Considering he was also around 1/4 short on the 4T in the FS and we all know he is capable of rotating that these problems may be (and hopefully are) temporary.
I wonder if the successful (i.e. not popped) attempt at 4Lz had anything to do with it being the first quad - 4S they had always put second. On the other hand, putting 4T second seems to run the danger of ruining a perfectly good quad, so I can see the logic in putting it first. I can understand the desire to experiment and it's valuable experience, but right now they need to decide on what to go with and concentrate on it, because drastic layout rearrangements are obviously not doing any good. At the Nationals he would be fine with essentially any content as long as he actually skates it.
If his lutz is indeed better that his salchow it must be one of figure-skating's best-kept secrets, almost on par with Shoma's flip last season. I still find it hard to believe that jumping 4S with an underrotation and fall would have been harder for him physically than doing the same for 4Lz, especially considering that we have seen him land a fully-rotated 4S. Psychologically it may be a different matter for whatever reason. And we would still need to see a 4S-4T program to be sure in any way. Considering that both times Misha has tried to jump 4T second he fell, while he has never fallen on it when it was first, maybe right now he has a problem jumping any two quads in a row in competitions?
A full senior season? Then yes. Last season he only had one GP event.
Before Misha's injury his 4S was even better than his 4T, so I don't think it's edge jumps unless the injury somehow changed his whole mechanics. And the triple salchow is the only jump he has never screwed up as far as I remember, unlike the lutz. His lutz is more impressive, but how much easier it is is debatable. He normally jumps the triple salchow in a combination and leaves it to the end, so there is no reason to believe it comes particularly hard to him. This season in particular he's been looking like he could jump a 3S in his sleep. The triple loop, yes, he has had long-standing problems with, which is why he never puts it in combinations, takes it out if he is unsure and is prone to popping it. He also has been practising quad salchow successfully for quite a while after his injury and definitely can do it in practices according to himself, his coach and various witnesses. Nothing like that has ever been said about the quad lutz, so if he's managed to get it to a competition-ready level it indeed must have been a closely guarded secret.
It's not just the Fed, it's nearly everyone. People like that sort of thing, they consider it brave and a display of character. Especially as everyone and their dog have been on Misha's case for a year about learning 4Lz. He'd got a far worse reaction to trying to play it safe and failing that to taking a risk and (mostly) failing. Just as long as he and Valentina draw the right conclusions from it.
I don't think it's jumps and spins he needs help with, but maybe overall physical fitness? I have a suspicion he simply needs better stamina to skate a two-quad program without losing elements down the line. Especially considering it's not an easy program as someone correctly noted in the NHK men's free skate thread. Not sure who'd be available to help with it though. He already works with a psychologist, of course it's possible that a different psychologist would do a better job, but which?
:hap93:
