2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[fabienne1996]

Thrilled for Alena and Anna as always Neither was perfect, but fantastic performances from both!

My heart is broken for Sasha. In my opinion, she was the most hyped of the 3 going into this season (quite possibly the most anticipated senior debut ever) but it's been quite the struggle for her. Sure, she has a Challenger gold and 2 Grand Prix golds but I'm sure she wanted the big titles even more. Personally, I was expecting her to run away with all the major titles so this has been quite the surprise. I don't know if her issue is mental or if her jumps are starting to fail her (I don't think this is the case quite yet) but whatever it is, I hope she figures it out before Worlds because she could really use a comeback skate. Rooting for you Sasha!

I think before the season began most thought it would be Alyona who could potentially be left behind the other 2, since at that time she didn't have that beautiful 3athat she has now, I don't think any of us would have thought it could be sasha who is let behind the others in terms of winning competitions because last year Anna had the problem eith landing her quads and not sasha

 

[dhjh811]

Congrats to the newly crowned European Champion Aliona!!! 100% deserved her win

 

[colormyworld240]

Protocols are out and Anna got hammered. There's no way that her second 4Lz was a downgrade, she was way past the half way mark when her toe touched the ice. Sasha's downgrade, I could see, but even on 0,25x on the stream it was visible where Anna landed. I love that Amano is a harsh caller, but really some of Anna's jumps looked borderline compared with Sasha and Alena's, but they didn't get the calls

 

[karina17]

I'm getting really tired of the selective erroneous UR calls for Anna...

4F was called under, well, that was a choice, strict judging I guess. Then the second 4Lz was called downgraded even though she landed right before the quarter mark, which would've made it UR. And it wasn't just "strict calling", because Alena got away with a very borderline UR 3A today (and yesterday as well, debatably).

Just changing the << to a < on the 4Lz would've given the gold to Anna instead due to the BV difference. It's becoming a pattern after GPF (when her last 4Lz was definitely two-footed, but not < as was called) and...yikes.

 

[MalAssada]

Anna's TES dropped after the review, so I think she got an UR during the failed 4Lz.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

Protocols are out and Anna got hammered. There's no way that her second 4Lz was a downgrade, she was way past the half way mark when her toe touched the ice. Sasha's downgrade, I could see, but even on 0,25x on the stream it was visible where Anna landed. I love that Amano is a harsh caller, but really some of Anna's jumps looked borderline compared with Sasha and Alena's, but they didn't get the calls

Yeah, protocols are questionable to me. Anna's flip and 3Lz-3Lo were close, but Alena or Sasha would've gotten away with a similar rotation. In fact, Alena's 3Lz was called clean, but if Anna's flip and combo aren't clean, then I think that should've had a call too. Not sure that would've made a difference, but combined with the < rather than << on the second 4Lz for Anna would've.

I'm even more disappointed now

 

[YuBluByMe]

Scherbakova got two URs and a downgrade and still won the free skate. You have to remember that she was almost seven points behind going into the free.

 

[Amei]

I'm really scared Anna is going to turn into a jumping bean. Would she have won this even if both she and Alena were clean? I think she'll certainly need to add a 3A or another quad if she wants to win. Improving on her SS score isn't going to be enough (she's only what 1.5 points behind a perfect score)? And she can't really improve her performance and interoperation because it's already incredible, so it looks like she needs another ultra-c jump. It's unfortunate, that 2 4Lzs and a 4F can't get her closer to 3 3As. And she really gave it her all as far as performance goes here, while I found that Alena was pretty nervous through the competition. So I hope she adds another jump next season, she needs a 3A or her 4T back.

Anna's solo quad lutz was downgraded, in addition to the fall - basically worst case scenario for a jump so something that usually gets her 14+ points done clean or 8-9 points with an under-rotation got her 2.95 points. Additionally the 3Lo on the combination and the 4F were called under-rotated. But had she not fallen on the solo 4Lz she would have won the competition, remember that Kostornaia had almost a 7 point lead. If Anna gets a triple axel down for the SP then I'm curious if they take her back down to a 2-quad program.

 

[dhjh811]

I think it would've been more fair to give Anna only a < on the 4lz and then also a < on the triple salchow.

 

[SkatingFan9]

Sasha won’t be losing any sleep over this. Expectations weren’t too high, with her being in a weakened state and with a watered-down content. Also, Euros is neither prestigious or too relevant. Her goal is to peak at Worlds (why be European champion when she can just be World champion instead? )

 

[studentsb]

Protocols available here: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1920/ec2020/FSKWSINGLES-----------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf

How the heck did the technical panel downgrade Anna's second 4Lz? Even calling her 4F underrotated is borderline. If even one of those calls were not made, Anna would have won gold. The 3Lo< I agree with.

Must be disheartening to work so hard and see your placement (and what perhaps should have been your title) ultimately decided by sketchy calls.

 

[ruga]

Congrats to Alena! A really deserving win, even if she wasn't at her best.

Anna's downgrade may be just an underrotation, but it's Shin Amano himself who gave it. She also has flat edge in some lutzes so they basically cancel each other out.

Too bad for Alexandra. Must be frustrating to be 3rd for a third competition in a row. It's bit concerning that she fell twice even on a watered-down (for her standards) program, considering she made as many mistakes in December with 5 quads planned.

I wonder if RusFed will organize another competition for Worlds spots. Sasha's score was pretty big, but Liza or even Evgenia (or Alina if she wants to return) could beat it on a good day.

 

[fabienne1996]

Sasha won’t be losing any sleep over this. Expectations weren’t too high, with her being in a weakened state and with a watered-down content. Also, Euros is neither prestigious or too relevant. Her goal is to peak at Worlds (why be European champion when she can just be World champion instead? )

And as of yet she has to still have w clean programs, if she again tries 5 quads at worlds the chances are high that she again will not have a clean run, if she goes for the watered down content , she has better chances in my ooinion

 

[dhjh811]

I think Anna's 4f was definitely underrotated, she landed it beautifully but in the replays you could see that it was visibly lacking rotation. Her 4lz should've been only a <, but her 3 salchow should've been given a < as well. All in all, the right skater won today.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

Scherbakova got two URs and a downgrade and still won the free skate. You have to remember that she was almost seven points behind going into the free.

She was, but two of the calls were questionable, and even just one going the other way would've given her the gold. So, I stand by my statement that she should've won.

 

[nussnacker]

Well, girls definitely had a very good rest over New Years and they had a hard time getting all of their jumps back by Europeans. At least good to know they’re resting well, and can go to worlds refreshed.

Happy for all of them, having a hard time to say who should’ve won, they’re all great.
I think tech panel called Anna a little harsher than others this time, which could’ve made a difference to the placements.

Nevertheless, happy for all three!

 

[kmw227]

I think the flip was a bit of a harsh call, but the second lutz and the loop were clearly under in real time. As for < vs << on the lutz, personally I thought it looked downgraded in the replay, but I'll have to try and find a video where I can slow it way down to really tell.

 

[Elucidus]

What a disgusting judging.

 

[NAOTMAA]

Thrilled for Alena and Anna as always Neither was perfect, but fantastic performances from both!

My heart is broken for Sasha. In my opinion, she was the most hyped of the 3 going into this season (quite possibly the most anticipated senior debut ever) but it's been quite the struggle for her. Sure, she has a Challenger gold and 2 Grand Prix golds but I'm sure she wanted the big titles even more. Personally, I was expecting her to run away with all the major titles so this has been quite the surprise. I don't know if her issue is mental or if her jumps are starting to fail her (I don't think this is the case quite yet) but whatever it is, I hope she figures it out before Worlds because she could really use a comeback skate. Rooting for you Sasha!

In a way I think Sasha has become the victim of her own success and hype. She's the one who started the whole quad craze and people are expecting so much out her. The pressure of that, plus the pressure of a senior debut, combined with her own desire to push the envelope, puts her in a different category then Alena or Anna. All three of them had major pressure on them to dominate but I do think there was more on her. She seem's to be a bit lost compared to her training mates but hopefully she finds her way soon.

Either way she with all that pressure she has done far better then most. A testament to her strength

 

[dunffvanstorn]

I'll preface this by saying that I've always loved all of the 3A but have always held a soft spot for Anna, so I may be biased, but:

Anna deserved to win today.

None of the 3A were flawless today, so the win can't go to the one who was clean. Anna and Alena each had one fall, Anna on a quad lutz and Alena on a triple lutz. Each landed two difficult elements - Anna the 4Lz and 4F, and Alena a pair of incredible 3As. Anna backed up her skate with a 3Lz-3Lo and 3F-Eu-3S, while Alena had a (stunning) but easier 3F-3T. Both had level 3 steps with good GOE, and both have amazing spins, although Anna has more flexibility in her Biellmann and Alena more innovative positions. So, Anna wins technically for me - both with one fall, two ultra-difficult elements, and two exquisite combinations, but Anna with a harder element that she fell on.

Since both had a fall, their PCS was lower than in the past. I agree that Alena should have a higher score for skating skills, but today I think Anna was much better in interpretation and performance. That wasn't reflected in the scores. In the end, though, it's a sport, and with each skater having a fall, the one who produced the more difficult of their beautiful elements should've won. That's Anna.

It seems that Anna has to be completely clean (or have a minor error) with three quads to beat Alena with three triple axels and a mistake. That to me is critically unfair, and I think the problem stems from the SP rules. Triple axels and quads are both incredibly difficult, and yet only triple axels are allowed in the short. The reasoning for that aside, it would appear that the ISU is discouraging quads - discouraging harder elements - by having these rules and scoring Anna and Alena the way they did today. That's not progress for the sport, and it's disheartening. Fall on the second quad lutz aside, this was one of Anna's best performances (she's clearly grown into this program and it's so exciting to see!) but it seems like what she's doing isn't enough. And as a fan, it makes me upset and sad for her.

All this aside, she seems to do best when she's the underdog, so maybe this will let her go in and win Worlds decisively .

You seem to forget that Alena was ahead of Anna since the SP, so even if Anna had gotten a higher score at the FS, Alena still could have won...