2020 Rostelecom Cup: Ladies' FS

[gsk8]

Tuktamysheva edges out Kostornaia for Rostelecom Cup gold

Russia’s Elizaveta Tuktamysheva rose from second to clinch the gold after the Ladies’ Free Skate concluded on Saturday at Rostelecom Cup in Moscow. Teammate Alena Kostornaia slipped to second by […]

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What are your thoughts on the Ladies' FS? No coach talk allowed

 

[Edwin]

Anna Shcherbakova was sorely missed on my part, an able skater with a good head and realistic goals that would have calmly and confidently done her job.

Eva-Lotta Kiibus, Anastasiya Gulyakova and Yelizaveta Tuktamysheva coming into their own.

 

[readernick]

As with the short program, Liza and Liza were my two favorites. Liza N. was beautiful. Liza T. has decided to work on her PCS in her 20s and it is evident. The SP is better artistically than the LP. Still, she deserved her win and I am happy for her.

I think Alena's LP improved a lot here from the Russian Cup stage. I actually think that with more practice and more run throughs it will be better than her previous LP. I think she's struggling with growth and thus she is URing some of her jumps. (actually this was already evident at Euros last year but she didn't get the calls at that competition) This struggle might explain why she was motivated to change coaches. But, regardless of her coach, she will need to make adjustments (all skaters do as they grow) to her technique. She's a fabulous skater.

Sasha was really off today. In practice and in competition...I wonder if she is injured or she just had a terrible day. She has looked better this year than last, but this is a return to her Russian Nats/ Euro's struggles. As long as she isn't injured, I believe she will be back in fighting form by Russian Nationals.

 

[Skatesocs]

I didn't particularly care for the skating presented here, but the result was unexpected and that made it worth a watch. Definitely hope Trusova puts this behind herself.

 

[zanadude]

Why do these girls leave Eteri? Certainly it can't be to become better skaters, because they all become categorically worse jumpers afterwards, so there must be some other reason they choose to sabotage their careers like this.

 

[Fluture]

Eva-Lotta having a good skate was my highlight. She‘s such an amazing jumper (the height!!) and has tons of personality too. I felt she should have gotten higher PCS here. Well done, girl.

The second group was sadly overshadowed by Sasha. I’m sure she’ll come back but I almost cried watching her fall again and again. She CAN do so much better, it’s just that the pressure gets to her. Didn’t help that she apparently injured herself in the SP and yet tried 4 quads. WHAT were her coaches thinking?! And then Aliona lost too and my day was ruined lol. I‘m happy for Liza, of course, but overall, the impression was a sad one.

Scores were insane, though. As much as I love Sasha - in which universe did she beat Nugumanova and Kiibus on PCS? And for the life of me, I‘ll not understand the way TES is scored either.

The competition had good moments, don‘t get me wrong. But it will take me a while to recover from that rollercoaster...

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Why do these girls leave Eteri? Certainly it can't be to become better skaters, because they all become categorically worse jumpers afterwards, so there must be some other reason they choose to sabotage their careers like this.

Ahem...

No coach talk allowed

 

[zanadude]

I was talking about the skater's decision.

 

[ladyjane]

The Empress was truly the Empress. Wow! I've never seen Elizaveta skate zo well before. Even with the step out on the second triple axel. It all looked so good. I am so happy for her. Alena had a wonderful skate too, but missed her triple axel. It was a great watch anyway. I also enjoyed the for me totally unknown Anastasiia Guliakva, mostly because of the joyfulness of it all. And Eva-Lotta did good too. Another joy to watch. I am no real fan of Alexandra, but her efforts today made me very unhappy. It felt like Alina at Worlds 2018...I always feel sad when young girls just miss it all. I'm sure she will be back. On the whole a great finale with three wonderful skates that got the medals.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I'm happy that Liza pulled out a win. She missed worlds a few years ago due to an unfortunate string of bad luck, so I'm glad she had this opportunity to redeem herself. Her jumps look good, she's done growing, and she has a stable coaching situation so there is a real possibility for her to make the world team this year.

 

[gsk8]

.... I also enjoyed the for me totally unknown Anastasiia Guliakva, mostly because of the joyfulness of it all.

We will be running an article on her soon

 

[zanadude]

Nugumanova was my find. She's like a Russian Marin Honda.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Thrilled for Liza for the well-fought victory. A lot of folks counted her out but she delivered here, and it was the saving grace of this.

Kostornaia's skating is lovely, but she's not quite the intensity yet that she needs but her consistency will come back in time, along with the 3A hopefully.

Too bad about Trusova's 4 falls and quad issues, but it is absolutely ridiculous her PCS. Her personal best at Skate Canada was 67.42, and this hot mess "earned" 66.32. It would have been a travesty if she had made the podium over Guliakova.

It really is unfair that this is an "international" but the international skaters get little love from the home-cooking-inclined judges. Kiibus was lovely to watch for example and should have gotten mid 60's if they were going to give Trusova 66 with 4 falls and a program that clearly fell apart and was tentative because the jumps weren't being hit.

 

[lariko]

So happy for Tuktamysheva, so heartbroken for Trusova.

but the very fact that Tuktamysheva remains in the mix bodes well for Trusova. Go both!

 

[Ali81]

I got goose pimples watching Eva Lotta Kiibus.

But that was because it brought back a flood of nostalgia for Olympic Mao Asada Rach 2.

What a sensational performance that was and that step sequence was mind blowing.

 

[Ali81]

Alena Kostornaia hands down has the best skating skills in the Ladies field Internationally.
I sense she is progressing in the right direction .
And once she gets her Triple Axel back , watch out !

 

[surimi]

I really enjoyed Tuktamysheva and Kiibus. I wasn't feeling Liza's program before, but this time she hit everything, matched the pace well, was fired up, and it was a great experience to watch her. If she keeps skating like this, she could well be on the world team. EvaLotta's step sequence is great and musical.
Kostornaya's jumps are as big as always, and her basic skating is still enjoyable in itself, but I prefer her programs from last year. These still look a bit tentative, and her SP music is not my cup of tea, though preferable to Sofia's. As for Sofia, I like the girl, and am happy to see her more consistent. But what's with the permanently stony expression while performing? And the weird program selection? It's a big change since her joy-filled Burlesque, and the judges don't seem to appreciate it. Some here love the new programs, but for me they're just weird and confusing, and I have no idea what she's supposed to portray. I think I'd like to see her switch coaches to try and get back into the judges' good graces.
It wasn't Trusova's day on the FP day, and I'll leave it at that. Bombings happen. Hopefully she adds more artistry as the season progresses.
And a shoutout to Safonova, because it's great to see tall girls competing on elite level. Does anyone know how tall she is?

 

[kwanatic]

Very happy for Liza T! I respect and admire her. She's been competing at the elite level for about 10 years (which is basically unheard of for Russian skaters nowadays) and she's still competitive. Her career has had its ups and downs but she always manages to bounce back in some way. I love the muah-muah-muah kiss Mishin gave her when she came off the ice. I love their relationship and that they've been together so long through the ups and downs. The crowd reaction to her was amazing. You could tell people were thrilled to see her skate well and pull out the win. Very happy for her!

Alena is still gorgeous and a great overall skater, but something is missing for her this year. I don't want to say it's all about the 3A but that jump did elevate her already great skating to another level. I'm not a fan of her programs--they are sufficient but they don't stand out. What I will say is I feel as though she seems happier. Usually when she'd make a mistake or not win she'd look devastated--she seems to be at peace with her skating right now and that's a good sign. I like that she's not rushing into adding the difficult content. It's really not necessary this season. Hopefully in due time she'll regain her 3A but for now it's great to see her skating well and being happy with the result, win or lose.

Guliakova was lovely. It takes a lot to come into a competition with the big names she was up against and throw down the way she did. I'd never paid much attention to her before but I was impressed with her performance. Great way to debut.

I feel sorry for Sasha. The big tricks really are her bread and butter--when they are missing her skating falls flat. I feel as though she was overly ambitious here. I guess it comes down to what they want to do: push the envelope or win. Pushing the envelope is what they went for with the 4 quads; however, I think if she wanted to win, she'd have done better to play it safer. Go for a clean SP and a 2 quad FS. Considering Alena doesn't have the technical firepower she once had and the fact Liza T can't match TES against two quads, I feel like two quads (4T, 4T-combo) with the rest of her triples would have been more than enough to get the job done. Her 4Ts are a thing of beauty and pretty consistent as well. Had she just gone for two of those rather than the sal and lutz I think she'd have had a better outcome. She didn't need all of that to win this time. Against Kamila or Anna, yes; against Liza T and a triple axel-less Alena, she didn't. The early mistakes on the tougher quads threw her off for the whole program. Even so, it was nice to see her not looking like she wanted to die in the K&C. Despite that bad performance she still looked to be in good spirits. It takes a lot of guts to go for that content so I definitely respect her for it. Unfortunately, it just didn't work this time.

 

[Lechat]

Tuktamysheva edges out Kostornaia for Rostelecom Cup gold

Russia’s Elizaveta Tuktamysheva rose from second to clinch the gold after the Ladies’ Free Skate concluded on Saturday at Rostelecom Cup in Moscow. Teammate Alena Kostornaia slipped to second by […]

www.goldenskate.com

What are your thoughts on the Ladies' FS? No coach talk allowed

It was unexpected but I’m happy for Liza.

The real battle will be the nationals, more exciting.

 

[mrrice]

I love Tuk going for 2 Triple Axels in her LP. A true Diva and I love seeing her back out there.