Mikhail Kolyada wins first national title

[gsk8]

The 2017 Russian National Championships is underway in Chelyabink, Russia, and the first set of medals awarded was in the Men’s division, which is arguably the weakest discipline in the country right now. However, even though none of the skaters displayed an arsenal of jumps comparable to that of the world’s best skaters at the ISU Grand Prix Final earlier this month, the Russian men definitely took notice and tried to step up their game accordingly.

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Mikhail Kolyada opened his long program performance with a fully rotated quad Lutz attempt, but fell on the landing. He went on to produce a slightly flawed quad toe loop and the rest of the elements, including two triple Axels, in his entertaining “La reve de la fiancee” and “A la lune” routine was spot on. The student of Valentina Chebotareva picked up 188.15 points for his free, and with 283.48 points in total, won his first national title with 23 points to spare.

“Overall, it was rather smooth,” said the beaming skater afterwards. “Even though I fell on the Lutz, I managed to pull myself together and deliver the rest of the program.”

The quad Lutz is here to stay. When asked about his plans regarding the jump, he promised to go for it at the European Championships in January. Meanwhile, he is looking forward to a New Year break.

“I do not know how much time off I will be allowed to have,” said the 21-year-old, “but I definitely need some, that’s for sure, before I start preparing for the Europeans in earnest.”

Do you feel that the Russian Men's division is currently the weakest discipline in the country?

 

[Alchamei]

It is, but that doesn't mean it completely sucks. There are many interesting skaters out there! Mikhail has huge jumps, nice spins and charming personality! I hope he will have more successful years to come!

 

[mrrice]

My Baby Won...................................This is the FIRST time I have ever predicted the winner!!!!! I barely knew who he was before this season and I called him Illia Junior because I couldn't remember his name. Now, He is Russia's National Champion. Congratulations to this talented Young Man. May this be the first of many titles to come in your young career. Bravo!!:dance2::2thumbs:

 

[Khoai]

My friend expect him to overtake Mr. Fernandez at European next season. I hope it will be this season.

 

[Elaine666]

Well deserved:agree:European will be fun now, at last.

 

[Layback11]

Firstly, congratulations!

Second...

I CORRECTLY PREDICTED THE WINNER OF A MEN'S EVENT!!!! :hap85:

*Feels special*

 

[Mathman]

Comparing the disciplines, the Russian ladies' is the deepest, of course. But Kolyada leads a team of men that are interesting, enjoyable and competitive.

 

[Interspectator]

Kolyada's Lutzes are amazing. Completely different from Boyang (my other favorite lutzer) I hope he will be able to nail that 4Lz at Europeans.

 

[Tolstoj]

Do you feel that the Russian Men's division is currently the weakest discipline in the country?

No, they are not successfull internationally at the moment because russian coaches have values: they prefer the quality of those jumps, even in quads and 3a, but that also mean unreliable landings. (Plus they have a really strong group of juniors already with quads)

Nathan or Shoma's quads almost looks like triples compared to Kovtun/Kolyada quads. The height in Voronov's 3A is still unmatchable today.

Mikhail Kolyada with two clean performances (including the 4ltz) should be in the top 3 the world in my opinion, because his jumping technique is better than anyone else in the planet, his spins are good too and the artistry is there. But he is inconsistent.

 

[gmyers]

Dance and men are about even. They both have their major problems and skaters with potential but they need to enter the mainstream of the sports now. They need to follow the trends. They need to realize it's not coincidence that all the best train in North America. They are producing talent but are packaging them all wrong and in almost every way wrong. Nothing would be better than kolyada moving to Orser or Caroll or even Arutyunyan.

 

[andromache]

Nathan or Shoma's quads almost looks like triples compared to Kovtun/Kolyada quads. The height in Voronov's 3A is still unmatchable today.

Mikhail Kolyada with two clean performances (including the 4ltz) should be in the top 3 the world in my opinion, because his jumping technique is better than anyone else in the planet, his spins are good too and the artistry is there. But he is inconsistent.

Lol....if you changed the names around in this it'd be like saying that Evgenia's triples look like doubles compared to Kaetlyn's triples. The height and distance in Kaetlyn's 3F is still unmatchable today.

Kaetlyn with two clean performances (including the 3ltz) should be in the top 3 the world in my opinion, because her jumping technique is better than anyone else in the planet, her spins are good too and the artistry is there. But she is inconsistent.

Based on this statement, it seems like Canadian coaches have values but Russian coaches do not because instead of caring about the quality of Evgenia's jumps, they care more about reliable landings.

FYI, nothing I've said above is based on my own personal opinion - but I think it needs to be said that making sweeping generalizations about the values of the coaches of a particular nation is ridiculous and can easily be proven wrong. Let's discuss skaters based on individual ability/performances instead of what country they or their coaches come from.

(Also Nathan Chen's coaches are Russian. What about their values compared to other Russian coaches?)

 

[Khoai]

^But Miss Osmond has a questionable edge in her lutz. Even if her SP is amazing, she should have gotten deduction for it.

 

[rosy14]

Wait Europeans and Worlds, then we can discuss Kolyada (whom I like a lot).
As for moving to USA or Canada: the best athlete now in USA is Chen, who is not ethnically speaking American, but Chinese, Asian, as Hanyu, Shoma, Boyang Jin and, yes, Chan too. Having those knees ("Mongolian") means a lot. Russians, as all the other Europeans and Americans, are at a disadvantage, unless they have some Asian blood in them (cfr Denis Ten too).
Chen's trainers now are as much as Russian as Mishin.
As for ice dance: the last 2 years have been dominated (rightly or not, this is another question) by French, trained by French and French- Canadian coaches. Not really a Nordamerican first position. Shibs are trained by a Russian (and they too are not ethnically American, as for knee), and Chock/Bates are trained by another Russian. Etc. And the greatest of them all Virtue/Moir learned how to skate at their best with two Russians.
So, if the Russian ice dance skaters are not on top, is as much an issue with themselves as an issue with coaches. How much the first, how much the second ? Time and results will tell. I'm sure if Bobrova/Soloviev would have competed at Worlds, quite probably they'd have arrived in 4th-5th position, ahead of many Nordamerican couples, judging for their continuous improvement and results at Euros (they were third after the SD, but second after the FD). And by the way ice dance is so political, results reflect only in part the TRUE value of skaters and coaches.

 

[moriel]

Wait Europeans and Worlds, then we can discuss Kolyada (whom I like a lot).
As for moving to USA or Canada: the best athlete now in USA is Chen, who is not ethnically speaking American, but Chinese, Asian, as Hanyu, Shoma, Boyang Jin and, yes, Chan too. Having those knees ("Mongolian") means a lot. Russians, as all the other Europeans and Americans, are at a disadvantage, unless they have some Asian blood in them (cfr Denis Ten too).
Chen's trainers now are as much as Russian as Mishin.
As for ice dance: the last 2 years have been dominated (rightly or not, this is another question) by French, trained by French and French- Canadian coaches. Not really a Nordamerican first position. Shibs are trained by a Russian (and they too are not ethnically American, as for knee), and Chock/Bates are trained by another Russian. Etc. And the greatest of them all Virtue/Moir learned how to skate at their best with two Russians.
So, if the Russian ice dance skaters are not on top, is as much an issue with themselves as an issue with coaches. How much the first, how much the second ? Time and results will tell. I'm sure if Bobrova/Soloviev would have competed at Worlds, quite probably they'd have arrived in 4th-5th position, ahead of many Nordamerican couples, judging for their continuous improvement and results at Euros (they were third after the SD, but second after the FD). And by the way ice dance is so political, results reflect only in part the TRUE value of skaters and coaches.

Also, what does it mean on top?
Imho, having skaters who are able to be among top 10 best in the world means pretty much on top.
We are a bit spoiled by Evgenia and Hanyu and their WRs, I guess =)

 

[rosy14]

Also, what does it mean on top?
Imho, having skaters who are able to be among top 10 best in the world means pretty much on top.
We are a bit spoiled by Evgenia and Hanyu and their WRs, I guess =)

On top, meaning in the first 5- 6, as the other bloggers seem to imply, because they can be medalled at big events.
For me personally they are already on top.

 

[Mirunna]

The height in Voronov's 3A is still unmatchable today.

Mikhail Kolyada with two clean performances (including the 4ltz) should be in the top 3 the world in my opinion, because his jumping technique is better than anyone else in the planet, his spins are good too and the artistry is there. But he is inconsistent.

I am sorry but I don't agree - I can name a few male skaters curently competing with much better 3A than Voronov - Hanyu and Han Yan are the first ones that come to my mind.
I like Mikhail but give him to skate Yuzuru's, Patrick's or Fernandez's LP and you will have an epic meltdown. There is a reason why these three are considered to be the current best male skaters in the world - they have the technical stuff (all go for at least 3 quads and 2 triple axels in the LP) and very difficult programs. Mikhail is fun, talented, young and with a potential great future in this sport ahead of him but at this point his programs are a bit empty and he struggles with consistency.

 

[silverfoxes]

Do you feel that the Russian Men's division is currently the weakest discipline in the country?

4 out of 6 of the JGP finalists were Russian men (and technically, 5 out of 6 since Krasnozhon is Russian and trained to jump by Mishin). Aliev and Samarin will be seniors soon, and hopefully Adian will be able to come back. I just wonder what is the point of constantly putting down the men, calling them weak, failures, comparing them unfavorably to Plushenko, etc. Does that seem constructive at all? Why always focus on the negative when it comes to Russian men? I would much rather watch them than some of the overhyped top skaters from other countries.

 

[gmyers]

Wait Europeans and Worlds, then we can discuss Kolyada (whom I like a lot).
As for moving to USA or Canada: the best athlete now in USA is Chen, who is not ethnically speaking American, but Chinese, Asian, as Hanyu, Shoma, Boyang Jin and, yes, Chan too. Having those knees ("Mongolian") means a lot. Russians, as all the other Europeans and Americans, are at a disadvantage, unless they have some Asian blood in them (cfr Denis Ten too).
Chen's trainers now are as much as Russian as Mishin.
As for ice dance: the last 2 years have been dominated (rightly or not, this is another question) by French, trained by French and French- Canadian coaches. Not really a Nordamerican first position. Shibs are trained by a Russian (and they too are not ethnically American, as for knee), and Chock/Bates are trained by another Russian. Etc. And the greatest of them all Virtue/Moir learned how to skate at their best with two Russians.
So, if the Russian ice dance skaters are not on top, is as much an issue with themselves as an issue with coaches. How much the first, how much the second ? Time and results will tell. I'm sure if Bobrova/Soloviev would have competed at Worlds, quite probably they'd have arrived in 4th-5th position, ahead of many Nordamerican couples, judging for their continuous improvement and results at Euros (they were third after the SD, but second after the FD). And by the way ice dance is so political, results reflect only in part the TRUE value of skaters and coaches.

It is partially political so go to where the most powerful people are now and that's in North America! Why stay in Russia and be far away from the epicenter of all the action and politics! It's a problem that when people say the best coaches in North America ar Russian so obviously it's fine to stay in Russia where they came from. That is wrong because in US and Canada the Russians are not controlled by the Russian federation and the ice dance culture of Russia. The ice dance dilute of Russia is not IJS and hates IJS and wants to abolish it.

 

[Tolstoj]

I am sorry but I don't agree - I can name a few male skaters curently competing with much better 3A than Voronov - Hanyu and Han Yan are the first ones that come to my mind.
I like Mikhail but give him to skate Yuzuru's, Patrick's or Fernandez's LP and you will have an epic meltdown. There is a reason why these three are considered to be the current best male skaters in the world - they have the technical stuff (all go for at least 3 quads and 2 triple axels in the LP) and very difficult programs. Mikhail is fun, talented, young and with a potential great future in this sport ahead of him but at this point his programs are a bit empty and he struggles with consistency.

In terms of height, no Voronov has the biggest 3A. But of course we should also consider transitions in and out, flow on the landing,... i do agree that Hanyu's 3A overall is better.

Actually Mikhail last year skated beautifully at worlds against Yuzuru, Patrick (who made mistakes here and there) and Fernandez. 2016 GPF showed that something could change going into the 2018 Olympics and judges won't let Patrick or Javi win if they mess up everytime.

 

[WeakAnkles]

Wait Europeans and Worlds, then we can discuss Kolyada (whom I like a lot).
As for moving to USA or Canada: the best athlete now in USA is Chen, who is not ethnically speaking American, but Chinese, Asian, as Hanyu, Shoma, Boyang Jin and, yes, Chan too. Having those knees ("Mongolian") means a lot. Russians, as all the other Europeans and Americans, are at a disadvantage, unless they have some Asian blood in them (cfr Denis Ten too).
Chen's trainers now are as much as Russian as Mishin.
As for ice dance: the last 2 years have been dominated (rightly or not, this is another question) by French, trained by French and French- Canadian coaches. Not really a Nordamerican first position. Shibs are trained by a Russian (and they too are not ethnically American, as for knee), and Chock/Bates are trained by another Russian. Etc. And the greatest of them all Virtue/Moir learned how to skate at their best with two Russians.
So, if the Russian ice dance skaters are not on top, is as much an issue with themselves as an issue with coaches. How much the first, how much the second ? Time and results will tell. I'm sure if Bobrova/Soloviev would have competed at Worlds, quite probably they'd have arrived in 4th-5th position, ahead of many Nordamerican couples, judging for their continuous improvement and results at Euros (they were third after the SD, but second after the FD). And by the way ice dance is so political, results reflect only in part the TRUE value of skaters and coaches.

So I guess this must mean that Fernandez is secretly Asian huh?

Eugenics rears its ugly ugly ugly head.