From Russia with love [#28]: Autumn to Winter 2017

[BittyBug]

@oleada among that “whole lot of nothing” was also Ksenia Makarova, who managed 3 top 10 finishes at Worlds and one at the Olympics, plus a GP medal. Certainly not up to the current medal streak, but a bit more than “nothing.”

 

[oleada]

@oleada among that “whole lot of nothing” was also Ksenia Makarova, who managed 3 top 10 finishes at Worlds and one at the Olympics, plus a GP medal. Certainly not up to the current medal streak, but a bit more than “nothing.”

I totally forgot she existed

 

[hanca]

@oleada among that “whole lot of nothing” was also Ksenia Makarova, who managed 3 top 10 finishes at Worlds and one at the Olympics, plus a GP medal. Certainly not up to the current medal streak, but a bit more than “nothing.”

Placing 8th, 7th and 9th at worlds and 10th at Olympics would be considered by current Russian ladies standards as a failure, not as a success.

 

[Vash01]

Placing 8th, 7th and 9th at worlds and 10th at Olympics would be considered by current Russian ladies standards as a failure, not as a success.

Absolutely but it was a step in the right direction. Without those placements the next generation might not have sent more than one lady to worlds and what kind of pressure that would have been on those young shoulders?

 

[Loves_Shizuka]

I totally forgot she existed

You mean you forgot about this?!

 

[kwanfan1818]

Hey, Ksenia Makarova was 10th at the Olympics and Top 10 in all three Worlds in which she competed.

Sotnikova and Tuktamysheva also had a "down" first Worlds, placing 9th and 10th at LA after placing 2nd and 3rd (respectively) at 2013 Euros in their first season at senior internationals -- they had stellar first seasons in 2011-2012, when they were old enough for GP/senior B's, but not old enough for senior championships. Tuktamysheva made GPF in her first senior GP season, after winning SC and Bompard.

Leonova's 3T/3T combination is among the best in the World, between the height and flow out of that first jump. I've seen her live multiple times, and while she's no Kostner, she's not particularly scratchy or slow.

 

[Madison25]

How does she? Her components are still lower than Sotskova's and she is not yet consistent.

Zagitova doesn't have lower PCS than Sostkova.
Comparing Skate Canada with Cup of China, for the short program, they received similar PCS (around 31), but Zagitova had a fall, and for the free Zagitova had 68 whereas Sostkova 65.
We also have to consider that this is the first senior season for Zagitova and her PCS have the potential to grow further if she is pretty consistent, whereas Maria is at the second season.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Due to lower WS, Zagitova started in the first group at CoC and will again at IdF.

 

[aliona22]

Hey, Ksenia Makarova was 10th at the Olympics and Top 10 in all three Worlds in which she competed.

+ national champ in 2010, over babies Sotnikova and Tuktamysheva. Makarova was a breath of fresh air at senior events in 2010. She was so tall with nice lines and feet, fairly consistent jumps, and a big smile when she was skating well, which was often!

 

[Ka3sha]

Makarova was very lovely indeed
And I loved Averbukh’s programs for her

I totally forgot she existed

Where is @Jeschke ?

 

[Finnice]

You forgot about this?!

Oh, thank you for this link.

 

[SmallFairy]

Makarova was very lovely indeed
And I loved Averbukh’s programs for her


Where is @Jeschke ?

I was going to ask the same question

Loved Makarova's MATVS!

 

[Jeschke]

Where is @Jeschke ?

Here I am! And I won't even comment on the sacrilege

Kshuha was a star and survived longer than many in here have thought! I would take her over most of the upcoming jumping beans any second!
Her 'Violins string' remain one of my all-time favourite programs! So stunning!

 

[alchemy void]

+ national champ in 2010, over babies Sotnikova and Tuktamysheva. Makarova was a breath of fresh air at senior events in 2010. She was so tall with nice lines and feet, fairly consistent jumps, and a big smile when she was skating well, which was often!

So true! Love your avatar, too!

 

[caseyedwards]

+ national champ in 2010, over babies Sotnikova and Tuktamysheva. Makarova was a breath of fresh air at senior events in 2010. She was so tall with nice lines and feet, fairly consistent jumps, and a big smile when she was skating well, which was often!

She most definitely had one of the best sps of the decade too!!


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z2wl9svgeLs

 

[pinky166]

Maybe something like, 'Are you hurt?' or putting an arm around her could have worked....

She’s been nice to Pogo before. I think the Skate Canada situation was tough, because Pogo has been dealing with the injury, lost training time, and realistically was not ready to compete. At the same time, after what happened at Worlds, she and Tsareva both knew she basically had to compete there if she were to have any chance to make it to the Olympics. So she competed when she wasn’t ready and the results showed it.

To me the situation seemed like “I told you so” “this is why you don’t compete when you’re hurt” “if you aren’t doing your run throughs in practice, you can’t expect to magically do it in competition”.

So I’m not sure. If Tsareva didn’t want Anna to compete but Anna was stubborn and insisted on going anyways, I don’t really blame Tsareva for being mad. But there could be more to the story.

 

[Dobre]

So I’m not sure. If Tsareva didn’t want Anna to compete but Anna was stubborn and insisted on going anyways, I don’t really blame Tsareva for being mad. But there could be more to the story.

Sounds bang-on for what I saw in practices. This particular disaster had warning signs all over it. Anna came off as a sulky teenager, dealing with an injury, and definitely not ready for competition. She was missing the same jump repeatedly. Popping other jumps afterward. Pretty much exactly what happened in competition. You see a lot of athletes have rough practices, and sometimes you can laugh it off as too early in the morning or a mental lapse. Sometimes athletes miraculously surprise you in the competition, as Anna did in the short. And sometimes an athlete comes out looking entirely different for a second practice. But this was one of the most disturbing sets of practices I have seen from an athlete. I don't think anyone who saw Anna in practice was looking forward to seeing her compete so I wouldn't be surprised if her coach was dreading it as well. No one likes to see a meltdown, and this one looked inevitable.

I've seen Anna compete twice before--at SC and at Worlds. Her practices have always been fine, a dramatic fall here or there, but very dialed in and ready to go. This was different. Tough to watch, and I'm sure much tougher to live through for both the athlete & the coach. Hopefully one of those experiences that makes them both stronger in the future.

 

[pinky166]

To be honest Anna’s really big meltdowns tend to be when she’s dealing with an injury. I think the worst were 2015 worlds and at Skate Canada. At other events she’s had dramatic falls intermixed with many good jumps and combinations. When she starts popping jumps it usually means something is wrong physically.

Also Ryan Bradley made a good point that it’s a lot easier to get through a SP when dealing with an injury or other issue compared to a FS. Only 3 jumps and one is a 2a. You can grit through that, but gritting through 7 jumps is a different story.

I’m curious to see if she shows up for Skate America. At this point I think the best she can hope for is a trip to Worlds if one or more Olympic members pull out.

I’ll be really sad if there’s no Anna or Elena at the Olympics, but it’s looking quite likely these days unfortunately.

 

[hanca]

Sakhanovich just beat Konstantinova in the SP at the Warsaw cup. She won the SP with the highest TES,

 

[Loves_Shizuka]

Sima

 

[rfisher]

Sima

Slowly, but surely.

 

[Loves_Shizuka]

Hope she can keep it up for the LP.

 

[Vash01]

Sakhanovich just beat Konstantinova in the SP at the Warsaw cup. She won the SP with the highest TES,

WTG Sima and Plushy!

 

[Xela M]

Deleted

 

[Amantide]

Alina.
Now it's Polina's turn. Please, make my day at SA girl.

 

[Ka3sha]

If Polina nails her jumps at SA and gets the last spot, Eteri will have 7/12 ladies in GPF (juniors and seniors combined)

 

[Amantide]

If Polina nails her jumps at SA and gets the last spot, Eteri will have 7/12 ladies in GPF (juniors and seniors combined)

On the other hand, if Wagner skates clean she'll most probably win. Despite Polina's skating clean.

Question: Who on earth chose S&B FD music?

 

[Xela M]

Am I the only one who prefers Zagitova to Medvedeva? That girl has spunk and fire and Medvedeva's "acting" has never done anything for me

 

[Amantide]

Am I the only one who prefers Zagitova to Medvedeva? That girl has spunk and fire and Medvedeva's "acting" has never done anything for me

Me. I prefer all 3 girls, Polina (my no.1), Alina and Maria to Evgenya.
Never been a fan of hers. But no denying that she is a strong competitor. Great mental strength, especially considering her age.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Not I. While I dislike the acting, because she's better than that, I love Medvedeva, even if I prefer Tsurskaya.