2021 Rostelecom Cup: Pairs Free Skate | Page 9 | Golden Skate
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2021 Rostelecom Cup: Pairs Free Skate

rinkside_user

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
Oh how the times have changed! In 2016, we had Savchenko/Massot, Sui/Han, Volosozhar/Trankov, Stolbova/Klimov, Tarasova/Morozov, Duhamel/Radford, Kavaguti/Smirnov, and so many other teams to watch with thrilling elements.

This year, it's basically a three way showdown between Sui/Han, Mishina/Galliamov, and Tarasova/Morozov. The other pairs feel unmemorable and unpolished and the scores reflect that (the top three are 220+, the rest are not).
 

labgoat

Coffee & Tea make everything better
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Country
United-States
Sorry gang, I dozed off a bit. Way past my bedtime.
 

Joe Mendoza

Virtuously Shady Diva
Final Flight
Joined
Jan 18, 2021
great job and congrats to M/G, but was not impressed with the non-wearing of the mask during the K&C...just saying.
 

rollerblade

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
EZ predictions for all who participated!

UYbyIYK.jpg
 

labgoat

Coffee & Tea make everything better
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Country
United-States
I'll have to rewatch later. My thoughts are that dance is for the mature skaters and pairs for the young sporuts.
 

readernick

Medalist
Joined
Dec 5, 2015
Oh how the times have changed! In 2016, we had Savchenko/Massot, Sui/Han, Volosozhar/Trankov, Stolbova/Klimov, Tarasova/Morozov, Duhamel/Radford, Kavaguti/Smirnov, and so many other teams to watch with thrilling elements.

This year, it's basically a three way showdown between Sui/Han, Mishina/Galliamov, and Tarasova/Morozov. The other pairs feel unmemorable and unpolished and the scores reflect that (the top three are 220+, the rest are not).

I disagree a bit. Pang Jin are fabulous,too! I think they have 220 potential. The Japanese team is great! I also think the US top 4 teams are improving. It is sad that the Canadians are struggling this year but not all is doom and gloom.
 

labgoat

Coffee & Tea make everything better
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Country
United-States
I disagree a bit. Pang Jin are fabulous,too! I think they have 220 potential. The Japanese team is great! I also think the US top 4 teams are improving. It is sad that the Canadians are struggling this year but not all is doom and gloom.
Yeah lets not forget Peng & Jin and Boikova/Kozlovskii. These pairs are all young without the age and experience of the 2018 pairs.
 

rinkside_user

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
I disagree a bit. Pang Jin are fabulous,too! I think they have 220 potential. The Japanese team is great! I also think the US top 4 teams are improving. It is sad that the Canadians are struggling this year but not all is doom and gloom.

The Japanese team's improvement is obviously nice to see, I agree. However, all of the American teams are struggling BIG time. As for Peng/Jin, they are definitely not 220+ level yet.
 

Joe Mendoza

Virtuously Shady Diva
Final Flight
Joined
Jan 18, 2021
something happened recently to KMT/MM? i do not remember them getting level 4s or high GOEs on their twists but do not remember those twists to be that troublesome for them.
 

gold12345

Medalist
Joined
Dec 14, 2007
Pavliuchenko/Khodykin are a bit rough around the edges and also lost a few levels, otherwise they'd have been closer to Mishina/Galliamov. M/G got massive PCS- the benefits of skating well as a World Champ- but P/K surpassed 70 in PCS too and received what was an excellent score for them. P/K are getting more interesting and have a big twist, but there are times when I want them to do a throw with more oomph, or she'll have her knee bent in a lift where it should be straight (some of her positions are not well defined, as if she's already into her second position before fully hitting her first position), or their acrobatic transitions could be a bit smoother. Daria could develop more as a performer; Mishina has her beat in that category. Aside from Daria's fall though, they handled being in 1st after the SP very well. Strong skate overall.

Mishina/Galliamov were more sure of themselves in the FS, it was their usual strong skate. Their twist wasn't as high today-- maybe they just had extra adrenaline in the SP because their twist looked higher than usual. But it was still very good. Their throw 3Lo was much better at this event with a nice transition into it, but I still think they could do it better-- with more height, distance, flow. This is an area where Tarasova/Morozov have an advantage even though M/G often do beautiful throws too.

Mishina's Euler practically looks like a stepout, like a planned error-- she underrotated it, but didn't receive an UR. It would be great if she could land the first 3S a little more definitively before rushing into the Euler, but I know it's easier said than done. It's impressive she can do the second 3S so well when the first one looks a bit out of control.

The rest of the event was not the best with aborted lifts, a blown death spiral, a hard fall. I'm a little mystified about Moore-Towers/Marinaro. A throw fall is a normal error, but their throw sal barely got in the air and was downgraded. They didn't crack 180, and that's not a hard score for them to crack. Maybe if it's a lack of confidence or injury situation, but they seem more discombobulated this year. The choreo into the great 3Ts was a highlight of their FS, and it was especially nice to see that with them having trouble in other parts.


However, all of the American teams are struggling BIG time. As for Peng/Jin, they are definitely not 220+ level yet.

The US pairs are actually doing better than in previous years, just not at the level where any teams are scoring over 200 consistently except for one pair, and this is only their first full season together. They've scored as high as 212, but it's going to take time and some added confidence to get to 220. It's not easy and the judging is sometimes strict, like there is a feeling you have to be perfect. Whereas a top Russian team that's been around a while can afford more mistakes. Pavliuchenko/Khodykin fell today on a jump, and that was fine, not the end of the world, their score was still great. Not many US pairs in history have ever scored 200 internationally; it's not easy and not many pairs around the world do this. The international pairs field was indeed deeper last quad, but this one is still deep at the top.
 
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