2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[Jontor]

I thought at the Russian Test skates Trusova was wonderful. And then at EC-the worst I've ever seen her skate, and not just the jumps. The entire program was a sloppy mess, like she really didn't care. As a huge Trusova fan, it was hard for me to watch. There is something going on with her-illness? injury? training issues? coaching conflict? emotional issues? Another skate like that, and she'll be down around 6th at Worlds, certainly she will be off the podium. I hope she is able to regroup before Worlds. Alina has bombed jumps before in competition, but she always continued to bring what she could as far as spins, steps etc. Alina never just gave up the program. What Trusova did at EC was unacceptable-unless of course there was some great reason (like injury or illness) for that disaster.

Agree, I think though that her worst skate was at RusNats.
Sasha was a superstar already at 13. She was the "Quad Queen" and she knew that she always had her own fate in her hand. If she did mistakes she might lose, but if she skates well she will always win.
Realising now at 15, that she is not invincible, I think has taken a toll on her mentally. Her teammates have creeped up on her and can match her technically and they have the PCS advantage. That can't be good realising that.
So, I think now it's her own head that is her worst enemy. She must find her consistency again, and most of all, she must find a way to deal with the pressures she has put on herself.
If she can land the 3A consistently plus a 3 quad layout in the free, I think that's the best way for her to go at Worlds.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

RusNats https://youtu.be/Vt20Utl4KgU?t=10136
Europeans https://youtu.be/Wwmmm_DnvXE?t=201

Hopefully she can get them back in the SP.

 

[flanker]

Hopefully she can get them back in the SP.

I think the point of having 3Lz+3T combo in the short instead of 3Lz+3Lo is that some 0.6 point means nothing in the situation when Sasha's main weapon is her free program. In the SP the task is to remain not too far from the leader (Aliona) so the margin of the leader could be easily catched up in the free with a clean skate. Too big margin of the leader after the SP (e.g. in the case of a mistake in the +3Lo combo) could cause too big pressure on Sasha, so it is better to play it safe way.

Again the problem is that the value of the combo is only the sum of the BV of the jumps, when +3T combos are much easier than +3Lo.

 

[Jontor]

I think the point of having 3Lz+3T combo in the short instead of 3Lz+3Lo is that some 0.6 point means nothing in the situation when Sasha's main weapon is her free program. In the SP the task is to remain not too far from the leader (Aliona) so the margin of the leader could be easily catched up in the free with a clean skate. Too big margin of the leader after the SP (e.g. in the case of a mistake in the +3Lo combo) could cause too big pressure on Sasha, so it is better to play it safe way.

Again the problem is that the value of the combo is only the sum of the BV of the jumps, when +3T combos are much easier than +3Lo.

Totally agree. It's not worth it for half a point to do the Loop combo.

Which is strange though. A Loop combo is soo much harder but not rewarded accordingly. The point system doesn't recognise that.

 

[Good Vibes Only]

This talk about the loop combos made me remember how a few seasons ago we had a list of who was attempting which +3loop combo. Now we have a list of who is attempting which quad

It really shows how much the Russians Ladies have progressed these past few seasons!!

 

[Lzbee]

I think Sasha will want to go for at least a 4 quad program. She prides herself on being the quad queen and with "only" 3 quads, that title would be more suited to Anna who has higher value quads. If Sasha can do a clean 4 quad FP, she would have a much welcomed boost in confidence and probably win worlds too (unless Anna, Alena or Rika have the skates of their lives - we mustn't forget that Rika has three 3A, a 4S and Alena level PCS).

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I think the point of having 3Lz+3T combo in the short instead of 3Lz+3Lo is that some 0.6 point means nothing in the situation when Sasha's main weapon is her free program. In the SP the task is to remain not too far from the leader (Aliona) so the margin of the leader could be easily catched up in the free with a clean skate. Too big margin of the leader after the SP (e.g. in the case of a mistake in the +3Lo combo) could cause too big pressure on Sasha, so it is better to play it safe way.

Again the problem is that the value of the combo is only the sum of the BV of the jumps, when +3T combos are much easier than +3Lo.

The risk for her is that the SP standings could be close and it's important that she doesn't end up 7th and skating the LP earlier in the evening. There are three skaters who, if they are clean, will definitely finish ahead of Sasha. Young You and Bradie could do so as well, since they have higher SB scores in the SP than Sasha. I don't think everyone will skate their best, but there is a realistic chance of her being just outside the top 6 in a well-skated event.

 

[Jontor]

The risk for her is that the SP standings could be close and it's important that she doesn't end up 7th and skating the LP earlier in the evening. There are three skaters who, if they are clean, will definitely finish ahead of Sasha. Young You and Bradie could do so as well, since they have higher SB scores in the SP than Sasha. I don't think everyone will skate their best, but there is a realistic chance of her being just outside the top 6 in a well-skated event.

Totally agree. However, I think for Sasha being in 6th position would be ideal for her. Then she will draw on her fighting spirit and skate very well. Maybe the best for her is to start the last flight?
Worlds will be very exciting for sure...

 

[Amei]

Sasha really does need a mental break like Leonova said. It also has to hurt her physically as well as mentally when she's trying four or five quads in a free skate and falls two or three times. landing 3 cleanly would be better than trying 4 or 5 and landing one or two cleanly in my opinion. The question now is where are her coaches? They are obviously doing a better job with Anna and Aliona. That is not debatable. Now Sasha gets to rest mentally and physically before the world championship. If she tries only three quads in the free skate she will be a real threat for a medal other than bronze. Sasha has a much better chance of landing three of three quads or three of four then landing all five which is virtually impossible.

It really depends on what her 3-quad layout is and if she works to improve her second mark - Anna only does a 3 quad layout but her 2 quad variations are the highest point getting jumps done in competition plus 2 triple-triple combinations in the bonus and she also has roughly a 4 point PCS advantage over Trusova. Would a clean 3-quad FS be better than the 4-5 quad FS with problems for her in terms of physically - absolutely, but based on the 3 quad layout that she did a Europeans without Shcherbakova and Kostornaia messing up she would still be third behind them if she was squeaky clean because their second score advantage and would that mentally be better for her? The only way I could see a 3-quad program working out for her is if she back-loads 2 of them

 

[Batsuchan]

The 3 A's and Deniss V!
https://twitter.com/TarorezYo/status/1224329346065694720

But how come Aliona and Anna only got handshakes, while Sasha got a hug?

 

[Elucidus]

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSkatingLesson/videos?disable_polymer=1
TSL decided to promote Russian novices? Or Elements competition format? What's going on?

 

[Scott512]

It really depends on what her 3-quad layout is and if she works to improve her second mark - Anna only does a 3 quad layout but her 2 quad variations are the highest point getting jumps done in competition plus 2 triple-triple combinations in the bonus and she also has roughly a 4 point PCS advantage over Trusova. Would a clean 3-quad FS be better than the 4-5 quad FS with problems for her in terms of physically - absolutely, but based on the 3 quad layout that she did a Europeans without Shcherbakova and Kostornaia messing up she would still be third behind them if she was squeaky clean because their second score advantage and would that mentally be better for her? The only way I could see a 3-quad program working out for her is if she back-loads 2 of them

Its not easy to figure out. It would be best if Sashas pulls back a bit and does her FS cleaner then adds another quad or 3A next season. Sasha may also be feeling the pressure of how great Alyiona and Anna are at this point in their debut seasons.

 

[DenissVFan]

The 3 A's and Deniss V!
https://twitter.com/TarorezYo/status/1224329346065694720

But how come Aliona and Anna only got handshakes, while Sasha got a hug?

Sasha probably introduced them to one another because this season she and Deniss had the same assignments (Japan Open, Nepela, Skate Canada, Rosetelecom, Europeans), so they already knew each other.

Considering my username, these photos really made my day yesterday

 

[Azikin]

The risk for her is that the SP standings could be close and it's important that she doesn't end up 7th and skating the LP earlier in the evening.

How is it important? If she's clean in LP she'll beat everyone anyway..

 

[Arbitrary]

How is it important? If she's clean in LP she'll beat everyone anyway..

A year before during JGPF (Am I correct?) Sasha, probably deliberately, found herself at the 7th place after SP. She skated FP before her major opponents and skinned them alive.

When she skated FP "before" others last time? Virtually every major competition the "blind draw" (and I never believed myself in the actual "blind") puts her "after" the others, and she's known to prefer "before".
Like Pluschenko was in his best days.

 

[flanker]

The risk for her is that the SP standings could be close and it's important that she doesn't end up 7th and skating the LP earlier in the evening. There are three skaters who, if they are clean, will definitely finish ahead of Sasha. Young You and Bradie could do so as well, since they have higher SB scores in the SP than Sasha. I don't think everyone will skate their best, but there is a realistic chance of her being just outside the top 6 in a well-skated event.

In the GPF Sasha was behind Bradie after the SP and so what, she still finished far ahead, even with a fall. Rika was even 6th after the SP and also finished ahead of Bradie. It's not such a big deal to be in the 2nd warm-up. Again, Rika was in the 2nd warm-up last Worlds and if she wouldn't have fallen in the free she would still have a medal.

 

[Maju]

Who in Khrustalny will go into juniors next season?

 

[Happy Skates]

In the GPF Sasha was behind Bradie after the SP and so what, she still finished far ahead, even with a fall. Rika was even 6th after the SP and also finished ahead of Bradie. It's not such a big deal to be in the 2nd warm-up. Again, Rika was in the 2nd warm-up last Worlds and if she wouldn't have fallen in the free she would still have a medal.

I think for Sasha there are two *possible* problems in being in the 2nd warm-up.

1) in the 2nd warm-up it is common legend that judges will score more conservatively; This becomes important if there are small differences between the winners - and we know that its going to be super tight between a clean Sasha, Anna and Alyona - and we know that Sasha is aiming to win, not just to medal (although I really hope for her sake that she at least medals). Plus, if Rika comes back with her lutzes and manages to get a successful quad sal, that makes things even tighter, and every point counts.


2) If she is 7th, it is then possible that she could be skating last in the warm-up group which she has stated not liking (and after seeing RusNats, I believe her), or at least late in the warm-up group, which again, is probably not her favorite/ideal situation.

Thats not to say she *can't* win/medal from the second warm-up group, but it could make things tighter at the edges.

 

[Elaine]

In the GPF Sasha was behind Bradie after the SP and so what, she still finished far ahead, even with a fall. Rika was even 6th after the SP and also finished ahead of Bradie. It's not such a big deal to be in the 2nd warm-up. Again, Rika was in the 2nd warm-up last Worlds and if she wouldn't have fallen in the free she would still have a medal.

That's because Sasha and Rika had a big advantage in BV for LP against Bradie, and Rika against other medal contenders at last worlds, too.

Will Sasha have the similar advantage in LP against Anna, Alyona, and Rika(if she is back with her lutz and a potential quad) this worlds? No. A bit of, yes, if she goes for 4 or 5 quads. But it might not be enough to win. She can medal, but to win the competition the SP is very very important for Sasha.

 

[flanker]

Who in Khrustalny will go into juniors next season?

Still the same trio, Kamila, Maiia, Daria. They will be probably joined by Adeliya Petrosyan (born 7th june 2007). Sofia is precisely a month younger (7th july), so she still will not be age eligible.