- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
That's great to hear, because he is one of the skaters whose troubles with speed/glide are much more noticeable live. He definitely suffered from it in Montréal
Figure Skating in Kazakhstan
- Thread starter lariko
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2017
Her Insta stories looks like she is enjoying California. Plus the camaraderie of the Kazakhstan team seems nice.
She is definitely on the rise.
The athletes are up for Harbin Games it's quite interesting they've included the heights and weights of the skaters (they don't normally do that).
Samodelkina has grown to 171cm. That is extraordinary. If you compare her to some of the top Japanese and Korean skaters, she's 16-18cm taller and in one case weight 50% more (Sofya is in great shape it's all muscle). The fact she has survived this and has some of the best triples and combos in the ISU shows how much upside she has as a skater if she keeps at it. Sofya is showing it is a sport for all women.
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2023
Uwoa and I were speaking on this just yesterday off the forum, how Samodelkina and Gushchina really push the limit on musculature for the ladies. They're very impressive. I'm not surprised at all though that her triples are good. It seems bigger ladies actually tend to have wonderful jumps, moreso than the smaller girls. Look at Kamila her 4T was best when she grew. Gushchina right now has the best jumps in the world and is the probably most muscular, and Frolova last season was one of the bigger girls and was most stable in the season. The bigger girls can carry amazing momentum in their exits; if they land perfectly then its impossible to match their aesthetic. They can make jumps look like water, like part of their program and not an isolated element; smaller girls can do that sometimes but they sacrifice height in that case, but the former get huge height and perfect gliding exits together. I watched Samodelkina'a performances a few days ago shes quite amazing in some ways, super satisfying and strong jumps, good energy/speed too and I like her spins, also good on her cardio she is a real athlete, but I really cant stand her programs themselves and the choreo is very banal unfortunately (I ended up watching SP on mute). 171cm is quite tall for a lady I agree (5'7), I think Khromykh is around 175-76 (5'9). Would like to see stats for Gushchina, she should be shorter but also very strong looking.
I still keep trying to put Kazakhstan (and Mikhail Shaidorov in particular) in Europe. 
I've just been searching for him on the Europeans predictions thread to put him as my predicted European champion. It's a shame he has to do 4CC because I genuinely think he would have had a good chance of winning in the current European field. For 4CC it is difficult for him to get past Ilia (if he goes),Yuma Kagiama and the other Japanese men and Juhnwan Cha. Kagiama should win comfortably if Ilia skips 4CC.
I've just been searching for him on the Europeans predictions thread to put him as my predicted European champion. It's a shame he has to do 4CC because I genuinely think he would have had a good chance of winning in the current European field. For 4CC it is difficult for him to get past Ilia (if he goes),Yuma Kagiama and the other Japanese men and Juhnwan Cha. Kagiama should win comfortably if Ilia skips 4CC.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
Shaidorov had skated well in the 4CC in the past and I think at either event he has a chance at the podium. It all depends on how the others skate and how he skates.
Wow, I didn't know Samodelkina was so tall. Fingers crossed TeamKaz gets spots in Canadian or American GP next year. Would love to see her in a live competition.
Wow, I didn't know Samodelkina was so tall. Fingers crossed TeamKaz gets spots in Canadian or American GP next year. Would love to see her in a live competition.
And on how the judges respond. I haven't forgiven them yet for the 'fall' they gave him for the choreo sequence at GP China.
It should never have been given as a fall.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
That was really iffy, no argument there, but Shaidorov did what he could to make the name for himself this season, so hopefully the calls would be less strict. Plus, Kagiyama is not there, so the bronze medal might be in the cards. Obviously, Americans and Japanese will be pushing Torgashev and Tsuboi to medal along with Cha, but, again, it's all going to be about how he skates and how others skate.And on how the judges respond. I haven't forgiven them yet for the 'fall' they gave him for the choreo sequence at GP China.
Samodelkina and the dancers are going against a far more stacked field, so I just hope they skate to their full potential and enjoy the competition.
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This might sound strange, but I wouldn't actually want Samodelkina to medal at 4CC this year. She seems to be making steady progress in what I hope is now a more sustainable way. It is her first year as a senior international and I want her to gain experience and continue developing without the pressure and spotlight that a 4CC medal would bring. I would like her to have a long career, like Tuktamysheva did, rather than being a two season wonder like many of the Tutberidze skaters.
Having seen the entries now, I think that Shaidorov has a good chance of getting onto the podium. Cha has been inconsistent this season because of his ankle problems - he will probably either win or crash and burn. I am not sure Kao Miura will compete (and hope, for his longer-term wellbeing, that he doesn't). He has been trying to skate through injury most of the season, which is why a lot of his scores have been lower and he WD from the university games. I think he needs to take the time to recover properly. That said, I think Shun Sato is the first substitute for Japan and that might be worse for Shaidorov! If he skates clean and is scored fairly, Shaidorov should be able to beat Torgashev and Tsuboi.
It is strange how they judge Shaidorov. It's almost like every call goes against him. It's happened so many times now, that it's inconceivable. It's practically a mathematical impossibility that every call can go against him like it does. No-one can have this kind of bad luck! Maybe there's another explanation 
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
With Torgashev WD and American team consisting of Pulkinen, Ma and Hiwatashi, Shaidorov has better odds to podium, if he skates well. Which is the only thing we really can hope for.
Personally, I do not see Samodelkina medalling, but she seems to be absolutely blossoming with Kazakhstan and I am so happy to see her gaining in confidence and developing a style.
Personally, I do not see Samodelkina medalling, but she seems to be absolutely blossoming with Kazakhstan and I am so happy to see her gaining in confidence and developing a style.
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2017
Sofia is getting better with every competition.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
I haven't seen their performances in the Asian Games, but everyone on the team seemed to have solid scores in the event skating alongside some of the competitors who would be in 4CC as well. I can't express enough how happy I am for Samodelkina continuing her career in such a steady, drama-free way.
Well done to Misha. Samodelkina has plenty to work with I love Sakamoto but she's not 14 points for PCS better than Samodelkina (or Kim 11 points better as impressive as Kim is). Sofya brings a real mature style of skating that only Sakamoto had at this event (but such flawed jumping unlike Sofya).
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2019
How come Sofia didn’t medal at the Asian winter games? That was a really good FS. Looked decently clean to me and definitely didn’t pop or fall. She’s also fast and expressive enough.
What gives?????
Did she mess up the SP?
What gives?????
Did she mess up the SP?
No. There was just three better skaters.
They were a lot better actually. By more than fifteen points.
In SP, after her jumps, she had a terrible spin (level 1 or 2) and a slow step sequence where she labours across the ice, reducing her skating skills and PCs score.
In FP, she popped her 3F to a 2F. Also, same problem where she loses a lot of points on spins. I believe another step 2 sequence.
Still, a 188 score puts her in contention for a top ten finish at Worlds. If she improves the spins and skates faster (better step sequence score and higher PCS), she can get closer to 200.
In this competition, she was more than 15 points from
and more than 25 points from 5th place. She was a solid 4th place.At Worlds, she will battle with Kimmy, Anastasiia, Maddie, Ahsun, Haein, Lari for a top ten spot. If she can regain her 3A or a quad, watch out.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
Honestly, the main thing is she will be in contention in Worlds, and I am happy for her. I hope the spins will return if not this season, then the next.
Also, I wanna live in the world where Shaidorov leads after SP in 4CC by 12 points for a few more days, heh. And, yes, I know, field is pretty relaxed, but 94 is respectable.
Also, I wanna live in the world where Shaidorov leads after SP in 4CC by 12 points for a few more days, heh. And, yes, I know, field is pretty relaxed, but 94 is respectable.
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