST did Junior Worlds.

Put simply, they needed Stanislava to outscore Polina to keep her (Polina) off their Olympics team. And then once they made that statement about Stanislava's alternate and thus Olympic team status - they were definitely not letting her get outscored at Juniors - that wouldn't look good. That coupled with their growing distrust of Anastasia Gubanova...

(That's why this year was weird - because it was an Olympic year with all the extra politics that entailed...meant that the Juniors were very impacted with what happened in Seniors.)

 

[Fluture]

- because she was never supposed to be there, Polina probably wasn't ready?

She was first alternate, she was very much supposed to be there. And the fed knew Medvedeva was injured by the time they made the alternates list, thus a withdrawal being very likely. And yet they still decided to give the spot to a skate who had NEVER even competed on the senior level. That decision cannot reasonably be explained and it did Stanislava a disservice, too.

No. Polina deserved to go to the Olympics that year - or at least Euros or Worlds. It's not even that she did badly - it's that Evgenia and Alina were locks, and they were never going to put three Eteri skaters on that team. (Not at the time.) So Polina had the daunting task of needing to not just skate better than Maria and other contendors - she needed to be waaay better - as a first year senior. And that was..just too much.

(That's why to look at why Stanislava went to both you have to look at both teams/RusNats (both junior and senior) and the politics in place.)

And you know they weren't going to send Polina to the Olympics, because otherwise why didn't they send Polina to World's when Evgenia withdrew? She did better than Stanislava internationally (she actually scored over 200 internationally) and Stanislava JUST did Junior Worlds.

I don‘t get your post, frankly. None of what you wrote in the first part contradicts what I did. What exactly are you disagreeing with?

I literally said those Nats were filled with politics so yes, I am perfectly aware they weren‘t going to send Polina to Worlds. I KNOW that she needed to be much better than Sotskova for them to even consider her. That doesn‘t make it right. Which was my point.

And why they didn‘t send her when Evgenia withdrew - because Stanislava was the first alternate, a decision they made after Nationals. Which was nonsensical and should never have happened.

Imo, Stanislava went to WC/JWC despite there being better candidates (Tsurskaya for seniors, Tarakanova - she even medaled at JGPF only to get severely underscored at Junior Nats!/Gubanova for juniors) for both spots and looking at Nationals results gives you a reason, not a justification. We can all check the protocols/results pages. That doesn‘t mean we‘ll have to agree with them.

If you ask me, the fed threw away a chance at a sweep at JWC (they already had one at the JGPF and Mako Yamashita, who ended up winning Bronze, was not insurmountable for Gubanova/Tarakanova) and nearly lost their third spots at Senior Worlds. What for? I have no idea.

 

[soccerjc77]

I have a funny feeling that Elizaveta Tuktamysheva can win world this year ! That's not what I expect, but my mind say that it's possible that she created the surprise !

 

[TripleAxelQueens3]

And that was a whole lot of stupidity. In my memory, Polina had completely bombed the FS at Nats, taking her out of contention for the OG. I recently went back and watched those Nats and...that was not the case at all. In fact, Stanislava and Polina made the exact same obvious mistake - the former popping the 3F in her SP, the latter a 3Lz in the FS. But beyond that, Polina was the much, much stronger jumper, whereas Stasya had a ton of uncalled URs. Watching it now, I‘d even say Polina could have a case against Sotskova for making the main team - Sotskova‘s URs, too, were egregious yet never called.

Yeah, they weren't ever going to send Polya to the Olympics because they weren't going to have an all Eteri team. I think Maria earned her spot well enough, yeah she had URs, but like I feel like judges kind of ignored a lot of issues with all skaters that year so... And she won two silvers on the GP and even got a silver at the GPF. She was arguably the cleanest (in terms of landing jumps) of the Russian ladies that years up til Euros so it makes sense they sent her. But I honestly think Polya deserved silver (or maybe even gold?) at NHK. She pulled out two gorgeous performances and just those jumps are extraordinary! I do think politics and such really hurt her that year, at NHK, at RusNats, at not being called up to Worlds etc etc.

And now thinking about it, I'm really quite scared for next years RusNats too. Russian judges hold so much power with their scoring - they can whisk away someone's Olympics invitation with one edge or UR call, and gift a ticket to Beijing with just a few extra GOEs and PCS. I already know that no matter what happens next year, I'll be sad (there are four ladies that I really want to see at the Olympics).

 

[chasingneverland]

She was first alternate, she was very much supposed to be there. And the fed knew Medvedeva was injured by the time they made the alternates list, thus a withdrawal being very likely. And yet they still decided to give the spot to a skate who had NEVER even competed on the senior level. That decision cannot reasonably be explained and it did Stanislava a disservice, too.


I don‘t get your post, frankly. None of what you wrote in the first part contradicts what I did. What exactly are you disagreeing with?

I literally said those Nats were filled with politics so yes, I am perfectly aware they weren‘t going to send Polina to Worlds. I KNOW that she needed to be much better than Sotskova for them to even consider her. That doesn‘t make it right. Which was my point.

And why they didn‘t send her when Evgenia withdrew - because Stanislava was the first alternate, a decision they made after Nationals. Which was nonsensical and should never have happened.

Imo, Stanislava went to WC/JWC despite there being better candidates (Tsurskaya for seniors, Tarakanova - she even medaled at JGPF only to get severely underscored at Junior Nats!/Gubanova for juniors) for both spots and looking at Nationals results gives you a reason, not a justification. We can all check the protocols/results pages. That doesn‘t mean we‘ll have to agree with them.

If you ask me, the fed threw away a chance at a sweep at JWC (they already had one at the JGPF and Mako Yamashita, who ended up winning Bronze, was not insurmountable for Gubanova/Tarakanova) and nearly lost their third spots at Senior Worlds. What for? I have no idea.

Evgenia didn't withdraw from World's until after Juniors had already been completed. Over two weeks AFTER the Olympics and three days AFTER Junior Worlds. (I have a theory that they waited until after Junior World's to see if Polina would be sent because maybe they hoped that the Fed would be like two World's literally back to back - they were a week apart is too much - because I could see Eteri hoping for that.)

Actually, Stanislava DID compete at the senior level that year - she had three senior CS that year - where she scored 190+ in two of them.

Lol I didn't disagree with you at all. The No was more to establish how empathetic I was being - not at all in disagreement - really in full agreement. But I can see how that was misread. It wasn't really as a response to you at all. (It was actually a No to the Fed and how everything played out.)

As for threw away a chance at a sweep at the JWC. Anastasia G NEVER scored above 190 that year and had a 160. Anastasia T is a better option as she at least proved she could score in the 190s internationally. But she also had a 165. And if you think they weren't sending three Eteri skaters to the Olympics (or Worlds or Euros) if they didn't have to, what makes you think they were going to send three Eteri skaters to Junior Worlds if they didn't have to (both Alena and Anastasia T moved to Eteri that season)?

And as for nearly losing their third spot to senior Worlds. That had nothing to do with Stanislava - Alina and Maria were the ones that were expected to keep the spots. (It's only the top two scores anyway.) Fifth place Alina still got a 208 (only two points out of second) and 8th place Maria did get a 196. (Reasonably it's not like Polina was guaranteed to do better.) It was Alina and Maria who under-performed (and almost lost the spots) - Stanislava's scores were irrelevant.

 

[TripleAxelQueens3]

Yeah. I agree with that. Gubanova should have been ahead there. But I think she was already doomed nationally by this point - that 160.... And by this point she wasn't the same skater who had lit up the World at the JGPF...

Really? I don't know if I'm just a huge Nastya Gubanova fan and thus super biased but I think up until last season's FS, all her programs have been great? I just rewatched her Nocturnal Animals FS today and it gave me chills! Same goes for the Summertime SP at RusNats, that was just the most classy and elegant program I've seen in a long time. And the Take Five SP was innovative, musical and stood out amongst everyone else. The Lieberstraum FS was just pure beauty - that step sequence is fantastic! And the 2A transition is one of the coolest I've seen. The I'll Take Care of You SP shows off her maturity and power. The only meh program from her in recent years is that FS which is just so boring. She performs it well enough and like surprisingly I find myself enjoying it while watching but I can't help but be annoyed that her choreographer gave her a piece of music with literally no change in tempo/dynamics/melody.

I think her programs that season (Summertime/Nocturnal Animals) were fantastic - and more importantly her interpretation of those programs was perfect as well.

 

[chasingneverland]

Yeah, they weren't ever going to send Polya to the Olympics because they weren't going to have an all Eteri team. I think Maria earned her spot well enough, yeah she had URs, but like I feel like judges kind of ignored a lot of issues with all skaters that year so... And she won two silvers on the GP and even got a silver at the GPF. She was arguably the cleanest (in terms of landing jumps) of the Russian ladies that years up til Euros so it makes sense they sent her. But I honestly think Polya deserved silver (or maybe even gold?) at NHK. She pulled out two gorgeous performances and just those jumps are extraordinary! I do think politics and such really hurt her that year, at NHK, at RusNats, at not being called up to Worlds etc etc.

And now thinking about it, I'm really quite scared for next years RusNats too. Russian judges hold so much power with their scoring - they can whisk away someone's Olympics invitation with one edge or UR call, and gift a ticket to Beijing with just a few extra GOEs and PCS. I already know that no matter what happens next year, I'll be sad (there are four ladies that I really want to see at the Olympics).

I definitely think Maria earned her spot that year. She did well enough.

And yeah, next year will be...interesting...

 

[chasingneverland]

Really? I don't know if I'm just a huge Nastya Gubanova fan and thus super biased but I think up until last season's FS, all her programs have been great? I just rewatched her Nocturnal Animals FS today and it gave me chills! Same goes for the Summertime SP at RusNats, that was just the most classy and elegant program I've seen in a long time. And the Take Five SP was innovative, musical and stood out amongst everyone else. The Lieberstraum FS was just pure beauty - that step sequence is fantastic! And the 2A transition is one of the coolest I've seen. The I'll Take Care of You SP shows off her maturity and power. The only meh program from her in recent years is that FS which is just so boring. She performs it well enough and like surprisingly I find myself enjoying it while watching but I can't help but be annoyed that her choreographer gave her a piece of music with literally no change in tempo/dynamics/melody.

I think her programs that season (Summertime/Nocturnal Animals) were fantastic - and more importantly her interpretation of those programs was perfect as well.

Okay, so her performance quality hadn't changed. She's still lovely and elegant. But she no longer had the technical content to compete with the world - she's never once scored 200+ internationally. She's musical definitely - absolutely!! - but even her skating looked slower, heavier..and her jumps don't look as effortless (or even really the same as they did at the JGPF)...

She stopped being close to the complete package and a medal threat - or even close to one..

It's not that she's not beautiful to watch. She still is (and was). But where skating is scored...(and this was even worse then as she was struggling more with even just keeping her jumps)

 

[Fluture]

But I honestly think Polya deserved silver (or maybe even gold?) at NHK.

Gold, if you ask me. I love Zhenya to pieces but she was injured and made two mistakes, whereas Polina was completely clean and had the better technique. As a Zhenya fan I‘m not mad she won because I‘m biased. But trying to be objective...yeah, that was unfair.

Evgenia didn't withdraw from World's until after Juniors had already been completed. Over two weeks AFTER the Olympics and three days AFTER Junior Worlds.

Actually, Stanislava DID compete at the senior level that year - she had three senior CS that year - where she scored 190+ in two of them.

So? The alternates list was made directly after Nationals. That‘s when the mistake of choosing Stanislava as first alternate was made, everything that happened afterwards was just a direct consequence and thus irrelevant.

And CS are hardly the same as full-fledged GPs, not to mention the World Championships or even Olympics!

As for threw away a chance at a sweep at the JWC. Anastasia G NEVER scored above 190 that year and had a 160. Anastasia T is a better option as she at least proved she could score in the 190s internationally. But she also had a 165.

Tarakanova had a 165 at JGP Croatia where she fell hard on her opening 3Lz, almost even hitting her head and thus being in danger of concussion and worse. She performed well everywhere else, including the JGPF where she won Bronze. Reminder that Stanislava didn‘t even qualify for that competition. Honestly, there‘s just no justification for the judging Stanislava got at (Junior) Nationals that year vs. everybody else.

what makes you think they were going to send three Eteri skaters to Junior Worlds if they didn't have to?

Nothing. I never said anything like that either. My point was that the decision was nonsensical, no matter which factors contributed to it.

And as for nearly losing their third spot to senior Worlds. That had nothing to do with Stanislava - Alina and Maria were the ones that were expected to keep the spots.

I‘ll give you that. There are many factors to it, though.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

I have a funny feeling that Elizaveta Tuktamysheva can win world this year ! That's not what I expect, but my mind say that it's possible that she created the surprise !

For this she would need not only to skate perfectly clean (she can and I hope she will), but also that the three top Ladies (Anna Shcherbakova, Rika Kihira and Alexandra Trusova) bomb both programs at unprecedented levels. It can happen to one (particularly if Alexandra Trusova tries a 5-quad program as her coach has suggested she may) but to all? A medal is possible, not Gold.

 

[chasingneverland]

Gold, if you ask me. I love Zhenya to pieces but she was injured and made two mistakes, whereas Polina was completely clean and had the better technique. As a Zhenya fan I‘m not mad she won because I‘m biased. But trying to be objective...yeah, that was unfair.



So? The alternates list was made directly after Nationals. That‘s when the mistake of choosing Stanislava as first alternate was made, everything that happened afterwards was just a direct consequence and thus irrelevant.

And CS are hardly the same as full-fledged GPs, not to mention the World Championships or even Olympics!



Tarakanova had a 165 at JGP Croatia where she fell hard on her opening 3Lz, almost even hitting her head and thus being in danger of concussion and worse. She performed well everywhere else, including the JGPF where she won Bronze. Reminder that Stanislava didn‘t even qualify for that competition. Honestly, there‘s just no justification for the judging Stanislava got at (Junior) Nationals that year vs. everybody else.




Nothing. I never said anything like that either. My point was that the decision was nonsensical, no matter which factors contributed to it.



I‘ll give you that. There are many factors to it, though.

Because you said that Stanislava had NEVER competed at the senior level. Technically, that was wrong and she did compete three times - before RusNats too and almost scored 200.

As for the alternates list - yeah, that was just more evidence of how not likely they were to put three Eteri skaters on an Olympic team. They WANTED Stanislava to beat Polina. (Which is actually why I think Evgenia waited until after Junior World's to withdraw - maybe to give Polina a chance? They easily could have chosen Polina if they wanted to and cited exhaustion.)

Stanislava only had one JGPF - it's not really fair to say that she didn't qualify when she wasn't given an opportunity to qualify - she only ad one JGP. And she did get a bronze in the one event she did have. (I don't like Stanislava - mostly because she's taken Polina, Ksenia, etc's spots but that's a completely unfair critique.)

I didn't say you didn't say anything to the contrary regarding three Eteri Junior girls to Junior Worlds. It was more that that was another point against Anastasia T. (Especially if you believe that they were opposed to sending three Eteri girls to the Olympics.)

 

[chasingneverland]

For this she would need not only to skate perfectly clean (she can and I hope she will), but also that the three top Ladies (Anna Shcherbakova, Rika Kihira and Alexandra Trusova) bomb both programs at unprecedented levels. It can happen to one (particularly if Alexandra Trusova tries a 5-quad program as her coach has suggested she may) but to all? A medal is possible, not Gold.

She also might need Bradie and Kaori also to not outscore/outskate her too. Especially as both of them will be skating in the last group (same with Anna, Rika, and Sasha) in the SP and Liza T will not.

 

[Fluture]

Because you said that Stanislava had NEVER competed at the senior level. Technically, that was wrong and she did compete three times - before RusNats too and almost scored 200.

Come on, that‘s just arguing semantics now. But yes, factually you‘re correct, so I apologize for the mistake.

but that's a completely unfair critique.)

It isn‘t. She wasn‘t given a second JGP because she failed to win Gold/Silver/score well at her first. You think that‘s unfair? Ask Guliakova who won Silver the next year and didn‘t get a second JGP. And she actually performed well. So, yes, Stanislava failed to make the JGPF because she failed at the first step - perform well enough at her first JGP to earn a second one. She just wasn‘t consistent enough. She‘s a lovely skater but shouldn‘t have been anywhere close to those JWC/WC teams.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

No. Polina deserved to go to the Olympics that year - or at least Euros or Worlds. It's not even that she did badly - it's that Evgenia and Alina were locks, and they were never going to put three Eteri skaters on that team. (Not at the time - CSKA and other coaches and the Fed itself would never allow it - if they could avoid it at all.) So Polina had the daunting task of needing to not just skate better than Maria and other contenders - she needed to be waaay better (she needed to be so good the couldn't ignore her) - as a first year senior (she was only 16). And that was..just too much - there was just too much pressure on all her skates - she had literally no leeway.

Polina was by far my favorite skater in the Russian cohort in 2017-18. However, even I have to admit her programs were so wrong for her. Eteri's team gave her the same busy choreography as other skaters, but Polina never looked comfortable performing those with her height and long limbs. She was much more a skater in the Yuna mold and would have benefitted tremendously from having programs geared towards her strengths. I think she might have been a bit underscored at her GP events, but her programs were so uninspired that I can't blame the judges for marking her lower than I might have.

 

[chasingneverland]

Come on, that‘s just arguing semantics now. But yes, factually you‘re correct, so I apologize for the mistake.



It isn‘t. She wasn‘t given a second JGP because she failed to win Gold/Silver/score well at her first. You think that‘s unfair? Ask Guliakova who won Silver the next year and didn‘t get a second JGP. And she actually performed well. So, yes, Stanislava failed to make the JGPF because she failed at the first step - perform well enough at her first JGP to earn a second one. She just wasn‘t consistent enough. She‘s a lovely skater but shouldn‘t have been anywhere close to those JWC/WC teams.

How is that semantics? It's not like she could skate at the GP after/at the same time as being on the JGP - she did the senior events she could (and did well at them) and it was her first year as a senior.

And she DID actually score well at her JGP. Now, comparing scores between competitions is iffy at best, but there were only 12 total scores that were higher than hers (not counting the JGPF) and considering that Sasha, Alena, Sofia, Rika, etc were on the circuit that year, that's actually pretty good. And it was the 7th highest when she skated - it's just that Sofia and Alena hadn't even skated once yet and needed two events, etc. Besides after taking each skaters best total on the JGP (including the final) she still had the 9th highest. It actually WAS good. (She just got to be in the same JGP as Sasha - so gold was out of the question.) (Really the question is whyy did Sofia S not go to Junior Russian Nats that year?? Seniors didn't go well but...)

 

[TripleAxelQueens3]

Okay, so her performance quality hadn't changed. She's still lovely and elegant. But she no longer had the technical content to compete with the world - she's never once scored 200+ internationally. She's musical definitely - absolutely!! - but even her skating looked slower, heavier..and her jumps don't look as effortless (or even really the same as they did at the JGPF)...

She stopped being close to the complete package and a medal threat - or even close to one..

It's not that she's not beautiful to watch. She still is (and was). But where skating is scored...(and this was even worse then as she was struggling more with even just keeping her jumps)

With the speed thing I guess she's gotten a bit slower now (she used to just fly across the ice), but in 2018 she still had excellent speed. Sometimes I guess it would be less obvious since she has soooo few crossovers in her programs, but I definitely don't think she got slower from 2016/17 to 2017/18.

Her jumps have never looked effortless though. I guess her 3Lo and 3S and maybe 2A are okay in terms of effortlessness but the 3Lz+3T combo, oh man. I'm surprised she can still do those because like that technique was objectively not good. I'd say her 3Lo and 3S and 2A are still pretty good. The 3Lz+3T is not very good but again, it's never been.

Her spins, honestly, have gotten worse. That's the only part where I'd say she's gotten worse. Jumps are just as odd as always, skating is beautiful, she's more mature now but she's always been amazing. But with the growing level of figure skating, inconsistent jumps and wonky combos is hurting her a lot. So I wouldn't say Nastya herself has gotten worse (she's gotten better in some ways too), I'd say the level of figure skating was rising at a meteoric rate, one which many of the ladies couldn't exactly keep up with. And sadly, I think Gubanova was one of those that couldn't keep up with the rate (also the politics certainly did not help her).

 

[Scott512]

And that was a whole lot of stupidity. In my memory, Polina had completely bombed the FS at Nats, taking her out of contention for the OG. I recently went back and watched those Nats and...that was not the case at all. In fact, Stanislava and Polina made the exact same obvious mistake - the former popping the 3F in her SP, the latter a 3Lz in the FS. But beyond that, Polina was the much, much stronger jumper, whereas Stasya had a ton of uncalled URs. Watching it now, I‘d even say Polina could have a case against Sotskova for making the main team - Sotskova‘s URs, too, were egregious yet never called.

Those Nats were just a mess in general, filled with politics. They had to put Zagitova and Sotskova first and second because it would have been a bad look for their Olympic candidates to lose to juniors/other ladies. But imo, Kostornaya was better than both and Tsurskaya should have beaten Sotskova, or at the very least, been the first alternate.

With all the talk about bad luck/unfairness for Gubanova...Tsurskaya’s fate was almost as bad. First those injuries that didn‘t allow her to establish herself in juniors, then Med/Zag getting the bonuses for Team Eteri, while Sotskova was pushed for CSKA... even her GPs were unfortunate. She performed best at NHK, imo, but there was no way they‘d let a relatively unknown first year senior (not JWC like Alina) win over Medvedeva and Kostner. She just didn‘t have time to establish herself. I know she‘s happy now as a coach but given that she was probably one of the most stunning technicians in recent years...just sad to think what could have been.

And thinking back to how terrible that year was in terms of national judging, I‘m really not looking forward to next season...

The Russian judging that season was an atrocity with political games left and right.

Polina was so big and so talented and had such a big game. Is just a shame it never panned out for her.

Well said and explained in I forgot a lot of that. It will be better next season with the judging because the Russian judges know the focus is on them.