From Russia with love [#29]: Spring 2018 and beyond

[Bellanca]

Julia Lipnitskaya turns 20 today
https://instagram.com/p/BjngDuSjIfI/

A day late, but Happy Birthday to @sunnylipnitskaya!! I hope that she is doing well.

 

[hanca]

Thank heavens for Klimov...

I'm not thrilled about Elizabet moving back to Eteri at all and that is the last you will hear from me on this topic.

(Well, at least that's one skater Eteri can't nag constantly about her weight...)

I don’t really care either way. She has already been with Tutberidze in the past and yet she didn’t manage to get to the top, so I don’t expect any miracles from her being there again. I don’t think she is as talented as some other Tutberidze’s girls are, and it may be quite hard to be in such a group of high achievers in day-to-day training. Technically she can do the same jumps as everyone else, seven triples in the FS, including 3-3 combinations. So if she didn’t manage to get to the top with Orser, it is a consistency issue. Will Tutberidze manage to fix her consistency? Some skaters have the competitive spirit and deliver under pressure, other skaters are not able to do it. Is it something that can be learned, or is it a special gift someone has in their genes that makes them perform well under pressure?

On the other hand, she is tiny, which Tutberidze likes, and it is extremely unlikely that her body is going to change. If she starts working on her quads, she may surprise us. But even if she has a quad or two, she still will need to land all other jumps so that takes us back to the issue of consistency.

 

[Bellanca]

I guess this move for Tursy puts to rest the 24/48 hr. rumor that was making the rounds re pairs.

I still believe Tursy has untapped talent and just needs the opportunity and advantage of more time. I remember Brian Orser suggesting that she has everything it takes to be an Olympic champion. Sadly, Tursy's struggles have temporarily derailed any such aspirations. Hopefully, a change of venue will help.

 

[barbarafan]

I guess this move for Tursy puts to rest the 24/48 hr. rumor that was making the rounds re pairs.

I still believe Tursy has untapped talent and just needs the opportunity and advantage of more time. I remember Brian Orser suggesting that she has everything it takes to be an Olympic champion. Sadly, Tursy's struggles have temporarily derailed any such aspirations. Hopefully, a change of venue will help.

What rumor was that?

 

[alexikeguchi]

I still believe Tursy has untapped talent and just needs the opportunity and advantage of more time. I remember Brian Orser suggesting that she has everything it takes to be an Olympic champion. Sadly, Tursy's struggles have temporarily derailed any such aspirations. Hopefully, a change of venue will help.

Sorry to promote thread drift since Elizabet isn't really Russian, but I actually dreamed last night that she won Worlds! And I was distinctly irked in my dream because she had a messy fall and still beat one of my faves Miyahara LOL.

 

[Bellanca]

What rumor was that?

It had been floating around in the #TTW thread that Tursy was supposedly thinking about switching over to pairs.

#TeamTrainwreck - so, you know…

Sorry guys!

 

[Eislauffan]

Going back to Maxim Kovtun, today Russian Federation President Alexander Gorshkov told Russian media that Maxim was left off the national team since he didn't really have results last season. If he wants to be back on the team he needs to earn it by showing good results in the first half of the season. But then he can be back on the team.

Article, in Russian: https://rsport.ria.ru/figure_skating/20180605/1137665283.html

 

[Katarzyna]

Fan project for Polina Tsurskaya

As Polina’s birthday is coming soon, a fan project to collect birthday wishes has been initiated. If you like to participate, you can send your wishes / kind words for Polina to this address:
[email protected]

You can send text messages, but also pictures, collages, etc. if you like. The deadline for any contributions is 15th June 2018. I’ll certainly put together a message for Polina and I think it’s a great idea to support her after a season which was not easy for Polina and led her to decide for a big change in her professional career. So if you like her and have a bit of time to write down a message for Polina, please join.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Sorry to promote thread drift since Elizabet isn't really Russian..

Tursy is actually a Russian citizen by birth, she was born and grew up in Moscow, and originally (iirc) skated for Russia coached by Dubinskaya and Bouyanova around age of 9-10. She then acquired Kazhah citizenship, without giving up Russian passport at the time (i don't know if she since did her periodic renewal or not).

Then she trained in Tutberidze's group, and left without any big bang, as far as i know, without any arguments, but rather with regret on both sides, because the Russian Olympic authorities issued a rule for all Russian coaches "to not work with non-Russian athletes during 1 year before 2014 Olympics".

Tursy's mother contacted "next best trainer" Orser and he agreed to take them. In 2016 Tursy gave an interview on the Kaz-TV local sports talk show, and said the following (among other things relevant to her training):

@ 1:05 - Personally for me... I like it better to be in Kazhakstan and Moscow, then in Canada... I don't know, maybe it is just me, not used to how it is (in Canada).... here (Kazh/Moscow) everything is more cozy, kind of more peaceful (calmer), well.... everything is more colorful (interestingly diverse).... in Canada it's routine, all about training.... and to be honest.... i simply can't remain there for too long (just can't find it in me to live there for too long)... few months, maybe max 3 months, and i already want to leave (return back here).

@ 9:25 - I am trained by Orser who trained Hanuy, Fernandez, Yuna Kim.... In Canada all coaches are non-disciplinary (not tough/not strict)... they are sort of like this.... if you want - skate, if you don't want - don't skate ... it's kind of ... your business.... you came here to train, yes..... but it is still your business (what you do). He does not scold (reprimand).... he just explains how to do (the element)...

@ 10:02 - It took me 5 months to receive my Canadian Visa, and when it came it was exciting..... When I skate my programme (already in Canada with Orser group) they (Orser's team) try to joke with me (make me laugh).... I just don't know ("i just don't know" look)... When i was practicing my footwork (once) they started to make jokes (make me laugh), and then i also started smiling and... ("i just don't know" look).

etc...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYbvY7mA8Zo

 

[Eislauffan]

Kristina Astakhova confirmed to the Russian press that they take a break and probably won't compete this season and that it was her initiative as she wanted to rest after a tiring season:
https://rsport.ria.ru/figure_skating/20180605/1137663126.html

Federation President Gorshkov is quoted in another article saying that he hopes they come back:
https://rsport.ria.ru/figure_skating/20180605/1137666785.html

 

[TAHbKA]

Was Tursynbaeva ever in Buyanova's group, or am I mistaken her for Gedevanishvili, who left from Buyanova to North America?

 

[DobrinFan]

Was Tursynbaeva ever in Buyanova's group, or am I mistaken her for Gedevanishvili, who left from Buyanova to North America?

Tursynbaeva used to be coached by Eteri never by Buyanova. Gedevanishvili by Buyanova.

 

[Yehudi]

I don't know if Kristina is really trying to just keep her options open, but it seems very unfair to expect your partner to wait around for you to possibly come back after a season, unless it's due to injury. Pairs split up and skaters retire, and that's their right, but this kind of limbo makes no sense. Alexei turns 30 this week and he doesn't have all the time in the world to be sitting around waiting for her to possibly return.

Rogonov is free to decide if he wants to wait around or not

 

[hanca]

Was Tursynbaeva ever in Buyanova's group, or am I mistaken her for Gedevanishvili, who left from Buyanova to North America?

Her past coaches were: Dubunskaya, Shubin, Sokolovskaya, Tutberidze, Dudakov and Orser.

 

[zebraswan]

Rogonov is free to decide if he wants to wait around or not

The point is that he is 30 years old and the odds of finding a new partner are going to be slim. So she is just postponing the inevitable.

According to FSO there's a rumor she might partner with Martin Bidar. If that's the case (or if she is entertaining other options), then why not just be honest and split instead of carrying on such a charade about being tired? Would you like it if your partner (in skating or in life) told you they were tired and needed a season-long break all the while doing tryouts for a new partner?

 

[hanca]

The point is that he is 30 years old and the odds of finding a new partner are going to be slim. So she is just postponing the inevitable.

According to FSO there's a rumor she might partner with Martin Bidar. If that's the case (or if she is entertaining other options), then why not just be honest and split instead of carrying on such a charade about being tired? Would you like it if your partner (in skating or in life) told you they were tired and needed a season-long break all the while doing tryouts for a new partner?

I read that it is Osipova that was going to be with Bidar, and that Astakhova wants to skate in shows with her boyfriend. But we will have to see where the truth is.

 

[Ka3sha]

According to FSO there's a rumor she might partner with Martin Bidar.

It’s not a rumor , just someone’s guess/ speculation.

 

[Coco]

What is Elene G-vili up to these days?

 

[whiteskates]

Shame about Astakhova and Roganov. They were a bit different and I like him so much - he is very entertaining. A joy to watch.

 

[Ka3sha]

GoldenSkate article about Betina Popova and Sergei Mozgov
Popova and Mozgov feeling positive after coaching change

 

[Yehudi]

The point is that he is 30 years old and the odds of finding a new partner are going to be slim. So she is just postponing the inevitable.

According to FSO there's a rumor she might partner with Martin Bidar. If that's the case (or if she is entertaining other options), then why not just be honest and split instead of carrying on such a charade about being tired? Would you like it if your partner (in skating or in life) told you they were tired and needed a season-long break all the while doing tryouts for a new partner?

Again. Rogonov is free to decide how he wants to continue. He’s an adult and so is she. It’s nice he wants to keep skating but I also understand if she’d rather not waste her time waiting every year for some Mozer team to withdraw from a competition.

And btw, I have a co worker who went on a two week vacation and then announced he taking job somewhere else. Obviously he was interviewing somewhere else for a while and most people guessed he was on his way out as he was rather unhappy. Given it takes six months to fill any position, my job is certainly going to suck as I have to pick up his workload. However, he did absolutely nothing wrong and I’m not going to hold it against him that he decided he’d rather do something else.

 

[mjb52]

Quotes from Popova and Mozgov are incredible, love them already.

 

[Dobre]

Quotes from Popova and Mozgov are incredible. ...

Also inaccurate (or at least not accurate as far as one of her quotes implies). Popova & Vlasenko skated Master & Margarita at least three times. They performed it through the full JGP season, so skated it at JGP Latvia, JGP Spain, and the JGPF. I would have thought they would have performed it for some smaller events in Russia before that as well, but perhaps they didn't compete a preseason. I believe they did change it before Russian Nationals, and I always thought the change was a shame. The original program was a wonky choice for a waltz. But Betina sells outrageous characters better than traditional ones, or at least better than the traditional waltz they were given later in the season. (It is possible that her quote is literally accurate in that P&V probably were told they should change their SD after the second JGP event. That is the event they lost to Lauriault & Le Gac, which was definitely not the plan. They didn't change the program until after the JGPF, however).

 

[Eislauffan]

Also inaccurate (or at least not accurate as far as one of her quotes implies). Popova & Vlasenko skated Master & Margarita at least three times. They performed it through the full JGP season, so skated it at JGP Latvia, JGP Spain, and the JGPF. I would have thought they would have performed it for some smaller events in Russia before that as well, but perhaps they didn't compete a preseason. I believe they did change it before Russian Nationals, and I always thought the change was a shame. The original program was a wonky choice for a waltz. But Betina sells outrageous characters better than traditional ones, or at least better than the traditional waltz they were given later in the season. (It is possible that her quote is literally accurate in that P&V probably were told they should change their SD after the second JGP event. That is the event they lost to Lauriault & Le Gac, which was definitely not the plan. They didn't change the program until after the JGPF, however).

The quote is accurate, I have it on my tape. She said it that way and so she probably meant that either they were told to change the program after their first event or she forgot that she got so skate to it more than once.

 

[Bigbird]

^^ The article, however, had so many other inaccuracies. No other Russian couple stood on the podium since 2006? Does Russia or the author expect that the only place of relevance is first? Not very objective writing IMHO. Domnina and Shabalin and Ilinykh and Katsalapov also did well to place third at their respective Olympic games and deserve their due respect. Ice dancing is probably the most competitive discipline in figure skating right now, which makes it quite interesting for the viewer I might add. Just my two cents.

 

[Ka3sha]

Quotes from Popova and Mozgov are incredible, love them already.

Loved that interview/article as well.
Am also very interested in what they and Z/G will show us nest season

 

[cholla]

^^ The article, however, had so many other inaccuracies. No other Russian couple stood on the podium since 2006?

With all due respect, that's not what it says. It says that the last Russian olympic gold medal in ice dance goes back to 2006 and that there was no Russian on the PyeongChang podium.

Not very objective writing IMHO. Does Russia or the author expect that the only place of relevance is first?

I didn't read this at all in the article. If you check the podiums of the last 3 olympic cycles, Russia has indeed lost ground compared to the past (a now rather distant past, OK). Ice Dance became an olympic discipline in 1976 in Innsbruck and from 1976 to 1998, URSS/CEI/Russia steadily won 2 olympic medals. It went "down" to 1 in the following cycles to 0 in Korea. It's still an incredibly impressive achievement. D/S and I/K indeed deserve their due respect but the article/ITW is about Popova/Mozgov and their goals, so stating the whole olympic Russian ice dance history wasn't necessarily relevant IMO. As it is, it's a very good and very interesting interview with pertinent questions and straightforward replies.

 

[Dobre]

The quote is accurate, I have it on my tape. She said it that way and so she probably meant that either they were told to change the program after their first event or she forgot that she got so skate to it more than once.

She says after the second. I'm just clarifying that they skated the program at least three times. If they had changed it after the second, they would only have changed it prior to the JGPF (and it's possible would have gotten some international feedback that convinced them to actually keep the earlier program). But they only skated the new program once internationally at Junior Worlds (plus, I assume, at Junior Nationals). They scored slightly higher at Junior Worlds with the second program, but lost to two more teams than earlier in the season so it is hard to know whether the change helped them or not. I always thought the first program was better for Popova & Vlasenko. Though I can see why they were encouraged to change it.

 

[Ka3sha]

Anna Pogorilaya began preparations for the new season, she plans to take part at the test skates and at Challenger events next autumn. She started doing all her triples and 3-o-3 combo , but her 3lz-3r is not back yet. They haven’t made any decisions about new programs.
https://mrsport.ria.ru/figure_skating/20180608/1137778166.html

 

[Bellanca]

Her past coaches were: Dubunskaya, Shubin, Sokolovskaya, Tutberidze, Dudakov and Orser.

Whew! 6 coaches - that's the Mama factor...