Aljona Savchenko has been released to the USA to continue her pairs career

[wickedwitch]

@Yehudi is correct. Some skaters “choreograph” everything right down to how they act in the Kiss & Cry. I know for a fact that skaters of one of the most revered coaches in skating does so for a fact.

Sure, but who choreographs a kiss on the mouth when one of the partners is married to someone else?

 

[dramagrrl]

There's none, just look at Browning

Uh, what? Of all the scandal stories in figure skating, you're going to single him out?

 

[Lemonade20]

Uh, what? Of all the scandal stories in figure skating, you're going to single him out?

He's just one of many elite skaters who I question when it comes to moral decisions. Would you like for me to name some more?

 

[canbelto]

Ok playing amateur psychologist here:

Aljona is an extremely driven person. Her husband seems like a nice guy who put his life on hold to support her Olympic dreams. She said she was very lucky that he played house husband during the most intense Olympic preparation. But three years out from the Olympics and maybe the lack of any employment is sticking her craw.

 

[thvu]

I hope they’re boo’d loudly at every competition. I’m so shocked and appalled. I’m officially pearl clutching.

 

[Lemonade20]

Pairs Drama summed up!

 

[Xela M]

Wow how the Empress has fallen. I cannot believe that someone who had the most popular (and incredible) Olympic win of all time with EVERYONE on her side and a loving young family would throw it all away for a 21-year-old yob under investigation for rape of underage girls

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

But three years out from the Olympics and maybe the lack of any employment is sticking her craw.

Unemployment is no excuse for infidelity.

-BB

 

[Xela M]

And Eric Radford wasn't good enough for her but TJ is?!

 

[Xela M]

Ok playing amateur psychologist here:

Aljona is an extremely driven person. Her husband seems like a nice guy who put his life on hold to support her Olympic dreams. She said she was very lucky that he played house husband during the most intense Olympic preparation. But three years out from the Olympics and maybe the lack of any employment is sticking her craw.

Liam is by all accounts a really nice guy and isn't he running a business? In any event, even if she wanted to cheat on nice guy Liam..... TJ really?!?!?!

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

There's none, just look at Browning

Oh FFS give it a rest already.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

She has passed away (eta: right before the start of Worlds but we didn't find out until early May): https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/tinami-amori.108291/

Oh nooo. Really?!??!?

What a strange, sad, interesting week in figure skating

 

[pachelbel]

@Yehudi is correct. Some skaters “choreograph” everything right down to how they act in the Kiss & Cry. I know for a fact that skaters of one of the most revered coaches in skating does so for a fact.

No shit. The point I was making is that if you think this hug and kiss between Aljona and TJ was just choreography a la Gilles and Poirier's character-driven free skates when they get off the ice, you're willingly sticking your head in the sand.

 

[sequin]

Oh, now Liam appears to have spoken in the comments of the TSL video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlFY9D0Zv98):

"This is honestly such a big misunderstanding. There’s a much bigger picture here. Of course it appears bad, but it really isn’t! TJ was only trying to comfort Ali because of pain she was experiencing in her foot, the training hadn’t gone well and it finished with a hug and kiss to the cheek… Thank you to everybody’s kind words about me, but Ali and I are fine! "

What a strange series of events.

 

[raruki]

the latest statement from Liam:

Liam Cross​

This is honestly such a big misunderstanding. There’s a much bigger picture here. Of course it appears bad, but it really isn’t! TJ was only trying to comfort Ali because of pain she was experiencing in her foot, the training hadn’t gone well and it finished with a hug and kiss to the cheek… Thank you for everybody’s kind words about me, but Ali and I are fine! Liam

Well, I would not let my wife being comforted in that way by an alleged rapist......

 

[Xela M]

Oh, now Liam appears to have spoken in the comments of the TSL video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlFY9D0Zv98):



What a strange series of events.

He really is such a sweetheart. Hope he knows what she's up to

 

[soogar]

Oh, now Liam appears to have spoken in the comments of the TSL video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlFY9D0Zv98):



What a strange series of events.

I hope all is fine between them. Judging from Liam's and his father's earlier comments, that video really took them by surprise. The Twitter storm that followed and the speculation doesn't help either.

 

[Yuri]

And I was dumb enough to think that NOTHING could top the James/Radford pairing this off-season...

So much material here, so I'll limit my comments mostly to my primary area of expertise...hugging Olympic Gold Medalists!

Sure, they were sort of practicing their bows at the end of practice -- and skaters REALLY do choreograph them! -- but that excessive 45 second hug and peck on the mouth/cheek (plus the gentle way he held her back as they left the ice) demonstrate, at minimum, a true bonding between them. I've attended enough elite-level couples practices--both private and at a competition--to realize that sort of on-ice hug isn't common among the non-coupled couples. But to assume she's cheating on her husband in a hot & heavy fling is a bit extreme based upon three minutes of public video, people!

As to the topic of a three-time Olympic pairs medalist who is the reigning Gold medal winner returning to eligible competition, I would venture it's because as an Eastern European skater with limited touring opportunities these days that the only money is in World-level competition. I've never followed her career closely, but I am amazed at her longevity including the fact she won Junior Worlds before her new partner was even born. Some champions just love competition and don't want to fade away...
I'm just glad that I have 4th row center tickets for US Nationals in Nashville this January!

ETA hedging my bets on whether the kiss was to her mouth or her cheek.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Where has @Jeschke been?

Not a single peep out of him on this topic?

Is he on vacay?

 

[Xela M]

Reminds me of a case in the UK where the poor husband stood by his wife who was a teacher and having an affair with a 15-year-old pupil. He even testified to her character (despite text messages she sent to the boy having been revealed telling him how her husband was shite in bed).

Hopefully Liam is right and these are just false rumours

 

[overedge]

He really is such a sweetheart. Hope he knows what she's up to

Seriously. That looked like way more than a "sorry your foot is hurting, but it'll be OK" comforting kind of hug.

 

[canbelto]

I think in figure skating the boundaries between skaters who skate together might be different. For instance, Tessa and Scott used to do those long hugs before taking the ice. With Bruno and Aljona they didn't hug that long but when sitting in the K&C they often held hands.

I hope that's all there is considering the little girl and the husband involved.

 

[overedge]

I think in figure skating the boundaries between skaters who skate together might be different. For instance, Tessa and Scott used to do those long hugs before taking the ice. With Bruno and Aljona they didn't hug that long but when sitting in the K&C they often held hands.

I understand that, and spouses/partners of pair and dance skaters also understand that there's going to be a lot more physical contact and expression between those skaters than in a "normal" relationship. If someone is going to throw a hissy fit every time their sweetie is touched or held by their sweetie's skating partner, they have some adjusting to do.

But even by pair or dance standards, this looks like way more than the usual kind of contact. Especially for a team that hasn't been together for very long.

 

[Karen-W]

I'm not sure why everyone is saying it was a kiss on the mouth. I watched the video on a full screen earlier today and thought it was a kiss on the cheek. After reading through this thread this afternoon and seeing everyone insisting that it was a kiss on the mouth I went back and re-watched. I still don't think it was a kiss on the mouth.

YMMV, naturally, folks, but the video is taken from a distance, is a distorted angle and y'all are ready to tar and feather her for cheating on her husband among the other sins she is committing by partnering with Nyman to skate competitively - that she ditched show skating opportunities with Bruno the same way she ditched Robin 7 years ago, that she is enabling an alleged serial rapist, that she is enabling a coach with a toxic training environment, that she is exposing her young daughter to harm (because an alleged serial rapist of teenage girls is going to assault a toddler, apparently), etc.

I think that about sums up this thread and the attitude of so many of the posters here. The most ironic thing is that this video was posted by TSL - whom so many of the same posters trash on a regular basis for their constant pot-stirring, misleading blind bits, and, in general, poor journalistic standards. But, because it's a video of someone that the court of figure skating public opinion has decided is guilty then it matters not that it was TSL who obtained and published the questionable footage. After all, if Chris Knierim has commented on the length of the hug or anything else then we should believe that his opinion and insight is accurate - but you know, if this was a real courtroom, any good lawyer would pick him apart as a character witness for so many reasons. But, we're not talking about a real courtroom or a legitimate legal/Safesport investigation, we're talking about the court of public opinion where we can believe or disbelieve anything we want, and right now - we're all supposed to believe that Aljona is the lowest of the low.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Mozer is such a racist. Why does she need to identify everyone's ethnicity? WTF difference does it make.

I guess she's pissed because Elton John has the career she always craved.

 

[overedge]

@Karen-W W There were allegations of a toxic training environment at Sappenfeld's rink long before Aljona showed up. That can't be attributed to TSL-fueled Internet hysteria.

I agree with you that the video isn't proof that Aljona is cheating on her husband. That's an issue for the parties involved to sort out for themselves. But that's a separate issue from where she's skating and who she's skating with. IMO she is giving legitimacy to an alleged abuser and an allegedly toxic coaching environment by choosing to skate with that partner at that rink.

 

[once_upon]

The only kiss I saw was on the cheek. I watched several times because I just never saw what others have. I thought maybe it was because I was watching on my phone.

I think it's a big jump from long hug, which i took as partners just finishing a workout that may have been, yeah we are good together, to having an affair.

It's a big jump to make. And one that is gossipy/rumor/and harmful.

 

[canbelto]

Also, the rape allegations and Safesport investigations are IMO way more concerning than a hug.

 

[Vagabond]

Wow how the Empress has fallen.

The Empress has no clothes.

 

[Karen-W]

@Karen-W W There were allegations of a toxic training environment at Sappenfeld's rink long before Aljona showed up. That can't be attributed to TSL-fueled Internet hysteria.

I agree with you that the video isn't proof that Aljona is cheating on her husband. That's an issue for the parties involved to sort out for themselves. But that's a separate issue from where she's skating and who she's skating with. IMO she is giving legitimacy to an alleged abuser and an allegedly toxic coaching environment by choosing to skate with that partner at that rink.

I realize the Sappenfield toxic training environment rumors have existed for a long time before Aljona showed up - but somehow, Aljona is to blame for allowing it to continue, or so it would seem with some of the posters here.

The video is being treated, IMO, reading over this thread, as just more proof that Aljona must be the worst person in the world. It's kind of baffling, to be honest, why everyone is so intent on tarring and feathering her when the allegations against Nyman are just that - allegations. Yes, they're serious and disturbing but they are unproven at this point. Like it or not, in the US, the presumption is innocent until proven guilty. The fact that his accuser chose to go the social media route to make the allegations public is problematic to me - it shows a fundamental lack of respect for one of the basic tenets of our justice system.

I really have to wonder what the motivations for the level of vitriol being directed at Aljona for this new partnership really are. It's notable to me that Brynne McIsaac didn't receive this level of criticism for pairing with Nyman even though these accusations against him as well as Sappenfield were out there well before she and he partnered up. Olympics spot aside - who is suddenly scared their favorites might not have such an easy path to a Worlds or 4CCs berth with this new partnership in the mix?