Igor Shpilband interview "I wasn't ready for what had happened between Marina and me"

[mollymgr]

I wonder if V&M greeted him.... it must be like dealing with divorced parents, lol. We know that Meryl is still on friendly terms with him.

I don't see why they wouldn't if they happen to run into him at comps. It is not like he won't be a part of the skating world. There will probably be many more encounters with him in the future.

Weird how Anna said they wanted to watch Tessa and Scott skate their SD but were told to leave when the picture says otherwise. Unless they were told to move before the program ended. Has to be awkward for the Canton teams to deal with all this, like children in a divorce.

Was Igor at Skate America? Can't recall at the moment.

I would think it would be most awkward for Marina. But they are adults. I'm sure they can handle it

[professordeb]

I think everyone in the KnK were asked not to leave the area until the next skaters were on the ice, but once the skater had been introduced, the peeps in the KnC were expected to vacate. I noticed a couple of coaches tell their skaters the same thing last night, so it wasn't just Igor telling C/L to stay put/leave.

[Manaud]

I wonder if V&M greeted him.... it must be like dealing with divorced parents, lol. We know that Meryl is still on friendly terms with him.

He gave warm hugs after Tessa and scott won tonight.

[alilou]

It was mentioned in one of the Skate Canada threads that Igor and Marina hugged there. It seems to be ok, at least in public anyway.

[Wiery]

Thank you for posting the article!

[hanca]

It was mentioned in one of the Skate Canada threads that Igor and Marina hugged there. It seems to be ok, at least in public anyway.

Well, what should they do in public, start shooting at each other? Or stick their toques out? Figure skating is sometimes a hypocritical world; people are smiling at each other even if they wish they could strangle each other.

[professordeb]

For two people who parted on terms that weren't exactly friendly, I would expect them to acknowledge each other with a head nod, maybe even a smile. A hug seems a bit more friendly, at least to me. Perhaps the hugging doesn't mean as much in the skating culture?

[caseyedwards]

For two people who parted on terms that weren't exactly friendly, I would expect them to acknowledge each other with a head nod, maybe even a smile. A hug seems a bit more friendly, at least to me. Perhaps the hugging doesn't mean as much in the skating culture?

could be a beauty pageant hug

[Sylvia]

Interview with Shpilband after Skate Canada concluded (in Russian): http://www.team-russia2014.ru/article/figur/5813.html

[Twilight1]

And it says???

[orbitz]

It was mentioned in one of the Skate Canada threads that Igor and Marina hugged there. It seems to be ok, at least in public anyway.

Did they whisper anything into each other ear while grinning?

[Jenya]

And it says???

It says he is pleased with Riazanova/Tkachenko's performances, but there is still work to do. Shpilband also remarked that the referee missed the extended lift by Virtue/Moir in the short dance. He said Cappellini/Lanotte are very strong this year and have improved from Finlandia. He said that Virtue/Moir are not in their best shape, but it's hard for him to comment on it since he didn't train them this season. He was asked why he chose the same music for C/L as V/M, and said that they have very different interpretations and that Carmen is a classic and will continue to be used. Shpilband also said that he spoke to the judges and that some prefer Anna and Luca's FD for the drama, composition, etc.

Sorry, don't have time for a word for word translation.

[bmcg]

He gave warm hugs after Tessa and scott won tonight.

and then gave an interview in Russian pointing out they should have gotten an extended lift deduction in the SD, that they are not in great shape and that some judges preferred his Carmen to Marina's Carmen.

[mollymgr]

It looks like Igor has been working hard with his teams this season and he has results to back it up. I'm happy that he was able to spring back so quickly after getting fired so unceremoniously from Canton.

[dots]

It says he is pleased with Riazanova/Tkachenko's performances, but there is still work to do. Shpilband also remarked that the referee missed the extended lift by Virtue/Moir in the short dance. He said Cappellini/Lanotte are very strong this year and have improved from Finlandia. He said that Virtue/Moir are not in their best shape, but it's hard for him to comment on it since he didn't train them this season. He was asked why he chose the same music for C/L as V/M, and said that they have very different interpretations and that Carmen is a classic and will continue to be used. Shpilband also said that he spoke to the judges and that some prefer Anna and Luca's FD for the drama, composition, etc.

Sorry, don't have time for a word for word translation.

Translation = You are both dead to me!

[kwanfan1818]

Well, what should they do in public, start shooting at each other? Or stick their toques out? Figure skating is sometimes a hypocritical world; people are smiling at each other even if they wish they could strangle each other.

Somehow, I can't imagine Linichuk hugging Zoueva in that situation.

Honestly, I think Shpilband looks better -- calmer and happier -- than he has in years, being on the chase.

Both V/M and D/W are considered front-runners for gold and silver in Sochi, and no one thinks that's because they've made a break-through with Zoueva. If they keep this advantage, it's because he was responsible for getting them to that level. If they lose the advantage, it was on Zoueva's watch. As SLIVER said, if D/W come in second (or lower) to V/M this season, there's a good chance he'll get them back, although if Davis is (still) involved with Andreev, this could get tricky.

[sap5]

Translation = You are both dead to me!

He knows they will never leave Marina for him, whereas he may have a chance with D/W. Why wouldn't he want to politick to give himself a chance to coach to another Olympic gold?

[dots]

Somehow, I can't imagine Linichuk hugging Zoueva in that situation.

Honestly, I think Shpilband looks better -- calmer and happier -- than he has in years, being on the chase.

Both V/M and D/W are considered front-runners for gold and silver in Sochi, and no one thinks that's because they've made a break-through with Zoueva. If they keep this advantage, it's because he was responsible for getting them to that level. If they lose the advantage, it was on Zoueva's watch. As SLIVER said, if D/W come in second (or lower) to V/M this season, there's a good chance he'll get them back, although if Davis is (still) involved with Andreev, this could get tricky.

Believe it or not I see D/W as the team to beat, especially after watching SC and SA back to back. They came out stronger.

Unless D/W have some sort of injury, I don't see anyone outside of V/M beating them.

He knows they will never leave Marina for him, whereas he may have a chance with D/W. Why wouldn't he want to politick to give himself a chance to coach to another Olympic gold?

He knows they will never leave Marina for him, whereas he may have a chance with D/W. Why wouldn't he want to politick to give himself a chance to coach to another Olympic gold?

That is not going to happen. Surprisingly it's Virtue and Moir who have shown to be more vurnerable after Shpilband's departure. Scott is already carrying an injury. If anything D/W came out smelling like roses.

[skatemommy]

Things I gleaned from this article:

1. As I already knew, Meryl Davis is the classiest person ever.

2. Igor was pretty blindsided.

3. Unless someone writes a tell-all years down the road, we'll never actually know what happened in Canton.

4. I think Igor may wind up having higher-quality skaters and programs than Marina in the long run (when we count out D/W and V/M--they're in a class by themselves). He seems to have a better grasp of the way things work in the sport than she does (and I'm not really sure that, beyond those teams, Marina can handle the complete organization and packaging of skaters without a partner).

I totally agree with this post.

[kwanfan1818]

He knows they will never leave Marina for him, whereas he may have a chance with D/W. Why wouldn't he want to politick to give himself a chance to coach to another Olympic gold?

On the other hand, V/M were within a hair of D/W's SA scores, and everything he mentioned can be fixed -- the judges could get used to V/M's program with exposure, the lift can be shortened, they have plenty of time to get back into shape, and heal his shoulder -- which gives V/M a greater upside.