Tarasova and Morozov clear victors

The 2017 European Champions Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov were the clear winners at the 2017 Rostelecom Cup in the Pairs event in what was a Russian sweep. The confident victors led the pack, with teammates Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov and Kristina Astakhova/Alexei Rogonov finishing second and third, respectively.

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“We skated well already at two competitions in a row, so even though it is physically very demanding, we have no reservations about it," said Morozov. "We are of course always very careful about our health, but we have no reason to think that we won’t be able to do it well with all the elements.”

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“We had a lot of issues with our long,” explained Stolbova. “The music we initially chose proved to be a wrong one for the Olympics. It wouldn’t have worked as an Olympic program, so we had to find something else really quickly. Then Nina Mozer suggested that we should try to do Carmen. We thought, well, why not. We were lucky that Pasquale Camerlengo and Anjelika Krylova immediately agreed to help us with it and that they such a good job.”

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"We did well,” said Rogonov. “We did almost everything we planned to do, got almost all the levels and we did most of the elements well. Of course there is still room for improvement, there are still things to work on, like the speed of our skating. There are things which require refinement or some additions.”

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What was your favorite part of the pairs competition? What are your thoughts on the Stolbova and Klimov's long? It was also sad to see the Italians and Canadians not perform their best, but they still have the rest of the season!

This team is definitely in the mix. I liked their short dance quite a lot, despite the mistake.

I look forward to Skate Canada next week to see how Duhamel and Radford stack up against a strong field.

I feel bad for Stolbova/Klimov on their free skate and hope they can work things out before they go to France.

Interesting mix of GOEs on Tarasova/Morozov's quad twist.

Well, apart from a tiny stumble on steps, which lowered the level of their footwork, the Canadians did outperform the other teams with the overall quality of their throw, SBS jumps and twist.... though they ended up in 5th with low GOE and PCS after the short... I think that when you skate pretty much to the best of your abilities, and end up so low, behind 3 local teams, some with major mistakes, it's hard to remain focused and competitive. Their LP was filled with mistakes that were very costly but I wasn't surprised at that point..... they must have felt flat. I saw them perform that LP at ACI and it was so much better. I am not worried for them but it's a very tough year for pairs in Canada as 4 teams are fighting for the 3 spots... and perhaps then, fighting for the 2 spots on the team event.

Regarding Tarasova and Morozov... what can I say? I personally disliked their LP so much.... I thought it was weird considering the quality of their lines and gorgeous elements that they chose such programs.... it may have worked out if the Rachmaninoff was the LP and Candyman the SP... I just cannot imagine this program making a statement in the final flight at the games, compared to potentially much better conceived programs by the other top teams.

Skate Canada's roster is even more packed. It will be interesting how everyone fares in there.... 6 of the teams could be on the podium on any given day, which pretty much means that 3-4 teams will see thei GPF chances end right there.

Re Stolbova Klimov... the series of injuries, freak errors, etc.... since they withdrew from worlds to learn harder elements.... which they never brought to the game (perhaps except for the 3fthrow???) is uncanny. It's like the skating gods had laid it down for them back then, and by refusing to take the opportunity, since then, they have had issues... but really freaky ones. It must be tough for the confidence. However, they were generously marked for what they did achieve.

4everchan said:

Regarding Tarasova and Morozov... what can I say? I personally disliked their LP so much.... I thought it was weird considering the quality of their lines and gorgeous elements that they chose such programs.... it may have worked out if the Rachmaninoff was the LP and Candyman the SP... I just cannot imagine this program making a statement in the final flight at the games, compared to potentially much better conceived programs by the other top teams. .

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The problem with their FS in my opinion is that it seems so out of their character/style. While I'm all for trying different things and get onto skaters for being (what I feel) is 1 note, I don't get why in an Olympic year they decided it was time to go out of the box.

I love the free skate! Tarasova and morozov sell it spectacularly! On the other hand the extreme hatred and revulsion toward it demands immediate changing of programs. If they need to change coaches for it to happen then they must do so.

They talked about the free program in this interview:

http://fs-gossips.com/evgenia-tarasova-and-vladimir-morozov-we-want-to-stand-out/

Note: I was disappointed to find out that they actually liked it, as I was hoping against hope that maybe.. sigh. Anyway, I watch the program with other music, and then it isn't that bad.

Tarasova and Morosov's PCS was ridiculous. If they are scoring that kind of PCS at the Olympics, then what will S/H and S/M get? I hope its only because we were in Russia, their PCS at Worlds was more in line with what I would expect them to score when other top contenders are around.

4everchan said:

Re Stolbova Klimov... the series of injuries, freak errors, etc.... since they withdrew from worlds to learn harder elements.... which they never brought to the game (perhaps except for the 3fthrow???) is uncanny. It's like the skating gods had laid it down for them back then, and by refusing to take the opportunity, since then, they have had issues... but really freaky ones. It must be tough for the confidence. However, they were generously marked for what they did achieve.

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I agree with the above but credit should be given to them, next season after skipping worlds they replaced the side by side 2A with 3S and, importantly, they brought the combo 3T-3T-2T, the first pair to ever do it. So they did brought harder content next season. Unfortunately the injuries started and, well

Mirunna said:

I agree with the above but credit should be given to them, next season after skipping worlds they replaced the side by side 2A with 3S and, importantly, they brought the combo 3T-3T-2T, the first pair to ever do it. So they did brought harder content next season. Unfortunately the injuries started and, well

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Fair enough.. you are correct that they had a gorgeous combo for a while. I think the issues Stolbova had on the SBS last weekend just messed up with my memory.... I am always surprised when she falls. I sort of expect her to always be perfect.

When I saw Tarasova/Morozov's LP last year I thought it can't get worse then that. I was so wrong!:no:
I really like them, I think they have great elements and chemistry, but this program is just really bad. It doesn't have any unity, the music cuts seem so random and I just don't see it as an Olympic podium program.
I like both Stolbova/Klimov's programs, even if at the begining I was like " No, please, not another carmen program" But the character really suits her. And the SP is amazing, love the music, the interpretation and everything about it. I just hope they stay healthy and fix their Twist and SBS jumps by the Olympics. They had such bad luck with all the injuries.

4everchan said:

Fair enough.. you are correct that they had a gorgeous combo for a while. I think the issues Stolbova had on the SBS last weekend just messed up with my memory.... I am always surprised when she falls. I sort of expect her to always be perfect.

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I think it's the lack of competitions and maybe practice time that adds to the stress and nerves, and maybe that is why there are so many mistakes. I am surprised to see her fail also on the throws especially, which were so consistent before! Their throw 3F was epic, covering half of the arena in distance
Giving their recent competitions, I almost always expect a disaster, and they used to be so consistent. She particularly seems to be struggling recently even though he was the injured one.

I still don't get the hate for T/M's Free Program, I totally love it! It's so fun! I even like the costumes, polka-dots rock.

I'm always reading about people saying that ice skaters need to mix up, do something different, but then T/M do it and suddenly people are freaking out talking about how they need to do "old style" and "classic" programs. What's up with that?

anonymoose_au said:

I still don't get the hate for T/M's Free Program, I totally love it! It's so fun! I even like the costumes, polka-dots rock.

I'm always reading about people saying that ice skaters need to mix up, do something different, but then T/M do it and suddenly people are freaking out talking about how they need to do "old style" and "classic" programs. What's up with that?

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I agree. I'm quite baffled at the outrage. I'm not a fan of this program, but find myself defending it a lot these days. Of course, it's not a masterpiece, made for the ages. But who cares? One of my favourite thing about pairs is the variety and creativity of music choices. I'd rather watch something 'different' than Carmen for the 1809182x time.

anonymoose_au said:

I still don't get the hate for T/M's Free Program, I totally love it! It's so fun! I even like the costumes, polka-dots rock.

I'm always reading about people saying that ice skaters need to mix up, do something different, but then T/M do it and suddenly people are freaking out talking about how they need to do "old style" and "classic" programs. What's up with that?

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Yeah, for example my sister (who in the past took ballet classes, but watching FS competitions only 2,3 times in a year) like it. While i understand why die-hard FS fans have problem with the programme, i think it will be played just fine for wider and younger audience who watch FS just occasionally, at Worlds and Olympics.

It's not per se the fault of the music, but the cuts of it and the costumes make the program to look unsophisticated and unpolished.

madison said:

It's not per se the fault of the music, but the cuts of it and the costumes make the program to look unsophisticated and unpolished.

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It's the music as well. Novice level.

I absolutely loathe the packaging for T/M LP this year. It's a poor decision.

But I can't deny that they have long, elegant, gorgeous lines, and technical chops. They just had to choose better music, which they didn't. IMO it makes for terrible presentation but their skills and transitions are fabulous, so they will get those points regardless of their choosing Xtina singing "makes my panties drop" in a program for the Olympic season. I would much have preferred those skills and balletic training put to more classical Russian music, or if they wanted electronic, maybe something more ambient and not a pop song that is impossible to make musically into something really great for a competitive number. It would have been great had they used it for a show number, though.

So yeah, I am not that excited about them winning OGM in 2018 but I predict they'll take it due to their technical prowess. They know how to play and maximize the numbers game. I would much prefer to see S/H, D/R and S/M on the podium in any order but

I agree: it is the packaging. The music is lame and the costumes (hers in particular) are not attractive. It appears they are trying to "do something different for the Olympics" but I don't think this is it. Their skating remains top notch, however. It will be interesting to see how things progress.