Is Medvedeva vulnerable this season ?

[love_skate2011]

Medvedeva seems to not been having a good start, while not disastrous, her 2 GP events haven't been clean, she is known for consistency after all. Hope she gets a good rest and brings it on GPF.

What could be it ?

* minor injury, saw a clip off ice she was a bit limping and forumers say she had tapes on her knees as precautions ?
* pressure is getting into her, Zagitova and Tsurskaya nipping on her heels.
* It's Just one of the season where it's not going smoothly, it happens on every athletes life.

 

[misskarne]

Nope. She's just lulling everyone into a false sense of security before she blasts them off the rink at the Olys.

 

[IceAlisa]

but seriously doubt she will give up the gold

 

[love_skate2011]

she seems a hard worker, but I worry the over train will cause her injury, hope wont be as bad as Hanyu's

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I was going to post about the same exact topic an hour ago. She did not win the technical or the PCS today. Her teammate beat her in technical and Carolina beat her in PCS

 

[Deleted member 13560]

Looking at Tsurskaya and Zagitova - but mostly Tsurskaya in my book - she shoud watch her back.

 

[DreamSkates]

The other top Russian ladies are coming up in scores and looking very good this season. Med always puts on her game face, though, she is one tough competitor. There is always a risk of injury (e.g., Hanyu), and she has not faced the pressure of the Olympics.

 

[snoopy]

She just won with two mistakes. That is a two mistake cushion. She is unbeatable this year. Next year will be a different story.

 

[briancoogaert]

Did she really skate that badly in her programs (two SP and two LP) ?
IMO, Medvedeva did skate very well at her first GP. Just one mistake. She fell on a 2Axel at her first Worlds. It's normal to make one or two mistakes.
I agree that the beginning of her LP at NHK was surprising. But she recovered really well and skated brilliantly after her 2 mistakes.

I don't think she has anything to fear from Zagitova and Tsurskaya. Even if they both have a high tecnical content, they don't have the same Skating Skills as Medvedeva. Medvedeva can do one or two little mistakes in the LP.

 

[Spun Silver]

she seems a hard worker, but I worry the over train will cause her injury, hope wont be as bad as Hanyu's

I worry about that with all Tutberidze’s skaters, including Tsurskaya.

I think Med is still safe, but less so. She wouldn’t be all taped up for no reason and if she is doing 8 or whatever unholy number of runthroughs a day that ET thinks is needed, that is a lot of stress. I would think she would be slightly unnerved by the Olympic pressure and how close Polina and Carolina are getting, to say nothing of Osmond. The Olympics are different. It is not always a coronation like Yu Na’s. Tsurskaya could be the youngster who peaks at exactly the right moment when Med falters. Or not. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, as Mathman on GS used to like to remind us.

 

[bardtoob]

Competitively, Medvedeva is not vulnerable for the OGM.

However, I am feeling a little uncomfortable about her prospects post the Olympics because I have seen Axels and Flips go on an Eteri's skater before

 

[RoseRed]

I worry about that with all Tutberidze’s skaters, including Tsurskaya.

I think Med is still safe, but less so. She wouldn’t be all taped up for no reason and if she is doing 8 or whatever unholy number of runthroughs a day that ET thinks is needed, that is a lot of stress. I would think she would be slightly unnerved by the Olympic pressure and how close Polina and Carolina are getting, to say nothing of Osmond. The Olympics are different. It is not always a coronation like Yu Na’s. Tsurskaya could be the youngster who peaks at exactly the right moment when Med falters. Or not. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, as Mathman on GS used to like to remind us.

I believe I read that since she's been dealing with a little bit of an ankle injury, they've reduced her training quite a bit.

 

[Cherryblossomgal]

Until she doesn't win one or both segments I would say no.

 

[caseyedwards]

It could be Doubt over whether or not russia will be banned or if not banned will boycott over not being allowed to have anthem or flag at the Olympics!

There are normal problems experienced by all people like lipinski and even Yuna Kim with her disastrous skate America free skate in 2009 but Medvedeva has another unprecedented pressure being gold frontrunner who could be banned.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Until she doesn't win one or both segments I would say no.

Well that's exactly what happened. She did not take either in the free.

 

[NAOTMAA]

Well that's exactly what happened. She did not take either in the free.

I think Cherryblossomgal was talking about SP and LP as segments not the individual tech. and PCS marks.


Either way because I am a very paranoid person it does worry me. I don't like seeing my favorites make mistakes in back to back competitions, it makes me nervous. Yes she fought back great but I hope her confidence isn't shaken that it starts carrying over, that she develops something in the back of her mind. But logically looking at the scores she's still ahead of everybody else. Who else would score over 140 with two mistakes like that? She has a cushion but I wouldn't want her to be testing its limits anytime soon

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I'm thinking of the right way to phrase this. But knowing she is human and not just a jumping robot, gives Medvedeva a little bit of character. When an athlete is thought of as perfect all the time, there really isn't anything to work towards, other than sustaining that level.

 

[briancoogaert]

she seems a hard worker, but I worry the over train will cause her injury, hope wont be as bad as Hanyu's

Well, considering her jumping technique on Flip and Toe especially (a lot with hip and shoulders), being safe actually is a miracle, and I'd say she is an amazing athlete with a very strong body !

 

[LarrySK8]

Med is vulnerable because last year, she set a standard for everyone else to aspire to, and she has come back this year essentially the same as last year in terms of jumping and spinning. Her toe jumps are a bit suspect and muscled, her flip/lutz edges are not always clear, her axel is suspect. Her spins do travel and can be slow compared to others. Her general lack of great turn-out is also a relative weakness in her spins and layback.

There are those who jump better than she does, but she beats them on everything else. She is not the best spinner, but she beats the spinners on everything else. Kostner is a better artist, but Med beats her on jump difficulty.

She is vulnerable only if she makes errors like popping jumps, which she never seems to do AND someone like Kostner with high PCS can get their tech score to 75+ in the FS.