Russian Skating Prodigy Sotnikova Ups the Ante

[Sugar]

http://en.rsport.ru/other_sports/201...617223956.html
MOSCOW, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia’s 16-year-old figure skating prodigy Adelina Sotnikova is to take another leap forward in difficulty in the upcoming season by adding a triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination to her program, she told R-Sport on Monday.

Sotnikova burst onto the scene last season with wins at the prestigious Golden Spin and the Russian championships in her debut year, raising hopes she could fight for gold when Russia hosts its first Winter Olympics in 2014.

[Sylvia]

These test skate videos of Sotnikova originally were posted in the "From Russia With Love" thread:

SP test skate (Sept. 13): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3JcjyWaHM8
FS test skate (Sept. 15): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceDNc_1OAXs
SP test skate (Sept. 16): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0gOBOt1uZ4
SP test skate (Sept. 16): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2C6ySk8aVw

[babayaga]

Does that mean she gave up her 3Lutz-3Loop? Good decision I think.

[triple_toe]

I have a gut feeling none of the Russian wunderkinds will win in Sochi.

[VarBar]

Does that mean she gave up her 3Lutz-3Loop? Good decision I think.

Isn't 3Lz/3Lo a more valuable jump combination than 3Lz/3T? If it is and if Adelina is replacing it with 3Lz/3T, what leap forward in difficulty is that article talking about?

[Frau Muller]

I have a gut feeling none of the Russian wunderkinds will win in Sochi.

No kidding. It would be total shock and miracle if they do not, even though I still harbor hopes that dear Ashley can 'pull an Arakawa'! Or that Yu-Na and Mao might return to their 2010 forms.

[hanca]

Isn't 3Lz/3Lo a more valuable jump combination than 3Lz/3T? If it is and if Adelina is replacing it with 3Lz/3T, what leap forward in difficulty is that article talking about?

I don't think it is leap forward with difficulty. However, it is less risky. Far too often triple loop as the second jump in combination have been downgraded and many skaters stopped doing it because it wasn't worth the risk (Ando, Asada...) It will be safer to go for the toe loop instead of the loop.

[Vash01]

Before COP, 3R used to be used as the more difficult second triple of a 3-3 combination (Irina did 3L3R and 3S3R, Tara did 3S3R and 3R3R and so on). Miki used to do the 3L3R but COP always downgraded it, so the 3t seems like a safer option now. It's an easier jump too for more skaters, with less risk of a downgrade.

[Cherub721]

Upping the ante... remember when an article like this used to come out about Kwan every season... good times.

[caseyedwards]

I agree in that "upping the ante" is not really what she's doing. Her improving from 2 bronze medals in the GP to a silver or win would be good.

[kwanatic]

I think she'll have a much higher success rate going for the 3lz-3t...assuming she's cleaned up the technique on her lutz. She frequently gets edge calls on it and if it's not clean, I say she should go for a 3f-3t and do a loop for her solo jump. The name of the game is maximizing points and if she gets dinged on the lutz it will drop the value. Her 3t-3t in that first video was magnificent! That would probably score +2s or better for GOE. Her SP is nice and will score well if she skates it cleanly.

I re-watched her LP and it's not as terrible as I thought. I don't like all of the vocals at the beginning and end but I like the first half of the program to the instrumental of "At Last". It be nice if they could find an instrumental for "Show Me How You Burlesque", one that replaces all of the vocals with a trumpet or something. I love that song but arranged like that...it just doesn't sound good. I wonder what kind of notes she got back from the test panel regarding it? It'd be great if they forced her to change that part of the music...I just don't think it will be received well by international judges.

On the plus side, the majority of Adelina's jumps look excellent. That 3t-3t in the first video was wonderful, her 2a-3t looked great and the rest looked good too. I really hope to see her do well this season. She's my favorite of the Russians right now.

[babayaga]

Isn't 3Lz/3Lo a more valuable jump combination than 3Lz/3T? If it is and if Adelina is replacing it with 3Lz/3T, what leap forward in difficulty is that article talking about?

Right, I was confused with the wording of the title too. But I think we can forget that loop combo ever happened, it didn't work well all of last season. Good for her if she can learn to do a clean 3Lz/3T, but I wish they would work on the correct edge too.

[VarBar]

I don't think it is leap forward with difficulty. However, it is less risky. Far too often triple loop as the second jump in combination have been downgraded and many skaters stopped doing it because it wasn't worth the risk (Ando, Asada...) It will be safer to go for the toe loop instead of the loop.

Oh, that makes sense. If Adelina's 3Lo as a second jump was often downgraded in previous seasons, it's only wise of her to dump it and go for a safe 3Lz/3T instead.

[hanca]

Oh, that makes sense. If Adelina's 3Lo as a second jump was often downgraded in previous seasons, it's only wise of her to dump it and go for a safe 3Lz/3T instead.

You misunderstood me. It wasn't Adelina's 3Lo that got downgraded often, it is 3Lo of a lot of skaters who do it in combinations as a second jump as seniors. Adelina had it always counted when she was in juniors, but in summer just before last season she grew and the whole season she had some trouble with jumps generally. The combination 3Lz-3L did not happen that frequently, she had some falls, popping etc. although it was no problem for her when she was in juniors. So there is no reason to do a high risk combination (combination where the tech spec is overkeen to make deduction) if you can do something less risky which is nearly the same value. The value difference is not worth the risk.

[triple_toe]

No kidding. It would be total shock and miracle if they do not, even though I still harbor hopes that dear Ashley can 'pull an Arakawa'! Or that Yu-Na and Mao might return to their 2010 forms.

Eh. It's just a feeling. I wouldn't be shocked if they did, I'm hardly a practising psychic but for some reason I think they won't quite get there.

[martyross]

Eh. It's just a feeling. I wouldn't be shocked if they did, I'm hardly a practising psychic but for some reason I think they won't quite get there.

its a good point. all of them are probably too young and still developing. conquering an olympic gold requires a lot of experience in competitions, maturity in all areas and the ability to put together big jumps with stellar skating skills. it takes more time than we would expect.
on the podium i see someone like Ashley, who's becoming a complete skater and developing the necessary toughness. she already went through the ordeal of not making the team so she knows what it takes.