2020-21 U.S. Men's Figure Skating | Page 21 | Golden Skate

2020-21 U.S. Men's Figure Skating

mrrice said:
I certainly hope Vincent is healthy. To see him go from a World Bronze to missing the Free Skate has me worried that he will not make the team and that would be sad.
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Yeah. That was rough. Even if Vincent botched his entire SP, he was like 0.5 from making the cut for the LP. It's too bad he couldn't have just gotten that point on an element somewhere, in which case the US wouldn't be stuck recouping that 3rd spot at Nebelhorn.

Much more seriously, I hope he recovers quickly and does well next year
 
el henry said:
Serious question:

when has any skater decided that they were going to “wait their turn”.? Every skater I have watched ”goes for it” as soon as he feels able. Jason turned senior a year earlier than he was eligible and look how it turned out for him(y) Nathan and Vincent turned senior at the earlier time, starting to rack up that senior comp experience.

My Andrew T. stayed Junior, but for his own reasons, and I believe Camden did as well? Each skater forges his own path.

I’m going to flip the story though, since my fav is the oldest skater in the US men now. A young skater is going to need more than quads on the practice ice to overcome the skating skills, artistry and other athletic gifts of Jason Brown.

to paraphrase Omar, you come at the oldsters, you best not miss.;)
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The "wait their turn" terminology was in response to ruminations on who would be the USA stalwarts after Beijing. My point was that I don't think they're planning to wait to make a splash. People can become set on who will be on podiums or make certain prestigious teams - Sometimes the old guard of skaters come through, and sometimes it's an upstart who will not "wait his turn." As you point out, Jason didn't "wait his turn" either, so I'm not certain why some believe that others will, or should.

I also agree with what you've written regarding "quads on practice ice." In fact, my post above made reference to Ilia clowning around at practice vs delivering when it counts. He's not the only one upping the ante, and more young guns with expanding technical arsenals mean that there are more bullets that the old guard has to dodge. Yaro, for example, came out of nowhere (at least for me) and beat Jason in the Free Skate as US Nats, and was within half a point of beating Vincent.

The upcoming season will be really interesting. Barring calamaty, Nathan is a lock for an Olympic spot, no matter how Nationals or the rest of the season turns out. But I think he's the only lock. In my mind, Jason and Vincent are the old guard who are expected to make the team (and YES Vincent is still "expected" no matter what happened in Stockholm), but there are a host of upstarts who appear ready to challenge, and some of those "ahead of schedule."

These upstarts look hungry. The veterans look ready to fend them off. God, I love competition, and I pray for a "normal" season this year.
 
el henry said:
Jason turned senior a year earlier than he was eligible and look how it turned out for him(y)
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Huh? Jason turned Senior at Nationals when he was 16, which is definitely after he was eligible, and became an international Senior the year he turned 19, which is actually really late - he'd have aged out that season.

I love Jason but he and Josh were a primo example of how staying Junior longer can be highly beneficial.
 
TontoK said:
The "wait their turn" terminology was in response to ruminations on who would be the USA stalwarts after Beijing. My point was that I don't think they're planning to wait to make a splash. People can become set on who will be on podiums or make certain prestigious teams - Sometimes the old guard of skaters come through, and sometimes it's an upstart who will not "wait his turn." As you point out, Jason didn't "wait his turn" either, so I'm not certain why some believe that others will, or should.

I also agree with what you've written regarding "quads on practice ice." In fact, my post above made reference to Ilia clowning around at practice vs delivering when it counts. He's not the only one upping the ante, and more young guns with expanding technical arsenals mean that there are more bullets that the old guard has to dodge. Yaro, for example, came out of nowhere (at least for me) and beat Jason in the Free Skate as US Nats, and was within half a point of beating Vincent.

The upcoming season will be really interesting. Barring calamaty, Nathan is a lock for an Olympic spot, no matter how Nationals or the rest of the season turns out. But I think he's the only lock. In my mind, Jason and Vincent are the old guard who are expected to make the team (and YES Vincent is still "expected" no matter what happened in Stockholm), but there are a host of upstarts who appear ready to challenge, and some of those "ahead of schedule."

These upstarts look hungry. The veterans look ready to fend them off. God, I love competition, and I pray for a "normal" season this year.
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As always, we agree. I had not heard anyone say that a skater should "wait their turn", but that would be odd to me. :scratch2: If they think they have what it takes, bring it on.

I would love a normal season as well, if only because that means we may be on the road to safety. (one shot down, one to go here :) )
 
karne said:
Huh? Jason turned Senior at Nationals when he was 16, which is definitely after he was eligible, and became an international Senior the year he turned 19, which is actually really late - he'd have aged out that season.

I love Jason but he and Josh were a primo example of how staying Junior longer can be highly beneficial.
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Sorry I did not see this until I had posted, so here comes the double post. :biggrin:

What I meant to say, maybe badly, was that I thought Jason had one year of Junior eligibility left. If he was 18, that would have been the case, no? And that he did not stay in that last year (as Andrew T. did).

I think skaters should compete where they can hone their craft. And I love the junior men precisely because they're not rushing anything, if they don't want to, and they don't need to in order to have a successful career.

I'm old. I like longevity ;)
 
bonita said:
According to his coach, Alex Krasnozhon made the decision to retire to pursue a career as a lawyer
Good luck to Alex!

ETA: Alex made the announcement from his IG account. He is going to attend college in fall.
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As I said in the other thread

😭 😭 😭


My wild jumper Alex K! I will miss your passion, your style on the ice and your no holds barred 4Lo attempts. I always looked forward to seeing you skate and to hearing your honest commentary.(y)

Good luck as an immigration lawyer if you stay on that path. We will miss you:rock:
 
bonita said:
According to his coach, Alex Krasnozhon made the decision to retire to pursue a career as a lawyer
Good luck to Alex!

ETA: Alex made the announcement from his IG account. He is going to attend college in fall.
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No,No I wanted to see him at the Boston Skating Club this fall. I was hoping he would be at the competition in September. I'm so sad. He was one of my favorites.

But I'm happy he is going to college and hopefully he will get his citizenship soon.
 
Apparently, Alexei doesn't see a chance of gaining U.S. citizenship soon enough to compete at a timely Olympics, which was one of the factors he based his retirement decision on. Good luck to Alex in his desired immigration attorney career pursuit!

Meanwhile, here is a very nice, informative chat Polina Edmunds had with Andrew Torgashev. I apologize if this interview has already been posted.

art19.com

Andrew Torgashev

I chat with 2015 Junior National Champion Andrew Torgashev about his skating career thus far, consistency and mental training, training in Colorado Springs and now Los Angeles, and his future plans with skating!
art19.com art19.com
 
el henry said:
My wild jumper Alex K! I will miss your passion, your style on the ice and your no holds barred 4Lo attempts. I always looked forward to seeing you skate and to hearing your honest commentary.(y)
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Ditto, and I'll miss his 3F3Lo combo too, so unique in the field.

I wasn't a fan before I watched him live, and was completely won over by his ferocious attack at his jumps and that fire Dracula choreographic sequence. I also met with him briefly post-competition, where I expressed my appreciation for his programs. Even though the encounter was short, he left me with the impression of being a genuinely chill and nice guy. Good luck with your academic endeavors, and I will miss your skating, Alex!
 
LutzDance said:
Ditto, and I'll miss his 3F3Lo combo too, so unique in the field.

I wasn't a fan before I watched him live, and was completely won over by his ferocious attack at his jumps and that fire Dracula choreographic sequence. I also met with him briefly post-competition, where I expressed my appreciation for his programs. Even though the encounter was short, he left me with the impression of being a genuinely chill and nice guy. Good luck with your academic endeavors, and I will miss your skating, Alex!
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Could not agree more about seeing Alexei live.

I already liked him before the first time I saw him skate at a summer comp, but was completely entranced by his commitment on the ice (although the first LP I saw live was Gladiator, I believe. He had a Russian themed SP that year which I liked better). Seeing that 4Lo attempt twenty feet in front of me was breathtaking, whether or not he landed it.

All I ask is that a skater give their all, and Alex K. did that. It should serve him well in his future endeavors.(y)
 
Will Annis landing another silky 4Lo




Cross posting Tomoki's interview with Masha here:


I'm sad to hear about the recent injury. And the fact that he didn't know how many lumbar fractures he had because CT was too expensive makes it even sadder. But good thing is he already got his triples and quad (toe?) back, and announced programs with a little nudge from Masha and fans ;) (SP: Standards, same as last season; FS: Soundtrack from The Artist, choreo. by Mark Pillay)
 
LutzDance said:
Will Annis landing another silky 4Lo




Cross posting Tomoki's interview with Masha here:


I'm sad to hear about the recent injury. And the fact that he didn't know how many lumbar fractures he had because CT was too expensive makes it even sadder. But good thing is he already got his triples and quad (toe?) back, and announced programs with a little nudge from Masha and fans ;) (SP: Standards, same as last season; FS: Soundtrack from The Artist, choreo. by Mark Pillay)
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Tomoki's interview was sooo interesting. He is so forthcoming about his skating, his prospects, and his path forward. Hearing a skater say "NathanJasonVincent" the way some fans do was also eye-opening. I wasn't quite sure (I don't know why) skaters would view the competition the way that fans do.

and that injury and its treatment:eek: I had to give up running after an L-1 injury, (ETA: which if I am remembering correctly, was one of the areas affected for Tomoki, not the lower back like the L-5) but I am neither young nor an elite athlete. I am looking forward to Tomoki's full recovery:hap10:

And Will Annis, keeping up the SCBoston 4Lo tradition;)
 
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el henry said:
ETA: which if I am remembering correctly, was one of the areas affected for Tomoki, not the lower back like the L-5
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Tomoki said the affected areas were L2-L4. I don’t know how he could get back to skate so soon after the injury and just hope his team has taken good care of him. Look forward to his full recovery and participation in summer competitions.

I also enjoyed Tomoki’s candid response to the interviewer’s questions. He mentioned the challenge he found with the senior FS format and his inconsistencies with getting all the levels, which helps me better understand what skaters at his stage might be struggling with. (ETA: Also the part where he talked about how he felt virtual competitions were just like training and how he missed the audience highlights the importance of giving athletes opportunities to participate in “real” competitions, hopefully with a vaccinated audience)

el henry said:
And Will Annis, keeping up the SCBoston 4Lo tradition;)
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That was my first thought when I saw the post: Will is taking the 4Lo torch over from Alex :laugh:
 
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I know that all of the skaters would love to have an audience, Jason has talked about wanting to skate Sinnerman before a full audience and so many skaters draw from the crowd energy. Hopefully it can be safely done:pray:

what surprised me, in the podcasts and interviews I have heard (Camden Pulkinen in “Lutz Get Down to Business“ for example) is how skaters liked the cardboard audience. None said it was the real thing, but they all genuinely appreciated it, to varying degrees. Fans may have been skeptical, but the skaters approved. :)
 
el henry said:
what surprised me, in the podcasts and interviews I have heard (Camden Pulkinen in “Lutz Get Down to Business“ for example) is how skaters liked the cardboard audience. None said it was the real thing, but they all genuinely appreciated it, to varying degrees. Fans may have been skeptical, but the skaters approved. :)
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Nathan actually mentioned that he was a bit spooked out by the combination of realistic appearance and unrealistically large size of the cutouts :laugh: But he quickly got used to them and joined voices in appreciating the effort. I think we're going to look back fondly at those weird cardboard audience (and KC zoom board) as a memoriam of skating competitions in the pandemic era :P
 
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