Liza pointed out in her interview that Sasha and Anna are here without their parents because of the COVID restrictions, and that seems to be unusual for them. It's just another thing to consider when we're thinking about the pressure being put on them.
2020-21 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating
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Interesting point. I'm sure they will have loads of contact with them via their phones, but it might not be the same thing...
So many things to consider...
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It's been general consensus here for the past 3 years or so... without it she wouldn't be able to win!
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And Sasha also probably without her dog. They are only 16 and it's their first World's.
Lee Hae-in is only 15 and it's her first international senior competition and it's Worlds...
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I actually think, despite knowing what's at stake here and that they're each others main rivals, Anna and Sasha are glad that each other's there.
I also think it's partially because Anna is going without her parents that they made the decision to bring all of her team to World's, when they had the extra coaching slot.
I also think it's partially because Anna is going without her parents that they made the decision to bring all of her team to World's, when they had the extra coaching slot.
pressure or pain?
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I think it’s her just being a little frustrated. Her quads aren’t looking the best as of right now and I heard that she had music problems during her run through (which would be extremely frustrating to anyone). And there probably is a mix of pressure and pain as well. I’m of similar age as her and Sasha and I can’t even imagine the pressure they have to face! And with pain, I just hope that her breathing is better now (although you can never know with covid), she looked pretty tired that last minute of her freeskate at the channel one cup so we will see if her breathing in the programs has gotten better.
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Exactly. Her jumps look better, but it probably happened naturally. So what about all the people that kept saying every skater gets worse because they're not with Eteri? It's a double standard. Chances are they were always going to struggle.
(Although on skating skills Sasha herself decided to train on it, so credit for the visible difference.)
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They do that all the time. It's Alena's "thing" almost. Alina was in tears during practice at the Worlds she won. Watch a ballet or rhythmic gymnastics documentary.
They cry all over the place in training and practice when things don't go well. It's part of being an elite athlete and a culmination of psychological pressure and physical exhaustion that are perfectly inherent and normal to world class level sport.
If you don't want to stand high pressure or physical pain, stay in amateurs.
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it's gotta be really tough to be that young without your parents, in a different country, at your first world championship, in a global pandemic. i'm sure both of them could really use their families' support in person. it's not the same as a phone call.
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i don't think her jumps just "naturally" got better at all. her technique changed quite drastically. her air position is tighter, pick is closer, and entries are different. there has been a noticeable improvement in her artistry as well, which some of that can be contributed to being older now, but not all of it.
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I think we can argue all we want about what the cause for Sashas improvements are and never come to a conclusion. Would she have made the same improvements if she had stayed with Eteri? Possibly but we may never know.
From what Ive seen this season I would say she has made 3 main improvements:
1) Jumps are now higher and "stronger" making the jumps more stable and feel more impressive.
2) Does more of an effort to truly perform the choreography
3) Generall SS improved in terms of posture, basic stroking and edge quality.
The First point I think mainly comes from her getting stronger if this is just a resuult of her getting older or a change in the training regimen I dont know. The second point I think comes from her growing up mentally and realising she needs to work on this too. Her disapointments in loosing to Aliona last season probably contributed here. This area is probably where she has the least amout of talent as we can sometimes see her completely loose it (often when she prepares for big jumps). For example compare Annas quad setups to Sashas neither of them actualy do much choreography or transitions but Annas inate musicality disguises this in a way Sasha just cant.
The last I think has been a significant effort of the new team since this kind of work is time consuming and difficult to improve late in life. Would Eteris team have med this effort? I personaly dont think so but thats just conjecture on my part.
Edit: Good Luck to everyone at tomorrows competition. My personal hopes is that everyone performes well since I dont enjoy skaters looking sad after their skates even if my favourites win.
From what Ive seen this season I would say she has made 3 main improvements:
1) Jumps are now higher and "stronger" making the jumps more stable and feel more impressive.
2) Does more of an effort to truly perform the choreography
3) Generall SS improved in terms of posture, basic stroking and edge quality.
The First point I think mainly comes from her getting stronger if this is just a resuult of her getting older or a change in the training regimen I dont know. The second point I think comes from her growing up mentally and realising she needs to work on this too. Her disapointments in loosing to Aliona last season probably contributed here. This area is probably where she has the least amout of talent as we can sometimes see her completely loose it (often when she prepares for big jumps). For example compare Annas quad setups to Sashas neither of them actualy do much choreography or transitions but Annas inate musicality disguises this in a way Sasha just cant.
The last I think has been a significant effort of the new team since this kind of work is time consuming and difficult to improve late in life. Would Eteris team have med this effort? I personaly dont think so but thats just conjecture on my part.
Edit: Good Luck to everyone at tomorrows competition. My personal hopes is that everyone performes well since I dont enjoy skaters looking sad after their skates even if my favourites win.
Oh dear...my heart breaks
Her technique has definitely changed which has allowed to her easily adapt to her significant growth. If you look back at videos from last season it’s a huge difference in how much taller and muscular she is now. Her 4lz and 4t this year are not *quite* as enormous and airy as they used to be when she hit a good one, so she does not have as much room for error as before, but her improved technique means that she has actually been more successful in landing them.
I have been a huge Sasha fan from the beginning but I will readily admit that she is not gifted in terms of being an overall complete skater with artistry, skating skills, etc. Her movements are generally unsmooth and unrefined, and she still has a long way to go before being able to present a complete impression *while* doing a 5 quad program. It’s entirely true that many of the improvements this year are due to getting to skate a different style of short program, and perhaps if she got this program with Eteri she would look similar. However, I think the point is that she was not getting these types of programs with Eteri despite asking for them. She seems to have been typecast into the “weird/strong/bold modern music” role. More importantly, Sasha is not the type of skater who naturally understands how to gracefully place her hands or move her arms or hold her head to fill out the music. As was said above, most other skaters doing quads are not really doing any kind of transition into them, but they are able to disguise empty skating with pretty upper body movements or beautiful gliding. She needs someone who will spend hours and hours, day in and day out, showing her exactly how to use her upper body and smooth out her movements. Eteri with her inexhaustible supply of supremely graceful and artistic skaters was never going to have the time, energy, or motivation to invest the amount of resources a skater like Sasha requires in order to improve her overall packaging. This is why regardless of her results this year, I think it was the best decision long term to move to a coaching staff that did have the resources and willpower to really hammer in on Sasha’s deficits as a skater.
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I'd rather skate 1st or 2nd after the warm up, just so I don't have to spend 30-40 minutes after the warm up pacing in the locker room keeping the body loose. But the bigger factor is having to keep the mind clear for an additional 30-40 minutes. Too many thoughts can creep in.
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Oh, really?
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Artistry absolutely.
But on the technical she was going to get stronger and more powerful either way. Eteri takes away the motivation/hard work variable which is one reason Aliona struggled, but Sasha always had that in spades. Her entries don't look different to me, except 4T? But not really.
And I don't see any change in technique. Her picking during test-skates was closer to her body on the 4T, but if you look at the 4T in her 5 quad program today, it's all back to normal. The actual difference I see is both arms above her head, and that's because of Davydov. Otherwise I think she's mainly just gotten stronger and her height makes her look different.
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We've seen her cry during practice before. Aliona and Alina in particular have cried quite a bit in practices.
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I agree except for the last statement. There are plenty of amateur people in sports who are under a tremendous amount of pressure and compete through pain all the time. For reference look at the NCAA. In fact, most sports are amateurs. And success is different for different people. There is NO need to be dismissive. Stop.
They do that all the time. It's Alena's "thing" almost. Alina was in tears during practice at the Worlds she won. Watch a ballet or rhythmic gymnastics documentary.
They cry all over the place in training and practice when things don't go well. It's part of being an elite athlete and a culmination of psychological pressure and physical exhaustion that are perfectly inherent and normal to world class level sport.
If you don't want to stand high pressure or physical pain, stay in amateurs.
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