2023-24 Russian Grand Prix - Stage 6 - Moscow

[Jontor]

Entries are out!

Yay!

 

[Jontor]

Senior Men: Entries as expected. This will be tough, and I think Popov and Samsonov will have to fight it out to beat Mukhortov and take the last place at Nationals.

Senior Women: No Zhilina...and no Fedyanina. But I'm super glad that Nelyubova has another chance here. It looks to me that Anisimova and Nelyubova will fight with Khshetskaya for the last two spots at Nats. Maybe Palagina can be in the mix too if she has a great day. But this field is strong and these girls can realistically only hope for 6th place at best, which means that Khshetskaya looks pretty safe and last spot at Nats will be between Anisimova/Nelyubova/(Palagina needs better than 6th).

 

[AlexBreeze]

It looks to me that Anisimova and Nelyubova will fight with Khshetskaya for the last two spots at Nats.

Unless something very unusual happens, the last two spots will go to Kshetskaya and a skater who wil be 6th here.

 

[AlexBreeze]

Palagina needs better than 6th

Theoretically 6th place could be enough. In this case it will be decided by the total scores between her, Sviridenko and the skater who will be 7th (if it's Anisimova or Nelyubova).

 

[Jontor]

Theoretically 6th place could be enough. In this case it will be decided by the total scores between her, Sviridenko and the skater who will be 7th (if it's Anisimova or Nelyubova).

You're right! And also, both Gushchina and Sinitsyna might not be able to repeat their surprislingly good skates from last week. If one or both of them bombs, they will still be clear for Nationals but it opens up for the others at this stage.

 

[AlexBreeze]

I'd like to say something about senior ID qualification. But this is probably the only ID competition where you can't predict 3-9 places. All these couples score around 170 and everything will depend on their skates.

It's a pity Ermakova/Krylov didn't get another stage. Another reason to bring back 6 stages.

 

[Cherub721]

Insane pairs field. I want at least 7 of them to make Nationals! Is it even possible? They all could medal at the ISU Grand Prix, sigh.

 

[AlexBreeze]

Insane pairs field. I want at least 7 of them to make Nationals! Is it even possible?

All of them will go to Nationals. There were only 15 pairs in the series. Akopova/Rakhmanin and Kuleshova/Sled did only one stage. Shegai/Shamshurov had two stages, but they're likely to be beaten by everyone in this stage.

 

[Pairluv]

What will this mean for Annabelle? Can they get a bye to nationals due to the injury?

 

[AlexBreeze]

What will this mean for Annabelle? Can they get a bye to nationals due to the injury?

Good question. I don't remember such cases.

 

[Skating91]

If theres anyone who is going to be unphased by growth its Zhilina. Akateva or whoever else might lose it with a growth spurt but Zhilina's athleticism is not a result of those kinds of particularities particularities but unparalleled (except by Trusova) athletic gift. She isnt losing that muscular excellence from a couple inches or kilos.

Trusova gained some weight after the Olympics then lost all her jumps. If anyone can gain several kilos and keep her jumps it is Zhilina though.

 

[Skating91]

You're right! And also, both Gushchina and Sinitsyna might not be able to repeat their surprislingly good skates from last week. If one or both of them bombs, they will still be clear for Nationals but it opens up for the others at this stage.

Both basically skated with no errors it's unlikely they will do it two weeks consecutively, but with their simpler content it's easier to not make errors of course.

We know what to expect from everyone, it's just Valieva we don't know what will happen. It could just as easily be 235-240 or 210.

 

[Mathematician]

Trusova gained some weight after the Olympics then lost all her jumps. If anyone can gain several kilos and keep her jumps it is Zhilina though.

Yea cause she stopped caring. Trusova is still a lebron tier athlete she broke almost every record.

 

[Mathematician]

You're right! And also, both Gushchina and Sinitsyna might not be able to repeat their surprislingly good skates from last week. If one or both of them bombs, they will still be clear for Nationals but it opens up for the others at this stage.

Sinitsyna and Gushchina should both skate even better. They were both fresh off the couch for stage 5 and had obvious flaws. With some coaching advice and a couple days of training I dont think burnout is going to hinder them after months of craving competition while sitting on the couch with injuries.

 

[yume]

What placement Semion needs to qualify for nats? Men has a deep field this week and i think he can easily be out of top 5 if he isn't clean.

 

[Jontor]

What placement Semion needs to qualify for nats? Men has a deep field this week and i think he can easily be out of top 5 if he isn't clean.

Soloviev needs a 9th place. That should be enough, but if the competition is crazy and all over the place, 8th or 7th is of course better.

 

[Azikin]

Against this field though, I think Zhilina with one clean quad and one clean triple axel would easily win. 6 months ago she could do that in her sleep.

Zhilina had about 1 clean competition in the past few years and her PCS still juniorish, I kind of doubt she could "easily win" against Valieva, Muravieva, Sinitsyna, Yametova etc.. sure, maybe in her sleep..

 

[LadyB]

Can't wait to see Yablokov again!

 

[katymay]

If theres anyone who is going to be unphased by growth its Zhilina. Akateva or whoever else might lose it with a growth spurt but Zhilina's athleticism is not a result of those kinds of particularities particularities but unparalleled (except by Trusova) athletic gift. She isnt losing that muscular excellence from a couple inches or kilos.

She is probably the most gifted athlete to ever lace up a pair of skates. However, 'burn out' happens, and Veronika hasn't seemed terribly committed for a long time. It happens. It is a daily, never ending, stressful grind. She had no choice but to be a figure skater I think, but every time I see her I think that she would have had an easier route to the Olympics in artistic gymnastics.

 

[Mathematician]

She is probably the most gifted athlete to ever lace up a pair of skates. However, 'burn out' happens, and Veronika hasn't seemed terribly committed for a long time. It happens. It is a daily, never ending, stressful grind. She had no choice but to be a figure skater I think, but every time I see her I think that she would have had an easier route to the Olympics in artistic gymnastics.

Shes been an ice show farmer for months. Her FS this season is totally fine and people hate on her artistry way too much. I dont see any signs of burnt out. Shes still jumping clean triples in a sling with a smile on her face. She could be ready for and win JNats.

She is indeed perfect for gymnastics but I'm glad her talent isnt wasted on that. Women's gymnastics a few decades ago was probably the most sophisticated sport ever but in our century its bottom tier. Better to have her skating.