2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[Edwin]

Russia's Sports Ministry issued a release to allow "trainers' councils" to nominate members of national teams when there aren't enough objective qualification criteria due to cancellation of important, deciding, events. With a paragraph on preventing corruption influencing decisions ;-)

I believe to have read elsewhere that FFKKR president Gorshkov still thinks the national team for next season will be decided by May 15 as usual. Probably using the December 2019 revised, stricter and slightly more objective criteria?

Wonder how this will pan out for those who haven't competed sufficiently in quantity or quality and those who are in need of a promotion to senior rank, as it is unlikely the numbers will be increased given the complete uncertainty over the 2020/21 competitive season.

 

[eterislouisvuitton]

Random quarantine thought: Adelina Sotnikova could have had quad, if she'd trained it.

Can't see Lipnitskaya, Radionova, Pogorilaya, Sotskova and many great Russian skaters from the past being able to perform it, but Adelina absolutely yes. Watch her triple toe loops from her peak seasons and notice how much space cushion there was at the landings. Very athletically gifted girl.

Random thought: if Lipnitskaia had done 3A and 4Lz or attempted to, they would've looked like Alysa Liu's jumps. Not that that is a bad thing, I actually find Alysa's triple axel to be rather nice. Not as good as Kostornaia or Kihira, but pertty good, she will improve. And also, I was referring to the fact of Ksenia's scores. She will never be scored like she would be if she were under someone like Eteri or Hamada

 

[Edwin]

According to Aleksandr Lakernik, 2022 Worlds have been awarded to Montpellier, France "to help establish the new French ice sports federation"??? How much money passed under the table to make that happen?

The final qualifier to 2022 Winter Olympics?

 

[ruga]

According to Aleksandr Lakernik, 2022 Worlds have been awarded to Montpellier, France "to help establish the new French ice sports federation"??? How much money passed under the table to make that happen?

The final qualifier to 2022 Winter Olympics?

2022 Worlds will be after Olympics unless they get delayed somehow (so even less prestigious due to watered down field). As for now, qualifier for 2022 Olympics is 2021 WC.

 

[eterislouisvuitton]

According to Aleksandr Lakernik, 2022 Worlds have been awarded to Montpellier, France "to help establish the new French ice sports federation"??? How much money passed under the table to make that happen?

The final qualifier to 2022 Winter Olympics?

Wow, that is the last thing I expected. Not only during this time after the french fed mess, the coronavirus, and the cancellation of Montreal worlds, that is truly the last thing I expected. I wonder how it will play out. 2021 worlds will be in Stockholm, yes?

 

[kmw227]

According to Aleksandr Lakernik, 2022 Worlds have been awarded to Montpellier, France "to help establish the new French ice sports federation"??? How much money passed under the table to make that happen?

The final qualifier to 2022 Winter Olympics?

Why does France get to host a Worlds when they can't even host a Grand Prix event properly

If it's anything like the past few IdF's, it'll be a hot mess

 

[Edwin]

Sergey Davydov: “ Strong athletes must keep their punch in any situation, for that's why they are strong athletes ”

Sergey Davydov - CSKA figure skating coach, in whose group Sof'ya Samodelkina, Yelizaveta Berestovskaya and about 35 other figure skaters are training, talked about the students’ training in quarantine, and how the idea was born to upload the training videos on social networks; explained why it is necessary to study ultra-si jumping and why competition in sport is important.

“We've organised a two-week marathon on our Instagram, where we have laid out detailed training for athletes”

- Sergey Dmitriyevich, during self-isolation in connection with the coronavirus, your athletes post a lot of detailed videos with training sessions on the social network. Moreover, they do this on their own initiative. How was this idea born and why are you doing this?

" Let's start with the fact that at the moment there is no real choice, we must exercise, given the fact that you can’t go outside and so on. Not only skaters, but also athletes of other sports switched to home training, trying, as much as possible, to cope with the situation, continue to maintain physical fitness.

We are no exception, so we tried to come up with something productive. Some of the athletes had enough space for lessons, others “cleared” their rooms - they adapted so they could learn.

Uploading videos was our idea to give others open access to our training, because not only are we sitting at home, there are a lot of people in the same situation. Everyone wants to train and we tried to help. We've organised a two-week marathon on our Instagram, where we laid out detailed training for our athletes. Quite a lot of people signed up who also began to engage to our videos. They sent their videos. We are glad that we were able to help someone. And people are glad that they are training not on their own, but on someone’s training, under someone’s guidance. I think it turned out great and good. "

- Do all of your athletes participate in these trainings?

" In our group there are about 35-40 athletes, I find it difficult to name the exact number: someone comes, others leave. Three groups. Initially, I planned that everyone would participate, but we ran into a problem. The first video clips, were quite difficult, since everything was at a distance. A 35-40-minute video took about 2-3 hours of shooting time. Because the video was supposed to be understandable to people, filmed from all angles. And since the shooting was carried out by unprofessional people who've never done this before: the children acted, the parents recorded, and in parallel I had to watch and correct all this, the work turned out to be laborious. The first lessons were rather difficult, but subsequently they went faster. We shot several videos with the training sessions of Samodelkina and Lisa Berestovskaya, so that it would not be so long, interesting and useful. "

- The rest of your athletes train themselves?

- Yes, using these videos. But in principle, the ones who wanted to train, because in connection with the current situation, the children went on vacation. We moved our vacation break, which usually takes place in May, to this period, so that the athletes can have a complete regimen, so as not to overextend anyone. And the athletes themselves decided - to train or not to train. But it turned out that everyone trained, because sitting at home is boring, and so they are busy exercising. Now everyone is sitting at home for days. Well, they do the lessons first and then other things ... "

- No need to explain how important the training system is for the athletes, the regime. It’s not very clear right now when the season will begin. In your opinion, is there a certain “point of no return", after which the athletes will have to start from scratch due to such a forced schedule?

" Everyone is in the same conditions now, everyone is sitting at home. If someone remains inactive, while others were engaged, that's another question. But we are all sitting in self-isolation - in America, Australia, Europe ... Maybe there are countries where there is no strict quarantine, but hardly anyone is training there. In any case, I don't know about it. "

“Sport dictates the conditions for us what to do”

- The athletes of your group - Sof'ya Samodelkina, Lisa Berestovskaya, and others perform elements of ultra-si, triple Axel, quadruple jumps. How will this forced break in training affect the preparation for the season? Maybe we will see less difficult jumps, because athletes didn't have time to prepare?

" I don't know. Each athlete has a different experience. Someone catches up very quickly, someone needs more time. Probably a long break will be reflected in the result, because complex elements require a large amount of work. And if it will be necessary to force events, go out and hurry, rush everything to get ready, we, of course, will encounter difficulties. That's for sure. And not only us.

But then again, it all depends on desire. If there is a desire, it seems to me that everything can be done. Now we are training, preparing a “base” for ultra-si on the floor. We have no other opportunity. We try to go out like this in order to keep what we have learned, so that when we go out on the ice we should be prepared for the fact that everything needs to be done quickly. "

- Even before the Olympics in Korea, experts expressed the opinion that in the near future, girls jump quadruple jumps, which happened. What do you think was the reason, because you haven’t tried this for so long?

" My opinion is that sport dictates the conditions for us what to do. This is the first. Secondly, quadruples, of course, are a big load on the children's bodies. This cannot be denied. Of course, you try to protect children, not to squeeze them out completely, but the realities of sports dictate their own rules. Someone did, jumped, the bar was automatically raised, and we have no choice. We have to get involved in this if we want to win. Accordingly, we got involved. What someone does, someone doesn't, is another question. But now it is an integral part of the sport. Maybe, for the children's health it's unfortunate, for people who are watching figure skating, it's fortunate. But such is sport. If you approach everything correctly, competently train, do prophylaxis, you can manage without injuries. Although, whatever one may say, there is still an increased injury rate. "

- Maksim Belyavskiy is training in your group, he jumped a quint on the fishing rod, which caused considerable excitement. What was the point of doing this jump in the harness? And is it realistic to do a quint on ice?

" On this occasion, I talked a lot after all the hype arose. Honestly, we did not expect this to cause such a resonance. A quint on a fishing rod - it was part of our work on ice. We worked, did it. The quad turned out stably, well. And without a fishing rod. There was an idea to try the quint, and we tried. Uploaded it to our instagram. To ours! As a review, as part of the work that we move forward. No more. And here is such a stir ...

As for the performance of quints on ice? Once upon a time, the same questions were asked about quadruples, which no one had yet jumped, and then jumped. Now, small children are performing quadruples, although they used to always say that this requires power and strength, explaining why men do this and women do not, that the problem is this ... The same will happen someday with quints. This is the next step in figure skating. There will be one who will do it first. Hanyu does an Axel in 4.5 turns. I saw it myself. So this is a matter of attitude and goals that you set for yourself. "

“Complex elements require a lot of work and time”

- Let's talk more about your athletes: Sof'ya Samodelkina, Lisa Berestovskaya, Vika Vasilyeva ...

" All the leading skaters of our group are in full view, so there is no need to do a detailed analysis of the performances of the season. If we talk about Vika Vasilyeva, then I think everyone understands perfectly well that the athlete entered the difficult period of growing up through which all the girls go. These are growth problems, nothing more, not physical injuries. It’s just that when a person grows, he has associated difficulties, now with this, then with something else. This must be experienced, tolerated. We are trying to cope with this.

Sofa Samodelkina and Lisa Berestovskaya advanced to the elements of ultra-si. Lisa with a quadruple, Sofa with a triple Axel. At first, the Axel did not work out very well, but before quarantine we put it, if I may say so, on a good flow. Lisa has the same thing with her quadruple. True, Lisa did not always succeed in doing a clean jump in competitions. We took the triple Axel and taught it her too. It just happened in the current situation that it was necessary to pay attention to one element, if you want to learn it. So did Sofa. We took the Axel and decided we will do it. We looked at her carriage, what turned out better, what is easier. The same path was chosen with Lisa. We taught her the quadruple Toeloop, because difficult jumps require a huge amount of work and a lot of time. You are preparing an element, learning, then you need to break away from this, return to sports practice, return to skating programs cleanly. Therefore, we teach complex elements at the end of the season. They “sit down” on them and do just that. If you don’t teach an element this way, then it's going to be problematic during the season, because you have to drop out of your 'sports rhythm' and do the required training. I think others do the same. "

- It can be seen that both of your athletes are very motivated, they themselves want to master difficult jumps.

" And without this, there is no way to advance. We can educate children, say what we need, what we want, wish, desire, strive for ... But the desire to learn new complex elements is either there or not. And it's hard to do something about it. Yes, these girls are very charged, they want to win, they want to be better than everyone else, they understand they can do it, for which we honour and praise them. "

- Your boys, how are things going with them?

" We have some good young boys: Lev Lazarev, Nikita Malyutin ... This year they performed well at the Russian Championship in their age groups. Lev became second. Good guys. Growing up ...

The girls are capable. Time will tell. They will grow. They are working. Because our group must be "multi-stage" like a ladder. Some climb, the others reach after them. Then the young push the more experienced forward, creating competition. It should be like this. We start with the kids from scratch, recruit them in our group, train and then move on with them. "

“Our work style is to work”

- Each coach has his own methodology, his own rules. How would you characterize your style?

" It seems to me that others should talk about this. It’s hard for me to talk about myself. We work as we can. What I know, I try to convey to the students. We teach children, while learning ourselves. We try. Our work style is to work. "

- Alexey Nikolayevich Mishin once said that the cornerstone of his method is training in a group, as this creates competition. Perhaps this is the reason for the success of our skaters who train in groups; while in other countries there is an individual training system?

" Alexey Nikolayevich is absolutely right. The higher the competition, the higher the results. The higher the competition in the group, the higher the results in the group. The higher the competition in the country, the higher the results of the athletes from this country. "

- In Russian women's skating, the competition is crazy. On the one hand, it spurs athletes, on the other, it is not easy to endure. What do you think about this and how do you tune your athletes?

" Of course, not all athletes can withstand this competition. But strong athletes must keep their punch in any situation, that's why they are strong athletes. We teach one thing - to be the first, to be stronger, and everything will turn to face you. Lose - go out on the ice again, prove that you are stronger. Everything is very simple.

We must be able to endure. If you were born and raised in a country where there is tremendous competition, and you are boiling in it, then you need to understand and accept this. Because instead of you, another person will appear who can withstand this competition. That's all. You are not alone - you get behind, your followers will take over. You need to know about this. We are talking about this to athletes, this spurs them and does not allow them to relax. Moreover, we have a great team. "

- Let's name your team.

" Let's. Coach Aleksandra Kravtsova, choreographer Viktoriya Bondarenko, Sergey Verbillo is engaged in gliding, Yevgeniy Artemov works with the fishing rod. All excellent specialists. "

“There is two weeks of vacation to clear your head”

- Where did you plan to conduct summer training?

" At home, in our CSKA. We generally hardly leave. This year we planned to relax, let the children out, and then return and start training at home. But now everything has shifted in time. "

- And training stages abroad? Some trainers say that athletes need to change their place of training in order to “clear their heads”?

" To clear your head, there are two weeks of vacation. Why do this when you need to start working? The main thing is that there are working conditions. And what difference does it make where to train, abroad or at home. Nevertheless, they perfectly understand that if you really work, then you don’t need any “foreign country”, because every morning you come to the rink - PE, choreography, ice, strength, stretching ... You spend all day at the rink and there’s nothing left for diversions, nothing to see. During breaks, children catch up on their lessons. And although there are no lessons in the summer, I know many learn in advance.

Also, well, a trip abroad is expensive. But we can’t take just a few athletes and leave, while the rest will stay behind because they can’t pay. Therefore, we will work at home. The main thing is that athletes have a desire to work. "

(c) Ольга ЕРМОЛИНА и Татьяна ФЛАДЕ
-----
From: https://fsrussia.ru/intervyu/4997-s...-situatsii-na-to-oni-i-silnye-sportsmeny.html

PS: Here is Sof'ya working out: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_F4NGUpogM/ , for athletic kids like her, having a younger sister, a big house and a large yard with trampoline and treehouse, it's probably easy to stay in shape even by just playing. Her family best get a pool too, since public pools are unlikely to open soon, even with summer approaching.

Here is Lisa advertising the training scheme, and working out to it: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_F2CunoCBx/ , for such a slight looking girl, she is surprisingly strong, tough and athletic.

 

[JazzUp]

Why does France get to host a Worlds when they can't even host a Grand Prix event properly

If it's anything like the past few IdF's, it'll be a hot mess

Maybe ISU didn't know that (or pretended to) when they awarded hosting rights for World Championship to Montpellier in June 2019?

 

[KOBOT37]

She will never be scored like she would be if she were under someone like Eteri or Hamada

Sherbakova has constant judging issues which arguably cost her European tittle.

Zagitova also had some very, very questionable calls going against her this season.

Regarding to Hamada's Girls being overscored... Judging arguably cost Rika a medal in Japan Last year. I haven't watched 4CC for a while so I don't know how it is scored,but at international scene her skaters being overscored that much.

Who is coaching you is obviously important when it comes to judging and Eteri merely sitting with you in K&C can give you quite a few PC points, but it's not the most important factor, probably not even in top 3.

Federation support, Country where competition is held, past success of an athlete and ISU politics are all more important.

Regarding to Liu, it's very clear that whoever will be biggest threat to Russian dominance in Beijing, won't be underscored, regardless of how much some of GS users try to paint it as a fight for 'artistic skating',ISU knows very well that the best way to make Korpi and Co. shut up is non Russian olympic Champion in 2022, preferably an American one.

 

[Edwin]

Here is how everybody is training to remain in shape: https://sport.business-gazeta.ru/article/254095, under various conditions, using various schemes.

The children of Triumph Academy are still happily training together in their isolated camp out in the countryside: https://www.instagram.com/triumph_skating__academy/ , also doing homework, household duties, painting Easter eggs, probably devouring them later this week. I hope there won't be any repercussions due to the way things often work in Russia when it appears you defy the rules :-(

I also come across a reference to FFKKR's position on all these private initiatives, commercial academies, etc. with respect to education, working prospects, pay and self-realisation of young trainers and skating in the regions. Must certainly find it and try to interpret, for it is interesting to learn about this. Triumph seems to do a serious attempt to break into the hegemony of the 'state schools', but their Alina Gorbachyova won't be invited to this year's Junior Open Test Skates, because she is still too young.

 

[Edwin]

About the FFKKR " Russia, Forwards! " show

“We decided to hold it right after the European Championship-2021. In the current situation, finding another time will be very difficult. But figure skating enthusiasts will be able to see our leaders sooner.

If events develop according to a favourable scenario, and the season enters into the usual schedule, then, as usual, we will hold Open Test Skates of the main team in Moscow on September 12-13. It is not yet known whether the juniors will already have their Grand Prix series or if there will be any changes in the calendar, whether the first “Challengers” will start. Therefore, during this period it is important to demonstrate new competitive programs in public.

And after the European Championships, you can take a break in order to participate in demonstrations and prepare for the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, ” said Kogan.

The European Championship will be held in Zagreb from January 25 to January 31, 2021.

Lakernik on ISU Junior Grand Prix

“We will discuss possible dates for the start of the Junior Grand Prix series on April 28. But so far I can only express my personal opinion. If suddenly in June skaters can skate everywhere and air traffic between countries is allowed, then the option to start the series at the usual time in August will be still possible. But, as you understand, we are dependent on the general situation with a pandemic in the world, " said Lakernik by telephone.

 

[flanker]

According to Aleksandr Lakernik, 2022 Worlds have been awarded to Montpellier, France "to help establish the new French ice sports federation"??? How much money passed under the table to make that happen?

The final qualifier to 2022 Winter Olympics?

ISU has a sense for humour

 

[Edwin]

As usual, the rotten channels that record live streams to publicise on their own Youtube channels, more often than not with unlaudable purposes, jumped on Anna's livestream.

But here is Nike ambassador Anna Shcherbakova's online training session of today: https://youtu.be/6B66oiIa87w or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrkRQsuX4pks

PS: Anna's imaginary older niece, also a Nike ambassador, also exercises: https://www.instagram.com/marachok/ ;-)

 

[Edwin]

Hater of Zagitova and Tutberidze. Why Kiira Korpi hates Russia

Does the Kurnikova from Figure Skating have the moral right to criticize the most successful Russian school?

Figure skating is a kind of world by itself. There are always those who want to say disgusting things even about a very successful athlete or trainer. The school of Eteri Tutberidze, the absolute leader of women's single skating in recent years, is also under the gun. But for the time being, criticism was limited to the Russian community and was easily explained by jealousy, competition and personal conflicts. However, about a year ago the situation changed - the coaches from Khrustalniy got haters from abroad, and Kiira Korpi, a well-known but not very successful Finnish singles skater, suddenly appeared in their front ranks.

Korpi harshly appeared first in social networks, then in the Russian media, including in SE. The restless Finn attracted Canadian Caitlin Weaver and Georgian representative Yelena Gedevanishvili as supporters. Well, recently, Kiira got into the British Guardian. This newspaper, using Korpi as an expert, presented very harsh material about “Russian dolls” that supposedly changed the world of female figure skating at the cost of their health. After that, even Tat'yana Tarasova could not stand it anymore. “Kiira did not sit even a week at the training with Tutberidze to make such statements. How does she know about the training system? In my opinion, this is unprofessional, ” - quotes from the famous coach.

Who is Kiira Korpi, and why does she so violently attack Russian figure skating and the methods of work of our trainers? Fans will probably remember this bright blonde, who performed from 2005 to 2015, and became an idol of fans mainly due to her appearance. She won two Bronzes in the European Championships in the post-Olympic seasons 2006/07 and 2010/11. And her main achievement was the 2012 World Championships Silver. Not even in the rich history of Finnish skating has there been a more successful skater.

Media greatness

There is nothing special to tell about Korpi's sporting success. Nevertheless, she is a significant example of an athlete who made an excellent media career, not because being a great champion (five victories in the national championships of Finland can hardly be considered something grandiose). Kiira was a kind of Kurnikova for figure skating, with the difference that Anna, having reached the pinnacles of popularity, hid from prying eyes, while Korpi continued to light up in retirement. But about her current affairs - a little later. In the meantime, let’s asses the scale of the media grandeur of the Finnish skater.

Here it must be understood that figure skating, unlike hockey and skiing, is far from being the most popular winter sport in Finland. But at the same time, almost all national brands fought over Korpi at the peak of her career for advertising contracts. Hardly any glossy magazine from the country did not once have her face on their cover. In the ice center near Lahti, where Kiira trained during the summer, when the skating rink in her native Tampere was closed, almost a deification of the skater was observed. There were more posters with her image than portraits of Stalin in Soviet state institutions during the personality cult.

I heard the opinion that the reason for everything was the big request of the Finns for local cute celebrities. As you know, in this country there is a certain deficit of female beauty and sexuality. Moreover, on such topics it is not customary to speak out loud. Officially, in Finland beauty is not considered as a special merit. On television, high fashion is clearly losing in popularity to culinary shows. Emigrants from Russia, regularly using makeup and putting on seductive outfits, are considered almost prostitutes. And yet, the cute skater Kiira was waiting for a resounding success.

Dress up Kiira

The most impressive impression at the zenith of popularity was the website of the skater. In addition to the online store, the online game “Dress up Kiira” enjoyed special attention. It was impossible to undress the athlete , although it was obvious that the main request was for just that. Of course, beauty and popularity are a relative concept. Too tall for a skater - almost one meter seventy - Kiira did not reach the standard height of all kinds of other misses. Moreover, in 2006 she was officially recognized as the most positive resident of Finland. However, she did not gather a bohemian audience around her, did not generate gossip and was not seen in any scandals.

The skater decided to make up for this omission after completing her sporting career. In 2015, Korpi graduated from amateur sports, went doing ice shows overseas and started personal life. Her future husband - a Spaniard of Finnish origin Arthur Borges - got a job in New York, and Kiira moved to live with him. Finland clearly was too crowded for the star girl. In the United States, Korpi began studying psychology at some university. And at that moment she suddenly realized that she was a fighter for the rights of women and children in sports. It all started with a column in the largest Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

“ When I was called the most positive Finnish, I realised that no one knows the truth: in my thoughts I was very negative, ” Kiira wrote. “ I was considered an example of a healthy girl, but my sports career ruined my personality. I could not do as I wanted, but acted only on the basis of the requirements of the coach, and did not show my emotions in public. When I finished my career, I was overcome by a feeling of oppression. I held myself back for too long. I cried, cried day and night. ”

Frustration when the adventure ended

In addition to the devastation and panic attacks after her retirement, Kiira also talked about how she developed signs of anorexia while maintaining a diet and how, with the help of pills, she changed her menstrual cycle, causing irreparable harm to her health. Also, a lot of trouble for the girl was delivered by inappropriate fans.

In 2009, Kiira was allegedly invited to Russian television, where after filming she was taken to a luxury hotel, and then to a country house. There, a certain Russian oligarch who she described as “40-year-old male” began to harass the 20 year old skater,. The oligarch gave the girl an expensive car, and when she refused the present, forcibly sent the car to Tampere. “ I was against this communication, but I must admit, I was a little disappointed when these adventures ended, ” Korpi said.

Be that as it may, Kiira rigidly outlined her position against authoritarian coaches and psychological pressure on athletes. “ In figure skating, two styles of working with an athlete can be distinguished. In the old way, the coach becomes the main thing, he makes the finished product out of the athlete, ” she said. “ In training under the new style, the athlete is placed in the center. So the skater develops more harmoniously and feels good, because in the first place her strengths and feelings are taken into account. I want to benefit my sport at this turning point. My dream is to train coaches of a new style and change the sport with their help. ”

All this was before the attacks on Tutberidze. Probably, Kiira ultimately considered the Khrustalniy team to be the most prominent representatives of this “old style” and directed her anger in their direction. Obviously, she does not know the situation with the particular trainer and her students thoroughly. And for her, they are more likely representatives of the trend than real opponents. However, this virtual discussion can have serious consequences. For example, when the ISU still holds its congress after quarantine ends, it is likely that delegates will take Korpi's side, and not Tutberidze's, in raising the minimum age for senior competitions.

(c) Олег Шамонаев, Head of Information Department
-----
From: https://www.sport-express.ru/figure...uristka-napadaet-na-eteri-tutberidze-1664207/

Obviously, when you start criticising and even attacking others, you will come under attack yourself.

But the author is right, precedents will be created, and Kiira 'Koncerned' Korpi will find allies from the scariest and darkest shades like Rodina and rally supporters in the strangest places who have no constructive agenda at all.

Korpi's ideal method, where 'the athlete is placed in the center' I believe is practiced in Sweden and Finland already, with the result their yong athletes in many sports amount to little to nothing in the competitive field.

 

[flanker]

We didn't have any controversy for a long time, did we?

 

[Gabby30]

It's called "life". Move on

 

[KOBOT37]

I think I will sit out the discussion which will most likely follow this article, don't want to get banned again :scard7:

 

[Edwin]

As a byproduct of compulsory sitting at home measures, apart from all kinds of news and articles, there are lots of high quality ballet performances made available online from Bolshoi, Marinskiy, Perm and other famous Russian ballet schools.

Feast your eyes on some to the best ballet you'll likely to see for free.

----
PS: If you think the figure skating regime is tough on young girls, never watch the videos from the top ballet schools for children and youths. Also, Russian rhythmic gymnastics is a very tough sport, even more so mentally and psychologically.
'No pain, no gain' is the adagium here, much like in ballet. Not pain out of sadistic pleasure, do not misunderstand me. Though often I have the impression female trainers enjoy the power they wield over their young pupils.

 

[Edwin]

more time devoted to off season diversions that keep the media occupied during these troubled times ....

DRAMAS OF RECENT FIGURE SKATING HISTORY - MEDVYEDEVA VS ZAGITOVA

History is sometimes repeated, although it is impossible to completely compare the duels of Kwan - Lipinski (1998) and Medvyedeva - Zagitova (2018). First of all, because Alina is still continuing her career. After the Olympic Gold medal, she won a European Championship Silver, the Grand Prix Finals Silver and the World Championship Gold, collecting an unofficial “Grand Slam” - victories at all existing major tournaments.

The rivalry between Zagitova and Medvyedeva was aggravated by the fact that they came to their Olympics with different baggage. For two seasons Yevgeniya was the absolute leader, but by the main start in her life, she not only didn’t get more difficulty technically, but also received a stress fracture to her leg. Alina fluttered out in her first senior season with the most difficult set of jumps imaginable at that time, but up to the European Championships she was not considered a favourite.

They both had a chance to win, and only a half point divided them. It is difficult to imagine the pressure that Alina and Yevgeniya, 15 and 17 year old, must have faced then. They were in sight of each other throughout the entire period of pre-Olympic training. They came from one rink, travelled together to Pyeongchang and were filmed together in official training reports. They also had a common misfortune - the inability to put on the uniform with the flag of their country and hear the Russian anthem on the podium.

There is no point anymore in discussing whose victory Eteri Tutberidze really wanted. But she certainly had a hard time herself - as if wanting to smooth out the blow for her oldest and, possibly, her most beloved student, Tutberidze said about the girls: “They are both golden to me.” Was this unfair to Zagitova? Maybe. But Alina never showed her displeasure about this.

A year after the Olympics 2018, Zagitova and Medvyedeva met again. First, both failed at the Russian championship, and then hugged on the podium of the World Championships - Alina became first, and Zhenya, under the leadership of her new coach Brian Orser, became third.

The paradox is that even in the presence of a generation of rising athletes with difficult jumps, the audience still has an interest in the story of Zagitova and Medvedeva. Without a duel between the two main brunettes of modern Russian figure skating, the 2020 Russian Championship greatly lost in entertainment.

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Excerpt from: https://matchtv.ru/figure-skating/m...zavershilis_glavnyje_dueli_figurnogo_katanija

 

[brakes]

Random thought: if Lipnitskaia had done 3A and 4Lz or attempted to, they would've looked like Alysa Liu's jumps.

I don't think Yulia had ever been capable of landing quad. Underrotated or not.