Russian women news & updates, 2021-22 season

[Vash01]

Kamila won't be a Yulia 2.0, she's a lot stronger and this season she's been the definition of consistency.
I would worry about fatigue, but she has a full week and some change to rest and recover before the individual event.

Kamila will not be hounded by the media the way Julia was in Sochi/Moscow. She can stay in her bubble.

Still, it would have been better to let her rest and ask Anna or Sasha to skate the LP.

 

[hanca]

I just realized why Kamila did both events. There's a lot of hype from media that she's the first woman to land a quad in Olympic competition. Had Anna or Sasha done the LP, it'd totally stolen her thunder. In hindsight, I see what the strategy is here. No wonder she didn't want to split.

I think Russian federation was facing a difficult choice in pairs and ladies to decide who will be the second competitor in the team event, because they had three deserving skaters and pairs. So deciding that the best lady and pair would be skating both was one of the ways how to avoid the criticism for ‘choosing the wrong one’. And as they decided this for pairs and ladies, it just made sense to do that for men and ice dance. Clever, but not very sensible with Katsalapov’s injury.

 

[Amantide]

I think Russian federation was facing a difficult choice in pairs and ladies to decide who will be the second competitor in the team event, because they had three deserving skaters and pairs. So deciding that the best lady and pair would be skating both was one of the ways how to avoid the criticism for ‘choosing the wrong one’. And as they decided this for pairs and ladies, it just made sense to do that for men and ice dance. Clever, but not very sensible with Katsalapov’s injury.

This.
His injury should've been enough reason for them to choose another couple, for ID at least.

M&G were asked about this, after the FS apparently. He's so matter-of-fact that cracks me up.

Galliamov: We do not decide this. Our job is to go and do all the elements, bring results to our team. They said skate – we skate.

Have you been asked your opinion on this at all?

Mishina: No.

Galliamov: And what’s the point of asking our opinion if the federation watches all the training sessions and can see everything, looking at the readiness of the athletes.

 

[xxibjt]

Alina has spoken in support of Anna:

Alina Zagitova: “I wanted Shcherbakova to perform. There is never an extra Olympic medal. Shouldn't I know."

Olympic champion Pyeongchang 2018 Alina Zagitova commented on the results of the Beijing 2022 team tournament.

Today at the Olympics the team tournament of figure skaters ended, in which the Russian team took gold. In the last part of the competition - the women's free program - Kamila Valieva performed for the team, who also skated a short one.

“I wanted Anya (Shcherbakova) to perform. There is never an extra Olympic medal. Should I not know,” said Zagitova on the air of Channel One.

Алина Загитова: «Мне хотелось, чтобы выступила Щербакова. Лишней олимпийская медаль никогда не бывает. Мне ли не знать»

Олимпийская чемпионка Пхенчхана-2018 Алина Загитова прокомментировала итоги командного турнира Пекина-2022 .

www.sports.ru

Also, Margarita Mamun (while commentating the medal ceremony) said Sasha and Anna stayed up waiting until night for the free skate team announcement. Looks like they found out with the rest of us, or at best right before.

 

[hanca]

This.
His injury should've been enough reason for them to choose another couple, for ID at least.

That’s not so simple though. It seems that Stepanova/Bukin have some issues (whether it was some minor injury or covid test) and therefore are not available yet. So the second couple would have to be Davis/Smolkin. How would people feel if Davis/Smolkin got an Olympic gold medal because they are the only other Russian ice dancers currently available at the venue, whereas skaters Trusova or Scherbakova and Boikova/Kozlovski or Tarasova/Morozov would be without a medal (the third skater and third pair team)?So many people were moaning about the possibility of D/S being on the team… I don’t think the Russian federation had much choice - Sinitsina/Katsalapov had to do both events.

 

[MarieM]

That’s not so simple though. It seems that Stepanova/Bukin have some issues (whether it was some minor injury or covid test) and therefore are not available yet. So the second couple would have to be Davis/Smolkin. How would people feel if Davis/Smolkin got an Olympic gold medal because they are the only other Russian ice dancers currently available at the venue, whereas skaters Trusova or Scherbakova and Boikova/Kozlovski or Tarasova/Morozov would be without a medal (the third skater and third pair team)?So many people were moaning about the possibility of D/S being on the team… I don’t think the Russian federation had much choice - Sinitsina/Katsalapov had to do both events.

I'm sorry but the federation made that decision, not to send Step/Bukin in time. So there is something else going on. And I am glad Diana wasn't allowed to compete, for her not to pay that choice forever.

 

[nickp]

I hope Kamila gets the clean free skate she wants in the individual event

 

[skatingguy]

I'm sorry but the federation made that decision, not to send Step/Bukin in time. So there is something else going on. And I am glad Diana wasn't allowed to compete, for her not to pay that choice forever.

There's no indication that the federation made the decision not to send them early. We don't know the reason that they didn't, but Stepanova/Bukin were originally supposed to join the rest of their team mates in Krasnoyarsk, and fly to Beijing on February 1st.

 

[becca]

Alina has spoken in support of Anna:

Alina Zagitova: “I wanted Shcherbakova to perform. There is never an extra Olympic medal. Shouldn't I know."

Olympic champion Pyeongchang 2018 Alina Zagitova commented on the results of the Beijing 2022 team tournament.

Today at the Olympics the team tournament of figure skaters ended, in which the Russian team took gold. In the last part of the competition - the women's free program - Kamila Valieva performed for the team, who also skated a short one.

“I wanted Anya (Shcherbakova) to perform. There is never an extra Olympic medal. Should I not know,” said Zagitova on the air of Channel One.

Алина Загитова: «Мне хотелось, чтобы выступила Щербакова. Лишней олимпийская медаль никогда не бывает. Мне ли не знать»

Олимпийская чемпионка Пхенчхана-2018 Алина Загитова прокомментировала итоги командного турнира Пекина-2022 .

www.sports.ru

Also, Margarita Mamun (while commentating the medal ceremony) said Sasha and Anna stayed up waiting until night for the free skate team announcement. Looks like they found out with the rest of us, or at best right before.

That’s wrong Trusova and Anna should be treated better. They could have told them

 

[Cherub721]

Alina has spoken in support of Anna:

Alina Zagitova: “I wanted Shcherbakova to perform. There is never an extra Olympic medal. Shouldn't I know."

Olympic champion Pyeongchang 2018 Alina Zagitova commented on the results of the Beijing 2022 team tournament.

Today at the Olympics the team tournament of figure skaters ended, in which the Russian team took gold. In the last part of the competition - the women's free program - Kamila Valieva performed for the team, who also skated a short one.

“I wanted Anya (Shcherbakova) to perform. There is never an extra Olympic medal. Should I not know,” said Zagitova on the air of Channel One.

Алина Загитова: «Мне хотелось, чтобы выступила Щербакова. Лишней олимпийская медаль никогда не бывает. Мне ли не знать»

Олимпийская чемпионка Пхенчхана-2018 Алина Загитова прокомментировала итоги командного турнира Пекина-2022 .

www.sports.ru

Also, Margarita Mamun (while commentating the medal ceremony) said Sasha and Anna stayed up waiting until night for the free skate team announcement. Looks like they found out with the rest of us, or at best right before.

Awful. I half wonder if part of this was Kogan not being there. Would he be making the decision?

 

[Cherub721]

I think Russian federation was facing a difficult choice in pairs and ladies to decide who will be the second competitor in the team event, because they had three deserving skaters and pairs. So deciding that the best lady and pair would be skating both was one of the ways how to avoid the criticism for ‘choosing the wrong one’. And as they decided this for pairs and ladies, it just made sense to do that for men and ice dance. Clever, but not very sensible with Katsalapov’s injury.

It's not that difficult. Just take the European silver medalists in pairs and ladies for the LP. No one could argue with that.

 

[skatingguy]

Every indication was the decision was made not to make any changes to the Russian line up for the team event several weeks ago - that wasn't officially announced - but that was what had been reported.

 

[trouble77]

The Team Event can be really a paradox. On one hand, it can allow skaters like Anna and Alexandra to win a gold medal alongside Kamila, and on the other, it can allow skaters like Karen Chen to win a Silver. Let me explain:

I know, Anna and Alexandra weren't selected for either the SP or the LP. But, if a federation has incredible skaters, who can either win or lose the gold for a few points in the individual event, the Team Event can really do the trick and allow those skaters to win one Olympic gold each. This could have been the case for the Eteri's girls.

Anna, Alexandra, and Valieva have quads and we are already anticipating the Russian sweep during the Ladies' event. But they won't all win a Gold medal. Therefore, if I were Eteri, I would have insisted to have Alexandra and Anna in the Team Event. Alexandra for the SP and Anna with her two normally solid quads for the LP. They would have helped to get Gold to Team Russia. So, I don't understand why the Russian Federation didn't have any faith in these two girls.

Now, Karen Chen has a Silver medal, but I don't think her Silver performance in the Team Event, can top any skater who will win Bronze in the Individual Event. That's why I think the team event is a paradox.

Maybe my thoughts are a little bit convoluted.

 

[soogar]

The Team Event can be really a paradox. On one hand, it can allow skaters like Anna and Alexandra to win a gold medal alongside Kamila, and on the other, it can allow skaters like Karen Chen to win a Silver. Let me explain:

I know, Anna and Alexandra weren't selected for either the SP or the LP. But, if a federation has incredible skaters, who can either win or lose the gold for a few points in the individual event, the Team Event can really do the trick and allow those skaters to win one Olympic gold each. This could have been the case for the Eteri's girls.

Anna, Alexandra, and Valieva have quads and we are already anticipating the Russian sweep during the Ladies' event. But they won't all win a Gold medal. Therefore, if I were Eteri, I would have insisted to have Alexandra and Anna in the Team Event. Alexandra for the SP and Anna with her two normally solid quads for the LP. They would have helped to get Gold to Team Russia. So, I don't understand why the Russian Federation didn't have any faith in these two girls.

Now, Karen Chen has a Silver medal, but I don't think her Silver performance in the Team Event, can top any skater who will win Bronze in the Individual Event. That's why I think the team event is a paradox.

Maybe my thoughts are a little bit convoluted.

What makes you think Eteri wasn't trying to get all of her skaters in the team event? She gets a piece of their earnings. I'm sure they were fighting for T&M as well and she probably was trying to get Diana in as well as one of the other girls. Anna has brought in a lot of money and let's face it, Anna had earned a spot with her World Championships and 3 Russian titles. I'm sure that as a her coach, Eteri was fighting to get her on the team. In fact, some of the reports say that they decided to have no substitutions because of the squabbling with T&M and the second spot. Now publicly, I have not seen anything that T&M didn't sadly accept their fate. Maxim only publicly expressed disappointment. However this report makes me think that behind the scenes, there was a lot of discussion with B&K and T&M behind the scenes which is why the decision was made. It does sound as if the decision was sudden and it was made in haste to quiet a dispute in pairs. Kami wanted to split singles and Sasha seems pretty low drama. However the pairs seemed contentious and B&K as a team seems to be more open about expressing their needs. If not them, perhaps the coach. However clear that G&M were tired and not expecting to skate the FP so something must have happened behind the scenes. This is all conjecture, but the only postings involved pairs and there hasn't been a peep from T&M or Maxim other than what was publicly released. So it seems weird that there are postings that there was squabbling from T&M over that second spot. Really, they could have used another set of pairs and a woman out there because they would have still won.

 

[trouble77]

Yes, they could have used another set of pairs and another woman.

Isn't Eteri fully employed by Sambo 70? She is not freelancing anymore. I don't she can earn money from her students.

 

[Sylvia]

NBC Sports' videos of Kamila's history-making programs in the Team Event at the Olympics:

SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVpjFdf5l8c
FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hda3vvmqQHQ

 

[soogar]

Yes, they could have used another set of pairs and another woman.

Isn't Eteri fully employed by Sambo 70? She is not freelancing anymore. I don't she can earn money from her students.

I don’t think a Sambo 70 salary pays for Louis Vuitton.

 

[trouble77]

OMG it`s not impossible to buy a Luis Vuitton coat. You can put it on your credit card, or save money for it. She might have received as a gift from a parent/lover or...or Plushenko

 

[aka_gerbil]

In fact, some of the reports say that they decided to have no substitutions because of the squabbling with T&M and the second spot. Now publicly, I have not seen anything that T&M didn't sadly accept their fate. Maxim only publicly expressed disappointment. However this report makes me think that behind the scenes, there was a lot of discussion with B&K and T&M behind the scenes which is why the decision was made. It does sound as if the decision was sudden and it was made in haste to quiet a dispute in pairs.

Evgenia Tarasova was named as one of the team captains for the team event. She never put in an appearance at any of the press conferences (and I don’t blame her). Sort of odd for someone who wasn’t supposed to skate the team event to be named as a captain, right? This season, T/M decisively beat B/K 2/3 times, both of those in the international competitions and both by wide margins. If you’re picking a second pair, that’s who you go with. So, did B/K and their camp raise such a fuss that it meant neither Anna nor T/M got to skate when they wanted to and M/G and Valieva did not want to…

 

[thvu]

OMG it`s not impossible to buy a Luis Vuitton coat. You can put it on your credit card, or save money for it. She might have received as a gift from a parent/lover or...or Plushenko

 

[soogar]

I'm sorry but the federation made that decision, not to send Step/Bukin in time. So there is something else going on. And I am glad Diana wasn't allowed to compete, for her not to pay that choice forever.

I don't know what is going on with them, but was it really a fed decision on Step/Buk? It's starting to look more and more like they were/are positive.

 

[soogar]

Evgenia Tarasova was named as one of the team captains for the team event. She never put in an appearance at any of the press conferences (and I don’t blame her). Sort of odd for someone who wasn’t supposed to skate the team event to be named as a captain, right? This season, T/M decisively beat B/K 2/3 times, both of those in the international competitions and both by wide margins. If you’re picking a second pair, that’s who you go with. So, did B/K and their camp raise such a fuss that it meant neither Anna nor T/M got to skate when they wanted to and M/G and Valieva did not want to…

I didn't even know that Evgenia was named co-captain. That is really painful and very sad for this team to miss out on a gold medal and they would have made a strong contribution. Can you imagine if that was the case, that B&K made such a fuss that it forced Anna to miss out? I am really surprised that they would do this to Eteri. Eteri's group produced a number of champions and with this decision, Eteri lost out on 2 gold medals- a pairs and Anna. She can't possibly be happy about this and I'm surprised she couldn't give them a talking to.

With Vincent's announcement, I wonder how much of this decision could be strategic in case someone tested positive and would need to be replaced? Where is Liza? If two of the girls participate in the team event and test positive, they would only be able to replace the one that did not participate in the team event. At least Kami got her gold medal and I hope that is the only thing that she gets. But if two girls participated and one or both test positive, they will be down to only 1 woman in the individual. At least worst case scenario they can replace with Liza.

 

[Wyliefan]

We all know that B/K are not shy about sharing their feelings, but I find it hard to believe the Russian federation would take orders from them. As for their camp, Moskvina already had one pair guaranteed to skate at least one segment in the Team Event, so I don't know why she'd kick up a fuss either.

 

[Rafter]

I don’t think a Sambo 70 salary pays for Louis Vuitton.

Here I thought Eteri owned Sambo!

Maybe she is getting a cut of her students on and off ice earnings. That would pay for all her designer stuff.

 

[thvu]

Maybe she is getting a cut of her students on and off ice earnings. That would pay for all her designer stuff.

She‘s getting a cut.

 

[tony]

Russian coaches and the Federation have, for as long as I’ve been a fan of the sport, gotten a big portion of overall earnings and I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that’s changed. In the Slutskaya and Butyrskaya days I believe it was 50%+ and I know I read it somewhere as well. Maybe in one of Beverly Smith’s books.

 

[soogar]

Here I thought Eteri owned Sambo!

Maybe she is getting a cut of her students on and off ice earnings. That would pay for all her designer stuff.

Many coaches have agreements with their students for earnings, even American coaches. Frank Carroll did an interview with TSL in which he expressed regret that he didn't have a contract with Denis Ten for his earnings. I guess after Michelle, Frank felt (paraphrasing what he said) that he deserved a tiny percentage of the action. Tim Goebel complained that he couldn't change to Frank unless he signed a contract that promised a percentage of his earnings in addition to the fees that he paid him. It seems that Eteri does a good job marketing her students and creates shows for them to perform in. These kids would be paying over a 100K for costumes, choreography, ice time and coaching if they were in the West. So they are getting a good deal with her but Eteri wants to get paid and she obviously would want her athletes to earn medals. It makes it easier to market someone who is an OGM, no matter whether it is team or individual.

 

[soogar]

We all know that B/K are not shy about sharing their feelings, but I find it hard to believe the Russian federation would take orders from them. As for their camp, Moskvina already had one pair guaranteed to skate at least one segment in the Team Event, so I don't know why she'd kick up a fuss either.

B&K are feisty people. I can see them kicking up a fuss since they had beaten T&M at Russian Nationals. It also could have been getting ugly and they didn't want to deal with them.

 

[Wyliefan]

B&K are feisty people. I can see them kicking up a fuss since they had beaten T&M at Russian Nationals.

Sure, but why would Rusfed cave to them?

 

[soogar]

Sure, but why would Rusfed cave to them?

I don't know how anyone has power to complain unless there was just so much squabbling with Eteri and Moskvina (I can't imagine Moskvina squabbling) - or perhaps Eteri was making a push for Diana that this was Rus Fed's way of putting Eteri in her place.