The heights are off on some skaters will check when I can. Frank Caroll and every coach knows short skaters are closer to the ice, closer to their center of gravity, not sure how to explain that but I'm sure someone here could help me out as it late and I'm still struggling with power from storm. Everyone knows and has said for years size, shape matter in rotating jumps. Check out the "Frank Caroll discusses Liza thread." He's quite accurate and truthfull. I'm sure this gets discussed here before.
Of course size and shape matters. Of course if Elizaveta becomes Cynthia's size or grows out like Elene G, that well, it may be the death knell. But guess what size and shape matters in every sport. If Michael Jordan or Lebron James for example were 5-3 would they have been huge basketball stars today? I'd say the answer is nope. But would it be fair to sit there and say Michael, Lebron, Kareem they weren't all as good as they are because they were physically tall? I'd say the answer is again no.
Because there are plenty of people as tall if not taller who are not as good as those people at basketball. Because they didn't put the work into it, didn't drill enough etc. Michael, Lebron, all of them yes were physically gifted but they also honed those physical gifts and deserve full 100% credit for that one.
There are kids in this sport who clearly are getting away with being tiny and muscling in jumps. A lot of people feel the problems in the US right now is so many US coaches in order to get their girls faster they are teaching their students the jumps in the quickest way possible rather than the correct way. Not focusing on basic skating as well. So you have girls in the US who are jumping sure, but its clear that as soon as they get bigger/develop hips those jumps are going to be an issue.
No where for an example is there a more cautionary tale than Caroline Zhang. A very talented kid but it was obvious as clear as day that she'd have a problem with those jumps when she was older. It was a sad case because there was no reason Zhang couldn't have learned how to jump correctly when she was a much younger kid. Couldn't have had those basic skating skills worked on. Now she has to relearn everything when its physically much harder and its sad to see.
The reason people are high on Elizaveta is because she's Zhang's exact opposite. She has very good skating skills for her age, and her jumping technique is just about PERFECT. As long as she doesn't get too big to tall thats going to make things so much easier. The Eurosport commentators talked about young kids taking note about how she uses such little preparation into the jump/instead the momentum goes to the jump itself. If you look at clips of Elizaveta when she was smaller you can see her jumps have gotten bigger/better! as she's gotten older. People think this will continue as she gets more power in her skating. At 12 she actually had toe axels etc, which Mishin fixed. Her great technique didn't get there just out of accident. Her coaches took her aside, insisted on it, and she listened. If Zhang's jumps are the cautionary tale, Tukt's jumps are example of what you do right.
Thats why people take such issue with Frank's words because Frank himself knows full well that there's more to Tuktamisheva than she's just super tiny and can land those jumps.
Those are high quality jumps that most 14 year olds, don't have. And she gets all the credit for that.
And if you want an illustration of what I'm saying. Here's a clip of Tukt in 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fFOUOtYrkA Why are her jumps so much better now if being super small is the main thing jump wise...?
In fact one can point out similar things with Miki and Mao. While Mao is much preferable in a lot of ways as a skater. Miki absolutely has the better jumps for the most part (except for the 3axel). Sure Ando staying in shape helps etc. But Ando's coaches at a young child gave her much better jumping technique than Mao's coaches did. Mao's coach Yamada is a great coach (especially with her kids basic skating skills). But she has a tendency to teach her kids some bad habits technique wise (short cuts) and so as they get older, only the most talented the Midori's the Mao's survive puberty. Midori's jumps were so huge she could survive those leg wraps. But the leg wrap certainly not ideal by any stretch of the imagination.
, I had read it in 
