The Future of Russia (Ladies) | Golden Skate

The Future of Russia (Ladies)

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
So I was just noticing recently, there has been an influx of talented female skaters in Russia and I was just curious to hear what people thought of these girls and who they think will go far in the years leading up to Sochi. Among them are:

Alena Leonova (19): 1st 2009 Junior Worlds, 7th 2009 Worlds, 3rd 2009 COR, 2nd 2009 NHK, 6th 2009 GPF, 2nd 2010 Russian Nationals, 9th 2010 Olympics, 13th 2010 Worlds

Ksenia Makarova (17): 2nd 2009 JGP US, 3rd 2009 JGP Belarus, 4th 2009 JGPF, 1st 2010 Russian Nationals, 10th 2010 Olympics, 8th 2010 Worlds

Sofia Birukova (15): 6th 2010 Russian Nationals (1st in SP), 7th 2010 Russian Jr Nationals

Polina Shelepen (14): 1st 2009 JGP Budapest, 1st 2009 JGP Belarus, 2nd 2009 JGPF, 3rd 2010 Russian Jr Nationals, 4th 2010 Junior Worlds

Anna Ovcharova (14): 5th 2009 JGP Budapest, 2nd 2009 JGP Poland, 5th 2009 JGPF, 5th 2010 Russian Nationals, 2nd 2010 Russian Jr Nationals, 5th 2010 Junior Worlds (1st in SP)

Polina Agafonova (14): 3rd 2009 JGP Germany, 6th 2009 JGP Poland, 10th 2010 Russian Nationals, 1st 2010 Russian Jr Nationals, 3rd 2010 Junior Worlds --> may switch to pairs

Adelina Sotnikova (13): 1st 2009 Russian Nationals, 1st 2009 Russian Junior Nationals, 4th 2010 Russian Nationals, 6th 2010 Russian Jr Nationals --> JGP eligible next season

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (13): 2nd 2009 Russian Nationals, 2nd 2009 Russian Junior Nationals, 3rd 2010 Russian Nationals (1st in LP), 4th 2010 Russian Jr Nationals --> JGP eligible next season

Julia Lipiniskaya (11): 5th 2010 Russian Jr Nationals --> shows a lot of promise, amazing spins


I find it interesting because among the junior ladies (Shelepen, Birukova, Ovcharova, Agafonova, Sotnikova, Tutamysheva) they all beat each other at different events. It's hard to say who is better because at every competition it seems like the results are different.

If I had to predict who the forces of the future will be, I'd have to say: Makarova, Tuktamysheva, and Ovcharova. It's so hard to tell though, they are all very good and we will have to see how most of them handle puberty.
 

volk

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 24, 2007
I think Makarova, Agafonova and Ovcharova will go to Sochi. But now it's too early to predict.

How many spot does Russia have for next Europeans 2 or 3?
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
According to this article (written in Russian), she landed 3A in comp.
http://www.gazeta.ru/sport/2010/04/a_3347493.shtml

My favorite is Polina A. Why she will switch to pairs?

Eliza is amazing but also very inconsistent (pretty much all of them are - they all beat and lose to each other at various competitions). She definitely has the best jumps and technique of all the ladies but we will have to see how she handles puberty.

Polina A might switch to pairs because she is so little and apparently a few coaches have already taken interest in her switching to pairs. I mean she's 4'7" at age 14 and probably weighs about 70 pounds and judging by the jumps she can do on her own I wouldn't be surprised if she was able to pull off quad throw jumps were she to switch to pairs. I think a lot will depend on puberty - if she loses some of her jumps and a lot of the other girls are pulling ahead, I think she will switch to pairs but if she keeps all her jumps and some of the other girls have issues then she might stick with singles.

I'm so sad Adelina Sotnikova is having such issues recently. I really, really like her skating but she falls so much! Maybe a growthspurt issue, her legs and feet look too big for the rest of her body so hopefully she will adjust soon, but I'm worried for her.

Anna I hope can get 3-3s in the coming season, if she can I think she will do very well. Have you seen this girl's footwork :love:? It's so intense, apparently her grandparents are both famous actors and that's where she gets her fire from. I know she's kinda wild and unpolished but I really like her, she's fast and has some very nice spirals and spins. Also, I'm hoping she's through the worst of her growth spurt/puberty monster but it's hard to tell. She looks fairly tall, anyone know her height? Anyhow I was so excited when she won the SP at Jr Worlds, the judges clearly like her a lot :agree:.

Lepinskaya is only 11 but have you seen her bielman :eek:! It's insane.
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
I think Makarova, Agafonova and Ovcharova will go to Sochi. But now it's too early to predict.

How many spot does Russia have for next Europeans 2 or 3?

Not sure, but Alena was 8th and Ksenia 10th so if it's the 13 rule then that would be only 2. Shelepen, Ovcharova, and Agafonova won't be eligible for Worlds and Europeans until the 2011-2012 season anyway though, meaning the 3rd spot would likely go to Gozeva who isn't that exciting. Shelepen, Ovcharova, and Agafonova WILL be eligible by age to compete on the SGP in the coming season though if they chose to move up - Shelepen and Agafonova have one event each gaurunteed from medaling at the JGPF and Jr Worlds, and while Ovcharova doesn't have any gaurunteed events, if one of the Polinas choses to stay junior she could probably get 2 assignments, COR and then invited to another one thanks to her good scores she got internationally this season. I personally don't think Agafonova is ready for seniors yet because she looks like such a baby but I mean she has the jumps. I think Shelepen and Ovcharova could handle seniors though, Shelepen will be 15 this summer and Anna has a more grown up look on the ice than a lot of the others, plus her SP score at Jr Worlds is promising.
 

Nirti

Medalist
Joined
Nov 24, 2008
And we can add Kristina Zaseeva, 13 years old, 8th at senior nats, 9th at junior nats but very strong in the short program (1st at the junior nats SP).

What happen to Nikol Gosviani? She was 6th at Russian Jr last year.
 

dlgpffps

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 14, 2009
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva seems most promising. Consistency can be trained. Talent such as her's can't. Isn't her coach Mishin?
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
And we can add Kristina Zaseeva, 13 years old, 8th at senior nats, 9th at junior nats but very strong in the short program (1st at the junior nats SP).

What happen to Nikol Gosviani? She was 6th at Russian Jr last year.

Oh yes, Kristina is a rising star as well. There are so many talented young girls, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top these next four years. I don't know much about Nikol Gosivani, but I'm assuming she was too young for the JGP this year and that's why we didn't see her there.

And Mishin is Liza's coach but only part time. Liza's family can't afford to live in St. Petersburg so she travels there like every two weeks to work with Mishin and then works with Svetlana Veretennikova in Glasov the rest of the time, I believe. Apparently she landed a 3a in competition though? Wow.
 

☆Genie

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Oh yes, Kristina is a rising star as well. There are so many talented young girls, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top these next four years. I don't know much about Nikol Gosivani, but I'm assuming she was too young for the JGP this year and that's why we didn't see her there.

And Mishin is Liza's coach but only part time. Liza's family can't afford to live in St. Petersburg so she travels there like every two weeks to work with Mishin and then works with Svetlana Veretennikova in Glasov the rest of the time, I believe. Apparently she landed a 3a in competition though? Wow.

Wow thats quite impressive for a 13 year old. Seems similar to Mao too! She was landing 3A at the age of 12, maybe we will see 3-3-3? :D
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
☆Genie;497312 said:
Wow thats quite impressive for a 13 year old. Seems similar to Mao too! She was landing 3A at the age of 12, maybe we will see 3-3-3? :D

Wouldn't put it past her, she already has mastered 2a-3t-2lo. We'll have to see about puberty though, her feet look sort of really big so if she ends up really tall that could hurt her consistency.

In the meantime, I'm impressed with Makarova and looking forward to her progression in the coming years, where she has already gone through puberty I'm not really worried she will run into any serious issues barring injury. Leonova might be coming to the end of the road though, if Shelepen and Agafonova or Ovcharova compete on the SGP in the coming season I wouldn't be surprised if they all had better results that Leonova. I really like the skating of those 3 young girls and Leonova, though fun and peppy and cute, I find quite sloppy and a bit clunky in her crossovers, she needs polish and fast if she doesn't want those younger girls to pass her, they have the jumps to do it in addition to superior spins, spirals, and flexibility (Agafonova and Ovcharova also have very impressive footwork and musicality considering they are both soo young).
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
I've never seen anybody but Leonova and Makarova. But I think Leonova is slipping and Makarova is rising up. I was really impressed with Makarova at the Worlds this year. I'd be surprised if Leonova is a worlds medalist in the next two seasons, while I think Makarova has a realistic shot at a bronze medal next year.
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
I've never seen anybody but Leonova and Makarova. But I think Leonova is slipping and Makarova is rising up. I was really impressed with Makarova at the Worlds this year. I'd be surprised if Leonova is a worlds medalist in the next two seasons, while I think Makarova has a realistic shot at a bronze medal next year.

ITA :agree:
 

☆Genie

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Wouldn't put it past her, she already has mastered 2a-3t-2lo. We'll have to see about puberty though, her feet look sort of really big so if she ends up really tall that could hurt her consistency.

In the meantime, I'm impressed with Makarova and looking forward to her progression in the coming years, where she has already gone through puberty I'm not really worried she will run into any serious issues barring injury. Leonova might be coming to the end of the road though, if Shelepen and Agafonova or Ovcharova compete on the SGP in the coming season I wouldn't be surprised if they all had better results that Leonova. I really like the skating of those 3 young girls and Leonova, though fun and peppy and cute, I find quite sloppy and a bit clunky in her crossovers, she needs polish and fast if she doesn't want those younger girls to pass her, they have the jumps to do it in addition to superior spins, spirals, and flexibility (Agafonova and Ovcharova also have very impressive footwork and musicality considering they are both soo young).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB-hmQY1Hp0 <- her juniors performance. Surprised she fell two times, maybe she is expercining pubetry atm? I'm not sure but the jumps here look very forced and small compared to 2009
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Roza Sheveleva? You don't hear much about her because she's overshadowed by a lot of the other girls, but she certainly has nice posture and presence on the ice in addition to some nice jumps. She finished 5th and 6th at her JGP events this year but bombed at Jr Nationals where she was 16th. She just turned 14 and has a lot of potential I think, with a bit more consistency and technical difficulty I think she can be right up there. She could show improvement and become a factor in coming seasons, Anna was only 16th at Jr Nationals last year and did very well this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4uJuGoPOu8

I like her skating a lot.
 
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silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
☆Genie;497343 said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB-hmQY1Hp0 <- her juniors performance. Surprised she fell two times, maybe she is expercining pubetry atm? I'm not sure but the jumps here look very forced and small compared to 2009

She has been a bit inconsistent the whole season, but maybe she was experiencing growing pains, or injury, or just the end of the season fatigue at this event. The two Polinas and Anna beat her at this event, and Polina Shelepen and Anna managed to do that despite poor SPs. I guess where she was not age eligible for Jr Worlds this year she maybe wasn't taking it too seriously? Sotnikova also bombed at the Junior Nationals, falling 4 times in the FS and finishing 6th, though her struggles this season I think are definitely puberty related, as she looks much taller than last season. Interesting though that Anna appears to have grown a lot this season as well and yet has improved as the season progressed regardless (watching her at JGP Budapest, I never would have thought she would win the SP at Junior Worlds and win the silver medal at Russian Juniors, but she rose to the challenge). Liza doesn't appear to have hit puberty yet so idk why she struggled at some events, maybe nerves? Nevertheless, she is rediculously talented.
 

FlattFan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
All of the Russian girls are so inconsistent. They can't even beat Murakami, flaws and all. The puberty monster is after them. I honestly don't see them as serious contenders. Irina at 13 or 14 was already dominating the junior circuit. At 15, she was on the world podium, won Euro, medaled at the GPF. The difference: consistency. I don't see any of these girls on the world podium by next year. I don't even see them beating Murakami by next year.
 

bekalc

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irina_Slutskaya

It was Michelle Kwan, not Irina who was dominating at age 13. Irina didn't even medal at her first Junior worlds, when she was 13/14...And she didn't medal at worlds until she was `17.

Eliza and a lot of these kids are really young... One or two are going to figure it out.
 

volk

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 24, 2007
All of the Russian girls are so inconsistent. They can't even beat Murakami, flaws and all. The puberty monster is after them. I honestly don't see them as serious contenders. Irina at 13 or 14 was already dominating the junior circuit. At 15, she was on the world podium, won Euro, medaled at the GPF. The difference: consistency. I don't see any of these girls on the world podium by next year. I don't even see them beating Murakami by next year.

Nobody's even talking about next year. Only one of them will be old enough to participate in the next WC.
 
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