From Russia With Love [#38]: Fall/Winter 2020

[Bigbird]

I see what you mean @Natanielle825 about the tracing but it's sort of pulled out of context - she is doing transitions into the jump isn't she, so she turns, steps down, deepens the edge and then jumps from a shallow inside edge. Like, I am definitely no expert at ALL so I could be wrong, but I think you have to look at the whole jump not just the replay. Anyway, for me, it's sort of beside the point, I thought Trusova should have been first, but I think it is more about the solidity of her performance than a quibble over an edge call.

What made Trusova so offend the judges? Where is her slow mo?

 

[mjb52]

Oh my gosh, I can't believe after pretending to care about S/K's health in past posts and complaining that they were rushing/being rushed to compete, you're now insulting them for actually taking measures to care for their health and trying to preserve it. That is really too much.

 

[HSCluv]

I watched and then watched again the ladies short program and felt both times that Trusova should have won. She is artistic in this program. I love the music and the costume.

 

[NAOTMAA]

Why are people acting like skating politics and favoritism was recently just invented so they have a reason to hold down Trusova? It's always been around! Everyone knows how it works

And to be honest without the quads or 3A I think she comes across as solid but unspectacular. There isn't anything memorable to make up for the lack of quads/3A, she's just there. And skaters like that don't finish on top of skaters who are deemed to have something extra about their skating unless its a total meltdown. Anna, Kamila and Daria had their issues here but didn't meltdown and in the view of many (and clearly the federation) they got something extra so therefore came out on top of the more solid but unspectacular Aleksandra. Things like this have happened in skating for decades, its nothing new.

This competition is far from over and I think she's still in the best position to win it all despite battling injury and the short program results. Anna is still clearly recovering from illness and we don't know how she'll deal with the four minute free skate, Kamila hasn't exactly been the most consistent and Daria doesn't have the technical difficulty. So yeah its still hers to win right now

 

[Scott512]

The situation is tough. The only way to move forward is to make the progress that Kolyada did with Mishin while at Plushenko. If she doesn't, well, that would be too sad.

At these nationals she has only one real goal, make the podium. That is it.

Sasha's only goal is to make the podium at Nationals. But only the podium spot in the middle.

 

[Bigbird]

Oh my gosh, I can't believe after pretending to care about S/K's health in past posts and complaining that they were rushing/being rushed to compete, you're now insulting them for actually taking measures to care for their health and trying to preserve it. That is really too much.

The lies got to me. Yes. The lies and double standards.

 

[Scott512]

Oh no! Stolen? Send her and everyone involved to the guillotines! how dare she make decisions about her own career.

Not the guillotines but another G word the gulag!

 

[Scott512]

Not only that. I found Valieva to be overscored here too. When Trusova felt from her 3A in the SP in Russian cup, the judges made sure the deduction is such that it sent the message to do the hard jumps only when the skater is sure they land it. When Valieva falls on 3A in the SP, the judges give her such marks that it sends the message that it doesn’t matter if she lands her hard jumps, because the marks won’t be significantly affected. That reminds me the situation when Patrick Chan was getting the message that it doesn’t really matter if he lands his jumps, because they will find there the points to give him the gold medal anyway. Why bother having competition if the judges want to choose the winner regardless of how the skaters skated? They may as well send the medal by post and don’t bother to sit through the programs.

You make interesting points as usual. The judges cannot demand that the skaters like KV and Sasha only do these super tough quads and triple axles when they're sure they're going to land them because they're never sure. I think the skaters are fantastic but it's obviously it's hard for Sasha not to fall at least once in a free skate and the same with KV now because they're doing such tough programs.

Today should be super interesting and emotional for the Russian ladies and the fans.

It was nice to see Little Liza skate the best in her career yesterday on the short program. She's with a really good coach now puberty did not Crush her and she's 18 and trying to show everybody in Russia that you can still improve and develop at that age so I'm rooting for her hard today. The problem is she's been underscored for years just like almost every lady from St Petersburg.

 

[Wyliefan]

Why are people acting like skating politics and favoritism was recently just invented so they have a reason to hold down Trusova? It's always been around! Everyone knows how it works

And to be honest without the quads or 3A I think she comes across as solid but unspectacular. There isn't anything memorable to make up for the lack of quads/3A, she's just there. And skaters like that don't finish on top of skaters who are deemed to have something extra about their skating unless its a total meltdown. Anna, Kamila and Daria had their issues here but didn't meltdown and in the view of many (and clearly the federation) they got something extra so therefore came out on top of the more solid but unspectacular Aleksandra. Things like this have happened in skating for decades, its nothing new.

This competition is far from over and I think she's still in the best position to win it all despite battling injury and the short program results. Anna is still clearly recovering from illness and we don't know how she'll deal with the four minute free skate, Kamila hasn't exactly been the most consistent and Daria doesn't have the technical difficulty. So yeah its still hers to win right now

I think Daria is a nice skater, but there certainly wasn't anything extra special about her skate yesterday. She looked pretty shaky compared to Sasha. If Daria had been at her very best, we'd be having a different conversation.

 

[Bigbird]

Now that was a competition! Congrats to Anna. She has the heart of a true champion. Kamila was impressive but she is young. Sasha has taken a step in the right direction.

Congratulatuons to all medalists.

 

[Skibean]

Top 3 were amazing! I wasn’t surprised by Anna’s win. She’s the favorite of the judges. Kamila is young and a tad over scored. We have to see how she hold up next season. Trusova proves them all wrong and really had to fight for a podium spot. I am most in awe of this girl. It’s easy to win when you’re a favorite of the judges, but she isn’t and she is truly earning every medal.
I don’t think Alena, zhenya, or Alina would have medaled today. Not without generous help from the judges.

 

[Sylvia]

Kudos to all 3!

GOLD Anna Shcherbakova (3-time national champ!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bVsr8KP968

SILVER Kamila Valieva: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Wu2tQOnK8

BRONZE Alexandra Trusova: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXPe6S1Zho0

 

[alexikeguchi]

Considering the overall performance and quality, I think I actually would have gone with Kamila ftw, though she should have been lower than a close second after the SP mistake. I think she had more attack and fire, which matched her music, though it is understandable Anna was a little more sluggish given her recent illness. Mad props to Anna, though, for pulling that out after how she looked getting off the ice yesterday. She clearly has the best competitive mindset of all the current crop because three time ladies champion in that field is incredibly impressive.

 

[Bigbird]

Top 3 were amazing! I wasn’t surprised by Anna’s win. She’s the favorite of the judges. Kamila is young and a tad over scored. We have to see how she hold up next season. Trusova proves them all wrong and really had to fight for a podium spot. I am most in awe of this girl. It’s easy to win when you’re a favorite of the judges, but she isn’t and she is truly earning every medal.
I don’t think Alena, zhenya, or Alina would have medaled today. Not without generous help from the judges.

Aliona would have been third and again the world team would have been Anna, Aliona and Sasha.

 

[Perky Shae Lynn]

I am always impressed with Anna's mental toughness. She reminds me of Medvedeva - a true competitor with a great personality. I want her to stick around and be competitive for a few years.

 

[Natanielle825]

Congrats Anna! What a tremendous achievement, I hope she's ok. Kamila looked more confident than I've ever seen her and Sasha skated clean! Good for all of them and I hope the federation lets them rest ffs.

 

[Vash01]

I am always impressed with Anna's mental toughness. She reminds me of Medvedeva - a true competitor with a great personality. I want her to stick around and be competitive for a few years.

Me too. Medvedeva, before (and even after) her injuries always delivered. Anna also reminds me in her appearance, of a young Katia Gordeeva. I think she is even tougher than Katia who did not have to compete in such a competitive field. Three times Russian ladies champion in this field is an amazing achievement.

 

[NAOTMAA]

I guess we can kind of put to rest the idea that Kamila is Eteri and the Russian feds undouted chosen one and everyone else is fighting for second. A clean Kamila was only dead even with Anna in the PCS and lost by 9 points in the free and Anna was frankly not even her best

 

[alexikeguchi]

I guess we can kind of put to rest the idea that Kamila is Eteri and the Russian feds undouted chosen one and everyone else is fighting for second. A clean Kamila was only dead even with Anna in the PCS and lost by 9 points in the free and Anna was frankly not even her best

I agree, but that realization may be what Kamila needs to light a fire under her. She often looks like a deer in the headlights when she competes, but she definitely seemed like she was skating angry today, and her technical performance was about her best ever. She also showed a lot more passion at the conclusion of her program and did not look at all pleased when Anna skated clean and was certain to move ahead. That was some top quality slow clapping she started with for the backstage cameras. I could see some Med/Zag dynamic going into the Olympics year.

 

[Scott512]

Congrats Anna! What a tremendous achievement, I hope she's ok. Kamila looked more confident than I've ever seen her and Sasha skated clean! Good for all of them and I hope the federation lets them rest ffs.

Your last sentence is super important. I know they want to do a competition in January to replace Europeans but I don't know about that. Some girls should not go.

I don't know what to say about Sasha KV and Anna today except they and the other ladies were off the charts incredible! for Sasha to do that and then kV to do that and then for Anna to do that coming off pneumonia to do that for her Russia National three-peat is so gutsy and so clutch it's hard to believe.

 

[NAOTMAA]

I agree, but that realization may be what Kamila needs to light a fire under her. She often looks like a deer in the headlights when she competes, but she definitely seemed like she was skating angry today, and her technical performance was about her best ever. She also showed a lot more passion at the conclusion of her program and did not look at all pleased when Anna skated clean and was certain to move ahead. That was some top quality slow clapping she started with for the backstage cameras. I could see some Med/Zag dynamic going into the Olympics year.

Back in the day when they filmed ballet performances the Soviets use to manipulate and speed up the video to make it look like the dancers were dancing difficult moves at a higher speed. It was for propaganda purposes to say their dancers were better then those in the West.

That's what Kamila looked like to me today. Compared to everyone else she looked like she was one of those dancers who the video editor was speeding up. She was really attacking her performance and taking no prisoners. It was very impressive

 

[hanca]

I could see some Med/Zag dynamic going into the Olympics year.

so which one will be the one who will stay after the Olympics and which one will move coaches? Anna will go and Camila will stay, but both will semi-retire to move out of the way for the new wave?

 

[NAOTMAA]

Anna really bought her artistry to a whole new level at this competition. I guess it's true when they say "true art comes through courage, suffering." I hope they continue to build on it in her future programs. She would make an amazing Violetta

 

[layman]

Trusova was robbed! How on Earth did two spot-less, totally clean programs come in 3rd! Her artistry has improved by leaps and bounds this season. I love the way that she times choreographic highlights to her music and skates to the beat of her music (particulary noticeable in the step sequences where she get's the audience clapping along). That's only possible if you listen to the music and hear the beat. She's doing it beautifully!

I love the way that she takes the time to fully extend her lines and hold her positions giving the eye the chance to see the beauty of the pictures that she is creating. I really appreciate the way that she points her feet to extend her line even further. It's really lovely. This is the most artistic that I have ever seen Trusova! How come that kind of brilliance was not rewarded?

Valieva's costumes seemed less distracting this time...looks like they may have been made simpler. This allows the eye to concentrate on her lovely lines. I see progress (from her last competition) as well as room for improvement but as much as I like her, I don't think a fall in the SP should beat a perfectly clean SP from Trusova.

I like Anna Sherbakova as a skater but her choreography this season leaves me cold. The choreography seems cold and formulaic, typical Danny G. I had Sherbakova in 2nd (Trusova first, Valieva third).

The ladies were good but the highpoint of the entire competiton was Kolyada. One word came to my mind to describe his freeskate...exquisite. He represents what I like most in Figure Skating...that is art and athleticism in perfect rapport.

I saw hints of greatness from Tarasova and Morosov and the two top Dance teams seemed very relieved to get through their programs (who knows how much their preparations have been affected by illness and injury this season). This has been a tough season and I like the way that the Russian skaters have weathered the storm.

 

[NAOTMAA]

^^^^Being the most clean never gurantees victory. Even in the 6.0 where they claimed it was do or die. Many times did Irina or Michelle win over skaters who were cleaner then them. Why? Because despite their mistakes they were still overall better then everyone else. The same holds true today. Outside of jumps Anna and Kamila are far better then Aleksandra in everything else, a different level. Anna has already proven that internationally against her and I would bet Kamila would too once they get past reputation. It won't suddenly change unless she has a major transformation, improvements are not enough.

And I know this has become an unpopular opinion but I don't see any major improvement in Aleksandra's artistic impression. She still bulldozes through it all regardless what the music is. And her footwork sequences under Plushkenko are just flat out frantic, all arm waving. Her skating is more polished but that's it.

 

[Bigbird]

^^^^Being the most clean never gurantees victory. Even in the 6.0 where they claimed it was due to die. Many times did Irina or Michelle win over skaters who were cleaner then them. Why? Because despite their mistakes they were still overall better then everyone else. The same holds true today. Outside of jumps Anna and Kamila are far better then Aleksandra in everything else, a different level. Anna has already proven that internationally against her and I would bet Kamila would too once they get past reputation. It won't suddenly change unless she has a major transformation, improvements are not enough.

And I know this has become an unpopular opinion but I don't see any major improvement in Aleksandra's artistic impression. She still bulldozes through it all regardless what the music is. And her footwork sequences under Plushkenko are just flat out frantic, all arm waving. Her skating is more polished but that's it.

Trusova has made major improvement. I disagree. She has become more patient and mature. I find Kamila does not intrigue me as much, her lines are nice but I don't sense that I'm watching something special. Annie is good but too over the top by my tastes. I have no beef with the placements per say as this is home cooking Russian style but the points between them is laughable. Well done Plushenko and team, especially Mikhailov.

 

[love_skate2011]

from the standings, I believe the same top 3 will go to Olympics, Vaieva, Trusova, Shcherbakova
They really dont need Kostornaia she always has health issues and seems to be struggling with weight

Kostornaia looks bloated and out of shape
unless she brings her weight dpwn, shes done.

She made a big mastake leaving Eteri, now she cant even copntrol her on weight gains.
she will ahve a miserable career like Tuk struggled for 4 years with over/excess weights.

 

[NAOTMAA]

^^^
The girl was injured and then majorly sick. It's not her fault she couldn't properly train and keep competitive fit.

Her fate lies in the 3A. If she can't get that back then she needs meltdowns from the top three here otherwise she's left at home. She won't have the benefit Evgenia had in 2018. The competition now is too heavy and the pandemic ruined her chance of being a world champion when she was healthy. She had some really bad luck. It's not over yet but it's going to be extremely tough

 

[love_skate2011]

^^^
The girl was injured and then majorly sick. It's not her fault she couldn't properly train and keep competitive fit.

Her fate lies in the 3A. If she can't get that back then she needs meltdowns from the top three here otherwise she's left at home. She won't have the benefit Evgenia had in 2018. The competition now is too heavy and the ********* ruined her chance of being a world champion when she was healthy. She had some really bad luck. It's not over yet but it's going to be extremely toug

 

[Tinami Amori]

Hope Kolyada keeps his LP for the Olympic season. I cannot imagine anything fitting him better.

I hope he keeps also his SP for the Olympic season. I love him in that style of programmes, my favorite were "Nu pogodi!" one few years back.