Aliona is lucky this partnership never saw the light of day. Probably most people will forget about it.
I wouldn’t care about the adultery. Rape, on the other hand…
According to Dave L That's Danny OShea
And what is your take on it?
Wel IMHO it's not going to happen. He has a partner and he's not known to leave them easily.
All right, then. I will place my bet on someone else.
"Extraordinary talent" can help you get a U.S. visa; it doesn't do a whit of good in expediting U.S. citizenship, which requires five years of permanent residency. The earliest Savchenko could represent the U.S. at the Winter Olympic Games is either 2026 (doubtful, as she would need to have not just a visa but a green card by now) or 2030, when she will be forty-six.
So who are you betting on?
I absolutely agree with this (I love Midori Ito for skating adult competitions still as well!)But with all respect-- she left the sport at the top, she became a mother, got right back on the ice and was right back to normal, even landing 3+3 combos. She paired back up with Massot and after a week or so they looked like they hadn't taken any break since 2018. She's more than capable of pulling off another surprise, and this board is a perfect starting-point to show how many people wereher decision in 2014 and even calling her desperate at that time.
If she personally wants a new challenge in life, so what? If she's finishing 7th out of 8 in Grand Prix competitions for the next four years, also so what? She has a passion for the sport and that's what is keeping her in. No one is forcing her.
As a comparison, Chusovitina has the respect of just about everyone in the world for continuing on, and I don't see anyone questioning why she didn't walk away earlier. Zoe Jones returned and hasn't produced any major results yet and everyone cheers her on, too. If the argument becomes 'well it's going to tarnish the legacy, people aren't going to remember her if she has worse results', I beg to differ. I'll still remember the 2018 LP as one of the all-time bests.
Man you would need brass balls to skate with her
It wasn't done at the time. Nyman flew to France on the second week of July to work with Savchenko in Pralognan la Vanoise. I met him there on July 10, I think he'd just arrived the same day or the day before. I saw them practicing the following days and although the skating looked good, the atmosphere seemed... tense.
When I told Nyman I was a journalist and I knew who he was (he had introduced himself only as 'TJ'), he looked quite uncomfortable. I was tempted to add that yes, his 'reputation' had crossed the ocean... Not to every ear though, as the members of the Italian team and staff he was hanging around with obviously didn't know.
It is sad really. Poor choices have crushed what could have been.
Is it really? I’m not so convinced with all the backlash one would think she would someway share she’s no longer partnering with TJ
That's what makes Aljona's decision so shocking. Everyone expects Sappenfield and Nyman to be suspended. Was Savchenko not aware of what was happening? Even if she didn't care about the optics, did she not understand that the partnership had no future? I have no doubt that Savchenko can make a successful comeback. But why TJ of all people? Unless they got together for romantic reasons (yes, I know she's married with a kid), the pairing didn't make any sense.
The only out I can really possibly give Aljona is that maybe she didn't know the extent of the situation or maybe anything about it at all. Now, that seems ridiculous for people on FSU who follow skating updates daily, but skaters themselves have a lot of things going on and might stay away from the majority of social media. Sappenfield or someone like Mozer
may have suggested this partner as a potential good match (although, Nyman aside, there's been plenty to worry about with Sappenfield anyways.. so that's a 
either way).
Yes. I believe Dave Lease also mentioned he messaged Savchenko before the pairing was made public, having had conversations with her in the past. Asking if she was aware of the allegations against Nyman, she didn't respond.
I don’t think at her age having to do seven triples FS would be that great idea. There is a reason why there has never been that many singles skaters over the age of 30! Spending every day most of her practice doing jump would lead to injuries. And even if she did learn all triples and managed to stay healthy (which is a bit unlikely), she would not be able to get to the top in singles. The times when having 3-3 in the SP and seven triples in the FS would be enough to fight for medals in ladies are gone. I think it is a safe guess that at the Olympics all three Russian ladies will have 3A or quad (whichever three Russian ladies will be chosen), so will some of the Japanese ladies and the Korean lady also has 3A. Of course not all of them will land it, but it is safe to guess that at least three will and therefore they would have a huge advantage in comparison with Aliona. And it is too late for Aliona start learning 3A or quad. Whereas if she stays in pairs, she has at least some chance (if she finds a decent partner).
It depends whether she has all jumps and whether she can do 3-3. Nicole Schott may not be great, but she has 3F-3T and landed six triples in her FS. Can Savchenko beat that? Will her body be able to manage without getting injured? Germany may not be strong in ladies, but Savchenko would still need to beat all German ladies to be sent to the Olympics.
Stop being rational.
Doesn’t she still have Ukrainian citizenship? She could still represent Ukraine at the Olympics as a singles skater!
