I remember there being talk about her not having an official coach at the time. I think she was skating at CSKA but without real guidance. Anyway, I don‘t remember that part, so it might be wrong. But I am certain that she was rejected by Eteri after a trial because she talked about it in an interview this season.
Yes. Because she was the third best senior here. I disagree with her beating the juniors because I think all three did better on everything other than the IN and PE parts of the components scores (meaning, jump difficulty and execution, spins, steps, skating skills).
But if it‘s between her and Liza, which it was, she‘s clearly ahead. Anna was overscored alright but Liza herself received seriously overinflated marks - especially in PCS. And she completely bombed the SP, too. Anna may not be my favorite skater but she is consistent and reliable and deserves to be on the Olympic team.
No. That‘s not how it works. Countries have a selected number of spots and that‘s it. There‘s no scenario in which Russia will send four skaters to compete in the women‘s event in Beijing.
That strategy makes no sense. Why would they let anyone but Kamila do the short if she‘s the only one with a reliable 3A? Not to mention the fact that she‘s the best bet for an individual OGM, so they won‘t want to tire her out by having her do the FS with her insane technical content. Also, Anna’s SP hasn’t been as consistent as Kamila’s this season, even without the 3A. She’s made mistakes on her combination more than once. As for the rest — after winning Silver at Nationals Sasha is, for now, the number two in the Russian team. Anna can reclaim that place at the Europeans but we’ll have to wait and see. A lot can change in a month - or did anyone expect Sasha to end up ahead of Anna heading into Nationals? I certainly didn‘t.