2021-22 Russian Women's Figure Skating

[Scott512]

As always Kami is a league on her own.
It was not Anna’s day but I know she gill gave her everything for the next competition
Hmmmmm I’m perplex with Sasha. No matter how many times she tries, she always popped her 3A in competition.
a special mention for Loena who did a good job with her second place

Why try the 3A in the SP? What Sasha needs to do is to score mid to upper seventies in the SP to set her up for the big numbers in the free.

Hendrix probably won't make the podium but can you imagine if one of these 3 great Russinas does not podium? This would be much worse than Stasya finishing 4th in a much weaker Europeans 3 years ago.

 

[Scott512]

Damnit Sasha I say this with love: Ditch that 3A!!!!

Hell da!

Sasha could be landing triple jumps like crazy in her short scoring upper 70s and then setting herself up to put up the big numbers in the free.

 

[Tomadeur]

Damnit Sasha I say this with love: Ditch that 3A!!!!

If it's really the case that she is landing most of her attempts in training I understand the decision as she isn't loosing much with a fall but could gain much. Today she lost 4 GOE point on the 8 point BV and 1 point deduction for the fall. A good 2A would give her about 4.3 points, so she effectivly looses about 1,3 points if she falls and gains 4-6 points if she get the 3A done.

 

[starlight97]

Will they ever stop with this damn 3A for Sasha? They are such a smart technical team, why do they fail to interpret what 0% success rate should mean for this jump 1 month before the Olympics?

But the explanation is actually in the press conference:

Q: "Sasha and Leona, what do you think of your performance and what do you need to do to catch up to Kamila?"

Leona: "I will do my best again in the FS but Kamila is way too good for me so I just try to enjoy my skating."

Sasha: "I'm upset I missed the 3A but the rest was fine today, and what I need to do to catch Kamila? Land the 3A."

That's a very interesting exchange to me cause on the one hand you have the Belgian girl who is realistic, it's true what she says, Kamila is just completely out of her reach, but it also shows that she doesn't have the bite and competitive agression that you need to be at the top. You would never hear any of the Russian ladies say "Well I'm just here to enjoy myself, my competitor is way to good for me anyways <3" even if they most probably have no chance of winning, they would never just say sth like that at a SP press conference in the middle of a competition. It's a question of mentality and sports psychology.
On the other hand you have Sasha who is showing the opposite thought process, she actually tells herself that Kamila is totally beatable and that she only needs to land the 3A to do it. When in fact obviously even with a clean 3A she would not be scored anywhere near Kamila and she actually has no chance of beating her whatsoever, unless Kamila makes mistakes.
That's also sports psychology, and while it's an unrealistic perception, that's why Sasha IS a contender for the top.

 

[Tomadeur]

You could also argue that this approach of Sasha is the reason why she has mental problems that lead to her falling on the 3A over and over again at competitions despite the fact she is defintely capable of the 3A.

I wouldn't read too much into interviews as that doesn't display your mentality at all. Nadal as example often downplayed his chances at Wimbeldon in interviews but I'm sure that he personnally believed that he could win (as he did) and gave all he had.

And to be honest it's a very different initial situation.

Leona is 22 has zero Ultra-C-Elements and and a PB of 219 and no big room for improvements.
Sasha is 17 has all Ultra-C-Elements and a PB of 241 and from the potential is the clear number 2 and could be close to a clean Kamilla if she lands all her jumps.

If Leona would say she is at the Euros to challenge Kamila for gold you wouldn't take her serious. So for her it's skating her best like she said.

 

[McBibus]

As always Kami is a league on her own.
It was not Anna’s day but I know she gill gave her everything for the next competition
Hmmmmm I’m perplex with Sasha. No matter how many times she tries, she always popped her 3A in competition.
a special mention for Loena who did a good job with her second place

Loena (a skater like Loena) being second in the SP is the reason why I'm against quads in the SP.
SP with quad will be just a short FS, same rule same everything.
Il like having only GS in alpine ski and just doing a single manche race on saturday and a 2 manche race on sunday.
a) boring
b) devaluetes the SP becaus is just less and not different

With triple only the challenge in the SP is about quality not quantity and we see girls searchign high GOE and performance.
I love this difference between the 2 days anbd it's a pity we will going to lose it

 

[flanker]

Will they ever stop with this damn 3A for Sasha? They are such a smart technical team, why do they fail to interpret what 0% success rate should mean for this jump 1 month before the Olympics?

But the explanation is actually in the press conference:

Q: "Sasha and Leona, what do you think of your performance and what do you need to do to catch up to Kamila?"

Leona: "I will do my best again in the FS but Kamila is way too good for me so I just try to enjoy my skating."

Sasha: "I'm upset I missed the 3A but the rest was fine today, and what I need to do to catch Kamila? Land the 3A."

That's a very interesting exchange to me cause on the one hand you have the Belgian girl who is realistic, it's true what she says, Kamila is just completely out of her reach, but it also shows that she doesn't have the bite and competitive agression that you need to be at the top. You would never hear any of the Russian ladies say "Well I'm just here to enjoy myself, my competitor is way to good for me anyways <3" even if they most probably have no chance of winning, they would never just say sth like that at a SP press conference in the middle of a competition. It's a question of mentality and sports psychology.
On the other hand you have Sasha who is showing the opposite thought process, she actually tells herself that Kamila is totally beatable and that she only needs to land the 3A to do it. When in fact obviously even with a clean 3A she would not be scored anywhere near Kamila and she actually has no chance of beating her whatsoever, unless Kamila makes mistakes.
That's also sports psychology, and while it's an unrealistic perception, that's why Sasha IS a contender for the top.

You have to take into consideration that 3A with a fall in the SP doesn't affect Sasha much in comparison with a clean 2A, she doesn't chase a point or two, she is chasing things that can bring her 5 points and more. So her thinking process says "what do I risk with the fall on 3A? Very little, but I can gain much if I succeed."

 

[Lechat]

You have to take into consideration that 3A with a fall in the SP doesn't affect Sasha much in comparison with a clean 2A, she doesn't chase a point or two, she is chasing things that can bring her 5 points and more. So her thinking process says "what do I risk with the fall on 3A? Very little, but I can gain much if I succeed."

She was scored quite generously today, even Kami with a fall on her 3A scored less than 75 and she’s unmatched with her spins and flexibility

 

[flanker]

She was scored quite generously today, even Kami with a fall on her 3A scored less than 75 and she’s unmatched with her spins and flexibility

even if she would be scored like 71, 72, 73, it obviously doesn't bother her much in comparison with possible score boost for landed 3A.

 

[starlight97]

If Leona would say she is at the Euros to challenge Kamilla for gold you wouldn't take her serious. So for her it's skating her best like she said.

Of course that's true and nobody expects her to say she thinks she can win against the 3 Russians, but one would expect sth like "I will do my best and the judges will decide" but sitting right next to your competitor and saying "you are way too good for me anyways :')" is just sth you don't expect from a career athlete with 50% of the competition still to go.
But be that as it may, I only mentioned this cause of Sasha and the 3A thing.

 

[Lechat]

even if she would be scored like 71, 72, 73, it obviously doesn't bother her much in comparison with possible score boost for landed 3A.

She also can boost her score without the 3A. If she scores +75 with a popped 3A, she can reach +80 with a clean 2A
I know she relies on her quads to catch up but it’s a do or die

 

[flanker]

She also can boost her score without the 3A. If she scores +75 with a popped 3A, she can reach +80 with a clean 2A
I know she relies on her quads to catch up but it’s a do or die

Yes, but that's Sasha.

 

[Lechat]

Will they ever stop with this damn 3A for Sasha? They are such a smart technical team, why do they fail to interpret what 0% success rate should mean for this jump 1 month before the Olympics?

But the explanation is actually in the press conference:

Q: "Sasha and Leona, what do you think of your performance and what do you need to do to catch up to Kamila?"

Leona: "I will do my best again in the FS but Kamila is way too good for me so I just try to enjoy my skating."

Sasha: "I'm upset I missed the 3A but the rest was fine today, and what I need to do to catch Kamila? Land the 3A."

That's a very interesting exchange to me cause on the one hand you have the Belgian girl who is realistic, it's true what she says, Kamila is just completely out of her reach, but it also shows that she doesn't have the bite and competitive agression that you need to be at the top. You would never hear any of the Russian ladies say "Well I'm just here to enjoy myself, my competitor is way to good for me anyways <3" even if they most probably have no chance of winning, they would never just say sth like that at a SP press conference in the middle of a competition. It's a question of mentality and sports psychology.
On the other hand you have Sasha who is showing the opposite thought process, she actually tells herself that Kamila is totally beatable and that she only needs to land the 3A to do it. When in fact obviously even with a clean 3A she would not be scored anywhere near Kamila and she actually has no chance of beating her whatsoever, unless Kamila makes mistakes.
That's also sports psychology, and while it's an unrealistic perception, that's why Sasha IS a contender for the top.

To be honest, if she wants to beat a clean Kami at her best and snatch the olympic title, landing a 3A is not enough. She needs to land her five quads like she did at test skate.

 

[Tomadeur]

She also can boost her score without the 3A. If she scores +75 with a popped 3A, she can reach +80 with a clean 2A
I know she relies on her quads to catch up but it’s a do or die

Today she lost one point compared to a clean 2A with good execution. I don't know where she should get the other 4 points and tbh it's not like she should be any higher in PCS.

 

[Tomadeur]

She was scored quite generously today, even Kami with a fall on her 3A scored less than 75 and she’s unmatched with her spins and flexibility

That's because the 3A was downgraded to 2A. So instead of BV 8.00 minus ~ 4-5 points for GOE and the dedution for the fall it was BV 3.30 minus 2.65. So if it wasn't for the downgrade and with a PCS scoring like today Kamila would have been well above 80 points.

 

[Myr]

Of course that's true and nobody expects her to say she thinks she can win against the 3 Russians, but one would expect sth like "I will do my best and the judges will decide" but sitting right next to your competitor and saying "you are way too good for me anyways :')" is just sth you don't expect from a career athlete with 50% of the competition still to go.
But be that as it may, I only mentioned this cause of Sasha and the 3A thing.

Why would one expect that? Loena is Belgian, not Russian, the two cultures are quite different. Her answer is very pragmatic, realistic (she asseses the situation perfectly) and self-aware without being arrogant, Belgians appreciate this. Moreover in Belgium people know very little about FS so she does have to temper expectations. (Sorry about being off topic!)

About Trusova, she obviously places very great value on mastering the 3A and I don't see why she shouldn't keep trying if she wants. She loses very little by trying, she does not let it disrupt the rest of the program and she stands to gain a lot if she actually manages it.

 

[starlight97]

On another note, was anybody else positively surprised by Sasha's step sequence today? She performed very well for her standards imo. Not sure if it's because she matures or because they really work tirelessly on her posture, movements and expression, but either way I think she has indeed improved in that department. The program helps.

Also, I truly feel for Anna. The pressure on her is immense. And sadly even more so now for the FS.
We always hear everyone describing her as intelligent and aware in interviews, she is very hard on herself, much more so than Sasha or others judging from pure reactions after a bad skate, she knows that 50% of people question her spot at the Olympics, she has even been asked to her face why she should be selected after her RusNats performance, she is getting blamed for the judges' scoring, her coaches are tough as nails and with all that she is active on social media... god forbid what she reads on there.
No matter if you're one of those people that have an issue with her scores or not, as a skating fan and a human being anybody should wish this 17yo girl a clean skate in the Free, if anything for her mental wellbeing.

 

[flanker]

Of course that's true and nobody expects her to say she thinks she can win against the 3 Russians, but one would expect sth like "I will do my best and the judges will decide" but sitting right next to your competitor and saying "you are way too good for me anyways :')" is just sth you don't expect from a career athlete with 50% of the competition still to go.
But be that as it may, I only mentioned this cause of Sasha and the 3A thing.

BTW I remember her at the GP Finland on 2018, where she was with Alina Zagitova. Alina also didn't skate exactly well her SP and at the press conference they asked Loena something about her chances against her in the free and she answered very similarly like today.

 

[AxelLover]

To be honest, if she wants to beat a clean Kami at her best and snatch the olympic title, landing a 3A is not enough. She needs to land her five quads like she did at test skate.

You're right. But at this point (being 15 points behind Kamila) not even the test skate free is gonna be enough to beat clean Kamila.

 

[melsh]

falling in the sp is still somehow ok in competitions like this, but at the Olympics? some of the girls from other nations have the 3ax and good Pcs. and crazy things happen at the Olys. this time it's not going to be an all-Russian party. of course judges will love Kamila, who seems to come from a non-human dimension, but I don't see them loving Trusova that much if non-Russian girls deliver and she fails the Ax. ok Trusova has the quads but she also has injuries and nerves. taking risk with the axel has a logic only if her mindset is set to "gold or nothing", meaning that she doesn't care for silver or bronze. after all, in 2010 Mao Asada's goal was to beat Yuna and take the crown from her. so she took the risks by attenpting 3 3axels. silver or bronze didn't seem appealing to her.