2022 Europeans - Women: Thoughts?

[gsk8]

Valieva leads Russian sweep in European debut

Editor’s note: On Jan 30, 2024, the International Skating Union (ISU) recalculated the standings after Kamila Valieva was disqualified due to violating the anti-doping rules. As a result, all placements […]

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Eteri must be thrilled!

So sad for Hendrickx who was clearly disappointed with her skate. I was thrilled for Kurakova, Ryabova and Gubanova. Kurakova is so much fun to watch!

What are your thoughts on the women's event overall?

 

[esteticlove]

I think all of the 3 top Russians finally secured their Olympic spots and they definitely deserve them! Sasha had some troubles in the FS but still scored above the 155 mark, and Annya bombed the SP but than rose as a phoenix. Kamila has such a TES advantage that even on a bad day, she is safe.

For me the star of the night was Anna, but it was also interesting to see how much Kamila has matured in the past 6 months. It was good that she didn't freak out after the fall and still kept it together.

 

[Plisskin]

Congrats to the medalists but eh, I actually enjoyed the skaters below them more like Hendrixx, Kurakova, etc because I liked the choreography and music choices better. Kinda miss the days when the top women had wonderful choreo that was more to my taste but I guess that's not in anymore. Been a while since I watched a ladies figure comp so this was interesting seeing most of these programs for the 1st time.

 

[skatesofgold]

I feel like I'm the only one who actually loves Anna's program, Lacrimosa and all.

 

[lesnar001]

Congrats to the medalists but eh, I actually enjoyed the skaters below them more like Hendrixx, Kurakova, etc because I liked the choreography and music choices better. Kinda miss the days when the top women had wonderful choreo but I guess that's not in anymore. Been a while since I watched a ladies figure comp so this was interesting seeing most of these programs for the 1st time.

Well, I liked the choreography from Kamila and Anna. Not so much Sasha - because the program was concentrating way too much on all the quads. I guess it's a matter of taste as to what qualifies as wonderful choreography or not.

 

[lesnar001]

I feel like I'm the only one who actually loves Anna's program, Lacrimosa and all.

You have company.

And I especially loved it today given the way she performed.

 

[Plisskin]

Well, I liked the choreography from Kamila and Anna. Not so much Sasha - because the program was concentrating way too much on all the quads. I guess it's a matter of taste as to what qualifies as wonderful choreography or not.

For sure, which is why I edited my post before your response. Definitely not my cup of tea, but there are clearly others who rock with it which is fine.

Well, I liked the choreography from Kamila and Anna. Not so much Sasha - because the program was concentrating way too much on all the quads. I guess it's a matter of taste as to what qualifies as wonderful choreography or not.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Feels like Worlds 2021 except this time Anna was the one who came back in the free. Interestingly Sasha skated quite similarly in that competition in terms of quads attempted/landed. I guess in the end it doesn't matter who is coaching her, as long as they let her jump to her heart's content.

 

[Amei]

Well, I liked the choreography from Kamila and Anna. Not so much Sasha - because the program was concentrating way too much on all the quads. I guess it's a matter of taste as to what qualifies as wonderful choreography or not.

Well in Trusova and her coaches defense - they know that she's not going to get the PCS that Valieva and Shcherbakova are going to get; the only way she can beat them is to go max jumps.

 

[lesnar001]

Well in Trusova and her coaches defense - they know that she's not going to get the PCS that Valieva and Shcherbakova are going to get; the only way she can beat them is to go max jumps.

I don't blame her for that. I just meant that from an "artistic" standpoint it suffers. I was thinking more about how she performed at Skate America when she only did 1 quad. With 5 quad attempts, something has to give.

 

[rollerblade]

Interestingly Sasha skated quite similarly in that competition in terms of quads attempted/landed. I guess in the end it doesn't matter who is coaching her, as long as they let her jump to her heart's content.

Protocols showed Trusova went for "only" 4 quads today instead of 5. Was the second 4Lz a pop, or an intentional 3Lz - to avoid zayak after the first 4Lz fall? Pretty smart adjustment if it was the latter, although the landing was very rough for a "lowly" triple.

 

[surimi]

Finding a non-geoblocked archived ISU stream of women's FS tonight made my evening. I thought they geoblocked for countries whose channels have bought the rights (and usually show just a part). Hooray, finally I can watch all of women's SP and FS in peace, at times which suit me.

I couldn't watch from Safonova through Kurakova, but from the rest, my favorites were Niina Petrokina (what a season for her!), Natasha McKay and Josefin Taljegård. I loved their passion for their programs.
Anna was also very nice to watch, though this time she seemed too focused on hitting her elements. But it was good to see her relieved again. She and Kamila are really musical skaters and good performers, though I would have liked different music for them better.
Too bad nerves got the better of Loena, otherwise this is a lovely program which is among my favorite ones this season, and is very memorable.
I still can't get into Alexandra's skating; kudos to her for attempting an unreal number of quads, she jumps big and has guts, but the overall skating isn't my cup of tea.
Good to see Alexia getting back on track this year. I'm not yet fully sold on the program, she can still match the fast pace better IMO, and put more of the character in the program, but with more practice, this could be a real crowd pleaser.

 

[LeReveur]

I miss Kostornaia, and I wish Hendrickx had nailed her long program. Sadly, there's not much more to say, although that implies a lot!!

 

[Giu]

Congrats to the medalists but eh, I actually enjoyed the skaters below them more like Hendrixx, Kurakova, etc because I liked the choreography and music choices better. Kinda miss the days when the top women had wonderful choreo that was more to my taste but I guess that's not in anymore.

Same

 

[BabySloth]

I refuse to be a Negative Nancy about this competition, even though there were a lot of less than stellar free skate performances. The scoring is wack, but what I can't change I refuse to stress about. Most of the skaters had their National competitions a few weeks ago, then holiday break, the stress about the Olympics in general, it's quite impressive that they managed to hold it together as well as they did and there were some enjoyable moments in almost everyone's programs. I'm happy for Anna, that girl is the definition of a fighter. Petrokina and Kurakova were amazing too.

 

[[email protected]]

Some people tried to ridicule me when I said that the team choice is between Sasha and Liza. Their stance would be even stronger after the SP here. But then it just turned out as I said. I told you so! - well, I like it when I can say that. Anna's and Kamila's spots are bullet-proof. I think that Sasha should go to OG as well because her potential is much higher than Liza's. But in the team event, sorry it's either Kamila's both segments or Kamila for SP and Anna for FP. Full stop.

These Europeans showed one more time that Anna has nerves of steel and she delivers when it matters most. And Sasha, alas, not always. It would be ironic if her best ever performance was during the test skates.

As for the rest, there is a huge gap between the Russian trio and the rest. Loena is my non-Russian favorite skater. Unfortunately, she did not deliver the free program to my expectations. And it's not only the fall. Somehow, she had more fire in her earlier this season.

Nastya Gubanova shows the sparkles of greatness. But they are marred by her telegraphed jumps and old style choreo. Come on, Nastya, you don't compete with skaters from 00s - it's 20s now.

Olga Mikutina could have but could not.

As for the rest, as they say, no comments

 

[lariko]

For me it went something like…

Petrokina! Josefin!

Safonova!

Ryabova!

Kurakova!

Sherbakova!

Trusova… and then I just was happy, and peeked at Kamila.

Ups and downs, and I think my predictions are out as always, but I had a good time.

Also, not sure whose grave Safonova defiled or whatever…. Seemed pretty good to me?

 

[readernick]

So, the top three are correct. Their scores for what they put out are insane. Why ignore technical problems and give ridiculous PCS ? They still would have won with correct judging. But, this is nothing new.

I have a soft spot for Sasha so I'm glad she's going to the Olympics. Her program is a jump drill and she really needs to be clean for it to work. Hopefully, it will be clean at the Olympics.
Anna's skating isn't and has never been to my taste. However, from a human perspective, I'm happy she came back in the FS. She is such a fighter.

Valieva can't be perfect all the time. She is a marvel and her performance skills are improving. She's also adorable.

In all of the above cases, I like the skaters more than I like their skating/ programs. I think I would like Valieva's skating with different programs .

I like Leona's skating but I definitely prefer the SP to the LP. I find the LP a bit tacky. She has a lot of good qualities.

Now for the skaters I actually enjoyed, Kurakova is a a delight. She has such lovely basic skating and joy radiates from her.

Petrokina was wonderful. It's a nice program and she's a great skater. I usually prefer her fellow Estonian Eva-Lotte but this year Petrokina has made her mark!

Josefin doesn't have great SS but she is a performer through and through. It's hard not to love her and her skating and it's also difficult not to hate the Swedish Olympic Committee.

Gubanova has some of the strongest basic skating here. I'm very sad that her LP didn't go well. I look forward to seeing her at the Olympics.

 

[Jungle2]

I am feeling that figure skating is just dying out . That is pretty sad .

 

[prorussian fan]

I feel like I'm the only one who actually loves Anna's program, Lacrimosa and all.

Me too!! It's so awesome!!!