From Russia With Love [#38]: Fall/Winter 2020

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Perky Shae Lynn

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Why should they have "loyalty" as such? Last year B/K were allowed to beat T/M when the latter made mistakes, now M/G have been allowed to beat B/K when they don't skate clean. If loyalty means protocol judging then B/K would still be stuck at #2. Actually I think they are the federation's favorite but can't say for sure because we've never seen them all clean in the same competition.
You completely missed my point. Russian skating is a meat factory. There is no loyalty to anyone. Nobody says B/K "should" have it or deserve it. Russian Fed, the way it operates these days, would have no loyalty to Gordeeva & Grinkov at the height of their careers. Knowing reality, B/K must be nervous about being pushed out of Russia's #1 pair position by the rising challengers. Thus the reaction to winning the competition. In their minds, I am sure it was a must win.
 
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starrynight

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She seems decided. I don't blame her, but it's made me less invested in her. We're probably not seeing an artist at the beginning of her journey, but a precocious child whose career will culminate next year with potentially more mediocre programs and that will be it. As far as watching her skate, not the rest of her life obviously.

I think it's hard to say if she will stick to it.

The timeline might be fixed ... or it might be like when you were a teenager you confidently planned out your life 'I will have x job and I will get married at x age etc etc' and then obviously life happens and things work out differently.

I think that that competitions are probably going to be a bit disjointed right through to the 2022 Olympics (fingers crossed the world is in a good place then so it can happen). Skating shows with foreign casts are also probably a while off too. This season will just be domestic competitions I expect.

The big internationals with packed stands and travelling fans are probably a few years off now. The lure of being able to participate in a truly international sport again might be attractive to athletes who would have otherwise retired.
 

AngieNikodinovLove

Frangi & Piazza & Paul & Hektor & Theo. Oh My! 😝
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Mishina and Galliamov started skating together in 2017. Before that, she skated with some dude named Mirzoev who allegedly (or maybe confirmedly) dumped her for being too big.

This is their second senior season. Last year, they were known on FSU for having an obsessive fan who polluted a bunch of threads with claims they were already Russia's #1 pair team.

This is their first season being coached by Moskvina.

As juniors, they had a really good SP to "Party Like a Russian." I saw it live in Zagreb.

So far, their SP this season is my favorite pairs program of the year.

As for syncing teeth, I guess you could bring a picture of Galliamov to your cosmetic dentistry clinic?

Thank you
 

mjb52

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I think it's hard to say if she will stick to it.

The timeline might be fixed ... or it might be like when you were a teenager you confidently planned out your life 'I will have x job and I will get married at x age etc etc' and then obviously life happens and things work out differently.

This is a good point. Kostornaya seems serious and disciplined; at the same time, probably lots of us have known teenagers/college students who were "pre-law" or "pre-med," but in the end did something different. And that was when things were a lot more normal and stable than they are now!
 

Perky Shae Lynn

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Ohhhhh la laaaaaa

First off I rarely come into this thread but needed to after watching the Russian pair short program. Who is that hottie that won the short program. Are they straight from juniors? And when can I sync my teeth into him?
He is really cute, and his partner gives me the young Jamie Sale vibes. The dual sparkliness throws me off: I could see her with a stoic gent like David P; and him with an Anna Scherbakova type. But I am getting used to it.
 

zebraswan

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You completely missed my point. Russian skating is a meat factory. There is no loyalty to anyone. Nobody says B/K "should" have it or deserve it. Russian Fed, the way it operates these days, would have no loyalty to Gordeeva & Grinkov at the height of their careers. Knowing reality, B/K must be nervous about being pushed out of Russia's #1 pair position by the rising challengers. Thus the reaction.
Why should there be any loyalty? I thought the point of competition was that the best at any given time should win. What exactly do you want to see? Even more favoritism? No thanks.
 

Perky Shae Lynn

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Why should there be any loyalty? I thought the point of competition was that the best at any given time should win. What exactly do you want to see? Even more favoritism? No thanks.
Favoritism is alive and well. In fact, probably worse than ever. Loyalty is supporting skaters when they hit rough patches, nothing more.
 

hanca

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Exactly. They are just meat. The federation has zero loyalty. B/K were probably stressing over losing their position.
Why bother having competitions, if you think there should be loyalty and skaters should be given medals according to their ranking within their country, rather than according to what they show on the ice on the day of the competition? What exactly do you think the federation should do, tell Mishina/Galliamov that they have no chance getting gold at the competitions because last season B/K were the best and so this position will stay with them for a few years? Of course B/K were stressing over losing their position- last season they were clearly the best from the Russian pairs, and this season Mishina/Galliamov improved significantly and are very close behind them. If they both go clean, at the moment B/K are still better, but one mistake from B/K while M/G are clean and B/K will be beaten. There is no point stressing about their competitors; all B/K can do is to be consistent and think about how to increase their points. Look at Tutberidze, how she is finding even the tiny bits of points for her skaters to have the edge. It’s not as if B/K are perfect; there are always ways to increase the points. I think some skater said in the past, that it is not hard to get to the top, but it is hard to manage to stay there (because everyone keeps catching up).
 

hanca

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You completely missed my point. Russian skating is a meat factory. There is no loyalty to anyone. Nobody says B/K "should" have it or deserve it. Russian Fed, the way it operates these days, would have no loyalty to Gordeeva & Grinkov at the height of their careers. Knowing reality, B/K must be nervous about being pushed out of Russia's #1 pair position by the rising challengers. Thus the reaction to winning the competition. In their minds, I am sure it was a must win.
I thought that sport is based on the fact that the best wins. And how skaters skate on competitions can change from one competition to the next one. B/K had the status of Russian number 1 because they were winning over other Russian pairs; it is not a status that you earn and than it stays with you. It is something that is very changeable- while they keep winning, they are number 1. When they are beaten, they will not be number 1.

About Russian skating being a meat factory, I am sorry but you are being ridiculous. There are many skaters in all their disciplines, which obviously makes the competition tougher and it pushes the level of skating up. In countries where there is no competition, a lady skater with a score of 160 may be sent to Europeans and worlds, that obviously can’t happen in Russia because that score would not be enough even for juniors. However, I see having tougher competition as a positive thing, because I wouldn’t want to watch Europeans or worlds full of skaters scoring 160! I don’t see it as a meat factory, I believe in ‘may the best skater win’.
 

Bigbird

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It would be better if more if these figure skaters had the mentality of say Kostornaia or Tuktik. I love what I do but this is not what defines me. I will get in tip top shape when I'm good and ready. Yeah! Have options, strive for more balance. If they did maybe they wouldn't be so desperately jumping four quads on hurting legs. Just saying. Trusova could have won if she simply landed two! Oh well.
 

starrynight

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I don't know if Tuktamysheva's attitude can really be expected of a 16 year old. Tuktamysheva is 24 and balance and wisdom come with age ... and you can't really expect a teenager to see the world the same way.

Tukt also has the safety net of the fact that no one expects her to win. However, for the other girls, anything other than a win with no errors is painted as a disaster.
 

Bigbird

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I don't know if Tuktamysheva's attitude can really be expected of a 16 year old. Tuktamysheva is 24 and balance and wisdom come with age ... and you can't really expect a teenager to see the world the same way.

Tukt also has the safety net of the fact that no one expects her to win. However, for the other girls, anything other than a win with no errors is painted as a disaster.
Maybe. But there is still Kostornaia and others just maybe not as well known.
 

Scott512

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Well call me a monkey's uncle. Tuk heard us talking about her and decided to skate her very best. Probably encouraged by Trusova's meltdown and a real shot at winning. What a shock still, I thought Kostornaia had it.
Good for Liza.

But if aliona gets her triple axle back she won't be beating her. I must say I am surprised by this result

Bad result for Sasha not winning this with Anna and KV not there.

Russian Nationals will be crazy tough. Let's hope everyone is healthy for that competition.

Is anyone still upset with aliona? She's a great skater and the most beautiful skater out there whatever she wants to do with her life I will be okay with..
 

Meoima

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Good for Liza.

But if aliona gets her triple axle back she won't be beating her. I must say I am surprised by this result

Bad result for Sasha not winning this with Anna and KV not there.

Russian Nationals will be crazy tough. Let's hope everyone is healthy for that competition.

Is anyone still upset with aliona? She's a great skater and the most beautiful skater out there whatever she wants to do with her life I will be okay with..
Alena has yet to go back to her best form though, we can see that she had 2 UR calls (which were fair anyway) and by the end of her program she was really out of steam, her last spins were laboured. But overall she did better than her first competition of the season so there is hope. At her best, I do not see anyone beating Alyona in term of quality and PCS.
Trusova though, I just hope she is not injured.
 

RoseRed

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Wow Kozlovski is getting a lot of hate for his reaction after the free skate.. I mean it wasn't super classy maybe but seemed like an emotional reaction more than anything..mI am surprised Boikova/Kozlovski have so many haters now
Did he really say "This is our place, get in line!"? I didn't think anything of the reaction at the time (don't speak Russian), but if that's an accurate quote I can see why that would rub some people the wrong way. Especially since, in this comp, it would seem pretty directed at M/G, after losing to them in cup 4. But that's just a translation I saw on reddit. I haven't seen anything else about it, so I don't know if it's accurate.
 
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Amy L

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Did he really say "This is our place, get in line!"? I didn't think anything of the reaction at the time, but if that's an accurate quote I can see why that would rub some people the wrong way. Especially since, in this comp, it would seem pretty directed at M/G, after losing to them in cup 4. But that's just a translation I saw on reddit. I haven't seen anything else about it, so I don't know if it's accurate.

He said something like that again in the post skate interview.
 

Vash01

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Tamara Moskvina is the greatest pairs coach ever. She could have gold and silver medallists at the Russian nationals (though I prefer T&M for the gold). She keeps bringing out the best in her pairs and she does it in a pretty short time. She even made Ina & Zimmerman into a pretty good pair. Now she has two highly talented teams. I don’t see her retiring anytime soon. I hope I have not jinxed her.
 
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Natanielle825

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Kostornaia IS an artist. No mere precocious child would have that innate grace and sense of movement. It'll be a loss to skating when she goes, however good her reasons.
Kostornaia is the most artistic senior skater right now, and one of the best ever. I rather watch a great skater for a few years than a mediocre skater for many years.

I'll defend my comments once and then leave it alone. I think Kostornaia has some of the best skating skills and musicality of the senior ladies and I really enjoy watching her. I'll use a quote from an art professor at the Rhode Island School of Design to explain where I'm coming from - "Remember though, that even the greatest talent and drawing skills will only take you so far. In the end, it’s the creativity, innovation, and ideas that matter. Artists need to think, make choices, and express opinions in their work. This critical thinking process is what distinguishes an artist from someone who is simply technically adept in drawing." So yes, Alena is very talented, no doubt about it. But to me, earning the title of Artist requires many years of experimenting with different styles, learning from different people, cultivating a viewpoint, and creating something original and personal.
 

Meoima

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I'll defend my comments once and then leave it alone. I think Kostornaia has some of the best skating skills and musicality of the senior ladies and I really enjoy watching her. I'll use a quote from an art professor at the Rhode Island School of Design to explain where I'm coming from - "Remember though, that even the greatest talent and drawing skills will only take you so far. In the end, it’s the creativity, innovation, and ideas that matter. Artists need to think, make choices, and express opinions in their work. This critical thinking process is what distinguishes an artist from someone who is simply technically adept in drawing." So yes, Alena is very talented, no doubt about it. But to me, earning the title of Artist requires many years of experimenting with different styles, learning from different people, cultivating a viewpoint, and creating something original and personal.
I totally agree with this. Alena is very talented and I do believe she is hard-working. I hope she will stay and give us more beautiful performances if she really wants it.
I saw her live at NHK 2019, and she was amazing. However, I would not call her performances there as "art" or "I must come back and rewatch those videos over and over again". I enjoy her as a skater and I like that she wins. But the only female skater that made me do a standing ovation was Koster at her prime.
 

bladesofgorey

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I'll use a quote from an art professor at the Rhode Island School of Design to explain where I'm coming from - "Remember though, that even the greatest talent and drawing skills will only take you so far. In the end, it’s the creativity, innovation, and ideas that matter. Artists need to think, make choices, and express opinions in their work. This critical thinking process is what distinguishes an artist from someone who is simply technically adept in drawing."
Curious if you remember which RISD professor said this (I went there and it would be funny if it's someone I had).
 

feraina

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It would be a shame if Alena retires early. I think she’s the most talented of all the Russian skaters, and probably the best in the world- even without a quad or triple axel. Her skating is beautiful.
However, it’s good that she has a life and goals outside of skating. She’s a smart young lady
she reminds me of sotnikova. Do not underestimate her determination.
 

Bigbird

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Alena has yet to go back to her best form though, we can see that she had 2 UR calls (which were fair anyway) and by the end of her program she was really out of steam, her last spins were laboured. But overall she did better than her first competition of the season so there is hope. At her best, I do not see anyone beating Alyona in term of quality and PCS.
Trusova though, I just hope she is not injured.
Trusova is the one who is most vulnerable. She is a nervous skater. She tends to try too hard. I really hope she rethinks skating in a separate group from Kostornaia. She would learn a lot. At this rate she may be off the podium at nationals.
 

Frau Muller

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What’s going on between Kostornaia and coach “Hot Sergei”? It’s hard to brush off the talk...hard to look at kiss n cry.
 

angi

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What’s going on between Kostornaia and coach “Hot Sergei”? It’s hard to brush off the talk...hard to look at kiss n cry.
I'm going to regret taking the bait but what exactly was hard to look at the K&C...? There was nothing even remotely unusual about their interaction and it's really not hard to "brush off the talk" when the talk is gossip on forums, even quite easy I'd say.
 
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