2026 World Figure Skating Championships | Men's Free Skate

[CoyoteChris]

LOL as I watched Ilia mop his face with his own fan towel. I was thinking, surely Ilia isn't going to do his own laundry?! A Quad God doing his own laundry?!

Do you remember this guy? Timothy Richard Goebel (born September 10, 1980) is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. He was the first person to land a quadruple Salchow jump in competition and the first person to land three quadruple jumps in one program. He landed 76 career quadruple jumps before his retirement in 2006

 

[frompolandwithlove]

We agree. I would still have him dump that silly name and "Superstar" and grow . Are you old enough to remember the Quad King? I am not sure he ever called himself that but others did. Timothy Richard Goebel (born September 10, 1980) is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. He was the first person to land a quadruple Salchow jump in competition and the first person to land three quadruple jumps in one program. He landed 76 career quadruple jumps before his retirement in 2006

Cool, cool, but does he have trailblaizer award?

 

[CoyoteChris]

Cool, cool, but does he have trailblaizer award?

Exactly!!!! 76 quads landed in comp and no recognition except in the record books...I have no problem with these new awards....they are good marketing after all....and figure skating desparately needs good marketing.

 

[skatedreamer]

We agree. I would still have him dump that silly name and "Superstar" and grow . Are you old enough to remember the Quad King? I am not sure he ever called himself that but others did. Timothy Richard Goebel (born September 10, 1980) is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. He was the first person to land a quadruple Salchow jump in competition and the first person to land three quadruple jumps in one program. He landed 76 career quadruple jumps before his retirement in 2006

Wow. Maybe someone should share that statistic with Ilia. I remember Tim Goebel's name but not much about his skating; had no idea he was so successful with quads!

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I have noticed also how he switches his tricks around, especially the raspberry twist.

It can be seen as cool and because he is so at ease as a performer.

It can also be seen from another perspective : it's possible for him to switch things around because there's not much of a real purpose to these moves in the program. They are there to impress and be fun and they are... but they don't have a relationship with the music or the program because the choreography is simpler.

Anyway, that's my opinion on this

The freedom is refreshing but the freedom comes from lack of depth in the composition. It doesn't matter anyways since judges gave it 9.75

I'd say he still hits his tricks on the music, which is not easy to do. A good ina bauer or spiral is difficult to execute but not hard to hit

Comparing his GPF FS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV1r_pNSI1s) to his Worlds FS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-fkuqxI2Ek)...

In the GPF.- he hits the flash backflip right on the music at 3:33. And the ina bauer + mazurka in his non-dominant direction, and lunge slide are all perfectly timed to the music, and none of them are basic skating movements. As for simpler choreo, the raspberry twist was done in the middle of a combo spin in which he just lifted up onto his heel and twisted going straight into a low sit variation... that is hardly simplicity sandwiching a very difficult move.

In Worlds he actually added a series of mohawks into the flash backflip, and a slight split leap entering the slide lunge - so he's actually made already difficult things even trickier with little details. And while the raspberry twist was harder in the middle of a spin IMO, it's still very difficult to execute coming out of a spin. I actually think he didn't quite nail the camel heel so he smartly opted to just go straight into the sit and save the raspberry twist for the spin exit.

And the program itself is actually quite loaded with transitions, spread eagles here and there (in different directions too), and rockers and counters and a variety of multi-directional skating. And more often than not these moves are being done complementary to the musical phrasing, so it's not like they're purposeless. Even looking at his final camel spin he literally does arm movements and moves onto his heel in time to the music.

Is it a 10.00? Not quite for me. But the people who are saying that the gap should be higher between Ilia and Yuma are actually saying they want the PCS to be wider so that Yuma has a shot of beating Malinin with 3 quads instead of 5 (3 in the back half and in combination). LOL, the judges would have to give Malinin 7's which is absurd.

And while folks can gripe about the 9.75's and 10.00's being doled out to the final skater of the World Championships skating cleanly, with 5 quads.... Kagiyama was still given the best PCS of the FS, and not to mention gifted the best PCS of the SP with a waxel (including 9.5's). At least Malinin skated cleanly (not the optimal level of jumping for him but it was clean, with 5 quads). Worse skaters and flawed programs have been gifted 5.9/6.0s or 9.5-10's. And I mean, it wouldn't have made any difference in the longrun as Malinin was miles ahead.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

As for the quad god thing - yeah, it's cocky and he came up with it as a rather immature teen... all true. But it has also turned out to be smart, rather prescient, branding for him... and he's actually lived up to the moniker (see the GPF performance again if ya have any doubts).

It's wild that a guy doing two 4Z's (one in combination with a +Eu+3S), 4F, 4S, 4T+3T, oh and "just" a 3A is "playing it safe", but I guess here we are now, lol.

There was a time when doing 5 quads in a program was inhuman. So yeah, I think the quad god name is appropriate because what he's doing is borderline "godly". And I say this as someone who loathes people who deify athletes, or people who deify themselves, since it's utterly cringey.

 

[4everchan]

I'd say he still hits his tricks on the music, which is not easy to do. A good ina bauer or spiral is difficult to execute but not hard to hit

Comparing his GPF FS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV1r_pNSI1s) to his Worlds FS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-fkuqxI2Ek)...

In the GPF.- he hits the flash backflip right on the music at 3:33. And the ina bauer + mazurka in his non-dominant direction, and lunge slide are all perfectly timed to the music, and none of them are basic skating movements. As for simpler choreo, the raspberry twist was done in the middle of a combo spin in which he just lifted up onto his heel and twisted going straight into a low sit variation... that is hardly simplicity sandwiching a very difficult move.

In Worlds he actually added a series of mohawks into the flash backflip, and a slight split leap entering the slide lunge - so he's actually made already difficult things even trickier with little details. And while the raspberry twist was harder in the middle of a spin IMO, it's still very difficult to execute coming out of a spin. I actually think he didn't quite nail the camel heel so he smartly opted to just go straight into the sit and save the raspberry twist for the spin exit.

And the program itself is actually quite loaded with transitions, spread eagles here and there (in different directions too), and rockers and counters and a variety of multi-directional skating. And more often than not these moves are being done complementary to the musical phrasing, so it's not like they're purposeless. Even looking at his final camel spin he literally does arm movements and moves onto his heel in time to the music.

Is it a 10.00? Not quite for me. But the people who are saying that the gap should be higher between Ilia and Yuma are actually saying they want the PCS to be wider so that Yuma has a shot of beating Malinin with 3 quads instead of 5 (3 in the back half and in combination). LOL, the judges would have to give Malinin 7's which is absurd.

And while folks can gripe about the 9.75's and 10.00's being doled out to the final skater of the World Championships skating cleanly, with 5 quads.... Kagiyama was still given the best PCS of the FS, and not to mention gifted the best PCS of the SP with a waxel (including 9.5's). At least Malinin skated cleanly (not the optimal level of jumping for him but it was clean, with 5 quads). Worse skaters and flawed programs have been gifted 5.9/6.0s or 9.5-10's. And I mean, it wouldn't have made any difference in the longrun as Malinin was miles ahead.

The quality and flow of ilia's jumps weren't always great, yet his goes were stellar.
I never personally said that he should not win. I actually said that his three titles are deserved. I just have a problem with his scores.

And regarding the choreo changes, I couldn't care less really because they are very minor. It's like he has a bag at party tricks and he picks an element from it and executes it... It could be in a different order or with added turns or steps, it's still the same stuff over and over again so let's not pretend it's genius because he felt safer doing the raspberry trust after the spin rather than in the middle of it. Ymmv

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

The quality and flow of ilia's jumps wasn't always great, yet his goes were stellar.
I never personally said that he should not win. I actually said that his three titles are deserved. I just have a problem with his scores.

And regarding the choreo changes, I couldn't care less really because they are very minor. It's like he has a bag at party tricks and he picks an element from it and executes it... It could be in my different order or with added turns or steps, it's still the same stuff over and over again so let's not pretend it's genius because he felt safety doing the raspberry trust after they slim rather than in the middle of it. Ymmv

Yup, I mean, yeah - we're allowed to be upset at the scores, but they shouldn't trivialize.

I don't think it's genius but it was smart in that IMO he wasn't comfortable doing it so saved it later - like Zagitova's 3Z combo in her Olympic FS where the lutz landing wasn't ideal so she saved the combo later. Not genius, but thinking on their feet and adaptability.

As for same stuff over again, that is LITERALLY what figure skaters do - they present basically the same program over and over again throughout a season. And all skaters have a bag of party tricks that they pull out that are unique to them. Doesn't make it any less impressive... when Michelle Kwan does the exact same inside-outside spiral at the same climax in all her programs. We knew it was coming, we knew it when it would hit the music, but it still never grew tiresome even though it was a "repeat". Hah I'm sure some people also didn't mind Shizuka's FOUR donut spins either, lol!

 

[4everchan]

Yup, I mean, yeah - we're allowed to be upset at the scores, but they shouldn't trivialize.

I don't think it's genius but it was smart in that IMO he wasn't comfortable doing it so saved it later - like Zagitova's 3Z combo in her Olympic FS where the lutz landing wasn't ideal so she saved the combo later. Not genius, but thinking on their feet and adaptability.

As for same stuff over again, that is LITERALLY what figure skaters do - they present basically the same program over and over again throughout a season. And all skaters have a bag of party tricks that they pull out that are unique to them. Doesn't make it any less impressive... when Michelle Kwan does the exact same inside-outside spiral at the same climax in all her programs. We knew it was coming, we knew it when it would hit the music, but it still never grew tiresome even though it was a "repeat". Hah I'm sure some people also didn't mind Shizuka's FOUR donut spins either, lol!

Exactly my point. Everyone does the same things. Nothing special here. Let's find examples where skaters do something special. Then we will talk.

 

[Arigato]

And while folks can gripe about the 9.75's and 10.00's being doled out to the final skater of the World Championships skating cleanly, with 5 quads.... Kagiyama was still given the best PCS of the FS, and not to mention gifted the best PCS of the SP with a waxel (including 9.5's). At least Malinin skated cleanly (not the optimal level of jumping for him but it was clean, with 5 quads). Worse skaters and flawed programs have been gifted 5.9/6.0s or 9.5-10's. And I mean, it wouldn't have made any difference in the longrun as Malinin was miles ahead.

Ilia did not do 5 clean quads. A q and negative GOE on a jump combo isn't clean. You know that. And what is with the sudden 5 quad fascination? Men were doing that years ago. More recently, Shaidorov did 5 quads with a q on one of them at the OLYG but oddly enough, the judges didn't give him an absurd 95 PCS. Can't imagine why . . . maybe they were just being realistic in his case. Not so much with Ilia.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Wow. Maybe someone should share that statistic with Ilia. I remember Tim Goebel's name but not much about his skating; had no idea he was so successful with quads!

You pose an interesting point. How big of a figure skating fan is a skater? I am old so I remember Tim when he was skating but many here are too young...I have never seen Dick Button skate but I know about him and his records...I have no answers here. When I was a young adult, and maybe earlier, skating was big big big...bigger than basket ball....so we grew up with it on TV. Heck, it was even on variety shows. I have no idea if any Russian skaters, for example, know who Tim Goebel was.

 

[reneerose]

Finally watched the men's post-free skate press conference and I totally loved how all 3 men addressed the ISU proposed changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2dO-IUj2lA&t=8s

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Exactly my point. Everyone does the same things. Nothing special here. Let's find examples where skaters do something special. Then we will talk.

Special is subjective though. Often I also find that when a skater does something special they usually get criticized for being flashy or gimmicky. It's like, people want something to be notable/original/new/signature but, oh hold on, it can't be too overt/circusy either. And if the skater does something that's already seen (which of course will be the case since they don't present a new program each competition), it's not to say that what they're doing is any less special.

I think adding little nuances and details or finding ways to mix it up without overhauling the entire program can be quite effective (a la S/D's Dune 2.0). Was just making a point that while Malinin does the same program, compared to other skaters, the program doesn't look the same (or basically the same) from season start to end because he switches up where the highlights are and he also switches up the nature of the highlights (sometimes it's a butterfly, sometimes it's a raspberry twist, sometimes it's an aerial, sometimes a back tuck instead of a flash kick). Kinda like a jazz musician, who has a shell of what they wanna do, but then they improvise and add flairs and touches and experimentation here and there to keep it fresh and not so obvious. And noting its remarkability in figure skating particularly because normally skaters are trained to do their highlights/field moves/choreo to establish a level of comfort/consistency/familiarity, because they want to be focusing on elements and not focus on trying to remember which choreo they're doing.

Skaters don't normally like to change their choreo and they do rote/repeat runthroughs, so it's interesting to see a skater like Malinin (who has a ton of quads to think about too, mind you) play around. And it's not to say the rest of his program lacks transitions or content, or purposeful movements, but as you said YMMV.

 

[4everchan]

Special is subjective though. Often I also find that when a skater does something special they usually get criticized for being flashy or gimmicky. It's like, people want something to be notable/original/new/signature but, oh hold on, it can't be too overt/circusy either. And if the skater does something that's already seen (which of course will be the case since they don't present a new program each competition), it's not to say that what they're doing is any less special.

I think adding little nuances and details or finding ways to mix it up without overhauling the entire program can be quite effective (a la S/D's Dune 2.0). Was just making a point that while Malinin does the same program, compared to other skaters, the program doesn't look the same (or basically the same) from season start to end because he switches up where the highlights are and he also switches up the nature of the highlights (sometimes it's a butterfly, sometimes it's a raspberry twist, sometimes it's an aerial, sometimes a back tuck instead of a flash kick). Kinda like a jazz musician, who has a shell of what they wanna do, but then they improvise and add flairs and touches and experimentation here and there to keep it fresh and not so obvious. And noting its remarkability in figure skating particularly because normally skaters are trained to do their highlights/field moves/choreo to establish a level of comfort/consistency/familiarity, because they want to be focusing on elements and not focus on trying to remember which choreo they're doing.

Skaters don't normally like to change their choreo and they do rote/repeat runthroughs, so it's interesting to see a skater like Malinin (who has a ton of quads to think about too, mind you) play around. And it's not to say the rest of his program lacks transitions or content, or purposeful movements, but as you said YMMV.

I'll give one example. Lubov and Dylan had different choreo tricks every year. They said they wanted to remain original
It was appreciated.
Deanna and Max created original lift positions. Or that forward pivot by Max in the death spiral . Appreciated
Raspberry twist is cool. I like it. Used every single program is less attractive. Used every single program but in a very specific musical highlight, fine with me. And yes, ymmv

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Ilia did not do 5 clean quads. A q and negative GOE on a jump combo isn't clean. You know that. And what is with the sudden 5 quad fascination? Men were doing that years ago. More recently, Shaidorov did 5 quads with a q on one of them at the OLYG but oddly enough, the judges didn't give him an absurd 95 PCS. Can't imagine why . . . maybe they were just being realistic in his case. Not so much with Ilia.

Okay, 4 clean quads and 1 quad with a q (with a -0.49 GOE on a 17.93 point element, with only 3 of 9 judges giving it -GOE). I suppose we need to lower his PCS into the 8's now.

Also comparing Shaidorov to Malinin is apples and oranges - Malinin is a much better skater with much better choreo. Not to mention Malinin's quads were harder, repeating the quad lutz instead of the quad toe, and three quad-combos in the second half. You know that.

Along with Plushenko in 2006 (just jumps, no choreo or transitions) and Hanyu in 2014 (two falls in the FS), Shaidorov's FS is IMO one of the worst *programs* (in terms of content/choreo/artistry) to win the Olympics (not his fault since he's still a relatively new senior skater, and is still developing)... BUT like the other two, the win was deserved (Plu deservedly winning with a lacklustre field of nobody bringing the jumps, Hanyu winning with the only strong SP and a FS where everyone bombed including Chan), Shaidorov's OGM is a deserved win because he nailed his jumps and had insanely good tech (including a stellar 3A+Eu+4S) and delivered unlike Fa/Malinin/Kagiyama, who could have all won but caved in the FS.

LOL, yeah... SO many skaters were doing 5 clean-quad skates years ago. SUCH a common thing.

• Chen had multiple 5+ quad freeskates, as we know (not gonna post all the protocols).
• Hanyu did 5 clean quads exactly once at the GPF 2019 (https://www.isuresults.com/results/...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf -- but he got -GOE with the 4T+Eu+3F< - which according to you isn't clean; not to mentioned he didn't do any 3A, popping his one axel attempt to a single)
• Uno almost did 5 clean quads at the GPF -- but two-footed his 2nd 4T which, still, isn't clean (https://www.isuresults.com/results/...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf)
• Zhou did 5 quads once at Skate America 2021 but with 3 q's (which according to you basically negates the quad being clean) (https://results.isu.org/results/sea...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf)
• Trusova would have 5 quad FS at the Olympics (https://results.isu.org/results/sea...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf) but there was the 4T error and 4Zq according to you isn't clean, so just a 3 quad freeskate, in your books.

Before Malinin, Chen is the only skater who has landed 5 quads with no q’s or URs or negative GOE on those jumping passes. He is also the only one to have landed 5 or more clean quads this season.

 

[4everchan]

Okay, 4 clean quads and 1 quad with a q (with a -0.49 GOE on a 17.93 point element, with only 3 of 9 judges giving it -GOE). I suppose we need to lower his PCS into the 8's now.

Also comparing Shaidorov to Malinin is apples and oranges - Malinin is a much better skater with much better choreo. Not to mention Malinin's quads were harder, repeating the quad lutz instead of the quad toe, and three quad-combos in the second half. You know that.

Along with Plushenko in 2006 (just jumps, no choreo or transitions) and Hanyu in 2014 (two falls in the FS), Shaidorov's FS is IMO one of the worst *programs* (in terms of content/choreo/artistry) to win the Olympics (not his fault since he's still a relatively new senior skater, and is still developing)... BUT like the other two, the win was deserved (Plu deservedly winning with a lacklustre field of nobody bringing the jumps, Hanyu winning with the only strong SP and a FS where everyone bombed including Chan), Shaidorov's OGM is a deserved win because he nailed his jumps and had insanely good tech (including a stellar 3A+Eu+4S) and delivered unlike Fa/Malinin/Kagiyama, who could have all won but caved in the FS.

LOL, yeah... SO many skaters were doing 5 clean-quad skates years ago. SUCH a common thing.

• Chen had multiple 5+ quad freeskates, as we know (not gonna post all the protocols).
• Hanyu did 5 clean quads exactly once at the GPF 2019 (https://www.isuresults.com/results/...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf -- but he got -GOE with the 4T+Eu+3F< - which according to you isn't clean; not to mentioned he didn't do any 3A, popping his one axel attempt to a single)
• Uno almost did 5 clean quads at the GPF -- but two-footed his 2nd 4T which, still, isn't clean (https://www.isuresults.com/results/...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf)
• Zhou did 5 quads once at Skate America 2021 but with 3 q's (which according to you basically negates the quad being clean) (https://results.isu.org/results/sea...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf)
• Trusova would have 5 quad FS at the Olympics (https://results.isu.org/results/sea...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf) but there was the 4T error and 4Zq according to you isn't clean, so just a 3 quad freeskate, in your books.

Before Malinin, Chen is the only skater who has landed 5 quads with no q’s or URs or negative GOE on those jumping passes. He is also the only one to have landed 5 or more clean quads this season.

because even just a decade ago, skaters thought 2 quads were enough... perhaps 3.

Times have changed. Look how many skaters tried the quad lutz at these worlds. Malinin is doing more and is more consistent than others. However, you are talking like you have forgotten what happened just a few weeks ago.

There will be more and more skaters with 4-5 quads very soon... Gogolev will bring a 4th quad because he's maxed out with three. Yuma was working on more. Shun can do more. Adam had a flip he removed this year...Grassl's quads are meh but he does them. Selevko. Shaidorov. Gartung. Kulish. So many skaters are now doing other quads that just the toe or sal. Even juniors like Choi include a quad lutz.

I agree with you that Malinin is a better skater than Shaidorov. But the difference between Yuma and Malinin is more wider than the difference between Malinin and Shaidorov.

I have seen Malinin twice live. He is an exciting skater to watch. I did see him do a quad axel. Very impressive from the rink. Props to him. However, nobody will make me believe, even you my friend, that his choreography is interesting and original.

Also, to your point in the other post about skaters not practicing anything else but a definite run though well.. that's unfair to skaters like Chan for instance, who said that every day, he would do some free styling as part of his training. It's also unfair for skaters like Paradis who create his own choreography or works with other choreos to come up with different stuff... It's also unfair to skaters like Kévin Aymoz who said he did improvise his gala program.

 

[Arigato]

Okay, 4 clean quads and 1 quad with a q (with a -0.49 GOE on a 17.93 point element, with only 3 of 9 judges giving it -GOE). I suppose we need to lower his PCS into the 8's now.

Change your username to FunnySkaterGuy.

Along with Plushenko in 2006 (just jumps, no choreo or transitions) and Hanyu in 2014 (two falls in the FS), Shaidorov's FS is IMO one of the worst *programs* (in terms of content/choreo/artistry) to win the Olympics

Is this smelly, red herring designed to support the bogus 95 PCS at Worlds? It's not working.

Shaidorov's OGM is a deserved win because he nailed his jumps and had insanely good tech (including a stellar 3A+Eu+4S) and delivered unlike Fa/Malinin/Kagiyama, who could have all won but caved in the FS.

Yes, I'm rather fond of that 3A+Eu+4S. Huge points on that one element alone. I know you like to count the beans with Ilia (number of quads) but I actually enjoy more of an innovative approach and that means new jump combos which is Shaidorov's strength. Music and choreo, well, obviously that was lacking but I have to laugh at the irony of something several of us were making fun of early in the season getting spun into gold. I was genuinely pleased he won.

LOL, yeah... SO many skaters were doing 5 clean-quad skates years ago. SUCH a common thing.

• Chen had multiple 5+ quad freeskates, as we know (not gonna post all the protocols).
• Hanyu did 5 clean quads exactly once at the GPF 2019 (https://www.isuresults.com/results/...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf -- but he got -GOE with the 4T+Eu+3F< - which according to you isn't clean; not to mentioned he didn't do any 3A, popping his one axel attempt to a single)
• Uno almost did 5 clean quads at the GPF -- but two-footed his 2nd 4T which, still, isn't clean (https://www.isuresults.com/results/...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf)
• Zhou did 5 quads once at Skate America 2021 but with 3 q's (which according to you basically negates the quad being clean) (https://results.isu.org/results/sea...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf)
• Trusova would have 5 quad FS at the Olympics (https://results.isu.org/results/sea...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf) but there was the 4T error and 4Zq according to you isn't clean, so just a 3 quad freeskate, in your books.

Before Malinin, Chen is the only skater who has landed 5 quads with no q’s or URs or negative GOE on those jumping passes. He is also the only one to have landed 5 or more clean quads this season.

My point was Ilia attempted 5 just like many others had years ago (not that they were all clean) and speaking of which, even Yuzu mentioned he didn't like what adding the 5th did to his program. Frankly, it made his program look like crap since he had to change his layout. I want to see a whole program skated well with jumps, not just a program comprised of setting up for jumps with a blueberry, puffin muffin thrown in just to raise my blood sugar. Let's just put our cards on the table - the word missing from Ilia's skating is "deep." No deep knees and no deep edges. Without that word, no one should be getting 95 PCS. There is no reason for him to be above 90.

Zip.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Change your username to FunnySkaterGuy.




Is this smelly, red herring designed to support the bogus 95 PCS at Worlds? It's not working.



Yes, I'm rather fond of that 3A+Eu+4S. Huge points on that one element alone. I know you like to count the beans with Ilia (number of quads) but I actually enjoy more of an innovative approach and that means new jump combos which is Shaidorov's strength. Music and choreo, well, obviously that was lacking but I have to laugh at the irony of something several of us were making fun of early in the season getting spun into gold. I was genuinely pleased he won.



My point was Ilia attempted 5 just like many others had years ago (not that they were all clean) and speaking of which, even Yuzu mentioned he didn't like what adding the 5th did to his program. Frankly, it made his program look like crap since he had to change his layout. I want to see a whole program skated well with jumps, not just a program comprised of setting up for jumps with a blueberry, puffin muffin thrown in just to raise my blood sugar. Let's just put our cards on the table - the word missing from Ilia's skating is "deep." No deep knees and no deep edges. Without that word, no one should be getting 95 PCS. There is no reason for him to be above 90.

Zip.

Uh new jump combos? Like Malinin hasn’t executed any himself.

Oh I get it, a quad axel isn’t enough for you. Needs to do it in combination.

I never said he deserved 95, the opposite, in fact. But nice deflection from you being incapable of supporting 5 clean quads being commonplace.

I’ll keep my name (arigato gozaimasu…), but maybe change your username to Hilarigato, because you’re hilariously funny.

How ironic that your username is “Arigato”… when you’ve got all of us saying, “Please.”

 

[Arigato]

Oh I get it, a quad axel isn’t enough for you.

Actually, it isn't. An extra rotation. So? I enjoy several skater's 3A's far more than Ilia's 4A. And for the record, even Ilia mentioned he likes many of Mikhail's jumps better than his own. I just don't dig Ilia's jump style. I never have. I like airy jumps with good height and distance, not pencil thin jumps. I don't count the number, I look at how it's done. Heck, I like Selevko's or Adam's 4T better than Ilia's. They don't look anything alike. Don't forget, body frame can make a jump look different to the naked eye.

I never said he deserved 95, the opposite, in fact. But nice deflection from you being incapable of supporting 5 clean quads being commonplace.

I already answered you about not using the word "clean" regarding 5 quads in the post before this one. Early Alzheimers or what? Scroll up and read my prior post. Case in point, Shoma and Nathan attempted 5:

https://www.isuresults.com/results/season1718/gpf1718/data0105.pdf

I never said, "Years ago guys were landing 5 clean quads." They were attempting them, absolutely. That's why I brought it up, just like you brought up Ilia's so-called 5 quads at the recent Worlds, and I merely pointed out one wasn't clean. It wasn't. Just because his negative GOE was a small number still doesn't make it clean - for him or anyone else.

Back to that pesky 95 PCS, I find it offensive to pad a skater's lead over a well-established skater like Yuma with excellent skating skills. It's as if someone said, "Well crap, we better raise Ilia's PCS at the end of this season so it won't look so suspicious next season."

Still the only program of Ilia's I gave my approval - 2024 Worlds. 6 quads. 6 clean. Great GOE, well-deserved. And he was relaxed while skating, not manic. PCS 90. Free skate here:

TikTok - Make Your Day

He was the first to have 6 clean quads. Someone else was not. I had to clear the air quite a bit back then since I didn't want Ilia ripped off. I wouldn't want anyone ripped off with an achievement like that. "Fairness Over Faves" should be put on a hoodie for a few people to wear.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Finally watched the men's post-free skate press conference and I totally loved how all 3 men addressed the ISU proposed changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2dO-IUj2lA&t=8s

Thank you for posting this. Thank the Gods for sub titles. I am glad music rights were talked about. I am not sure I know or understand what they said about proposed changes.....or what the changes entail. It is interesting that Ilia said he would discuss his mother's competing there when he got home or when he saw her next. Are his parents separated?