2020-21 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[Tolstoj]

The great Yevgeniy Viktorovich already knows how to appeal to the world over perceived inadequacy from the judges: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CGKutiEKtv9/

Addressing his precious skater like a little girl, Aleksandra herself and her parents really fall for these kind of mind games at the expense of their daughter's chances tomorrow?

More like he's trying but if you look at the scores, nothing is going to change regardless. I feel for him and for Sasha cause let's be clear here:

Sasha IS trying the 3A, Kamila Valieva is NOT!

Sasha has a better lutz than Kamila and yet undervalued with the russian panel.

At the end of the day it is very disrespectful for the athlete who IS working on these components, while also including ALL the hardest elements, but a random skater from that other group will always be in front even with a 2a, or a flutz with full blade on the "supposed toe pick".

Eteri fans are pretending everything is a disaster with Plushenko, and yet Sasha almost landed the 3A, an element she never landed in competition last season.

As a fan of Figure Skating it makes the sport more and more uninteresting: rules are not applied, scores are so arbitrary you can go for 10-20 points higher bv and still lose if the judges decide you have to. That very much goes against the principles of a sport.

 

[lesnar001]

Sorry, but who is the Russian Yuna Kim?

EDIT: Also, as far as I remember, since I wasnt watching FS during the 2014 Olympics, Sotnikova literally emerged from juniors, turned into Russian National Champion and won the Olympics, mostly due to judges support? None of the top girls, who skated today, match to this association. They all have been established as favourites at least for the past 1-2 seasons already..

The OP is doing this to be insulting to skaters they dislike (their posts about Anna could fill a library).

Furthermore, they are "pre-paying" their righteous indignation by projecting what is going to happen about 1.5 years in the future.
Mind you, this is before the "Russian Yuna Kim" has even skated in a competition this season.

 

[silveruskate]

Alëna has great skating skills, there is no denying that. But her speed? I don't know... I think Eteri and her minions was very good in packaging her and masquerading her (lack of) speed so it didn't show. But that's just my opnion. Overall, Alëna really is a fantastic skater.

I think this is a good analysis for skating-speed to see:

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Maybe Aliona has lost a step, but it is untrue to say she was never that fast or was just packaged well. Also, it's worth looking at the complexity of her steps in those skating maps, which is beyond other skaters. Not to mention the way she links all of these movements together which other skaters cannot do.

This analysis also shows how impressive Tarakanova is since she did fewer simple steps than any skater but still covered more distance than most. And Kamila too since she is younger than the rest but at number 3.

 

[Lunalovesskating]

There is only one Yuna Kim and that is Yuna herself. Aliona is Aliona. Let the girls have their own identity. I personally do not like it when people call skaters "The next Michelle Kwan, the next Yuna Kim". Each skater is unique and deserves to be recognized for that.

 

[Tolstoj]

Alyona is the best ever after Yuna.

Yuna Kim on skating skills is way better than any of these girls, granted it took years of development on that aspect alone cause she has always had the technical contents.

Alyona is the best russian on gliding and depth of the edges, Kamila best flexibility.

 

[lariko]

Heh, nobody ever said Trusova was the second someone, and that’s the biggest compliment, imo

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Wasn't it great to see Kostantinova skate clean(-'ish') today? We haven't seen that good skating from her since two seasons ago.

What annoys me though with the point system, is when you see a skate like this, and it looks good in real time, then suddenly the BV is much lower when the points come out. Konstantinova would have been at around 72 points today if it wasn't for those two URs.

Yes! Very happy to see Konstantinova again and doing so well compared to last year Always love a good comeback, hope she keeps it up.

 

[Edwin]

Anastasiya Tarakanova competed today hors de concours in her new club Army of Skaters, but the stream cut out just when she was to compete. On purpose or because of an error? Also, where are her results?

 

[yume]

Yuna Kim would have had an hard time with these girls if they were competing in the same era. But they aren't from the same era so no need of a comparison.

 

[Jontor]

More like he's trying but if you look at the scores, and i feel for him and for Sasha cause let's be clear here:

Sasha IS trying the 3A, Kamila Valieva is NOT!

Sasha has a better lutz than Kamila and yet undervalued with the russian panel.

At the end of the day it is very disrespectful for the athlete who IS working on these components, while also including ALL the hardest elements, but a random skater from that other group will always be in front even with a 2a, or a flutz with full blade on the "supposed toe pick".

Eteri fans are pretending everything is a disaster with Plushenko, and yet Sasha almost landed the 3A, an element she never landed in competition last season.

As a fan it makes the sport more and more uninteresting: rules are not applied, scores are so arbitrary you can go for 10-20 points higher bv and still lose if the judges decide you have to. That very much goes against the principles of a sport.

As much as I love your inputs Tolstoj, this one I feel is just wrong.

You can't win competitions with high BV's, you have to deliver that BV as well.

 

[Ophelia]

Valieva is exquisite. She's a Mariinsky ballerina transported on ice. I really wish Daniil would stop cramming her choreography and let her hold her positions, because my goodness, her positions are a thing of beauty. Right now her skating is one step away from looking frenetic.

Between Kostornaia and Valieva, I'm having trouble choosing a fave.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Anastasiya Tarakanova competed today hors de concours in her new club Army of Skaters, but the stream cut out just when she was to compete. On purpose or because of an error? Also, where are her results?

Error, I think. Erokhov also competed out-of-competition at Stage 1 but was on the stream. However, not sure if he was scored or not.

 

[NadezhdaNadya]

Heh, nobody ever said Trusova was the second someone, and that’s the biggest compliment, imo

Wasn't she compared to Midori Ito? :/
Anyway, to me Yuna Kim, Alyona Kostostornaya and Carolina Kostner are the best!
Yuna was OGM 2010
Carolina should have been OGM 2014 instead of Sotnikova
Sothinkova should have third or fourth

 

[Edwin]

Alina Gorbachyova waiting for doctor's permission to start training with full loads, and hoping to compete in 4th and 5th stages: https://www.instagram.com/stories/alinochka_gorbacheva/2417029687745454212/

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Valieva is exquisite. She's a Mariinsky ballerina transported on ice. I really wish Daniil would stop cramming her choreography and let her hold her positions, because my goodness, her positions are a thing of beauty. Right now her skating is one step away from looking frenetic.

She's like Uliana Lopatkina being made to do Balanchine allegro work...

 

[Ophelia]

Kamila - to me she looked a little bit stiff, but understandable having in mind the big pressure EVERYONE is putting on her. Even the camera guy was constantly following her I gasped on her 2A, but everything else was exceptional. I felt in love with this program when I first saw it on YT from some show. It was a great choice to keep it for competitions. Her skating is soo unique, I wouldnt call her an entirely lyrical skater (like Daria, for example). She is more artsy and gives kind of e Papadakis/Cizeron vibe.

I can see this. But her programs aren't really Papadakis/Cizeron style. I blame Camp Eteri for that.

 

[Tolstoj]

As much as I love your inputs Tolstoj, this one I feel is just wrong.

You can't win competitions with high BV's, you have to deliver that BV as well.

But Trusova is improving the components, while also having way more difficult technical contents than the other contenders here.

Wake me up when judges will start to look at the lutz edge on all Tutberidze skaters.

 

[Magill]

Heh, nobody ever said Trusova was the second someone, and that’s the biggest compliment, imo

Although I already heard about some very young skaters that they might be a second Trusova....

 

[NadezhdaNadya]

There is only one Yuna Kim and that is Yuna herself. Aliona is Aliona. Let the girls have their own identity. I personally do not like it when people call skaters "The next Michelle Kwan, the next Yuna Kim". Each skater is unique and deserves to be recognized for that.

Sorry, but I just remembered that Yuzuru Hanyu was called the "male Yuna Kim" many, many times.
Plus they look alike.

 

[yume]

Junior or new seniors outscoring "old" seniors is an history repeat. Each time fed clearly show who they support.

- They said to Radionova that she won't ever beat Medvedeva again when they gave Medvedeva almost 80 in SP and 155 in FS at her 1st nats as senior. She got the message, if it wasn't clear enough, at euros where despite her being clean, Medvedeva with two falls beat her by 4 points.

- It was the end for Medvedeva when Zagitova got scores so high at euros that even clean Medvedeva probably couldn't have beaten her. And she never beat senior Zagitova.

- It was the end for Zagitova when rookies with ultra C stepped in the game and TP suddenly started to call her URs more often.

- Now if Valieva skate clean-ish skate after clean-ish skate it will be the end for those who were seniors before her.

If Kostornaya get her 3A back and deliver clean programs she has a chance though.

But fed shift their support probably because the next generation always has better "arguments".