Just because I agree that neither Russian can match MK's artistry doesn't mean I don't also realize I've drunk the Kwan-aide
I'm sure it went down very tasty then.
There's always the buzz & hype when you keep winning, and then the clueless media guff. So often media don't get it right when they try to opine on figure skating. The thing about Kween is that she was always better than the bit of hype thrown around, plus she had to keep proving herself beyond anything that had ever been seen before her fame actually grew to where it took on a life of its own. She was a legend in her own time, and that's no hype. There were always those in the media and in the skating community who were looking for someone who could beat Kween though, so she received a lot of critical flack and a lot of obstacles too which she overcame with grace, style and courage. True champions know not to mistake hype for their actual abilities, nor to ever become complacent about winning.
Vash01 was saying Evgenia was superior to Carolina artistically at around ages 17-18
I would agree that Carolina developed her artistry over time. She was all gawky long legs with speed she didn't know what to do with when she was a teenager. Anyway I said in my original post that Carolina has come a very long way in more respects than one. It took Carolina about 5 or 6 years to come into her own, and then she had to face some setbacks, but she continued to grow artistically.
It's a matter of taste and opinion regarding Evgenia. I don't think she is that skilled artistically. She's graceful with nice lines and a budding elegance that has yet to mature, but the overdramatics do not do her any favors IMHO. She needs to be in a different profession (actor, mime artist, rhythmic gymnast perhaps; she'd probably be lights out as the lady circus performer on horseback
).
Alina seems like a likable girl and as with every skater, she has her strengths and weaknesses. But I can confidently say she is the most overmarked ladies skater in the past 15 years.
There's absolutely no question that Alina is way overmarked, but this trend began in the lead-up to the last Olympics with Lipnitskaya! Eteri lucked upon the perfect vehicle for Julia L that camouflaged her performance weaknesses. Russian political game did its part too. And the rest, as we know, is history. Having found what she felt was the right method of attack, Eteri continued to maneuver her new phenom models with the camouflage thematic, to the point where it has become way too much over-packaging which actually hides some of these young ladies' true talent. Alina is all peacock feathers and trouncing around and back-loading jumps, it's really hard to see who she is underneath it all. If we did, her weaknesses might be more evident too, but that would then give her a chance to learn and to grow at a seasoning pace instead of being quickly anointed and rushed straight to the top, only to topple in a few years as her character development, personal maturation and skating growth try to catch up.
To be honest, it was the over-rewarding of Oksana Baiul in 1994, that can be cited as starting the trend that is now in full swing.
As far as Alina being the most overmarked, I would have to say that's relative to how the scores tend to rise in general, so comparatively all of the overdone baby ballerinas have received tech and PCS out the wazoo, not always relevant to their talent. In fact, Radionova has always had tech issues and posture issues, but when she first came up she too was fawned over and given gift scores; and similarly Pogo had many weaknesses (although she slowly improved her skating, but not her mental approach); also Sotskova is pretty and can jump, but she's rather robotic and completely bland. Liza T always had wonderful jumping ability, but her presentation skills have waxed and waned, and that's mostly waned. Mesmerizing artistry is not Liza's strong suit. Quirky Leonova has always been more interesting to watch than the best of the Russian baby phenoms.
ETA: Sotnikova IMO was actually the most artistic, but she too was rushed in her development and over-rewarded.
