Mikhail Kolyada

[coldblueeyes]

Yes, he is his talisman!

I thought it was just thinly veiled sexism at first - sue me, haha - but maybe the guy is a good presence beside Misha. And we're all about what's good for him to compete well.

But I'm just proud of him. He looked good, he fought for the axel, he enjoyed the program, but people also were behind him, and he likes that. Doesn't matter what happens Saturday, if he skates like this I'm more than fine.

 

[Flyflybutterfly]

Hello!

Bravo, Bravisimo Misha! So proud of him! When he was ready to jump 4T3T my heart pounded so wildly....but he did it, he dit it so beautiful! Nice comments from Spanish reporters, they said he deserves it! Go on Misha! He fighted so hard at Nationals , he can do it at Europeans too, best of luck to him next Saturday!

 

[Imov]

Congrats on doing well today misha

 

[icybear]

Just popping in to say bravo to Mikhail for the clean sp! Hope you can win this!

 

[chopinskate]

I love the way he breaks out of his last rotation entirely in the air for his 4T. It looks like it's a smaller 4T than Boyang's (could be wrong), but this particular quality makes it look like it floats through the air. Wonderful.

 

[Danibellerika]

Haven't watched the skate yet, but saw the score. Just wanted to pop in to go

 

[vorravorra]

I love the way he breaks out of his last rotation entirely in the air for his 4T. It looks like it's a smaller 4T than Boyang's (could be wrong), but this particular quality makes it look like it floats through the air. Wonderful.

Yes, Misha's 4T doesn't have outstanding height and it's smaller than Boyang's and a few other people's. The person with the highest 4T and 4S is actually Kovtun. But Kovtun's max rotation speed is slow, Misha's pretty decent although he is no Chen or Shcherbakova.

 

[vorravorra]

"It was a good performance, not without small mistakes, but I'm pleased with what I put out. It is definitely easier to skate when you're healthy." - Misha after the SP. All we need to know about what was happening on the first half of the season.

Also, depending on what happens on Saturday, we might as well demand Mikhail² in the K&C every time!

I am still wary about the FS, there has just not been enough time to gain form. The SP as he said he'd known he could manage even with full-blown sinusitis.

 

[chopinskate]

Yes, Misha's 4T doesn't have outstanding height and it's smaller than Boyang's and a few other people's. The person with the highest 4T and 4S is actually Kovtun.

Yes, sounds about right, but here I actually think his 4T was bigger than usual. He must have put his energy into jumping it and having a clean program :agree:

 

[rachno2]

I am still wary about the FS, there has just not been enough time to gain form. The SP as he said he'd known he could manage even with full-blown sinusitis.

I am, too. But he looks (relatively) sharp in practice. Maybe with his cushion going into the free he’ll simplify the layout? In his interview with Match he was coy about how technically difficult the free will be. But knowing Misha, I am expecting the full-blown layout, maybe even three quads.

I must say the thought of him skating last, right after Javi, makes me nervous beyond words. But the short was such a triumph that I’m happy with this competition already, no matter what happens on Saturday. He so, so needed that 100+ score for his confidence. I’m relieved the judges haven't given up on him despite his inconsistencies all season.

 

[vorravorra]

Yes, sounds about right, but here I actually think his 4T was bigger than usual. He must have put his energy into jumping it and having a clean program :agree:

He does better when his toe jumps are not too high actually. He has that issue with axis which seems to rear its ugly head when he takes off to hard. Or when he is off in general, you can see even his 3Lz start to tilt backwards then like at Nationals.

 

[coldblueeyes]

I am still wary about the FS, there has just not been enough time to gain form. The SP as he said he'd known he could manage even with full-blown sinusitis.

He said he could manage, but did he in the past? Not really. His 3A still wasn't in top form, but the rest of the SP was certainly a huge step above what he did so far this season. However, I don't really expect the same for the FS, but he's doing decent free programs this season, don't know why he wouldn't do another of those.

 

[vorravorra]

He said he could manage, but did he in the past? Not really. His 3A still wasn't in top form, but the rest of the SP was certainly a huge step above what he did so far this season. However, I don't really expect the same for the FS, but he's doing decent free programs this season, don't know why he wouldn't do another of those.

Well, he did in Zagreb, kind of. Probably what he was referring too, he said his practices had been going well and that helped him at Nationals. Obviously he should be in better form now and indeed he seems to be but to last through a difficult layout I am not sure. But who knows, maybe we'll even finally see a -3S Euler combo. It seems to be more elusive than quads this season.

 

[coldblueeyes]

Well, he did in Zagreb, kind of. Probably what he was referring too, he said his practices had been going well and that helped him at Nationals. Obviously he should be in better form now and indeed he seems to be but to last through a difficult layout I am not sure. But who knows, maybe we'll even finally see a -3S Euler combo. It seems to be more elusive than quads this season.

He landed all his quads this season, while he didn't manage to jump that combo even once. Hopefully he can do it on Saturday.

 

[vorravorra]

"It was a good performance, not without small mistakes, but I'm pleased with what I put out. It is definitely easier to skate when you're healthy." - Misha after the SP. All we need to know about what was happening on the first half of the season.

Also, depending on what happens on Saturday, we might as well demand Mikhail² in the K&C every time!

I listened to a version without commentary and Mikhail Semenenok the off-ice coach asks him in the K&C "so it's easier to skate healthy, isn't it?" and Misha smiles, nods and says "hugely". Also Misha and Valentina discuss speed, that it was OK but could be a bit better somewhere, couldn't hear well enough.

 

[rachno2]

I listened to a version without commentary and Mikhail Semenenok the off-ice coach asks him in the K&C "so it's easier to skate healthy, isn't it?" and Misha smiles, nods and says "hugely". Also Misha and Valentina discuss speed, that it was OK but could be a bit better somewhere, couldn't hear well enough.

I did think he was slower than normal here. But like coldblueeyes observed at Nationals, maybe a slower speed helps him to concentrate more.

I wonder if we'll ever know the whole story behind this season and how sick he was at his fall assignments. Reading between the lines, it seems this is the best he has felt in a while.

 

[coldblueeyes]

I didn't think he was slower at all, but during the step sequence, for example, he didn't try to rush too much during the clusters. And only used the space in between them to get some distance across the rink - but during his jumps, especially between the combo and the lutz, he was flying.

On another note, I've been going around listening to some of the commentary, and it's nice to see people from around the world rooting for Misha: I think the spanish comentators especially were really behind him.

 

[vorravorra]

I did think he was slower than normal here. But like coldblueeyes observed at Nationals, maybe a slower speed helps him to concentrate more.

I wonder if we'll ever know the whole story behind this season and how sick he was at his fall assignments. Reading between the lines, it seems this is the best he has felt in a while.

Yes, it sounds like he only now may be fully realising how much his health had weighed him down.

 

[coldblueeyes]

Yes, it sounds like he only now may be fully realising how much his health had weighed him down.

He did mention in one of his latest interviews some along the lines of when one gets used to training and competing with health problems, it's easy to lose perception of where one should be at in perfect form. It's clear he had to hit a low point to step back and realize that.

 

[vorravorra]

I have to say I had really hoped the SP music would grow on me but 5 months later I still don't like it. Not a reflection on Misha's performance, but watching the SP several times in a row is hard because the audio gets stuck in your head and not in a good way. Was there no way to cut it better, really? I guess those who dislike Carmen must suffer even worse.