Don't tell me that was a pairs quad lutz on roller skates?
Their unison is what's most impressive!
First of all thanks for your post
If you refer to the instagram video I posted, that was a sbs triple flip. No pair in roller skating has ever landed clean sbs triple jumps other than these two, let alone a 3flip! And yes their unison is stunning... even more so if you consider they are not training in pair full time, living in different cities and having to train for their own single career as well. They are just a natural match.
But I think the emphasis for them right now is on technical precision rather than artistry. And there appears to be a number of limitations involved with the rollers that affect their ability to exhibit a smooth, flowing style like what we see in pairs skating on the ice. Clearly, the sport of roller skating has borrowed a lot of moves and patterns and overall program construction from pairs figure skating, right down to simulating the ice surface. But should they?
I agree with what you're saying here... One of their aim was to push the boundaries in pair roller skating adding elements noone has ever performed before like sbs triples... to perform such elements on rollers requires MUCH more power and strenght than doing those on the ice... What they do have which makes them outstanding is the effortless speed in their performances which is very rare to see in this sport. Their late coach, who died last march in a car accident, was very much into ice figure skating and took lots of inspiration to create their programs, they used to travel to international fs competitions like gpfinals and worlds. So figure skating has definitely an influence on them. But I also like to think that figure skating got smth from roller skating as well....difficult entrances and dismounts has always been typical in roller pairs, the reverse lift has been a "compulsory" lift for ages while only in recent years figure skaters added that lift (considered among the most difficult) to their programs. I remember how British Eurosport commentators where
at Marika Zanforlin & Federico Degli Esposti's 'no hands' reverse lift at their European debut back in 2008... and for them it was just a 'basic' lift!
From 2008, here is Sara Venerucci with our very own Matteo Guarise (he was also a singles champion in roller skating, prior to becoming a figure skater). Obviously, they have better lines, connection and musical expression:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRf_rr2hp00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A_MCNf8em4
I've been knowing Matteo since he was a kid and followed him throughout his career in roller and figure skating... so I can tell I'm one of his biggest fan
. I've always thought he had the best back and posture ever in roller skating and she was good too but to me she has never been at his level. Matteo's talent is immense, if you think he managed to reach a very high level in figure skating switching sport in his 20s... exceptional! All this said I believe that for the relatively short time they have been skating together (less than 5 yrs), not even full time, Rebecca and Luca are a better match than Sara & Matteo who have been paired as very little kids like 6yrs old so basically they have skated together a lifetime. To me R&L are a natural wonderful match. They have proved to be able to skate incredibly difficult and intricate programs to different types of music and adapt to different styles despite being very young (she's only 19). I guess it's a matter of taste but in the roller world they are considered probably one of the best pair ever not just for the technical side: seeing all 10s for the second mark from all judges at Worlds, I don't think it has ever happen in the history of the sport!
Here's Matteo roller skating in singles competition. He always had that special something. I'm glad he came to figure skating. He'd accomplished everything possible in roller skating
Matteo and Sara have been competing in singles as well (it's pretty common in roller skating to do more than one discipline) but neither of them has ever reached world level. Luca and Rebecca are Senior Men and Junior ladies multi-World Champions so their talent is immense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA2kmbjpJNM Bellissima!
I'd love to see Matteo perform a program with Della Monica to some version of the second half music of the latter program.
I would love that too!
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