So sorry for all the skaters at TEB, but it's so nice of Yulia to say it'll be unfair to count placings after SP as final TEB placings because of Liza ad Chan, especially considering that she herself will get a silver medal if such a decision is made. I've read on her thread in the Navka fan forum that she and Liza had chosen to share a room during TEB, that they actually switched rooms from the original assignments to be roommates there. TBH I'm just blown away by how all these young Russian ladies get along, despite being each other's direct rivals and the fierce competition at home just to get to go to Euros, Worlds and Olympics in the future. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that in figure skating, and here it's not just Yulia and Liza - it's the whole cahort, with Anna Pogorilaya and Elena Radionova too. Just mind-boggling what maturity they all have! Frankly, I think that if anybody wrote a novel or made a movie with four athletic rivals being such excellent friends, many would have called it unrealistic, including me as recently as a couple of years ago. Reg. TEB scores, personally I hope ISU will find a way for the skaters to have an LP somewhere before GPF, but if not Yulia's silver medal will be one consolation for me. I think she was underscored on PCS in the SP - where she was great - and would likely have been robbed again in the LP, making her drop places. As it is, an 8-point gap between 1st and 2nd in the SP is rather unusual.
That was interesting, thanks.
I loved her previous SP dress too, but I also love the "sophisticated" new one too.
I view them in relation to the SP song lyrics - first dress "looks like an angel", second dress "devil in disguise" :-D
I think both looks suit her, just in different ways...
Loved her performance at TEB by the way, wonderful to see her regaining her form, and smiling afterwards. I took photos, will share them in a couple of days, after we get home...
I'm very glad to hear you took pictures - yours are the best! Wishing you as hassle-free a trip home as possible under the circumstances.
To me, the new dress looks too somber for both songs, but, as I said, if she's more comfortable in it, then that's the most important thing.
I also hope she'll stay with Tutberidze, but if she does change coaches some day, I hope it'll be someone other than Zueva, Buyanova or Tarasova. Choreographers are another matter. Also keep in mind that working with somebody for a couple of weeks as a choreographer might be very different from working with the same person as your coach, especially in terms of pressure. And it doesn't seem to me that there's any special pressure on her when she strains in Russia that won't be there if she trains abroad. I don't think the Russian Fed bothers skaters too much during the training process, aside from probably sending specialists to ensure the programs fit the requirements or sending people to fitness camps, but they did both with SK this summer too. And there seems to be no indication that she's been bothered by unscrupulous journalists after the Olympics fever passed.
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I prefer her to stay where she is right now.
