Who can defeat the Russian Women in 2021-22? | Page 11 | Golden Skate

Who can defeat the Russian Women in 2021-22?

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i don't understand what you're trying to say. Alysa is a 2x senior national champion, Aliona was 16th (2nd to last) at nationals at the junior level the year before she went to Eteri. she did have an expiration date on her back and she knew it. and she had never competed internationally at that point and was a nobody...now there is no comparison between the two skaters. i guess i don't understand :shrug:
What I am trying to say is that there is a Russian who, like Alysa, has skated below her previous level (both skaters have not yet regained their triple axel) and who, unlike what the original post said, has not been given an "expiration date." Or at least I don't think she has.
 
I am such a fan of Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva!! [I put her in this thread bc I'm specifically talking about her and not her partner, after reading her long interview on fsgossips.] I love how she speaks on body, eating, body image, the system, etc. Like, I feel it's important that she said it's not good to lay around and eat cake on your day off, but severely restricting food is no good either. I feel that many fans get attacked for this thought.
 
Did you watch US Nationals? She skated much better. Clean short program with 3lz-3T in second half. A costly mistake in the long on a combo but another 3Lz-3T in second have and the rest of her jumps good.
I did and I agree with you. She was much better there and proved she's still a part of the conversation for US ladies. Also I think she's the only lady at nationals who backloaded a triple-triple combo in the short. I look forward to seeing how she's progressed now that she's had more time to work with Massimo and Jeremy.
 
With her skate at the RCF, or any other tournament of this season, Alyona would win the US Nats by a large margin. So no, she is nothing like Aysa Liu tis season.
The point wasn't whether she could or couldn't beat Alysa Liu. It was whether a top Russian lady had experienced similar problems with her skating this season. Alena has struggled to regain her triple axel and skate at the same level as last season. So has Alysa. No one, I hope, is writing either one off.
 
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It's funny to me how the same people who are complaining that I'm somehow unfairly targeting Russian skaters for criticisms are also probably the ones who slow down all of Alysa's jumps and watch them at 0.1 speed to check and make sure that they are rotated by every inch...
 
It's funny to me how the same people who are complaining that I'm somehow unfairly targeting Russian skaters for criticisms are also probably the ones who slow down all of Alysa's jumps and watch them at 0.1 speed to check and make sure that they are rotated by every inch...
Nah, don't worry. Alysa is not a threat so far so that no one would bother. For the majority of "analysts" 0.1 speed edge and rotation watching begins when there are controversial competition results. GP series of 2018-19 is a good example. I myself tried to understand how come that the edge of one American skater is better than Alina's, etc.

When Alysa starts to score above 230 then there certainly will be some scrutiny about her jumps as she was known for URs. But she is quite far from scoring 230+ as of now. And until then no one outside US will bother. And in the US, yes, I can expect some slo-mo watching because there are more than 3 candidates for 3 spots and, say, fans of Mariah Bell (if she is still in the mix) might be those who would care about Alysa's jumps quality.
 
With her skate at the RCF, or any other tournament of this season, Alyona would win the US Nats by a large margin. So no, she is nothing like Aysa Liu tis season.

While I think that Kostornaia has the capabilities and showed in the 19-20 season that she can deliver programs far superior to any of the American ladies; her skating this season wouldn't have won US Nationals, below are her 3 scores - her top 2 scores would have put her second to Tennell and her worst would have had her in fifth above Mariah.

Cup Final: 210, Cup Stage 4: 226, GP: 220
 
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But there was the typical US Nationals inflation. You can't have your national champion go to Worlds with a score of 200 (or worse!)
And Kostornaia had the typical Russian domestic inflation. Comparing scores across different competitions is difficult but it’s not like we’re comparing one competition that was pretty inflated and one that was not.
 
Need to bring this back now. GP assignments announced + Alysa progressing on 3A/4Lz + Young You solid 3As and 4S attempts. Also Sinitsyna in the mix as another Russian.

Eteri camp quiet, wonder what is cooking up there. If only we had Davydov/Plushenko posting videos we might have seen more from Sambo too.

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Need to bring this back now. GP assignments announced + Alysa progressing on 3A/4Lz + Young You solid 3As and 4S attempts. Also Sinitsyna in the mix as another Russian.

Eteri camp quiet, wonder what is cooking up there. If only we had Davydov/Plushenko posting videos we might have seen more from Sambo too.

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I’m so annoyed at them… jumping videos and teasers during off season were the best thing ever! They probably don’t want to increase already obscene amount pressure and expectations from their girls, but still! It was so cool to see it!
 
Skate America: Unless Trusova is in top form a lot of skaters have a chance. For 2nd/3rd definitely. Podium is 1-2/3 Russians.

Skate Canada: Challengers like Rika and Alysa, but 3 strong Russians too with Valieva on top. Possibility of a Russian sweep but most likely: 2/3

Cup of China: Quite weak, I see Shcherbakova and Khromykh as 1 and 2. Bradie could do something about 2nd place, and a lot of skaters can beat Samodurova. 2/3

NHK Trophy: Very similar to Skate America but harder for Trusova/Usacheva and no 3rd Russian. Anyone can win. 1-2/3... I would even go for 1/3 Russians.

IdF: Weak as well aside from the Russians. Shcherbakova and Kostornaia comfortable 1/2. Maybe a sweep depending on Sinistyna. 2-3/3

Rostelecom: Also weaker. I can see the highest chance for a Russian sweep here. 3/3

I think NHK is most exciting because there are a lot of top skaters from Korea, Japan and USA battling the 2 Russians. So hard to predict.
 
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I’m so annoyed at them… jumping videos and teasers during off season were the best thing ever! They probably don’t want to increase already obscene amount pressure and expectations from their girls, but still! It was so cool to see it!
Or, they are keeping secrets so that their total point scores are potentially above everyone else's (given that their potential high scores from last year are well-known...who knows what the goals are for this Olympic year)!
 
This is probably going to get a lot of hate, but lots of people think a performance is "childlike" for the sole reason because Alysa actually smiles when she skates. So I guess smiling is bad now. When you watch the Russian girls, you can see the terrified looks on their faces as they assume their opening positions. Valieva looks like she's about to have a panic attack.

Alysa does not need to develop her skating in line with the terms of the Russians. Not all skaters have to perform a certain way to be considered serious. Not all programs have to be warhorses. The Russians are like carbon copies of each other, like circus performers trying to outperform one another with the same music, same choreography, same styles of programs, rather than embodiments of the individuality and meaning behind skating. Maybe it would be even better if Liu skated faster, but to me that is all minor in comparison to the big picture she presents, how her skating radiates ease and suppleness, and how she herself radiates a seemingly infinite beam of light. The truth is, if the Russians have set a certain bar, it is only a temporary one. Liu has something far more rare, unforgettable, and long-lasting to offer.
My opinion is that her long program was light, bubbly, and fun so that may come across as childlike. But then, Kurt Browning did a program portraying a clown and it wasn't childlike. The difference was the maturity and experience of the skater, enabling Kurt to skate a program that appealed to adults but was also fun to watch.
 
THere are many potential skaters who could beat the Russians. Kazastan's Tsurybayeva (sp??) (ET) has the potential ammunition, Young You, Alyssa Liu, Rika Khira could win Gold. Karen Chen, Marah Bell, Bradie Tennell, Wakaba, Satoko, Kaori, Louena, Olga all could beat an off Russian lady. You can imagine all these ladies beating Liza and she is the current world silver medallist. The problem might be Liza is not one of the favourites to go to the olympics as crazy as it sound. Probably, I am guessing Aliona,Anna, Kamila, Sasha are ranked higher forget about MK.
 
THere are many potential skaters who could beat the Russians. Kazastan's Tsurybayeva (sp??) (ET) has the potential ammunition, Young You, Alyssa Liu, Rika Khira could win Gold. Karen Chen, Marah Bell, Bradie Tennell, Wakaba, Satoko, Kaori, Louena, Olga all could beat an off Russian lady. You can imagine all these ladies beating Liza and she is the current world silver medallist. The problem might be Liza is not one of the favourites to go to the olympics as crazy as it sound. Probably, I am guessing Aliona,Anna, Kamila, Sasha are ranked higher forget about MK.

Are we talking about 'beating the Russians' at GP events or are we talking about the Olympics/Worlds where its going to be all of the high-performers of the Russians?

Some points on the ladies that you mentioned:
  • Tursynbaeva; she only had 1 quad and that was 2 years ago and she's been out with a back injury, so I don't really see her really having the arsenal to beat Shcherbakova/Valieva/Trusova or Kostornaia if she has the triple axel back to 19-20 season consistency
  • Young You and Rika - both of these ladies at this point I will agree they have the technical arsenal to beat the top tier Russians, but they both lack in the ability to perform those elements in the high pressure situations, look at Worlds the last 2 times it occurred with Rika - if she was clean she wins the gold regardless of if Zagitova was perfect and quite possibly regardless of whether Shcherbakova hit her only quad. Young You hasn't exactly been consistent with her quads or triple axels she's quite similar to Khormykh she needs to get more consistent
  • Alysa Liu - theoretically she has the technical arsenal but she has had a tendency to UR them, look at the last season she competed them: she almost lost to Usacheva at the JGPF and did lose to her at the Junior worlds even though she had both a quad lutz and triple axel and Usacheva had none.
  • Karen Chen, Mariah Bell - both of them perform much less difficult routines than the top tiered Russians, it would need to be a really off day for the Russian lady to be beaten by Karen and Mariah - if they do a triple-triple in their FS its usually the first jump of the program, most of the top Russian ladies do multiple triple-triples back-loaded on top of their quads. For example: Shcherbakova's FS BV at Worlds where she only did 1 quad was 72.18, Karen's BV was 59.99; Mariah Bell's BV's last season were around 55 points, looking even at 2019-2020 season her BV is only going up to about 60 points.
 
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