2018-19 Russian Ladies' figure skating | Page 642 | Golden Skate

2018-19 Russian Ladies' figure skating

Agree x 2.

I read Konstantinova first and was like: huh... that‘s unlikely even for rusfed

I‘m not sure about Kostornaya being in the top 2, Trusova seems more likely imo. She won‘t have to deal with jetlag which will make it easier for her to land her jumps and since she‘s already being proclaimed as “the next big thing“ in the media and more so than Alena (despite her winning JGPF) I‘d bet rusfed wants to push her. And if she lands one of her quads cleanly, she won‘t even need pushing. So, I‘d rather put my money on Trusova.

But I agree 100% that Liza won‘t be sacrificed.
 
I think Evgenia will be in the top 2 age-eligible finishers at Nationals. She has been way off this season, but still her scores are roughly similar to what Sofia has been getting. I don't think she needs help from the judges beyond what she gets from international panels.
 
There is no way Liza will be left off. Even the Rusfed with all their embarrassment of riches is not so stupid to replace someone who will pretty much guarantee them three spots next year for a question mark and a gamble. It still comes down to Sofia vs. Zhenya, and if Zhenya is even remotely close to being clean she will be sent.
 
I wonder if they will still go with Shilenko, who is the second alternate, or Vasilieva, who is the third alternate but had a higher placement (came in 2nd at one event) and is from CSKA... I suppose we'll see...

I had thought we might see Vasilieva and Sinitsyna at Russian-Chinese Games.
 
I thought RSF rules were the top two age eligible finishers were automatically on the team, and one spot was open for politicking/not dependent on placement at Nationals? (Top two in terms of the two highest finishers, not literally first and second. So if Zagitova is first and Trusova is second, it’d be Zagitova and then the highest placing age-eligible senior, even if the senior scores lower than multiple juniors.) In which case Liza would take the “bye” slot and the top two finishers would automatically make the team.

Look, it’s Nationals. The scores will be whatever a given federation wants — any federation, not just Russia. But if I were Mishin and Sofia, I’d be pretty angry if I delivered two clean programmes but Medvedeva had an uncalled Lutz edge, URs, etc., and was propped up on PCS to place ahead.

As for the US not sending its second place finishers: I believe USFSA doesn’t mandate that the top finishers be given berths on the 4CC and Worlds team. “Body of work” can always be used to select the team the federation wants if nationals doesn’t order the potential candidates as expected.
I actually think it's the literal top two that are non-negotiable provided they are eligible. The rest are not guaranteed anything 100% but it's probably a safe bet.
 
Alina's scores are coming down, she has won only 1 of the past 3 majors, reputation scoring is started to erode and jumps are facing the reality of a growth spurt. Given Liza's new found confidence and her natural jumping ability, I would not be surprised to see Liza and others, surpass Alina moving forward.

I won’t count Alina out though. I am not a fan of her frenetic programmes but she certainly has grit. Since junior days, Rika Kihira has been the only skater who can rattle and beat her with superior tech content. Right now, Rika appears in ascendency and Alina has been described as the only one who can challenge Rika. I am sure Alina will be training like crazy after this season to match up. We also keep forgetting Liza Tuks who somehow is flying under the radar. A clean Tuks with some judging love will also surpass Alina and can throw down the 3A challenge against Rika.
 
Practice Groups (translated)

Group 1: Tarusina, Gubanova, Tsurskaya, Sotskova, Tarakanova, Konstantinova

Group 2: Nugumanova, Samodurova, Talalaikina, Gulyakova, Medvedeva, Tuktamysheva (WD)

Group 3: Panenkova, Trusova, Shcherbakova, Zagitova, Kostornaia, Leonova
 
Whoever goes to Worlds, Russia Fed should not risk the three spots, which almost was lost this year, at a time we thought there is no problem at all.
 
Do they even know if she will be fit again for euros? Pneumonia is not something to joke about. She has withdrawn from nationals, and is staying 2 weeks in a hospital. But thatbdoesnt mean that she ishealed in 2 weeks. It can take longer than that
Apparently Liza got a Euros spot! Does anyone know if it’s official or not?
 
If they add Zhenya there‘s still space for another skater alongside Alina, though. Liza is the clear second Russian lady this season, if she can medal at GPF, she can medal at Worlds too. This would be the chance for them to have two Russian ladies on the Worlds podium. If she is ready and healthy of course, she should definitely be sent. Everything else would be simply stupid.

I‘m quite worried, though... Pneumonia isn‘t something to take easy and it takes a long period of recovering. I hope she is ready but she absolutely shouldn‘t force anything. Health is the most important, more important than any medal will ever be. It‘s a shame that this has to happen now...
2 spots for the Euros/Worlds are distributed according to RusNats results by current rules, if I'm getting it right. Only 1 spot can be awarded by the coaching council decision.
I'd guess the third place was intended for either Alina or Evgenia in case they skate badly, but now the situation is a bit more complicated. Wouldn't be surprised to see judges overscore both Zagitova and Medvedeva to solve this conundrum.
 
Wow I forgot that Russia didn't medal in the Ladies at the Worlds this year. I guess I blocked that event out of memory. I'm sure they would love to have two medalists at this Worlds.
 
What's this talk of Alina winning only 1 of 3 major competitions? The girl won the Olympics and last season's Europeans and GPF. If we count this year's GPF she's still won 3 out of 5.
 
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