Stephen Gogolev

[TGee]

I think that Brian, having been a skating prodigy himself, has a good sense of the situation Stephen is in.

But even sending Stephen to seniors competitions last year didn't get him in the public focus the way the win at Bratislava did.

Suddenly he was in every paper nationally after the Canadian Press wire story.

I've been thinking about what else could have been done to expose him more gradually to the pressure. Not much.

He really didn't experience competitive setbacks until Skate Detroit in 2017 and that was his first senior event. So he likely was viewing as a learning experience before he hit the ice.

But at JGP Richmond, he not only had public expectations, he had his own.

Last thought, Stephan has not been at his best in early season.

One expects that the decision to send him to the two earliest GPs was taken in consideration of his starting high school this year.

So I understand Bratislava as it was before school started...

But assigning him to Richmond... not sure.

Thinking as a parent I would have assigned him to Slovenia or Armenia to give him time to get over the transition in school.

 

[icetug]

It's strange to see Stephen outside podium at a junior event... But Yuzuru was 5th at his first JGP (and even didn't get second assignment), so it happens also to the best.

I haven't known he changed school this year. This didn't help to create a stable environment for preparations - not to mention all the distractions at TCC, including Yuzu's media day. And the pressure was surely bigger after Conrad and Joseph's weaker perfomances at their JGP events.

But what a fighter Stephen is! He went for 4T and 4S after the fall on his first jump and didn't pop any of his jumps, even though he must have felt it was not his day. Anyway, in Bratislava he showed that he's great, in Richmond - that he's human.

 

[IndiaP12]

I did a lot of researching and calculating today and figured out there is a good chance Stephen could still make the JGPF, as he has 22 points and the max you can get is 30. He should definitely be in the substitutes list. And anyway, he’s 13 for goodness’ sake, he has years ahead of him for many more great victories!

 

[skatenewbie]

I did a lot of researching and calculating today and figured out there is a good chance Stephen could still make the JGPF, as he has 22 points and the max you can get is 30. He should definitely be in the substitutes list. And anyway, he’s 13 for goodness’ sake, he has years ahead of him for many more great victories!

yes he has chance since men are not that consistent and can falter with all that quads/3A. its hard to predict

 

[charlotte14]

He will only be old enough for senior in 2 years right? So no rush.

 

[icetug]

I did a lot of researching and calculating today and figured out there is a good chance Stephen could still make the JGPF, as he has 22 points and the max you can get is 30.

There were skaters going to the final with 22 points (like Torgashev last year) and those who didn't make it to the final with 24 points (e.g. Vasiljevs in 2015). At this point - with 3 more competition - nothing can be predicted. We must wait patiently and observe developments...

 

[IndiaP12]

There were skaters going to the final with 22 points (like Torgashev last year) and those who didn't make it to the final with 24 points (e.g. Vasiljevs in 2015). At this point - with 3 more competition - nothing can be predicted. We must wait patiently and observe developments...

Yes, and I so badly want to know already but then I don’t want the JGP to be over [emoji23]

 

[StephenGfan]

Its looking alot more likely that he makes it now after czech jgp event with only two more to go.

 

[StephenGfan]

He can still win the coming junior worlds. I believe in him. some people are already writing him off as a contender next year because of one bad competition.

 

[siberia82]

He can still win the coming junior worlds. I believe in him.

:2thumbs: He's the current record holder for the over-all total score in Junior Men, and I'm sure he'll improve over what he did at the JGP Bratislava.

some people are already writing him off as a contender next year because of one bad competition.

Ugh. I mostly ignore fans who underestimate skaters. I'll never forget in 2008 how cruel people were towards Jeff Buttle after he lost the Canadian title to Patrick Chan; the former was labeled as "old," a has-been, some even wanted Jeff to be left off the Worlds team, etc. Two months later, Buttle becomes the world champion. It just goes to show that haters are terrible at predicting the future.

The pressure of the hometown crowd in Richmond, BC got the better of Stephen, that's all. The other Canadian man who was also crushed by the heavy expectations had a podium finish in his 2nd JGP assignment, so I'm certain Stephen will also learn and grow from the experience. In the long-term, it will ultimately make him a better athlete.

 

[TallyT]

I believe in him. some people are already writing him off as a contender next year because of one bad competition.

That's all too common, he can probably look at his senior rinkmates to see heaps of that sort of dismissive talk and get inspiration for just how it didn't stop them either.

 

[siberia82]

Stephen is on the Entry List for the Skate Ontario Sectionals: http://skateontario.org/results/19SEC/19SECSeniorMenEL.pdf

 

[fierysky]

Stephen did so well today. He was practically flying across the ice! =O They tweaked his SP too, which I enjoyed. Only thing was he travelled a lot in his last spin. Looking forward to his FS tmr.

 

[Kings]

His fan blog on YouTube has posted up his performances from the Skate Ontario Sectionals already!

SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbHpPOi-vVg

FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuapH3A_L04

Not sure if it's the lower stakes of this competition or that he's feeling more polished with his programs for the season but it was delightful to see him looking so comfortable on the ice.

 

[Kings]

Yuzuru Hanyu gave Stephen a lovely shout-out during the post men's fs at GP Helsinki yesterday. The reporter question was "do you think you will ever do a program with just quads and 3A, eliminating all triples?" and Yuzuru's (translated) response was:

"About eliminating triple jumps from my program, realistically speaking, probably not possible in my future. But in my skating club there’s a skater called Stephen Gogolov, he already does most of the quads – most of the kinds of quad jumps, and I’m really looking forward to his future."

So some people may be writing off Stephen, but the current top men's skater thinks pretty highly of him!

(link to the response in the press conference video in Yuzuru's Japanese: https://youtu.be/K-M1KtPkihU?t=1603 and the translation: https://youtu.be/K-M1KtPkihU?t=1646)

 

[Amef]

When is Stephen moving up to Seniors? Next year?

 

[malya]

When is Stephen moving up to Seniors? Next year?

Nah, he is age eligible 20/21.

I guess he is planning to compete in CanNATs as a senior again, so they practice his SP with a quad.

 

[StephenGfan]

I hope we see him perform like this at nationals and junior worlds.

 

[fierysky]

Oops, I deleted my own post. Here it is again:

Not sure if it's the lower stakes of this competition or that he's feeling more polished with his programs for the season but it was delightful to see him looking so comfortable on the ice.

I think it's a bit of both. He looks much more relaxed here, and because he's less conscious / careful about landing those jumps that it allowed him to commit more to his performance. That said, a very evident improvement in all fronts from him. Most notably is his stamina. He used to lose steam by the time he got to his step sequence in his FS, which resulted in messier steps and less concentrated spins in the second half. His SS has gotten sharper too. I'm so happy with his improvements!!

I hope we see him perform like this at nationals and junior worlds.

I'm super optimistic. If he continues to develop as he is now, I think a junior world podium would be very possible. If not, hey, it's his first year competing internationally. Age is on his side. This is the best time to get those experiences and learn from them.

some people are already writing him off as a contender next year because of one bad competition.

I never understood this idea of writing someone off like this. Let alone a 13 year old who hasn't even gone through puberty. There are those out there who seriously feels that unless you make it big ala Yuna, Hanyu etc by the time you are 16, you'd never be top tier ever. But just look at Messing and Brezna right now. Even Javi did not hit his stride until after he was 20. Anything is possible, especially in the Men's category. Not to mention Stephen is more than fine at his age and level.

 

[xeyra]

Seems like Stephen is going to be at the Grand Prix final. Andrew Torgashev withdrew and Stephen is in, as first alternate.
http://www.isuresults.com/events/gpjgpf1819/Entries_JuniorMen.htm