Interview with Irina Slutskaya [post-Beijing]

[olympic]

https://fs-gossips.com/irina-slutsk...erotations-and-this-is-not-a-mistake-why-not/

She's kind of all over the place:

1. Kindly suggests Tarasova / Morozov wuz robbed. Sui / Han had a home court advantage
2. Stepanova / Bukin wuz robbed
3. Sinitsina / Katsalapov are 'more pleasant' to watch than Papadakis / Cizeron (I want what she is smoking)
4. No one should have been taping behind the scenes at the womens' event
5. A real chaotic look at her experiences in SLC 2002; sounds like she feels she wuz robbed there - 'brazenly removed' with the 2nd mark in the LP (I hope someone told her that her choreo was crap and she was skating slower than normal).

A real conspiracy theorist

 

[Vagabond]

Dare we wonder what she feels about Russia's war in Ukraine?

 

[escaflowne9282]

I agree with her on point number 4 , and I thought she was very fair to both Anna and Sasha.

This was actually a very good interview from her. I had to roll my eyes at some of her SLC comments, but that event was generally a mess and honestly deserved to go without a winner like they do in ballet and piano competitions if nobody is deemed good enough.

 

[Angela-Fan]

I agree with her on number 4.
Number 5… yikes lol. She was one of my favorite skaters, but I really didn’t like that long program. She had some nice long programs but that one just didn’t work.

 

[eurodance2001]

https://fs-gossips.com/irina-slutsk...erotations-and-this-is-not-a-mistake-why-not/

She's kind of all over the place:

1. Kindly suggests Tarasova / Morozov wuz robbed. Sui / Han had a home court advantage
2. Stepanova / Bukin wuz robbed
3. Sinitsina / Katsalapov are 'more pleasant' to watch than Papadakis / Cizeron (I want what she is smoking)
4. No one should have been taping behind the scenes at the womens' event
5. A real chaotic look at her experiences in SLC 2002; sounds like she feels she wuz robbed there - 'brazenly removed' with the 2nd mark in the LP (I hope someone told her that her choreo was crap and she was skating slower than normal).

A real conspiracy theorist

Like where to start with her ramblings?
1. Meh.. for the number of time Russian pairs have been held up, finally someone else gets the benefit of the doubt.
2. Had they not made that big mistake in their FD then perhaps this would be true but it’s not.
3. Hell to the NO.. Tanith White said it best during the FD commentary that if S/K win a medal it’s due to the first 3/4 of their program. A nice way of saying the last part simply didn’t work, which is true. Totally out of place and not cohesive with the rest.
4. Perhaps not but it’s the Olympics; there are cameras everywhere and it’s always been that way.
5. She was lucky to finish 2nd in 2002. Her Tosca was a hot mess as it was and then she skated slow and tentative so that didn’t make it any better. She had that huge pitch forward in her triple flip also. 5.9’s were beyond gifts for artistic impression for that slop. 5.6’s were more like it but since she was the Russian Feds chosen one she was getting over scored presentation wise for years and actually believed she deserved those 5.9’s.

 

[orbitz]

It was very nice that Irina said she would've been happy for MK if MK had won in '02.

 

[Finnice]

It was very nice that Irina said she would've been happy for MK if MK had won in '02.

What I saw them interacting in press conferences etc. in early 2000's, there was obviously a certain respect between them.

 

[VGThuy]

It was very nice that Irina said she would've been happy for MK if MK had won in '02.

That’s true. What I got from that portion of the interview was that she respected Kwan as her competitor but not Hughes. Maybe she hadn’t gotten used to losing to Hughes yet.

 

[escaflowne9282]

4. Perhaps not but it’s the Olympics; there are cameras everywhere and it’s always been that way.

It most certainly has not always been that way. In the past skaters were allowed to have space backstage. Skaters were allowed to stay in the locker rooms until they were ready to come out.
For me what was so hard to watch about Trusova's reaction was that she tried to hide herself and apparently asked for a private moment

This tacky couch of awkwardness that has been introduced within the last 2 quads gets a major down vote from me .

I admit. I did hate SinKats FD. I actually think the violin orchestration of Rachmaninoff was worse than the Paganini jig.

 

[escaflowne9282]

That’s true. What I got from that portion of the interview was that she respected Kwan as her competitor but not Hughes. Maybe she hadn’t gotten used to losing to Hughes yet.

Butyrskaya said something similar after SLC too. She didn't think very much of Sarah Hughes but thought it would have been fair if Michelle Kwan had won. I gather Sarah Hughes was simply not very well thought of by Russian figure skating.

 

[VGThuy]

Butyrskaya said something similar after SLC too. She didn't think very much of Sarah Hughes but thought it would have been fair if Michelle Kwan had won. I gather Sarah Hughes was simply not very well thought of by Russian figure skating.

Hughes has always been hard to figure out for me. On paper, she had great qualities to her skating. Better spins than most of her competitors outside of Cohen, good enough spirals (especially looking at the IJS period in comparison), full choreography, pretty good flexibility (not Cohen level but better than most competitors), decent skating skills, and ambitious jumping passes (especially in 6.0 late 90s-early 2000s).

And yet, when you watch her...it just doesn't come together the way it should as she sounds on paper. It's not just the UR jumps or major flutz (both of those were so egregious that people were commenting on those aspects even in the 6.0 period), but her overall way of moving. There was a sort of clumsy, uncoordinated aspect to her skating and though her choreography was full, there was always a sort of haphazard quality to her Robin Wagner choreography that felt a bit amateur despite all the moves-in-the-field she was doing that really did affect the overall picture. Even though her Olympic performance was excellent and set the arena on fire, most fans still felt it was beatable by at least two of the three skaters who were ahead of her after the SP (Cohen is debatable) until nobody stepped up to beat it. I bet you most people on FSU think Irina's or Michelle's 6-triple non-3/3 but no fall/no mistake performances at Worlds (and in Kwan's case at Nationals too) could have still beaten Hughes' Olympic skate.

 

[Coco]

Has anyone ever tried to score the 2002 ladies FS (or SP!) with IJS? Sounds like a job for the skip

 

[VGThuy]

Has anyone ever tried to score the 2002 ladies FS (or SP!) with IJS? Sounds like a job for the skip

Irina would most likely win given Kwan's UR and fall on the Flip and double footing the first toe loop in her 3toe/2toe in the LP and her > on her flip in the SP (at the time, some thought her Flip was downgraded but watching and re-watching that Flip in slo-mo showed me she was a few degrees off the 45 degree angle). I haven't dissected all of Hughes' jumps to see what would get > or if any would get >>, but most people think her SP would have "buried" Hughes.

IJS as it exists now rewards Irina's strengths more than Kwan's. There aren't enough differentiation in GOE and PCS on non-jump elements the way the presentation mark under 6.0 was literally equal in actual value to the technical score AND the tie-breaker in the FS/LP. Kwan's strength was more overall picture and her skating was more than the sum of its parts while Irina's strengths were individual elements her skating was the sum of its parts - which is what IJS really is.

 

[MacMadame]

I gather Sarah Hughes was simply not very well thought of by Russian figure skating.

Just the Russians? A lot of people here aren't wowed by her skating either.

Irina has always whined about SLC so that isn't new. I'm used to it by now. And a lot of people think that the judges are all corrupt and decide things ahead of time so why shouldn't she? I love this quote about 6.0 vs. IJS "It is impossible to compare the old Nokia and the modern iPhone."

She also said that Davis/Smolkin "lack the skill and professionalism to fight for the podium." Which I think most would agree. And for the other stuff about her preferences, she makes it clear that she isn't speaking as a judge who is looking at the technical aspects. These are just her preferences.

She also says that the Russian Men aren't going to win at Worlds because of Ilia Malinin. And that Russian men don't have the right technic for Quads so they either need to be stronger or to fix their technique.

Something I found interesting is that it seems like Russia now has some of the same issues as in the US when it comes to Mens skating. The parents don't put their boys into skating but into football (soccer) and hockey. And there were no Mens competitors at the Olympics that will inspire the little boys like there are for the girls.

Oh and she thinks Quints are possible and that Hanyu could land that 4X if he just does more pre-rotation. (Which she doesn't agree should be allowed but that's the way it is now, so why not take advantage of it?)

I thought it was a good interview. And a lot of what she said, the vocal people (the majority?) on this board agree with -- pre-rotation should be marked down, there should be more medals at the Olympics, Anya is a deserving OGM, etc.

 

[Fadeevfanboy]

Irina would most likely win given Kwan's UR and fall on the Flip and double footing the first toe loop in her 3toe/2toe in the LP and her > on her flip in the SP (at the time, some thought her Flip was downgraded but watching and re-watching that Flip in slo-mo showed me she was a few degrees off the 45 degree angle). I haven't dissected all of Hughes' jumps to see what would get > or if any would get >>, but most people think her SP would have "buried" Hughes.

IJS as it exists now rewards Irina's strengths more than Kwan's. There aren't enough differentiation in GOE and PCS on non-jump elements the way the presentation mark under 6.0 was literally equal in actual value to the technical score AND the tie-breaker in the FS/LP. Kwan's strength was more overall picture and her skating was more than the sum of its parts while Irina's strengths were individual elements her skating was the sum of its parts - which is what IJS really is.

Sarah probably would have retrained her jumps long before SLC under IJS. She would have had to as no way she would be getting the strong results she was with those jump (flutz calls, massive << issues) under IJS. It would be interesting to see what happens with her, and pretty much impossible to tell how she does in SLC and if she can still win, since she probably would have had to retool her jumps long before SLC now.

 

[skatingguy]

It most certainly has not always been that way. In the past skaters were allowed to have space backstage. Skaters were allowed to stay in the locker rooms until they were ready to come out.
For me what was so hard to watch about Trusova's reaction was that she tried to hide herself and apparently asked for a private moment

This tacky couch of awkwardness that has been introduced within the last 2 quads gets a major down vote from me .

I admit. I did hate SinKats FD. I actually think the violin orchestration of Rachmaninoff was worse than the Paganini jig.

There are still locker rooms, and skaters can still go there if they wish.

 

[canbelto]

I don't mind the interview. She's giving her opinions, which she's entitled to do. She is not personally attacking anyone, or speaking with coded homophobia or bigotry.

 

[SamChez]

No mention of Kwan's secret baby? I'll order another cheeseburger and wait.

 

[VGThuy]

No mention of Kwan's secret baby? I'll order another cheeseburger and wait.

We never got a battle of the Totentaz but we could get a battle of the Sekret Babies!

Seriously though, seeing Irina congratulate Michelle on her sekret baby post on IG and saying it was the best news of the year (it was only January 5 at the time but so far so true) was one of my favorite things I've seen ever.

 

[escaflowne9282]

There are still locker rooms, and skaters can still go there if they wish.

In Beijing, it appeared as though everyone was stuck either on the couches or in the corridor after the competition. There seemed to be no private area backstage that anyone was allowed to go to, and the cameras were everywhere in a way that was almost unprecedented.
IIRC ,per ISU protocol, athletes were not allowed to leave the competition area until/unless they were out of medal contention. Sneaking off to the locker room for a few minutes really wasn't an option for any of the medalists once they skated.

In SLC, neither Kwan nor Slutskaya were followed backstage by the cameras beyond a certain area. Apparently they cried together. Likewise neither Cohen nor Slutskaya were followed backstage Turin. Slutskaya apparently threw her medal in the trash , but we never saw that.

Re: Sarah Hughes . I think @VGThuy nailed it. There was nothing about her skating that ever came across as particularly special or memorable. I can't think of any hallmark moves or programs by her. I remember nothing about her Olympic skate. I mean Sotnikova at least waved to the audience .
Her basics were ok. Her line was ok. She had terrible posture and carriage. Her lack of control over her torso during footwork was enough to give people nightmares. Artistically, she always came across as a girl at a dance recital.
The overall impression I have is that she was just a nice young lady from Great Neck who used Olympic skating as an extracurricular activity before following her family's legacy to Yale...

I guess I wasn't that impressed by her skating either.

 

[skatingguy]

In Beijing, it appeared as though everyone was stuck either on the couches or in the corridor after the competition. There seemed to be no private area backstage that anyone was allowed to go to, and the cameras were everywhere in a way that was almost unprecedented.
IIRC ,per ISU protocol, athletes were not allowed to leave the competition area until/unless they were out of medal contention. Sneaking off to the locker room for a few minutes really wasn't an option for any of the medalists once they skated.

In SLC, neither Kwan nor Slutskaya were followed backstage by the cameras beyond a certain area. Apparently they cried together. Likewise neither Cohen nor Slutskaya were followed backstage Turin. Slutskaya apparently threw her medal in the trash , but we never saw that.

The ISU says a lot of things, but that doesn't mean that they're listened to. If a skater went into a dressing room, and said I'm getting changed I don't think the ISU would force them to stay in the hallway. What access the cameras have all depends on the set up of the event, and if you're in the mix zone after the competition there are usually cameras, and that's where both Trusova and Valieva (who was being comforted by a member of the Russian media) were when those scenes were filmed. This would be something that I would expect their coaching staff, or Russian Olympic committee officials could have changed if they'd been interested in doing so.

 

[orbitz]

Re: Sarah Hughes . I think @VGThuy nailed it. There was nothing about her skating that ever came across as particularly special or memorable. I can't think of any hallmark moves or programs by her. I remember nothing about her Olympic skate. I mean Sotnikova at least waved to the audience .

I wasn't a big fan of Sarah, but I did think that she had one of best laybacks. I much prefer it over Sasha's (there was heaviness to it that I didn't like) and Angela's. I also liked a lot Sarah's sequence of forward inside spiral - back outside three's -3 loop. The 3lp-3lp was also cool when she did it.

ETA: Sarah also had the best inside edge back camel, IMO.

 

[skateboy]

https://fs-gossips.com/irina-slutsk...erotations-and-this-is-not-a-mistake-why-not/

She's kind of all over the place:

1. Kindly suggests Tarasova / Morozov wuz robbed. Sui / Han had a home court advantage
2. Stepanova / Bukin wuz robbed
3. Sinitsina / Katsalapov are 'more pleasant' to watch than Papadakis / Cizeron (I want what she is smoking)
4. No one should have been taping behind the scenes at the womens' event
5. A real chaotic look at her experiences in SLC 2002; sounds like she feels she wuz robbed there - 'brazenly removed' with the 2nd mark in the LP (I hope someone told her that her choreo was crap and she was skating slower than normal).

A real conspiracy theorist

Geez... Irina's LP sucked in SLC, we all know that. She was clunky, unpolished, sloppy and gasping for air. Probably should have been 5th or 6th in that segment.

 

[Coco]

I also liked Sarah's 2a, in addition to her layback. And she had the best music on the night

 

[soogar]

The ISU says a lot of things, but that doesn't mean that they're listened to. If a skater went into a dressing room, and said I'm getting changed I don't think the ISU would force them to stay in the hallway. What access the cameras have all depends on the set up of the event, and if you're in the mix zone after the competition there are usually cameras, and that's where both Trusova and Valieva (who was being comforted by a member of the Russian media) were when those scenes were filmed. This would be something that I would expect their coaching staff, or Russian Olympic committee officials could have changed if they'd been interested in doing so.

Actually I believe that the network stipulated in its contract that the athletes have to remain in view. I don't have a source but I heard that a few years ago because skaters used to always go backstage.

 

[skatingguy]

Actually I believe that the network stipulated in its contract that the athletes have to remain in view. I don't have a source but I heard that a few years ago because skaters used to always go backstage.

The networks would negotiate access to the backstage area, but they can't force the athletes to stay in view of the cameras - there are always areas that are out-of-bounds for the cameras, and the skaters could have been steered in those directions and they weren't.

 

[MacMadame]

The networks would negotiate access to the backstage area, but they can't force the athletes to stay in view of the cameras - there are always areas that are out-of-bounds for the cameras, and the skaters could have been steered in those directions and they weren't.

It looks to me like they tried but it was kind of chaotic back there.

 

[soogar]

The networks would negotiate access to the backstage area, but they can't force the athletes to stay in view of the cameras - there are always areas that are out-of-bounds for the cameras, and the skaters could have been steered in those directions and they weren't.

I think that they have to or would be subjected to fine. I thought the ISU implemented a fine a few years ago. I read this and now can no longer find it. You see the skaters have to sit on the couch - at least until they are out of medal contention. Maybe someone else can shed light on this.

 

[Debbie S]

I think that they have to or would be subjected to fine. I thought the ISU implemented a fine a few years ago. I read this and now can no longer find it. You see the skaters have to sit on the couch - at least until they are out of medal contention. Maybe someone else can shed light on this.

I believe the only instances where skaters are fined are missing a press conference or medal ceremony or not skating in the exhibition (or exhibition practice), unless they have documentation of an injury.

 

[Marco]

Irina somehow saying she didn't win in 2002 because she didn't have the Federation's support is simply mindblowing. If she wasn't the top Russian, she wouldn't have had those 5.8s or 5.9s in the second mark in the few seasons prior to 2002. Bragging about the 6.0 at 02 Worlds is just

But I understand why she said she would be happy if Michelle had won in SLC. The mentality isn't so much who skated best that night / in the competition - both Irina and Michelle were subpar; but more so, who deserved to be viewed as an Olympic Champion skater. If it wasn't going to be her, it should be Michelle who got to beat her at Worlds all 3 times that quad. By SLC, the biggest thing Sarah won was GPs.