2018-19 Russian Ladies' figure skating

[plushyfan]

Orser on Zhenya https://fs-gossips.com/brian-orser-even-the-greatest-skaters-did-not-win-every-competition/

 

[Fluture]

Orser on Zhenya https://fs-gossips.com/brian-orser-even-the-greatest-skaters-did-not-win-every-competition/

”We could come up with programs with which she can win specific competitions, but I look at the bigger picture, to the future.“

So, this is a bit reassuring, indicates that they‘re fully aware of what they‘re doing. That they know there could be a better layout at the moment, that could easily help her to get bigger scores. I‘m still not sure their strategy is the right one because Zhenya is not Yuzu or Yuna and competition in Russia is so tight, they need to also focus on not losing the momentum. But at least they seem to know how to make programs that ensure a win and I hope they‘ll design it that way for France to ensure Zhenya a ticket to the final... I‘m a bit sceptical about all this but I‘m willing to be patient - for Zhenya’s sake, not Orsers. And it‘s good to hear he helped her cope with the terrible short program that has really shook her up.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MDfuA7lldg8

She says it really was a terrible experience for her and I‘m sure it wasn‘t easy for her to recover and come back with a good FS. As much as I‘m personally not satisfied with Brian‘s approach at the moment, I see that he‘s a supportive coach and Zhenya is happy training with him. And he seems to have a plan. Let‘s hope it works out...

 

[Tolstoj]

Higuchi was more a contender then those three russian and her season actually don't look shiny. Even if the problem is her physical condition, the results are not reassuring.

And there still Tuktamysheva at the NHK, who knows...

Really, we are talking about a sport where the federations need three competitive athletes/pairs at max for every discipline. The more the merrier, but not by much. Russia still have them on the ladies, and it seem so obvious that a lot of junior russian are coming to take the place of every reserve, and not only them actually...
What's the problem ? A single year of, maybe, a bit of less domain over this discipline, between senior ? What a drama

Sotskova started good last season, but then her results goes down, beatable by all the better japanese. Tuktamysheva's results are actually more consistent.

The drama is seeing all these talents underperforming, it's a huge waste, and the fact that most of these unprepared skaters are coming from the most pushed club in Russia, it makes you wonder what is going to be the judging at RN.

Will they open their eyes and reward more those skaters who achieved something this season, or will they keep pushing these skaters ruining newcomers despite they are delivering the goods like Samodurova? Remember what happened in 2015 where Liza as GPF champion lost to Radionova only at Nationals because of the bias.

Don't get me wrong i think the same should be said for Evgenia, if she bombs the SP or the LP at Nationals, i don't think she should beat skaters with two clean competitive programs, everyone should earn their spot by competing and not with some ridiculous status quo.

 

[Klarnet]

I think that Liza has the tougher second GP.

I suspect Bradie may have peaked at ACI. I agree that Rika has yet to show she can consistently deliver a well rounded high BV program cleanly. And clean is crucial this season. So, Zhenya has a good opportunity to get the gold in France, and even with a silver she would have 24 points and a strong chance to get in the GPF.

But Miyahara did very well at Skate America despite a UR call and tough judging. She'll have the boost of a home event at NHK. Getting on the podium with Miyahara, Mihara, and Kihira at home will be a fight.

Tactically, it's likely better for Russia that Liza was the one who took gold at SCI.

A bronze for 24 for Liza should be achievable and make the GPF cut. Yes, we'd like to see her place higher, but the key objective is to see Liza and Zhenya join Alina at the Final.

Bronze at NHK will make it 26 points for Liza and guaranteed GPF. She would get 24 in case of 4th place, and would still have good chances. In that case all she needs is wait for results of other ladies, particularly say at least 2 Japanese ladies out of 5 to have same 24 points, but with lower placement 2+3, which quite possibly could happen to Yamashita,Mihara and even Kihira. Then Liza wins over them with 1+4.

But if Yamashita is 2nd at Rostelecom,that leaves Liza with quite lower chances for GPF.

Medvedeva needs only win in France for GPF. Her silver there would mean that either Kihira or Mihara won and edged her out of GPF, and also would give way for Liza to GPF. With 2+3 and not the biggest score on second tie break it would be tough for her to squeeze to GPF, although still not impossible.

 

[Hello from Brazil]

She will face Rika kihira, Marin Honda, Mai Mihara, stanislava konstantinova, Maria sotskova and bradie Tennell in France.
If she skate both programs clean it will be very difficult not to win

 

[Azikin]

She will face Rika kihira, Marin Honda, Mai Mihara, stanislava konstantinova, Maria sotskova and bradie Tennell in France.
If she skate both programs clean it will be very difficult not to win

:shocked:

 

[vesperalvioletta]

She will face Rika kihira, Marin Honda, Mai Mihara, stanislava konstantinova, Maria sotskova and bradie Tennell in France.
If she skate both programs clean it will be very difficult not to win

I wouldn't be so sure. Rika Kihira has three 3As, and though she doesn't always hit all of them consistently, when she does they are beautiful, high scoring elements. Mai Mihara has scoring potential equal to Medvedeva, and I wouldn't completely count a clean Bradie Tennell out either. I don't think it will be an easy win for her.

 

[skatenewbie]

Leonova got NHK! im sad for Sima, but hopefully Leonova can skate like she did last year!

 

[Fluture]

She will face Rika kihira, Marin Honda, Mai Mihara, stanislava konstantinova, Maria sotskova and bradie Tennell in France.
If she skate both programs clean it will be very difficult not to win

There‘s that “if“ + Rika‘s 3As + Mai‘s consistency + Bradie‘s 3Lz-3Lo that has beat her before. She can do it but it will be more difficult. She needs to be absolutely prepared. I hope she will be.

- - - Updated - - -

Leonova got NHK! im sad for Sima, but hopefully Leonova can skate like she did last year!

Why do they always forget Sima? It‘s really not fair...

 

[Hello from Brazil]

Despite her 3A Rika didn't make it to the JGPF podium last year.
If Evgenia skates clean, her FP score would be around 150. Even though some other girls have technically more difficult programs, there is still a considerable PCS gap.
Anyway, I know my opinion is totally biased towards Zhenya

 

[DenissVFan]

Why do they always forget Sima? It‘s really not fair...

Leonova was higher than her on the SB list, so I find it fair.

 

[vesperalvioletta]

I don't think Medvedeva will realistically score in the 150s in the free skate this year, but that's just me The judging panels seem very strict on the GP thus far and even with the sit spin issues fixed, I think she'll probably max out somewhere in the 140s. That lutz edge is getting called now and it's probably going to hurt her for a while.

It certainly wouldn't be impossible for her to win - she has just as much a chance as any of the other top girls in the field, but I don't think she'll have the same score cushion that she's used to.

 

[Tyranid]

Will they open their eyes and reward more those skaters who achieved something this season, or will they keep pushing these skaters ruining newcomers despite they are delivering the goods like Samodurova? Remember what happened in 2015 where Liza as GPF champion lost to Radionova only at Nationals because of the bias.

What?

Liza popped her triple (3S afaik) there and lost on TES. Lena won that competition fairly with 217 vs Tuk's 212 TSS points due to said popped triple.

You gotta train your memory!

 

[karina17]

Despite her 3A Rika didn't make it to the JGPF podium last year.
If Evgenia skates clean, her FP score would be around 150. Even though some other girls have technically more difficult programs, there is still a considerable PCS gap.
Anyway, I know my opinion is totally biased towards Zhenya

Rika’s JGPF free skate wasn’t clean, though. She did land her first 3A but ended up popping the next one to a single, so score-wise she might as well just not have had any 3As in her program.

And the situation is different this year. Rika is allowed to do 3A in her short now, and she attempted it at her last competition, so if she’s clean in the short she will be ahead of everyone else, even with the expected PCS gap. If she’s clean in the free program as well, she’ll be ahead by a lot of points given that she has three triple axels across two programs, not just one. (I think she had a 147 in the free last time and she wasn’t even clean, not to mention that it was her senior debut).

Even Evgenia will probably have a hard time catching up with that much of a TES deficit, especially if she still has three 3Lz across two programs with bad edges. Skate Canada showed that the judges aren’t afraid to call e on her Lutz, and GP France is known for harsh judging, isn’t it?

Well, France will definitely be interesting.

 

[Fluture]

Despite her 3A Rika didn't make it to the JGPF podium last year.
If Evgenia skates clean, her FP score would be around 150. Even though some other girls have technically more difficult programs, there is still a considerable PCS gap.
Anyway, I know my opinion is totally biased towards Zhenya

I‘m Zhenya fan as well, she‘s my favourite actually. But I try to be objective because it won‘t do any good if I get my expectations up to high only to then see them getting crushed. It happened at SCI when I expected an absolutely easy win after all her virtually perfect practices sessions. Now I‘m trying to see it as it is: Zhenya has chances to make it to the final due to her great comeback in the FS but she can‘t afford any mistakes. Her lutz edge is being called, judges have been very strict with URs so far and her spins are far from perfect. She has a lot to work on. Her choreography and interpretation are slowly coming together and she still has a month time. She‘ll surely improve but we have to remember that she‘s competing against girls who have much higher BV (Rika, Bradie) or are known for their consistency (Mai). There‘s also still someone like Masha who could realistically skate programs like last year. She‘s the least likely to push Zhenya away from the top of the podium because she‘s prone to URs and judges really hate on them this season. But who knows, there‘s always a possibility. So, to say “Zhenya simply needs to stay clean“ is a bit of a dangerous statement. It‘s not simple for Zhenya to stay completely clean as we‘ve seen at this GP. She‘s reworking her technique, puts 3 lutzes into her problems and has troubles with spins. She can realistically solve or at least improve on these problems in the month she‘s got but it still won‘t be easy. I think Brian and her know this, though.

I also really can‘t predict her scoring potential at the moment. Scoring at the GP so far is harsh and the judges at SCI are known to be strict in general. She scored only 137 with a remotely clean program, whereas in ACI she got 133 with a fall on an underrotated triple, a stepout and a level 1 spin. So it really depends on what the judges decide to do. She definitely can score higher than 140 but how much? We‘ll see.

 

[Fluture]

Rika’s JGPF free skate wasn’t clean, though. She did land her first 3A but ended up popping the next one to a single, so score-wise she might as well just not have had any 3As in her program.

And the situation is different this year. Rika is allowed to do 3A in her short now, and she attempted it at her last competition, so if she’s clean in the short she will be ahead of everyone else, even with the expected PCS gap. If she’s clean in the free program as well, she’ll be ahead by a lot of points given that she has three triple axels across two programs, not just one. (I think she had a 147 in the free last time and she wasn’t even clean, not to mention that it was her senior debut).

Even Evgenia will probably have a hard time catching up with that much of a TES deficit, especially if she still has three 3Lz across two programs with bad edges. Skate Canada showed that the judges aren’t afraid to call e on her Lutz, and GP France is known for harsh judging, isn’t it?

Well, France will definitely be interesting.

France is known for strict judging? I thought Canada was the harshest one... :think:

 

[Hello from Brazil]

I‘m Zhenya fan as well, she‘s my favourite actually. But I try to be objective because it won‘t do any good if I get my expectations up to high only to then see them getting crushed. It happened at SCI when I expected an absolutely easy win after all her virtually perfect practices sessions. Now I‘m trying to see it as it is: Zhenya has chances to make it to the final due to her great comeback in the FS but she can‘t afford any mistakes. Her lutz edge is being called, judges have been very strict with URs so far and her spins are far from perfect. She has a lot to work on. Her choreography and interpretation are slowly coming together and she still has a month time. She‘ll surely improve but we have to remember that she‘s competing against girls who have much higher BV (Rika, Bradie) or are known for their consistency (Mai). There‘s also still someone like Masha who could realistically skate programs like last year. She‘s the least likely to push Zhenya away from the top of the podium because she‘s prone to URs and judges really hate on them this season. But who knows, there‘s always a possibility. So, to say “Zhenya simply needs to stay clean“ is a bit of a dangerous statement. It‘s not simple for Zhenya to stay completely clean as we‘ve seen at this GP. She‘s reworking her technique, puts 3 lutzes into her problems and has troubles with spins. She can realistically solve or at least improve on these problems in the month she‘s got but it still won‘t be easy. I think Brian and her know this, though.

I also really can‘t predict her scoring potential at the moment. Scoring at the GP so far is harsh and the judges at SCI are known to be strict in general. She scored only 137 with a remotely clean program, whereas in ACI she got 133 with a fall on an underrotated triple, a stepout and a level 1 spin. So it really depends on what the judges decide to do. She definitely can score higher than 140 but how much? We‘ll see.

Ok, can't argue with that.
In Brazil we say "hope is the last one to die"

 

[Sugar Coated]

https://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/russiateam/2225633.html

"Tatyana Tarasova on the commentary position habitually burst into tears:

- Oh, well done! Welcome back! She is an extraordinary athlete! I want to cry! How dreadful was yesterday - no one slept or ate. Losing confidence. And today she skated what she could. There were mistakes, but this is not important - it is important that she is in the ranks and will fight. She wants jump this damned lutz from the outside edge, and she will jump it. She taught it in childhood - and she did not learn it. And now she needs to do it.

Alexey Yagudin: Tatyana Anatolyevna, at some point I thought that you eating me now. (it was my best part )

Tarasova: No, I will not eat you. I will not eat anyone (oh thank god, now I can sleep well). I just really want outstanding figure skaters to succeed. She made such a big step - serious, hard, offensive for everyone. But she knew what she was doing.

Yagudin: The edges are difficult to retrain. It’s like breaking the foundation of a house."

Thank you!!!

 

[Tolstoj]

What?

Liza popped her triple (3S afaik) there and lost on TES. Lena won that competition fairly with 217 vs Tuk's 212 TSS points due to said popped triple.

You gotta train your memory!

Elena was already leading after the short program, something that never happened before and after that competition: to me it was clear they wanted to give it to Elena, that popped 3S only made it easier. I wasn't too angry about that at the time as i thought Elena was also a really great skater that year.

Now i think skaters like Sotskova or Konstantinova have something to prove this season internationally if they want to keep their spots.

 

[Fluture]

Leonova was higher than her on the SB list, so I find it fair.

Well, I don‘t want to say anything bad about Leonova so I‘ll keep it short: Alena seems to constantly deteriorate while Sima is actually looking like she’s improving. She hasn‘t had many chances to go to major international senior events and she is still pretty young. I think she‘d deserve it. Maybe not more than Leonova who should get praise for still being around - credit where credit due - but Sima would be the more interesting one. But that‘s just my opinion.

Congrats to Alena anyway.

Ok, can't argue with that.
In Brazil we say "hope is the last one to die"

I‘m also still hoping, of course. And I wish her good luck and believe in her. She knows it won‘t be easy so I hope her and Brian work out a plan for this next event.