Irina's interview ....

[Fossi]

Where did I say that I did not understand about nationals? You are putting words in my mouth.

You are completely off target. I am have not said 'should have' about anything. I am simply pointing out what was said and it was in reference to the earlier post. I simply pointed what Michelle said and did. It has nothing to do with should have. I even said that she said it in a diplomatic way. She won rightfully- that has been my opinion throughout. It was unnecessary to write that (because I was only pointing at the interview -read the post I was responding to). That was not the issue I was addressing. What is your problem? You are so upset upon reading that I found something reasonable about Irina so you assumed that I disliked Michelle. That is crazy.

My problem is that I don't think Irina's comments were cute, as many others don't, and some of her most uberfans can't accept that. Irina has made inapproriate comments about her competitors in the past and I don't think it's cute or funny. It's actually quite childish for a woman of her age. After SLC, Irina criticized Sarah's "cheated" jumps. Well, has Irina ever landed a CLEAN 3/3? I know several of her cheats were ratified. This latest comment makes me wonder why Irina is actually skating at all. Is she expecting Gold because she has been ill? Well, the judges are certainly going to give it to her and I dont' think that's fair. I don't care if you like Michelle Kwan, or hate her. That's your business. I disagreed with your comparison of the way Michelle handled her interview after Nationals, and Irina's response to her unjustified win at Europeans.
This is figure skating, and the skaters are going to be criticized. Even Irina.

 

[cianni]

Irina

Irina does make inappropriate comments at times. I can understand her thinking because she expects to win no matter how she skates. I also think in fairness to her she expects those high marks or points because she has always been overmarked. In looking at past comps I noticed how many times she was way overmarked and either Dick or Peggy would make a comment as to the marks being generous or a gift and some other remarks. Irina is a contender but I see very few comps where she was marked according to HOW she skated. She cops an attitude when questioned about a poor performance instead of just saying I didnt skate well and mean it not sounding defensive. Maybe she is angry for having an illness and thats human. I see how she can win with inflated points for the SP Walla no matter how she skates no one can win but her. I sure wish this wasnt how it works but Worlds will be an interesting event and we will get to see how the COP can be manipulated . I watched worlds from 96 to 2002 and that is quite telling. Like him or not Dick calls it as it is. I went back to rewatch what he said and he hit the nail on the head

 

[Grgranny]

I remember especially several years ago when she did some triple triples and came to a dead stop instead of flowing out of them and won. I don't remember who else skated but I know at the time I really thought others, probably Michelle, had skated a lot better.

 

[apache88]

Wow, first Slutskaya thread that could hit 100 replies and rival an average Kwan thread. But on a serious tip, Irina is known to be honest and speak her mind when she feels like her skating was not rewarded fairly or that she is out there skating for the audience and not the judges. Sasha has been known to speak her mind as well but she since changed that since a lot of people started calling her a "diva" and good for nothing other then running her mouth. Sasha shouldn't have to change who she is just because the general public does not approve of it. Sorry to go off topic here but back to Irina. Irina has always been upfront about everything, you either like her or you don't, she doesn't try to please anyone rather she goes out there and performs like she's been doing the last 10 years and is the same person she was yesterday, today.

As for the people who insist Irina is "two faced" I would just like to point out that you and I were not at the interview, we don't know how the question was asked or answered, all we are reading is the published interview. Do you know how many celebs do interviews and later find out either their words were taken out of context or what they didn't say what was published. Irina has stated before that there are a few journalists who twist her words and that she would not give them a personal one on one interview again.

I agree. I don't believe Irina is two-faced just based on the somewhat different tones in her comments to the US media and the Russian media. Would she be so stupid as to believe that her interviews with the Russian media would not be made known to the US? I strongly feel it is due to the fact that she can express her feelings better in Russian although I do feel her English is definitely good enough to converse with the US media. One is always best at expressing oneself in one's own mother tongue. Also another factor is translation. I know a few languages and I find translated interviews are always somewhat different, especially the expressed tones. Also, did anyone really see her facial expression when she commented about sharing room with Elena? Was it said in disgust, guilt, regret or what? So how can anyone be so quick as to jump to conclusion that she is mean?

Anyway, I don't see anything wrong with Irina's thinking she ought to have won certain competitions such as 2001 Worlds although I alongside the majority strongly disagree. She happens to disagree with us. It's not like she is thrash-talking to boost her ego, she really thinks she should've won. We may call her deluded but we ought to respect her opinion. Maybe someone, her peer or coach should explain to her that it wasn't just the judges who thought Michelle beat her in 2001 Worlds.

 

[michaelfsfan]

Anyway, I don't see anything wrong with Irina's thinking she ought to have won certain competitions such as 2001 Worlds although I alongside the majority strongly disagree. She happens to disagree with us. It's not like she is thrash-talking to boost her ego, she really thinks she should've won. We may call her deluded but we ought to respect her opinion. Maybe someone, her peer or coach should explain to her that it wasn't just the judges who thought Michelle beat her in 2001 Worlds.

I think it would be acceptable if 2001 Worlds was the only event in which Irina feels she was undermarked and deserved to be at the top of the podium, but there have been two other instances -- 2000 Worlds and SLC Olympics. I was watching live coverage of the latter event and I remember the camera moving straight from Sarah and Robin (who were shrieking and jumping up and down after realizing that Sarah had won) to Irina and Zhanna. Irina was obviously very upset; she was crying, banging her fists on a railing and it looked like she was angry at the results, while Zhanna was trying to calm her down. I didn't find out what Irina was saying as it was all in Russian, but according to some people, she was apparently lashing out at the judges and calling them "ugly pigs" for placing her second in the LP and thus depriving her of the Olympic gold medal. Granted, whatever she said was in the heat of the moment, but IF she had said those things, then I think it shows a blatant lack of respect for the judges. There were also newspaper reports the next day saying that the Russian team was considering an appeal against the judging decision, but I don't think any further action was taken.

 

[Excidra2001]

If Irina still thinks that she deserved to beat Michelle at 2001 Worlds, then she is more deluded than we think she is. Michelle was miles ahead artistically, and technically she delivered a 7 triple program with a 3-3 combination, compared to Irina's disjointed "I'm gonna shoehorn as many jumps as I can" 5/6 triple program with no 3-3 combination. I think the judges 7/2 split in favor of Michelle pretty much sums it all up.

Just wondering, you think Irina is deluded? And you rendered to that conclusion just by reading her interviews? speaking of worlds 2001. I watched the event live and I failed to see Kwan "Miles ahead" artistically IMHO. She delivered her program and skated well. It seems to me that the only performence you watched was kwan's considering that Slutskaya landed a 3/3/2 and attempted another 3/3 but failed and you did not know that. On paper, Slutskaya was skating the most difficult program and she tried to pull of the program her team submitted to the judges, she could not. I thought Kwan won that title rightfully but thats my opinion, Slutskaya is certinaly entitled to hers without being called deluded and every other name in the diss-book. The right lady won the world title in 01 but one thing that had me scratching my head was Kwan's two 1st place ordinals in the SP, how she received that is beyond me, she had a slight two-foot on the lutz and the program was not skated like it has been done in the past.

If Irina can't accept the fact that the judges may not always see eye to eye with her, then she needs to retire from amateur figure skating

If you can't accept the fact that Irina is not a guinea pig and is entitled to her own opinion, then I think you should refrain from anything that has to do with her.

 

[Excidra2001]

2000 Worlds and SLC Olympics. I was watching live coverage of the latter event and I remember the camera moving straight from Sarah and Robin (who were shrieking and jumping up and down after realizing that Sarah had won) to Irina and Zhanna. Irina was obviously very upset; she was crying, banging her fists on a railing and it looked like she was angry at the results, while Zhanna was trying to calm her down. I didn't find out what Irina was saying as it was all in Russian, but according to some people, she was apparently lashing out at the judges and calling them "ugly pigs" for placing her second in the LP and thus depriving her of the Olympic gold medal. Granted, whatever she said was in the heat of the moment, but IF she had said those things, then I think it shows a blatant lack of respect for the judges. There were also newspaper reports the next day saying that the Russian team was considering an appeal against the judging decision, but I don't think any further action was taken.

at "ugly pigs" yeah, those were the judges. Its very understandable if Irina was crying or hitting her fist/head or whatever on a railing, she just lost the most important title in figure skating and she came so close to it. Athletes work for years and years to obtain that prestigious title and to be on top of their sport, ones the dream failed her, its obvious that tears and anger would come forth.
As much as Sarah flutzed, under-rotated her 3/3s and is not the skater Kwan/Slutskaya are, her free-skate below everyone out of the water not because of its technical content but because of the freedom and joy you got from it while watching it. That was her moment and she rightfully won that LP.
The problem was the SP and even Tatiana Tarasova said something along the lines of "the Russian federation were fools not to protest the SP results when the results were up" she and many other people including journalist who were covering the event, foreign coachs, believed Slutskaya shoud've won the SP considering the mistakes Kwan had. As far as Sarah's SP, in my opinion, she should've been 5( even 6th place) behind Butryskaya and possibly Fumie.. Sarah's flutz, and under-rotated 3flip in the SP was over-looked, thats why many people though Irina should've been the Olympic champion.

I believe the Russian federtion protested the SLC ladies overall results, they should not have done that even though a case could be made as to why Slutskaya should've been ahead of Hughes in the free-skate, i'm not saying Irina should but that a case could be made to put her ahead of Hughes.What they should've done was protest the SP results because the result was not accurate and the right skater was not placed in 1st place. Before some people claim Michelle beat out Irina in the presention marks, there were couple of judges who placed Michelle ahead of Irina technically(Michelle, 5.8, 5.9 for tec and Irina 5.8 5.8) and one tied them in presention, that should not have happened with the mistake in her SP. But thats bridge under-water and i'm not going to debate that but rather wanted to point out why Irina and many people believed she should've won in SLC.

 

[michaelfsfan]

Just wondering, you think Irina is deluded? And you rendered to that conclusion just by reading her interviews? speaking of worlds 2001. I watched the event live and I failed to see Kwan "Miles ahead" artistically IMHO. She delivered her program and skated well. It seems to me that the only performence you watched was kwan's considering that Slutskaya landed a 3/3/2 and attempted another 3/3 but failed and you did not know that. On paper, Slutskaya was skating the most difficult program and she tried to pull of the program her team submitted to the judges, she could not. I thought Kwan won that title rightfully but thats my opinion, Slutskaya is certinaly entitled to hers without being called deluded and every other name in the diss-book. The right lady won the world title in 01 but one thing that had me scratching my head was Kwan's two 1st place ordinals in the SP, how she received that is beyond me, she had a slight two-foot on the lutz and the program was not skated like it has been done in the past.

Yes, I do think Irina is deluded if she thinks that the judges undermarked at 2001 Worlds and SLC Olympics when she didn't deliver the best LP at both events, and that is my opinion, which I am personally entitled to, and not a fact. Read my previous post about her reaction at SLC after the final results were announced. As for Worlds 2001, I do agree that some of my stats were wrong, but the judges and commentators both thought that Michelle deserved to place first ahead of Irina (as did you) and that's the main thrust of my original post. Yes, Irina is perfectly entitled to her own opinion, and I do think she is deluded, but I did not call her "every other name in the diss-book". I don't think many people will dispute the placements of the SLC Olympic LP; Sarah had the skate of her life (and remember this was judged according to the old 6.0 system and not CoP, so her flutzed jumps are irrelevant) yet once again it seemed to me that Irina was a sore loser, judging from her less than gracious reaction. The point is: she was beaten on two different occasions by two different skaters who skated better than she did, and instead of accepting it and moving on, she resents it and says that perhaps her recent Euros win was to make up for "all those years when I was unfairly placed 4th, for the Olympics."

If you can't accept the fact that Irina is not a guinea pig and is entitled to her own opinion, then I think you should refrain from anything that has to do with her.

As I mentioned above, I believe that Irina is entitled to her own opinion, and I am entitled to mine. Why is it that it is OK for her to believe that she deserved to win 2001 Worlds, and not OK for me to believe that she is deluded and a sore loser? We are all entitled to our own opinions, and they are not mutually exclusive or interdependent.

 

[Excidra2001]

So in your opinion, which one to believe, her interviews with NA media or interviews with Rusian media?

Well if you think Irina is a liar then you should be able to choose between the two, I don't so I don't have to choose.

What people fail to realize is that Irina's grasp of the english language is not as great as some people make it out to be. For instance, at competitions, NA journalists usually ask her how her performence went, what she could've done better or what we should look for from her in the future, they don't get personal with her because of the language barrier, she can not really(like most Rusisan skaters) comprehend with difficult and personal questions. Back in Russia, a few journalists will ask her to meet up with him/her at a cafe or some place where they could talk alone and ask questions regarding her skating, past results, personal stuff and etc. Most Russian journalist will come to Russian competitions to interview her and they usually get their questions answered in great detail and lengh because they speak the same language.So thats why most of her Russian interviews are juicy, bit controversial , overtly frank, and can produce replies in this magnitude.

 

[Excidra2001]

The point is: she was beaten on two different occasions by two different skaters who skated better than she did, and instead of accepting it and moving on..

Well Sarah's LP was skated better then Irina's LP, Irina's SP was skated better then Sarahs. So Sarah only gets half-the pie.
I read articles were Irina is quoted as saying she has moved(SLC) on and winning and losing is part of the sport.

As I mentioned above, I believe that Irina is entitled to her own opinion, and I am entitled to mine. Why is it that it is OK for her to believe that she deserved to win 2001 Worlds, and not OK for me to believe that she is deluded and a sore loser? We are all entitled to our own opinions, and they are not mutually exclusive or interdependent.

Thats certainly your opinion and your right, you sure are entitled to bashing skaters. While your at it, won't you throw in couple of disses for a good laugh.

 

[michaelfsfan]

Combining responses from two posts ....

Well Sarah's LP was skated better then Irina's LP, Irina's SP was skated better then Sarahs. So Sarah only gets half-the pie.

And your point is? BTW under the old 6.0 system, the LP is worth 2/3s of the total score, so technically Sarah gets 2/3s of the pie and not half.

I read articles were Irina is quoted as saying she has moved(SLC) on and winning and losing is part of the sport.

Oh really? So why does she mention that perhaps her latest Euros win was to make up for "all those years when I was unfairly placed 4th, for the Olympics." It shows that she still resents those whom she felt had undermarked her, thus depriving her of this and that. I don't call that accepting things and moving on ..... I call that bearing a grudge. It has been nearly 3 yrs since the SLC Olympics, and she still can't let go.

Its very understandable if Irina was crying or hitting her fist/head or whatever on a railing, she just lost the most important title in figure skating and she came so close to it. Athletes work for years and years to obtain that prestigious title and to be on top of their sport, ones the dream failed her, its obvious that tears and anger would come forth.

And that gives Irina the right to blame the judges and call them all sorts of names at the arena instead of doing it in the privacy of her own home? Wow, what a gracious gesture of sportsmanship from a classy skater. If Irina had wanted to lash out at anyone, then it should have been her own federation for not challenging the SP results before the LP. Or perhaps she should have been angry at herself for not skating a better program than Sarah. And you wonder why I think she is a sore loser.

Thats certainly your opinion and your right, you sure are entitled to bashing skaters. While your at it, won't you throw in couple of disses for a good laugh.

I'm just stating my opinion based on what I've seen and read; if that comes across as skater bashing, then so be it. I would have said the same thing irrespective of whether the skater in question was Irina or Michelle/Sasha/Sarah/Shizuka etc.

 

[Fossi]

It wasn't only the judges Irina whined about. I recall her infamous "Stupid Americans" comment too. Then she went on to diss Sarah Hughes, and then Michelle Kwan. There is no excuse for Irina's behaviors!
What "mistakes" did Michelle make in the SP? Did you forget that Irina left out the steps into the 3flip? Irina's SP wasn't as perfect as you want people to think. I know some people that would've put Irina's SP behind Sasha's.
You would have put Sarah that low in the SP? Puhease! Good thing you're just a diehard Irina fan and not a judge.
Tell me Excidra, how do you justify Irina's placement in the GPF 02? A 4 triple performance beating out 7 triples by Hughes and 6 triples by Kwan? I always wondered how anyone could justify that.

 

[mzheng]

Well if you think Irina is a liar then you should be able to choose between the two, I don't so I don't have to choose.

.

I diddn't say Irina is liar. Since it was your prev post said that the media may twist what Irina said and non of us were at the interviews. Thus my question which one to believe? or more explicitly which media was twisting? or non one of them twisting what Irina said was what she truely thought at the time of interview?

By all means I don't blame her for 'two faced' interview. She might just try to play 'Fit In' with NA media. And I believe what she said in Rusian interview was what she truely thinking. She certainly entitle what her opinion, I appreciate she said what she truely thought. But on the other side, her attitued to win or lose was not my cup of tea.

As for ppl drag in Kwan, said she always given political correct or polite answers to the medias. My piont is how do you know what she gave to the media was not her truely thinking? From what I read what Frank had taught/told her (right after 1998 Olympics "Many ppl would tell you that you were robbed. They are wrong. You skated good, but Tara skated better") and what her father had taught/told her ("Win or lose stand high", "You only lose the competetion, but you are not a loser", "Before you wear $20 shoes, now you wear $200 shoes, you better back to wear $20 shoes"), I found her answers in her early years interviews (where sometimes I felt a trace of arrogant I mentioned in one of my prev post) and lates were quite honeyst to herself. And I believe all those positive influences let Michelle get over her lose quickly and she never came out sounds bitter in her life.

While I believe they should be hold on to the same standard on judging their skating. I don't think they should be hold on to the same standard on their personality in interviews.

 

[mzheng]

There is no way that Rusian federation could protest the final result by adjusting the SP result after the whole competetion ended. Besides Had they protested the SP result before LP started. You never know who will skated what. Irina may skated more consevatively had she won the SP; and Michelle may skated all out like Sarah. And Michelle at the time was known as skated from behind and won. 2000 and 2001 worlds she won both from behind in SP. She was cursed by judge to reward her first place in SP, JMO.

 

[Excidra2001]

It wasn't only the judges Irina whined about. I recall her infamous "Stupid Americans" comment too. Then she went on to diss Sarah Hughes, and then Michelle Kwan. There is no excuse for Irina's behaviors!
What "mistakes" did Michelle make in the SP? Did you forget that Irina left out the steps into the 3flip? Irina's SP wasn't as perfect as you want people to think. I know some people that would've put Irina's SP behind Sasha's.
You would have put Sarah that low in the SP? Puhease! Good thing you're just a diehard Irina fan and not a judge.
Tell me Excidra, how do you justify Irina's placement in the GPF 02? A 4 triple performance beating out 7 triples by Hughes and 6 triples by Kwan? I always wondered how anyone could justify that.

Just to correct a few things, i'm not a die-hard Irina, I love the woman's skating but i'm not blinded by it. Well I know some people who till this day wonder how Sasha took those ordinals away from Irina considering her lutz was a major flutz. As I said, I will not debate SLC SP results becasue its been done for years and I refuse to a beat a dead-horse.

First people bring up 00 worlds, then 01, then SLC, then whatever competition which they felt Irina was "held up" whats next? How come Irina can't have kids?
it doesn't take a genius to realize that skaters who have been at the top of their sport for more then a decade will get the benefit of doubt from the judges or shall I say "held up" when they don't skate as well as their competition. All the great ones have been "held up" in competitions before, not just Slutskaya as people make it out to be. As fars GPF 02, She skated LP 1 and was rightfully placed ahead of the other ladies, she skated a superb SP and was the class of the field, and she was obviously held up in LP 2. Personally I would've put Kwan ahead, then Slutskaya with Hughes taking 3rd. I don't really care for Sarah's FLUTZ and severely under-rotated 3/3 and triple jumps, Slutskaya with her 3lutz/2loop, 3sal/3loop, 3loop, and 3flip(correct me if i'm wrong, I haven't seen the competition in a while) would've come out ahead in my score card because the 4 triple jumps she did was completed and well done. I could definitely understand if someone put Hughes in 2nd and Slutskaya in 3rd. Personally I wouldn't mind if Slutskaya was placed 3rd, she comes out fighting hard when she knows people are ahead of her rather then being on top with them. If we could go back and change GPF 02 results, I think Slutskaya would've been more then prepared in SLC.

 

[Mathman]

On what grounds could the Russian federation protest Irina's placement in the short program in 2002? That they disagreed with the judges?

One thing about Irina's skating is that you have to see it live to appreciate it. On TV, for some reason, she does not look graceful or fluid, certainly not compared to her major competitors such as Michelle Kwan.

But when you see her live you get a much better appreciation for her speed, strength, flow and ice coverage, as well as her on-ice personality. U.S. audiences love her even while they might be rooting for the American skaters to win. At least that has been my experience in the events that I have seen live and then later on TV.

About the top skaters being held up by generous judging, there is a reason why the top skaters are the top skaters. They skate better. So even if they miss a jump, the overall quality of their performance is taken into account in the judging process. I do not have any objection to this, as long as the judges are fairly following the judging protocols.

Mathman

 

[Doggygirl]

ITA Mathman...

One thing about Irina's skating is that you have to see it live to appreciate it. On TV, for some reason, she does not look graceful or fluid, certainly not compared to her major competitors such as Michelle Kwan.

But when you see her live you get a much better appreciation for her speed, strength, flow and ice coverage, as well as her on-ice personality. U.S. audiences love her even while they might be rooting for the American skaters to win. At least that has been my experience in the events that I have seen live and then later on TV.

About the top skaters being held up by generous judging, there is a reason why the top skaters are the top skaters. They skate better. So even if they miss a jump, the overall quality of their performance is taken into account in the judging process. I do not have any objection to this, as long as the judges are fairly following the judging protocols.

Mathman

I have not been fortunate enough to see Irina skate live. But based on reports about Irina as well as many other skaters, I have come to appreciate that there IS a big difference, for some skaters more than others it seems, to the TV version v. seeing it live. It's for this reason I'm almost DREADING the debate that will continue once European's is televised in the US this afternoon!!

DG

 

[chuckm]

I've always been puzzled by those who've claimed that Irina should have won the SP at SLC. In that competition, the 3 flip was supposed to be preceded by footwork, and the jump was supposed to be executed IMMEDIATELY after the footwork. Irina has always had the tendency to telegraph her jumps, and she did at SLC: she did the footwork, then paused to set up the flip---and got deducted for it. Her Bielmann spin traveled noticeably, then she finished after the music. These are the reasons why Irina didn't win the SP, and in fact, it wasn't as close as Irina claimed it was.

Michelle received 5 first place ordinals and 4 second place ordinals.
Irina received 4 first place ordinals, two second place ordinals and three THIRD place ordinals (Sasha Cohen took three 2nd place ordinals from Irina).

 

[michaelfsfan]

I've always been puzzled by those who've claimed that Irina should have won the SP at SLC. In that competition, the 3 flip was supposed to be preceded by footwork, and the jump was supposed to be executed IMMEDIATELY after the footwork. Irina has always had the tendency to telegraph her jumps, and she did at SLC: she did the footwork, then paused to set up the flip---and got deducted for it. Her Bielmann spin traveled noticeably, then she finished after the music. These are the reasons why Irina didn't win the SP, and in fact, it wasn't as close as Irina claimed it was.

Michelle received 5 first place ordinals and 4 second place ordinals.
Irina received 4 first place ordinals, two second place ordinals and three THIRD place ordinals (Sasha Cohen took three 2nd place ordinals from Irina).

OK, so let's recapitulate ..... In the SLC Olympics SP, Irina has a pause between her footwork and her 3F, her Biellmann spins travel noticeably and she finishes after the music -- and she still expects to be in the lead after that?? I don't remember Michelle having any obvious mistakes in her SP, and I can understand why Sasha (despite a flutz on her 3Z-2T combination) took 3 2nd place ordinals from Irina -- Sasha had a beautifully choreographed program, and she sold it to the audiences and judges. I think it was one of the best performances in her career to date (together with her Malaguena SP at last year's worlds).

Anyway, after the results for the SP are announced, Irina does not insist that her federation lodge a protest, or accept the fact that she could have skated better. Then in the LP, she is again outskated, this time by Sarah, and she does the same thing -- blame anyone but herself for her subpar performance, only this time she is also caught on camera openly calling the judges all sorts of names. How charming. If Irina so strongly believed that she had been undermarked, then she should have insisted that her federation lodge an appeal immediately. Perhaps the officials in the Russian FSU did not agree with her? I don't think many people would dispute the fact that the final placings for the Ladies were correct, ie 1. Hughes 2. Slutskaya 3. Kwan.

First people bring up 00 worlds, then 01, then SLC, then whatever competition which they felt Irina was "held up" whats next? How come Irina can't have kids?

Umm, excuse me? The reason we are having this "discussion" is because Irina HERSELF brought up the subject of the SLC Olympics, when she mentioned in her post-FS interview at Euros that perhaps her latest win was to make up for "all those years when I was unfairly placed 4th, for the Olympics."

At this point, let me point out that I am no Irina-hater or Michelle/Sasha-lover. I happen to be one of those who believe that Irina deserved to win her 6th European title, despite a less-than-stellar free skate. She was head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in the SP and it was reflected in her CoP scores. As far as the LP was concerned, the TSS for Irina, Susanna and Elena were very close and the first place could have gone to any of the three ladies.

I also feel that while Michelle deserved her 9th US National title, there was no way she should have been given 5.8s and 5.9s for technical merit and 4 6.0s for presentation in her LP. I would have given her 5.7 for the first mark and either 5.8 or 5.9 for the second.

This is a general figure skating forum, and no skater is above criticism. Not even Irina. So, Excidra2001, if you cannot bear to see your beloved Irina being criticized, then I suggest you refrain yourself from participating any further in this thread.

 

[mzheng]

Anyway, after the results for the SP are announced, Irina does not insist that her federation lodge a protest, or accept the fact that she could have skated better.

.

IIRC, in a interview, Irina said she diddn't found out until the next day of SP that she watched a big billarboard or screen at SLC street which was playing Michelle's SP, that she realized that she out skated Michelle in every element in short except the spiral. So it was imposible she insisted her federation file protest for her.