2025 JGP Riga Cup Men's Free Skate

[Jeanie19]

He can still make the final.

He definitely can. Yanhao probably can't. Quick question, if he did a 2A, instead of 3F would he have been okay. He should have a 3S or 2S as a backup?

 

[4everchan]

He definitely can. Yanhao probably can't. Quick question, if he did a 2A, instead of 3F would he have been okay. He should have a 3S or 2S as a backup?

Yanhao is in trouble. I thought we were talking about GG because he's the one with the quad lutz. Li could have done a 2a or a 3salchow... which may or may not have been enough for bronze depending on GOE... but probably enough for 4th place.
7+15 = 22 has qualified skaters before at least on the GPF... it is harder on the JGPF with 7 events... but we will see.

 

[lariko]

He can still make the final.

It depends how he skates next time and who he goes against. He is not assigned to the first 4 events, so he will have time to be better prepared but everyone else will be better prepared too, plus he will know what PCSs he will get. Unfortunately, it means he can't reduce technical content. His glorious combo already only scored 2GOE. Long has better chance to make the final now once he gets 2nd spot.

 

[4everchan]

It depends how he skates next time and who he goes against. He is not assigned to the first 4 events, so he will have time to be better prepared but everyone else will be better prepared too. Long has better chance to make the final now once he gets 2nd spot.

Well, skaters need two good results. Usually, two podiums is good enough except for two bronzes. 24 points is the aim...on average.

 

[lariko]

Well, skaters need two good results. Usually, two podiums is good enough except for two bronzes. 24 points is the aim...on average.

I doubt with these PCSs/Goe he can count on more than bronze, particularly since there is a high likelihood that gold-silver medalists will repeat in the last 3 events, and they will be preferred for silver/gold and will likely have higher PCSs. Even if he hit the lutz and 3A, his score wouldn't have been overwhelmingly superior.

 

[Jeanie19]

I doubt with these PCSs/Goe he can count on more than bronze, particularly since there is a high likelihood that gold-silver medalists will repeat in the last 3 events, and they will be preferred for silver/gold and will likely have higher PCSs. Even if he hit the lutz and 3A, his score wouldn't have been overwhelmingly superior.

But he has now medalled. So that usually helps. Plus his tech is high, so if he is clean he will medal. And 2 Bronzes is still on the cusp to make the final.

 

[lariko]

But he has now medalled. So that usually helps. Plus his tech is high, so if he is clean he will medal. And 2 Bronzes is still on the cusp to make the final.

We'll see. Silver would have been better, obviously. He has a split focus too, hoping to qualify for Olympics. Though I am confused if he has citizenship yet or not to compete there.

 

[4everchan]

I doubt with these PCSs/Goe he can count on more than bronze, particularly since there is a high likelihood that gold-silver medalists will repeat in the last 3 events, and they will be preferred for silver/gold and will likely have higher PCSs. Even if he hit the lutz and 3A, his score wouldn't have been overwhelmingly superior.

I wouldn't worry too much about his PCS really.... I think they are where they should be and would be a bit higher without the two falls... but they won't get that high enough to really make a difference. Landing his jumps should be his focus here. In a few weeks, that's actually possible for him to achieve... getting 7.5-8.0s in PCS won't happen this year.

 

[4everchan]

We'll see. Silver would have been better, obviously. He has a split focus too, hoping to qualify for Olympics. Though I am confused if he has citizenship yet or not to compete there.

He can qualify the spot for Germany but apparently doesn't have citizenship yet... Would Germany accelerate the process if he did indeed qualify a spot ? Who knows..

However, there is a deadline for athletes to be deemed eligible with citizenship for the Olympics. I have no idea when it is. I would assume that it could be at the deadline for submitting national teams but it could be earlier.

Someone probably has that answer down...

Maybe @Jumping_Bean or @saine or @Andrea82

 

[lariko]

I wouldn't worry too much about his PCS really.... I think they are where they should be and would be a bit higher without the two falls... but they won't get that high enough to really make a difference. Landing his jumps should be his focus here. In a few weeks, that's actually possible for him to achieve... getting 7.5-8.0s in PCS won't happen this year.

that's the problem. His PCS will stay in high 5s, low 6s, so he has to stay with two lutzes if his other quads are weaker. And seeing what a fall from quad did to the rest of his program, it's an incredibly high risk. I wish he would take out second quad lutz whenever he lands his combo from the start. It wouldn't maximize the score, but he has to nail 3A to be competitive. His 3A was great in the short. He is obviously no Malinin, but he can be a very decent prospect for Germany in Junior Worlds.

 

[4everchan]

that's the problem. His PCS will stay in high 5s, low 6s, so he has to stay with two lutzes if his other quads are weaker. And seeing what a fall from quad did to the rest of his program, it's an incredibly high risk. I wish he would take out second quad lutz whenever he lands his combo from the start. It wouldn't maximize the score, but he has to nail 3A to be competitive. His 3A was great in the short. He is obviously no Malinin, but he can be a very decent prospect for Germany in Junior Worlds.

The opening lutz combo was so good... I am guessing that he feels more comfortable with landing two quad lutzes than two triple axels.

He probably only has "3" big jump opportunities in terms of stamina... so he picked the highest payout... and perhaps the less risky one. I don't follow him closely so I don't know... But i know some skaters will only do a triple axel instead of two because they know it's a dangerous path for them.

Regarding the PCS... of course, he can improve... there is a lot of improvement to be made there. However, the quickest reward remains landing the jumps. It's unfortunate in my opinion that his overall skating is not on par with his technical bravada.

 

[lariko]

The opening lutz combo was so good... I am guessing that he feels more comfortable with landing two quad lutzes than two triple axels.

I don't he can do 3A with one quad, because of Zaiak rule with current layout. He already uses every triple jump. He will need 2A.

 

[4everchan]

I don't he can do 3A with one quad, because of Zaiak rule with current layout. He already uses every triple jump. He will need 2A.

Quad lutz-triple toe
3axel
3axel-2a
Triple lutz
Triple lutz-euler-triple salchow
Triple flip
Triple loop

That's one version.

 

[lariko]

Quad lutz-triple toe
3axel
3axel-2a
Triple lutz
Triple lutz-euler-triple salchow
Triple flip
Triple loop

That's one version.

Maybe? I am curious to see what he does next competition, but I have a feeling he will keep trying two 4Lz like Samarin.

 

[4everchan]

Maybe? I am curious to see what he does next competition, but I have a feeling he will keep trying two 4Lz like Samarin.

Samarin was probably best known for his clothing options than for the two quad lutzes option

 

[Jumping_Bean]

He can qualify the spot for Germany but apparently doesn't have citizenship yet... Would Germany accelerate the process if he did indeed qualify a spot ? Who knows..

The only option for him to get German citizenship before the Olympics is if Genrikh's father qualifies for "Spätaussiedler" status. In this case, nobody would have to go through the citizenship process, they'd "just" have to apply for this status, wait up to 18 months for processing and get citizenship once approved. If Genrikh's father still lives outside of Germany, he'd also have to do the language test.
Genrikh would then be able to get citizenship as a child of a "Spätaussiedler" below the age of 18 (like some other Russian-German athletes, for example Darja Varfolomeev and Anastasia Simakova).

The other option is actual naturalisation, in which case he'd have to have lived in Germany for 3 years, just like anyone without any German ancestry, as far as I know. He moved to Germany in 2023, so that seems out of the question.

However, there is a deadline for athletes to be deemed eligible with citizenship for the Olympics. I have no idea when it is. I would assume that it could be at the deadline for submitting national teams but it could be earlier.

Yes, the deadline seems to be the deadline for the entries by name. I assume most countries will set their own deadlines before, as they need passports for travel, especially countries with visa requirements for Italy (so not Germany).

 

[lariko]

Samarin was probably best known for his clothing options than for the two quad lutzes option

He was scoring insane on his 4lz combo, with over 20 points, which indeed covered a huge distance. That's what I remember. If Gartung can get his combo fly like that, I would be very, very happy. He does have the height, and narrower shoulders so far, but who knows. He is 17.

 

[saine]

We'll see. Silver would have been better, obviously. He has a split focus too, hoping to qualify for Olympics. Though I am confused if he has citizenship yet or not to compete there.

Here's his comments after the free:



He's working on citizenship and could have an easier path for it, but doesn't have it yet. But he knows he'll get valuable experience by competing in Beijing. I don't think it's required for the qualifier since there are several entries that don't fulfill the citizenship requirements for the Olympics yet, such as Soucisse/Firus.

However, there is a deadline for athletes to be deemed eligible with citizenship for the Olympics. I have no idea when it is. I would assume that it could be at the deadline for submitting national teams but it could be earlier.

Entries are due January 26, 2026. Unused spots are allocated on January 25. I looked on the German federation website, they'll be making the nominations between January 20-23 (from here, page 7.) The Olympic Charter doesn't have a hard deadline for citizenship under Rule 41.

 

[4everchan]

Here's his comments after the free:



He's working on citizenship and could have an easier path for it, but doesn't have it yet. But he knows he'll get valuable experience by competing in Beijing. I don't think it's required for the qualifier since there are several entries that don't fulfill the citizenship requirements for the Olympics yet, such as Soucisse/Firus.


Entries are due January 26, 2026. Unused spots are allocated on January 25. I looked on the German federation website, they'll be making the nominations between January 20-23 (from here, page 7.) The Olympic Charter doesn't have a hard deadline for citizenship under Rule 41.

thanks. so the deadline belongs to the federation and is thus, in concordance with the nominations dates.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Oh, and as for bronze medals and JGPF qualification - I think it's been over a decade since not at least one of the qualifiers in the men's discipline placed 3rd or lower at one of their JGPs.