Gold, Lipnitskaya, Sotnikova and the future | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Gold, Lipnitskaya, Sotnikova and the future

tulosai

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 21, 2011
I'm looking forward to the future of ladies' skating right now. As much as I love the multi-quad veterans (Carolina, Mao, Yu-Na, Akiko, etc) I'm excited to see some new rivalries form. Hopefully the uber-fans/bots will exit the sport when their favorites do which should make these boards a slightly more civil place to discuss things. Of course new fan wars will start but if we're lucky there will be a small lull of peace for at least half a season or so...:yes:

Haha so true.
 

Amei

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
I wonder if Julia will be affected by growth spurts within the next year or so? I really like Julia. She's got alot of spunk, but I think Julia will be hit by puberty monster soon.

Someone had posted on the community Julia Lipnitskaia vk.com page 2 separate pictures of Julia (clearly at different times) with a petite woman that I think is her mother (look a bit alike). - If that woman is her mother, she's likely not to grow too much more. Here's one of the pictures, and you can click through a couple later are the same woman: http://vk.com/julia_lipnitskaya?z=photo-31036833_320717981%2Fwall-31036833_12592

I know I read an article that she went through some puberty monsters last season, and it says it in her wikipedia page that she had some puberty issues last season.
 

hurrah

Medalist
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Someone had posted on the community Julia Lipnitskaia vk.com page 2 separate pictures of Julia (clearly at different times) with a petite woman that I think is her mother (look a bit alike).

Sure that woman looks petite, but she's still half a head or more taller than Julia, with wider shoulders and curves. We can't know what will happen, but Julia's jumps are not very big, especially her strange axel.
 

serenayy92

Spectator
Joined
Feb 17, 2014
I think all three of them have really great potential and may dominate in the next four years but then again, it's really hard to predict the future considering four years ago, nobody knew Gracie or Julia but they were considered medal contenders during this Olympics (although neither managed to medal). I think they still need time to develop artistically and polish their skating though. So far, they are not quite on the same levels in terms of delivering a very polished and artistic performance as Kim, Carolina, or Mao (although Kostner and Mao aren't known for delivering clean programs but when they do, they are breathtaking to watch).

Of the three, I like Adelina the most (I know there's a lot of hate against her right now because of the whole judging and placement thing but I'll keep my own opinion of that to myself). To me, I think Adelina has the most complete package of the three. She is more artistic and emotes to the music more than Julia and has the big jumps and the difficulty. The problem with Adelina is that she rarely skates clean, her performance at the Olympics was incredible but that's just one clean performance (and barely clean at that, she stepped out of one of her jumps) and she had home ice advantage so I'm not sure how consistent she will be in the future.

Julia, to me, still seems like the most consistent one given her record despite her lackluster performances at the Olympics. I think she will deliver better performances at Worlds when there is not so much pressure on her to deliver an Olympic gold medal on home ice.

Gracie has great potential but I don't think Frank Caroll is really packaging her in the best way. I think Gracie has improved a lot under Caroll in terms of artistry and consistency but Caroll is packaging her more like Kwan and that's not highlighting her strengths which are her natural power and athleticism. Kwan was an extremely artistic skater but she didn't have the most difficult technical content so the whole artistic package worked in her favor. Gracie, although she has gotten better, is really not terribly artistic and still looks a bit wooden and doesn't quite have that connection to the music that more artistic skaters like Kostner do. She has good jumps, good spins, great power and speed, but is still a bit lacking in the artistry department so she should really do a program that highlights her strengths and disguises her weaknesses a bit more.

Personally, I really like Zijun Li's light and airy skating style but she seriously lacks power and speed and her artistry is not really the best. Her jumps are really just average and she occasionally underrotates them and she always gets an edge call on her Lutz. Add that to the fact that she doesn't have a traditional figure skating powerhouse politicking for her and she's not so leaps and bounds ahead of the field like Yuna Kim, I don't think she's really going to rise to the top during the next four years.

Polina Edmunds is a tough call. She has been skating well at the Olympics but she's young and doesn't really know how to use her lines and can appear awkward on the ice. She still needs a couple more years to develop into a mature skater so the jury's still out on her.

And then there are the Russian babies. There are so many of them that I honestly can't get the names straight. They have some incredible depth of talent in Russia and many of the Russian babies appear have the complete package in terms of jumps and artistry but the real question is how many of them can survive puberty. Then again, they have so many backup choices that even if the majority of them fail to survive through puberty, odds are that they are still going to produce some incredible skaters who will survive the puberty monster.
 

Beure

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
I wonder if Julia will be affected by growth spurts within the next year or so? I really like Julia. She's got alot of spunk, but I think Julia will be hit by puberty monster soon.

Gracie, whom I do not like at all, will probably continue to jump well as she seems finished with body changes and she's got Frank Caroll who will continue to campaign on her behalf so her lack of grace and stiffness doesn't get noticed by the judges.

And Adelina, I think, will not lose her jumps but she's bound to grow a little bit more so I think she may have growth spurt issues in the following years. I hope someone can teach her to skate well.

Polina Edmund whom I thought had alot of potential also seemed very, very tall and very, very thin with very wide shoulders. So there's alot of question mark there in terms of how her body will grow.



Re: Adelina. Most females have topped out by age 17 in terms of height. It's possible she may still grow at little but I doubt it would be very much.
 

fadeevfan

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 1, 2004
If Adelina stays competitive, she and Gold are the safe bets. They've grown into their bodies, their techniques are very sound, they're great athletes and both becoming good performers.

Yulia, I hate to say, might have missed her moment; her jumps do not look stable (yikes, that axel), and as she grows, they're going to look less so. And the other young Russians -- all so little, who knows? Same with Li and Edmunds. Guessing what effect the Puberty Monster will have is fool's play. We just don't know.
 

dlgpffps

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 14, 2009
Polina Edmunds really impressed me this time around. I love the way she uses her arms & for a skater her age, she had such amazing flow and grace in the long. Her jump technique is also crisp and clean. With the right packaging and track record, she should peak in time for Pyeongchang.

ETA: I think she looks awkward on ice because she's so tall and gangly. Let her grow into a more grown woman physique. I think she will really impress us.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
To be honest they are all pretty boring and generic, and Sotnikova will probably retire now rather than face the music outside of Russia again, and Julia will likely be done in soon by growth spurts. Over the last 8 years I found the most exciting event the ladies and the weakest the mens but I have a feeling over the next quad that will all change and it will be just the reverse.

Radianova and to a lesser degree Gold are the only women who excite me moving forward but I am sure some others will emerge. I wish Murakami was continuing but she isnt a strong jumper anyway.
 

kaitlinicole

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 13, 2014
Adelina, Gracie and Zijun will stick around. Gracie will definitely want another shot at the gold medal after more improvement and international experience.

Julia I think may burn out. I don't personally see a lot of joy in her skating and I think she has had way too much pressure forced on her too quickly.

Polina is also kind of a wild card to me. She was much better than I expected her to be in such a stressful situation for the first time but there are a lot of American girls who are just on the cusp and will probably rapidly improve in the next 4 years. Courtney Hicks may try for another quad and up and coming juniors Amber Glen and Tyler Pierce have a lot of potential as well.
 

Selene

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
To be honest they are all pretty boring and generic, and Sotnikova will probably retire now rather than face the music outside of Russia again

Why do you expect her to retire? The veterans who challenged her at the Olympics will all retire after this season. There won't be any skaters capable of beating her on the international scene. She could dominate this next quad.

Gracie has great potential but I don't think Frank Caroll is really packaging her in the best way. I think Gracie has improved a lot under Caroll in terms of artistry and consistency but Caroll is packaging her more like Kwan and that's not highlighting her strengths which are her natural power and athleticism. Kwan was an extremely artistic skater but she didn't have the most difficult technical content so the whole artistic package worked in her favor. Gracie, although she has gotten better, is really not terribly artistic and still looks a bit wooden and doesn't quite have that connection to the music that more artistic skaters like Kostner do. She has good jumps, good spins, great power and speed, but is still a bit lacking in the artistry department so she should really do a program that highlights her strengths and disguises her weaknesses a bit more.

I don't see any artistic potential in Gracie. She is boring. She doesn't emote or project to the audience at all, but I agree that her packaging isn't helping. Frank has given her matronly costumes and pretty princess routines straight out of the 1950's. Her image is so outdated. I do like that Frank has helped her become a better competitor, but kind of hate that he has taken away her natural power. That was the only positive thing about her as a skater, and now her jumps are as small and powerless as Lipnitskaia's.
 

elif

Medalist
Joined
Jan 28, 2010
Polina is also kind of a wild card to me. She was much better than I expected her to be in such a stressful situation for the first time but there are a lot of American girls who are just on the cusp and will probably rapidly improve in the next 4 years. Courtney Hicks may try for another quad and up and coming juniors Amber Glen and Tyler Pierce have a lot of potential as well.

Edmunds looks so tall now. If she gain more weight and height, jumps could be a problem. Maybe its just me but she has quick rotation too, like Lipnitskaia.
 

andyjo24

Medalist
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Polina Edmunds really impressed me this time around. I love the way she uses her arms & for a skater her age, she had such amazing flow and grace in the long. Her jump technique is also crisp and clean. With the right packaging and track record, she should peak in time for Pyeongchang.

ETA: I think she looks awkward on ice because she's so tall and gangly. Let her grow into a more grown woman physique. I think she will really impress us.

I'm actually afraid that Polina will grow even more. She's already tall for a figure skater, and maybe in a few years, she'll pass 170cm, which is even taller than Kostner.
 

Franklin99

Medalist
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
I'm actually afraid that Polina will grow even more. She's already tall for a figure skater, and maybe in a few years, she'll pass 170cm, which is even taller than Kostner.


You're not the only one. While I was watching her skate last night, I couldn't help but notice her long, lanky arms and legs. She might grow past 5'8", or she might just be long limbed but stays average height. Only time will tell.
 

koatcue

Medalist
Joined
Aug 31, 2011
Country
Russia
I'm pretty excited to see Gracie and Yulia battle it out! And I'm glad that Gracie got higher result than Yulia :p Hope to see the competitive rivalry between them=) They are excellent
 

BusyMom

Medalist
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
I root for Radionova. She is a joy to watch. Her jumps are big plus good flexibilities. She is very musical as well. Since she wasn't age eligible for Sochi plus her puberty issues, she was under the radar. Hope she will be back stronger next year. It is nice to see skaters who enjoy what they were doing(Akiki Suziki for example).
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Someone had posted on the community Julia Lipnitskaia vk.com page 2 separate pictures of Julia (clearly at different times) with a petite woman that I think is her mother (look a bit alike). - If that woman is her mother, she's likely not to grow too much more. Here's one of the pictures, and you can click through a couple later are the same woman: http://vk.com/julia_lipnitskaya?z=photo-31036833_320717981%2Fwall-31036833_12592

I know I read an article that she went through some puberty monsters last season, and it says it in her wikipedia page that she had some puberty issues last season.

that's not Julia's mom
 
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