2023 Russian Nationals Women's Short Program

[anonymoose_au]

Oh she is!

Well good on the judges...I honestly expected shenanigans of the highest degree so yay.

And Nastya Z in the top 10 hooray!

But now I am in serious danger of turning into a pumpkin so

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

And I just realised all my predictions have gone to heck with Sasha T withdrawing do'h!

Ach! I never thought of that. I put her in 3rd.

Well, you made it to the end. Have a good night's sleep.

And don't worry, the action starts later tomorrow. So, you can have a lie in!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Jontor]

9 skaters over 70 points!!

Finally! We have equalled the record from 2019.
Let's see if the women can beat 2019 when 13 skaters had a total over 190.

 

[EdgeCall]

Looks to me that the third group of skaters swallowed the mushrooms the judges got for the first two. They saved the event.

And the top three are from Tut, Mishin and Plushy.

 

[niks]

Third so far is a good result for Sofia M, isn't it?

I don't know why but Sofia always looks kind of nervous / scarred and mostly sad (for lack of a better word right now ) to me

It's offputting seeing her like this because it makes me wonder if she truly enjoys competing or if it is just really hard on her

 

[AlexBreeze]

 

[Skatelife]

Looks to me that the third group of skaters swallowed the mushrooms the judges got for the first two. They saved the event.

And the top three are from Tut, Mishin and Plushy.

The 3 groups were really strong, the event is great actually

 

[yume]

I don't know why i'm always surprised by Tuktik being the shortest.

 

[Caliban]

You know what? It seems to me that outcome of this event is wide open after today. All top-5 girls can finish at any place from 1-5 range tomorrow.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Third so far is a good result for Sofia M, isn't it?

I don't why but Sofia always looks kind of nervous / scarred and mostly sad (for lack of a better word right know ) to me

It's offputting seeing her like this because it makes me wonder if she truly enjoys competing or if it is just really hard on her

Third is indeed a good result for Sofia M., but not breaking 80 is not. Without the Step Sequence mistake, she maybe could have even narrowly beaten Liza and been in second, but I don't think she was expecting (but probably hoping) to place higher than this, but she was definitely hoping for a better score.

I think she's generally a rather serious and shy person, very sensitive too, which can't be easy if you are a competitive athlete.

Even outside of competitions, I've not seen her being super giggly and outgoing like Kamila or even Sasha, or at least not very often. She only seems to really open up around a few people (like Sasha) or especially around small kids and animals, but she's definitely not a social butterfly.

Additionally, I think she has very high ambitions and standards for herself, so even "small-ish" mistakes like the fall in the step sequence will definitely impact her mood quite a lot. She was really happy before the podium ceremony last Jr Nats, despite the mistakes, probably because she was really not expecting to medal at all, but here she doesn't have any security yet. She only has her triple axels, so getting the maximum points in the Short here could make the difference between a podium finish and not medalling, so it kind of makes sense for her to be upset.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

I don't know why i'm always surprised by Tuktik being the shortest.

I was super surprised by Mura and Kami being virtually the same height when they stood next to each other at the Jumping Championships - Somehow I was not expecting that.

 

[Jontor]

If Sasha would have skated she would probably not have been in the top 6. She has barely been above 70 points this season, which would have been 10th place here.

 

[Vlad Karigov]

If Muravieva had only one decent coach we would be seeing Kostornaia 2.0...

 

[Jumping_Bean]

If Muravieva had only one decent coach we would be seeing Kostornaia 2.0...

Didn't work out so well for Aliona to be Kostornaia 1.0 in the end, did it?

Mura went to AoP because she wasn't wanted elsewhere by "decent coaches". She wasn't one of the top novice (or junior) skaters before she trained at AoP, was never really considered a huge talent or prospect in the way skaters like Sofia Samodelkina or Sofia Akatieva were. She worked quietly and without much success or recognition as repayment for her efforts for years under "decent coaches", and only now under these "not-decent" coaches is she even stepping into the spotlight and being recognised as a podium contender.
Say whatever you want, and I am by no means a die-hard fan of Plushenko, Dimitri Mikhailov or Sergei Alekseev, but maybe these were the coaches she needed to grow into her own skin and become confident enough to succeed. Maybe under a "decent" coach, we would not be seeing her at all at these Russian Championships. Sometimes, the formula that works for one person does not work for the other. Particularly not if the personalities of the people that are being compared are so fundamentally different, as is the case for Aliona and Mura.

What I take issue with (and maybe this is what you are actually trying to express) is not their coaching of her, but the choreography they chose for her. Give her more one-footed skating sections, chose better, more cohesive music (like her FS last season), and make her choreographed movements more deliberate. She can do all of that (and she did do all of that as a novice), you just have to challenge her by giving her the appropriate choreography. And if Dimitri can't give her that (though I think he can, he has choreographed a number of good programs), then get another choreographer who can.

 

[alexocfp]

Christmas Eve, a battle for all the marbles. Can’t ask for anything more than that.

Sofia A scaled the mountain and was able to reach Kamila and get one hand on her crown.

But 50% done is not job done. The wounded warrior sitting atop the mountain will claw, scratch, kick, and bite in order to retain her title, so Sofia better bring her lunch and be ready for a brawl.

And so many subplots: Frolova’s comeback, Liza not aging one bit, and a surprise banger of a skate from Yametova. She came out with such passion and left it all on the ice.

What a show.

 

[alexocfp]

And look at the margins between positions 10 to 14. Razor thin.

 

[yume]

I was super surprised by Mura and Kami being virtually the same height when they stood next to each other at the Jumping Championships - Somehow I was not expecting that.

Who did you think was shorter?
Both always looked the same height to me (i wonder if they are over 165cm). Kamila is just more "shaped".

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Who did you think was shorter?
Both always looked the same height to me (i wonder if they are over 165cm). Kamila is just more "shaped".

I thought Mura was taller, but I also thought both were on the taller side for skaters. Mura has a similar lanky body type as Maiia who is very tall for a skater, so maybe I was influenced by that - Or maybe it's because Mura was always surrounded by only tiny skaters on training pictures and Kami was not

 

[mariabesters]

Ok...hmmm this was frustrating! Sofia Samodelkina such a lost chance she is my favorite and has absolutely everything but you can see she was tight with her legs and knees and for her this was bad! I hope she just lets go in the FS Anastasia Zinina I just adore I love her FS and am glad she is willing to be different with that skate I hope she delivers it tomorrow there is something with her that I do not see in others this kind of vulnerability. Sofia Akateva was clearly the best, she just floats, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva delivered but I just do not feel the program at all, its almost robotic. Kseniia Sinitsyna I adore and agree with comments below she has such a great style and love her spinning in both directions in FS. I am also not a fan of Sofia Muravieva SP at all she moves and flaps those arms so fast its so ineffective and she rushes everything another robotic skate, zero emotion.

 

[alexocfp]

Ok...hmmm this was frustrating! Sofia Samodelkina such a lost chance she is my favorite and has absolutely everything but you can see she was tight with her legs and knees and for her this was bad! I hope she just lets go in the FS Anastasia Zinina I just adore I love her FS and am glad she is willing to be different with that skate I hope she delivers it tomorrow there is something with her that I do not see in others this kind of vulnerability. Sofia Akateva was clearly the best, she just floats, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva delivered but I just do not feel the program at all, its almost robotic. Kseniia Sinitsyna I adore and agree with comments below she has such a great style and love her spinning in both directions in FS. I am also not a fan of Sofia Muravieva SP at all she moves and flaps those arms so fast its so ineffective and she rushes everything another robotic skate, zero emotion.

Sofia S was my dark horse pick going into the season. Hopefully she puts it all together and is at least within touching distance of a medal.