2021-22 Russian Women's Figure Skating

[alexocfp]

Nope, you are second behind me, get in the line

You are behind flanker.

ps: just saw flanker's response

When did this become law? I will have you know, it’s a fact that Anna wants to live in New York. Haha

Hate where people think they know what’s best for Anna. Besides me of course. Haha

 

[flanker]

When did this become law? I will have you know, it’s a fact that Anna wants to live in New York. Haha

Hate where people think they know what’s best for Anna. Besides me of course. Haha

I'm afraid this will end like when People's Front of Judea met Campaign for Free Galilee.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Aliona is a barely 18 year old girl who has been through a lot over the past two years. She's not doing enough for your taste, or enough for Sambo's taste? And yet, I am CERTAIN she is doing her best. Interesting how some can't - or won't - entertain that possibility.

I think most people acknowledge that Alena is a great talent and a hard worker. She has expressed a desire to go to the Olympics, and whatever she's doing right now isn't getting the job done. She's probably 6th or 7th in the running for one of those three spots, and there's very little time left to turn things around. I'm not sure what would be the best way to light a fire under Alena in a way that would motivate her, but she needs it badly. Her next GP is probably her last chance to stay in contention, and she likely needs a solid result like beating Anna or coming in a very close second to remain a contender.

 

[Sjs5572]

1)

Okay. Does that seem good, healthy, sane to you? (Or good management? They have many girls, but if they keep treating them so carelessly, I'm curious how many will still be standing by February.)

"Russian skating is cut-throat", blah-blah. Okay. That still doesn't make the skaters robots. They're human beings, with bruisable bodies and bruisable minds, and as we've clearly seen, over and over, neither bodies nor minds can take that kind of treatment very long. So... should they?

The fact that some of you don't bat an eye, cheer for it, even... It's very "Panem et circenses".

More and more, I am left wondering if some people don't care about the individual skaters at all... might not even care about skating itself that much? Is the medal count the only important thing here?

2) Aliona is a barely 18 year old girl who has been through a lot over the past two years. She's not doing enough for your taste, or enough for Sambo's taste? And yet, I am CERTAIN she is doing her best. Interesting how some can't - or won't - entertain that possibility.

3) I'm not sure how much longer this situation can last. I wish another camp, preferably far, far away from the toxicity, could "rescue" her.

4) A more general observation: the conversations around Aliona are always so uncomfortable... Half the time, it's people gushing about her beauty; the other half, people piling on her because she doesn't know her place. Like two sides of the same coin?...

5) I won't get into the nonsense conversation mentioning a skater's bottom, another's sexual orientation and suggesting that saying artistry develops more and more as a skater ages is equivalent to asking skaters to sexualize themselves. Each time I think we've reached rock bottom... it seems I am proven wrong, unfortunately.

Between the misogyny and the blind nationalism, I wish someone would write a thesis on women's skating fandom. There's a lot to say.

This. Women's Figure Skating is turning into 21st Century chariot races, where the 15 year old "pedigreed" gladiators fight to compete at the ultimate Circus Maximus in Beijing. In preparation for the games, food is severely limited, lest the gladiators become "lazy."

Eteri Tutberidze: “It seems that with each gram of weight a gram of laziness is added”

Glamour magazine reposted an old interview with Eteri Tutberidze (from March 2018, rubric

fs-gossips.com

 

[alexocfp]

I'm afraind this will end like when People's Front of Judea met Campaign for Free Galilee.

I’m not getting poked in the eyes, right? Haha

 

[lurkerghost1]

On a different note, Sofia Samodelkina finally went clean in her short program and scored a huge 78.86 even with rather low PCS. Obviously there's domestic scoring and all but she's still the #3 highest short program skater of the season. Good to see Sofia persevering and adapting to growing taller.

If she performs like this at nationals, perhaps another spoiler to make the final free skate flight? With Valieva, Tuktamysheva, Shcherbakova, Akatieva, Kostornaia, and now Samodelkina it's possible Trusova could get pushed into the second-to-last group without her own 3A which she has yet to land despite trying for 2 years. Will this result put the heat back on Sasha to risk the 3A again?

 

[florin]

Adelia Petrosyan jumped a quadruple flip in training

 

[Skater Boy]

So sad that girls at 18 years old are seen as over the hill and the need for triple axel just to qualify for olympics. So many good skaters in Russia who would the current world champion might not make the team or the silver or bronze medallist. I assume one of them will qualify at least but who knows as you have Kamila, AK, Maya, Daria who have reasonable shots

 

[alexocfp]

“I don't understand her at all. She tells me that we are continuing our career, we will perform. But she does not come to training, she refused the Grand Prix, she trains there in Italy.
If you look on the Internet, she constantly uploads videos of how she trains. For whom? For sponsors?"

Like that ? By the way, Kostner was injured that year

I want the coaches to be good coaches.
Don’t care if they talk to the press, offer their opinions, bury their students publicly, etc.

They don’t even need to be liked or loved. They are coaches, not pet dogs. Haha

Also, let’s leave Mr Mishin alone. He has got a student that’s in the running for the Olympics. We don’t need any distractions now. Haha

 

[alexocfp]

So sad that girls at 18 years old are seen as over the hill and the need for triple axel just to qualify for olympics. So many good skaters in Russia who would the current world champion might not make the team or the silver or bronze medallist. I assume one of them will qualify at least but who knows as you have Kamila, AK, Maya, Daria who have reasonable shots

I think this will stabilize. The pioneers are all young so the changes are coming fast.

As we move along, there will be girls that figure out how to do it for longer. Longevity is harder when everyone that is better than you is way younger.

The new generation are learning quads early, so it is second nature to them. They will start keeping them longer too. I think.

 

[lurkerghost1]

So sad that girls at 18 years old are seen as over the hill and the need for triple axel just to qualify for olympics. So many good skaters in Russia who would the current world champion might not make the team or the silver or bronze medallist. I assume one of them will qualify at least but who knows as you have Kamila, AK, Maya, Daria who have reasonable shots

I think this will stabilize. The pioneers are all young so the changes are coming fast.

As we move along, there will be girls that figure out how to do it for longer. Longevity is harder when everyone that is better than you is way younger.

The new generation are learning quads early, so it is second nature to them. They will start keeping them longer too. I think.

yes but it's going to get worse before it gets better. Next year Ksenia and Daria who are just making their senior debuts right now will already be considered "over the hill" at 16 because of the four skaters with Ultra-C entering seniors (Petrosyan Samodelkina Zinina Muravyeva). If Valieva, Khromykh, and 3/4 of Shcherbakova, Tuktamysheva, Trusova, Kostornaia continue that's already 9 senior skaters with quads/3A aka a full roster of GP participants. Daria will probably get a second season of GPs before being pished out but for Ksenia I'm afraid this is it already unless she lands her own 4T.

In fact I think if Frolova and Tsibinova are indeed switching countries which seems possible, that they are playing this a lot smarter than their peers who are still waiting for a chance that's never coming like Gulyakova and Shulskaya. Sad that at least two of Usacheva, Sinitsyna, Zinina, and Samodelkina seemed destined next season to join the "purgatory" group as I call it.

 

[alexocfp]

yes but it's going to get worse before it gets better. Next year Ksenia and Daria who are just making their senior debuts right now will already be considered "over the hill" at 16 because of the four skaters with Ultra-C entering seniors (Petrosyan Samodelkina Zinina Muravyeva). If Valieva, Khromykh, and 3/4 of Shcherbakova, Tuktamysheva, Trusova, Kostornaia continue that's already 9 senior skaters with quads/3A aka a full roster of GP participants. Daria will probably get a second season of GPs before being pished out but for Ksenia I'm afraid this is it already unless she lands her own 4T.

In fact I think if Frolova and Tsibinova are indeed switching countries which seems possible, that they are playing this a lot smarter than their peers who are still waiting for a chance that's never coming like Gulyakova and Shulskaya. Sad that at least two of Usacheva, Sinitsyna, Zinina, and Samodelkina seemed destined next season to join the "purgatory" group as I call it.

As a counter argument, in every sport you have athletes who never advance beyond “above average, but not upper echelon territory.” Or even good but not great. The 190-210 skaters for instance.

Even taking out quads, Anna will beat Guliakova because Anna is just better.

In all sports, there is a lot of turnover in the middle and lower ranks.

It’s just how sports meritocracy works. Not everyone has long all time great careers. Some just do it for a few years and fall off.

Your last paragraph illustrates it. There will be some that are good, but won’t be upper echelon great. It’s not just a figure skating phenomenon.

 

[florin]

From Instagram of Zheleznyakov (for those who don't know - it's TT-choreographer "on the floor")

- Hello, Alexey! Open the secret - does Sasha Trusova train with you? Or does her leg hurt and she's not allowed to? How is she doing with training?
- of course she train with me, at the moment the leg is being treated, there are no secrets
- Give Sasha wishes for a speedy recovery!
- I definitely will

I think that in general everything is fine. At least, it's definitely not like in the case of Zhenya when at the end of 2017, she had her leg in a cast

 

[fabienne1996]

From Instagram of Zheleznyakov (for those who don't know - it's TT-choreographer "on the floor")

- Hello, Alexey! Open the secret - does Sasha Trusova train with you? Or does her leg hurt and she's not allowed to? How is she doing with training?
- of course she train with me, at the moment the leg is being treated, there are no secrets
- Give Sasha wishes for a speedy recovery!
- I definitely will

I think that in general everything is fine. At least, it's definitely not like in the case of Zhenya when at the end of 2017, she had her leg in a cast

Considering that zhenya only saw the doctor after even pain killers didnt help anymore?And skated two gp events with a broken ankle and fully trained until then ? I do hope you are right and they learnt from 4 years ago, as of know i am still not sure.for sashas sake i hope they changed on that aspect,

 

[florin]

Considering that zhenya only saw the doctor after even pain killers didnt help anymore?And skated two gp events with a broken ankle and fully trained until then ? I do hope you are right and they learnt from 4 years ago, as of know i am still not sure.for sashas sake i hope they changed on that aspect,

who are these mysterious they? Doctors who work for the federation?

The Russian Figure Skating Federation is a big complex machine. Athletes are under constant vigilant supervision of doctors and the federation. All competitions performed with injuries are the result of compromises with circumstances, athletes' wishes and the natural power of things. As, in fact, we could observe with Sasha and her first stage. Keep to yourself these strange fantasies about Eteri driving athletes with a whip, without looking back at doctors and the federation.

 

[silveruskate]

Adelia Petrosyan jumped a quadruple flip in training

Wow so impressive! And real big respect on that take-off, pretty good. Well done Adelia.

 

[Thrashergurl]

Even with Alina, didn’t Eteri’s sister leak that Alina was lazy or something? I remember the fuss about that.

 

[alexocfp]

Being the fair minded and unbiased person that I am, I think the highest placed Russian at the very prestigious and competitive Cup of Austria this weekend should immediately be given a spot on the Olympic team. It‘s only fair. And who is more fair than me if you really think about it?

I know @florin endorses this idea too. But no need to ask them. Just take my word for it. I wouldn’t lie about that. Haha

 

[silveruskate]

There are similarities between Alina and Aliona actually! Aside from their names.

I've not followed Alina's beginning career as closely or even figure skating then but both highly talented. They were both more under the radar had some bad results at the beginning but when it clicked they straight away shot up.
I see them both much more as power jumpers and in the same category. Alina still has the best 3Lz-3Lo I've ever seen. It's a huge jump combo. Even the Olympics at 15 the distance covered was great, we don't see it like that often.
Alina's more of a spinner, Aliona more skating skills, but both have great innate natural capacity for both.

Their personalities are the main differences. But both do have a capacity to be emotional in training. Also both caught the anger of Eteri at one time or another. Before it's mentioned yes Aliona is the one that left, I know!
Also both had issues of motivation at some point, although Alina as Olympic champion which is a difference! But both also maybe not as "in love" with figure skating as Anna for example or competitions. Wanting to move onto their other interests more quickly.

I cannot get inside their heads, some light-hearted speculation.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Their personalities are the main differences. But both do have a capacity to be emotional in training. Also both caught the anger of Eteri at one time or another. Before it's mentioned yes Aliona is the one that left, I know!
Also both had issues of motivation at some point, although Alina as Olympic champion which is a difference! But both also maybe not as "in love" with figure skating as Anna for example or competitions. Wanting to move onto their other interests more quickly.

I really feel for Alena. She was probably distraught at losing an opportunity for a world title when she was the favorite to win. There are still glimpses of the magic we saw two years ago, but she's not as sharp from start to finish as she was when posting those world record scores. I'm rooting for her but I think it will be a tough challenge for her to pull it all together by Nationals next month.