Yes! I’m in tears
of happiness for Sofia! I knew she didn’t need to do much to beat Zinina’s score, after Zinina’s performance, to make it to the finals. I feel sorry for Zinina though, as she is now second alternate behind Sofia S. However, I feel bad Sofia S. isn’t in the finals automatically over Lindsay T (won a weaker event) or Zhilina (only competed in one event). We almost had the top four from Russian Nationals all make it into the Finals. It just goes to show you how important the experience domestically is for these international events. The top three at Russian Nationals are now set along with Zhilina to duke it out in Japan. Sofia S. will now have to compete at Russian Cup Events to qualify for Nationals. I hope she proves herself there and kills it at Nationals. Sofia S. is my second favourite Junior. Like Anna Frolova in 2019, she is first alternate this year. That Camp is so close to the Finals.
Levito shocked me with how well she performed. Her jumps should get lower GOE, but, her PCS was well deserved. I thought she should have been around 205, overall. She is the only International Junior athlete able to compete against the Russians and I think this was reflected in the inflated score. She is a star for America and I’m excited to watch her and Lindsay combining with Alysa, in the future, to replace some of the Senior Women, who just don’t get any better, but are actually getting worse.
After Levito’s performance, I was nervous for Sofia M., as she seemed nervous, as well. After she landed two 2A’s, I thought that was interesting, because it was different than the technical layout out she skated over in Kosice. I instantly knew she was going to do a 3F-eu-3S combo in the second half, as the 3S is her best and most confident triple. She increased her technical difficulty to give herself a chance to win the Gold. I was so happy when she landed all her jumps. Her jumps have way better flow than Levito. I was mad she didn’t nail her step sequence at a level 4. This element is what separates her from the pack, in my eyes. But, I agree, she was more hesitant in this skate than at Kosice cause she had something on the line, here. I agree with her marks and agree with her PCS score being slightly lower here than in Kosice. Overall, I’m so happy my favourite junior won and is locked to go to the Grand Prix finals. Her score of 211 surpassed Adeliya’s score of 210. Now she can go home and maybe learn that 4S, so she can attempt it in the finals in Japan by replacing the first 2A. She mentioned that her attempt at Test skate was the closest she has come to landing that jump. All practice attempts were under rotated. But, that jump, at Test skate, was fully rotated and so high and beautiful, until she fell. So, she needs to work hard to up her technical difficulty, a bit more, to match her beautiful artistry.
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