Elena Ilinykh & Ruslan Zhiganshin | Page 401 | Golden Skate

Elena Ilinykh & Ruslan Zhiganshin

From Elena's posts she seems to be friends with Anthony Ponomarenko or how she calls him "Pom Pom" :biggrin:

Yeah that nickname is so cute! (And carry on cultivating this friendship so they can get tech controller dad on side and choreography from mum~~:laugh:)
 
Lena is posting so much on her facebook, twitter and instagram it's hard to keep up! They seem to be having a great time in Novi. This is my favorite of everything she has posted: https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=6d39f737603b1a7e8d99b20145df8dba&oe=577E5B2B

Yeah that nickname is so cute! (And carry on cultivating this friendship so they can get tech controller dad on side and choreography from mum~~:laugh:)

Well, Shpilband's connection to Dostatni didn't hurt Belbin/Agosto. :biggrin:
 
Meldonium got into Bobrova's system sometime between the SD and the FD at Europeans. So the metabolization of the drug wasn't the problem.

I think that the Russian Fed didn't help I/Z much this season. One could say that they should have intervened at an early stage. Maybe they let them have too much artistical freedom, when they'd actually needed more guidance in order to be successful. The scores at the Moldovian Tournament were a huge problem, they thought they were on track when they weren't. Frida didn't grab the attention of the audience and the judges immediatly. I liked the program, but the polish wasn't there.
Igor is a sly coach. And he did change C/B's FS. What I want to say: with a coach like Igor we'll never see a program like Frida again. Good or bad? Everyone's own decision. But the results should get better.

I think their problem this season were their mistakes not the lack of polish.
Though I agree that Russian Fed didn't help them with the guidance in the right direction.
 
I think their problem this season were their mistakes not the lack of polish.
Though I agree that Russian Fed didn't help them with the guidance in the right direction.

Yeah, they got dumped for the mistake at CoR, and then even though they skated 2 flawless versions of Frida at CoR & Nats the federation just weren't going with them at all - the PCS at Nats compared to S/B tells you it was decided before the event who was getting on the Euro team, despite S/B's best efforts to screw up their tech in the FD. The fed had seen the programs all summer & said they were really happy with it all - there was a sport-express article with Piseev saying they would challenge the leaders, but then it all went wrong in the autumn with the shaky FD at CoC & SD at CoR & Kustarova doesn't have the clout or doesn't play the political game like Marina or S&Z do with their skaters to make up of any deficiencies.

Meanwhile, in Novi: https://www.instagram.com/p/BDlfDXJPLPb/ 100% more entertaining than any SD you'll watch today!

ETA: in the SD, neither S/B or S/K have covered themselves in glory. Getting back above S/B next season is perfectly possible.
 
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Yeah, they got dumped for the mistake at CoR, and then even though they skated 2 flawless versions of Frida at CoR & Nats the federation just weren't going with them at all - the PCS at Nats compared to S/B tells you it was decided before the event who was getting on the Euro team, despite S/B's best efforts to screw up their tech in the FD. The fed had seen the programs all summer & said they were really happy with it all - there was a sport-express article with Piseev saying they would challenge the leaders, but then it all went wrong in the autumn with the shaky FD at CoC & SD at CoR & Kustarova doesn't have the clout or doesn't play the political game like Marina or S&Z do with their skaters to make up of any deficiencies.

Meanwhile, in Novi: https://www.instagram.com/p/BDlfDXJPLPb/ 100% more entertaining than any SD you'll watch today!

ETA: in the SD, neither S/B or S/K have covered themselves in glory. Getting back above S/B next season is perfectly possible.

:love: Latin for next season?
Yeah, the results for the Russian teams were disappointing. It`s insane that in a discipline Russia used to dominate, they are only capable to get one team in the top 10, whereas there are maybe going to be two US teams on the podium.
 
Well let's hope things go better in the FD.

However, I think this years results mirror the narrow mindedness of the Russians. Look at what G/P were able to do with their S/D? The same could have been done for I/Z. But as Ruslan said, the establishment has little appreciation for what isn't classic and so they squeezed them out. They literally told SinKats they were to be the saviours of Russian ID and they were looking for THE results from THEM. Then TAT goes on to whisper today "There was a team but they were dismissed". All this is beyond hilarious.:scowl:

:scratch2: What did she mean by that?
Anyway, it`s not the first time the Russian Fed let their teams go into the season with bad programs. We only have to remember that this is the same Fed who let Domnina/Shabalin, the reigning World Champion, do an Aboriginal OD in the Olympic season or the kind of programs Morozov forced on I/K (with the exception of the Olympic year).
 
Worlds is not the same without Elena and Ruslan. The audience would have loved their Queen SD. Speaking of SDs, I think these songs by Beth Hart and Jon Bonamassa like "I 'll Take Care of You" http://youtu.be/aLR_bSzPTiY and "I'll Love You More than You Will ever Know" http://youtu.be/UdNKR3GaOtc and "I'd Rather Go Blind" http://youtu.be/sBZEo2uIizk would make for a good blues SD. I appreciate the video and pictures Elena has posted of her and Ruslan ; it definitely helps my RusLena withdrawal that I have had since Russian Nationals.
 
If I'm reading Lena's twitter right, she said to her friend Anna (who did the Carmen costume) that they have chosen music for one of their programs (can't remember if PT is SD or FD!) and Anna needs to start getting costume ideas! Double yay because I loved the Carmen dress and it's great that they are progressing with next season so quickly.
 
If I'm reading Lena's twitter right, she said to her friend Anna (who did the Carmen costume) that they have chosen music for one of their programs (can't remember if PT is SD or FD!) and Anna needs to start getting costume ideas! Double yay because I loved the Carmen dress and it's great that they are progressing with next season so quickly.
Awesome! I think PT is the FD and CT the SD,but I'm not 100% sure.
Whatever costumes Elena's friend is going to make, I hope she will integrate a scarf for Ruslan :biggrin:
 
Awesome! I think PT is the FD and CT the SD,but I'm not 100% sure.
Whatever costumes Elena's friend is going to make, I hope she will integrate a scarf for Ruslan :biggrin:

If only P/B hadn't already done Le Petit Prince, it would have been the perfect scarf wearing opportunity!
 
Worlds is not the same without Elena and Ruslan. The audience would have loved their Queen SD. Speaking of SDs, I think these songs by Beth Hart and Jon Bonamassa like "I 'll Take Care of You" http://youtu.be/aLR_bSzPTiY and "I'll Love You More than You Will ever Know" http://youtu.be/UdNKR3GaOtc and "I'd Rather Go Blind" http://youtu.be/sBZEo2uIizk would make for a good blues SD. I appreciate the video and pictures Elena has posted of her and Ruslan ; it definitely helps my RusLena withdrawal that I have had since Russian Nationals.

one of my favourite blues duets of all time :love:, wish some ice dancers would skate SD to that...
 
I think it is the FD. Sometime immediately after worlds they tend to give some final instructions or clarifications regarding the SD sometimes ?, so choosing the SD music can sometimes take a bit more time. Good for them. This is no short term venture.
 
After watching Worlds I have to say that both S/K and S/B aren't that far ahead. Although their SD wasn't received very well, IMO it's still the part of the competition where I/Z have an advantage compared to the other two teams.
 
After watching Worlds I have to say that both S/K and S/B aren't that far ahead. Although their SD wasn't received very well, IMO it's still the part of the competition where I/Z have an advantage compared to the other two teams.

Yeah, they are 100% solid technicians, which might sound weird with the big mistakes they've had, but what I mean is that they have silly slips but they never let it rattle them or affect their ability to get the marks for everything else - Euros last year is the prime example, following that freak accident moment on the lift with a level 3 step sequence and a flawless final lift. First team to get level 2 on both patterns last season, the step sequences are consistently level 3, when they had issues on the spin last year it was gone by nationals. The other two keep leaving points on the table because they aren't strong enough skaters to be consistently clean on their turns - if you can't do that you can't get high levels for steps - and they have the same issues following them throughout the season. I said after SA to a friend that S/K would never manage their rotational lift in the FD without a time deduction, and guess what, it's happened at every event!

I/Z have to fix their mindset, not get tense which let the CoR & Nats mistake happen. But it's easier to do that than reworking basic parts of your skating like the others need, and next year the pressure will be off a bit because they will be chasing not being chased.
 
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