Lubov I. and Charlie B. forms new partnership to compete for Canada

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If you split due to interpersonal issues, I can see how talking to your partner about it might be helpful to try and work it out, but if the issue is about how she's about to train due to concussions, I'm not sure how helpful talking about that before you're made up your mind would be. What do you say? It's not like there's really anything she can do to fix it, unlike other partnership issues, and you wouldn't want her to push in training to prove that she's fine if it could be unsafe.

Telling her this was a concern and you weren't sure about continuing to skate together would have meant she wasn't surprised when he made the decision, but could they really move forward in training when it's out there that he feels that way? I can see why you would only say something when you'd decided for sure what to do (especially when your coach is really attached to your partner and might disagree with your decision)
I just personally feel that given the fact that he has told the press that he basically made the decision right after the Olympics, not saying anything to Julianne was inconsiderate. If he had told her what he was thinking, it would then be up to her to decide to continue to train ("on probation", per se), knowing that he might still decide it wasn't working. She could have thought about what he was saying and decided not to continue to invest significant amounts of money, time, effort, and hope into their preparations for this season. She might have decided to immediately take a longer rest to recuperate from her health issues and then may have been able to get back to full training and searching for a new partner sooner. The fact that he was essentially considering her "on probation" for several months, but didn't say anything means that Julianne then continued putting time and money into training, paying for choreography, music cuts and costumes (at least partially, because she said their costumes were being designed and fitted when he announced his decision), all of which ended up being wasted.

I understand your point that he felt that he wouldn't really be able to see how training was going if the "are we going to end up staying together or not?" factor was hovering over them, but given how much time and money went into figuring that out, my opinion is that not saying anything and thereby not allowing her to be part of a decision that was going to drastically affect her life was a selfish decision. (There is also the fact that they were assigned to two GP events before they split, which may have caused complications and potential lost opportunities for other pairs.)
 
2) he then went on a media blitz where he proceeded to tell the world that the reason for the split was that he felt he was capable of standing on the podium at the next Olympics, and he didn’t feel like he could do that with her as his partner.

I digress to say that I'm not convinced he stands a better chance of standing on the podium at the next Olympics with Lubov. I wish them all the best but don't know yet that this pairing is going to work as well as S/B.
 
while Kirsten is the more consistent sbs jumper vs Lubov, but Lubov apparently has greater flexibility and lift position bendability.

I don’t think it is just bendability (love that word!) I think Lubov has much better control of her core and therefore much better control of her limbs which makes her much easier to lift and more stable when up in the lift. Kirsten has improved, but I still see her as being the big liability in the lifts.
 
I don’t think it is just bendability (love that word!) I think Lubov has much better control of her core and therefore much better control of her limbs which makes her much easier to lift and more stable when up in the lift. Kirsten has improved, but I still see her as being the big liability in the lifts.
And working with Cirque du Soleil probably helped improve her core work.
 
And working with Cirque du Soleil probably helped improve her core work.
She is posting some of the training she is/was doing, and it looks like the same exercise one practices in pairs anyway.
She always had great flexibility and core/form. That's one of her big pluses.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkYAeXED8KZ/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmjfkEoBCVj/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmwvWsKg7w8/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlBAR1eDW1i/

too bad this move is illegal (yet) in Pairs... https://www.instagram.com/p/BtU-jyQgx4e/
 
And working with Cirque du Soleil probably helped improve her core work.
She might have got the job at Cirque du Soleil due to her great core which she always works on constantly.She totally works on her conditioning all the time. Charlie is going to have to knock himself in shape to keep up. On a good note for Canada. KMT Instagram stories showing more workout, less sparkling this week. She will rise to the challenge as she is highly motivated and fiercely competitive.
 
I digress to say that I'm not convinced he stands a better chance of standing on the podium at the next Olympics with Lubov. I wish them all the best but don't know yet that this pairing is going to work as well as S/B.
I agree, and they are not a young team come the Olympics, lets hope it works out for them.
 
Down memory lane. Using my imagination, Lubov + Charlie could = top-notch! :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upAsRKPRpus Skate America sp 2015 S/B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5NqSOzlrO4 SA sp 2015 Whiter shade of pale S/B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXX2A1f__ew Skate America fp 2016 S/B on CBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5932DJRh1c Canadian Natls fp 2018 S/B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5932DJRh1c Lubov/Dylan fp 2016 Worlds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNj7RStO1dk L/D fp 2015 4CC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTMm653h-OE L/D sp 2018 Canadian Natls nice choreo (failed sbs jump)
same program at 4CCs; doubled the sbs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFwbrFcK6Bo


Watching both former teams is somewhat bittersweet. But if two halves of those wholes can come together to create more magic and career longevity, that's a good thing. Lubov landed some of her jumps, so it is possible for her to tackle that weakness.
 
I am an unber Lubov fan and happy for her and look forward to seeing what these 2 will achieve.

I feel for JS as bad-breakups are difficult enough. Being public must only make it more crushing.

On a side note -- Berk for Google AI/translate and the magazine! --

The opening phrase from ¨La Rupture¨ + the ¨Break up¨ interview is a quote of CB to JS: ¨Je ne passerai pas par quatre chemins. Toi et moi, c’est terminé. » Google translates it literally as ¨I will not not go thorugh four ways...¨ This is an idiomatic expression generally translated/understood as ¨I will not beat around the bush or go around the house... ¨
 
Savchenko was 34, Trankov and Marinin 30, Shen/Zhao 31/36, and Pang/Tong both 30 at their last Olympics.

Zoe Jones will be 42 in Beijing.
You forgot to mention Zhang, but it may be difficult to post his accurate age. (which of his date of birth is real? The official or the one that was initially posted at the Chinese federation website?) Nevertheless, it is definitely over 30.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIiYJTKvLPA

Can anyone offer an English translation from the French: the automated Youtube English translation is convoluted and makes little sense.

This team has potential, so we will wait and see. I'm less enthused with them getting choreo from Julie Marcotte. I think they need to take an adventurous approach, not a safe, or by-the-numbers conservative approach. Not to say that Julie can't think outside-the-box, but she's choreographing for a lot of teams now, and that can be draining creatively. I wonder what the dynamic will be in the training camp vs KMT/MM? Will this close proximity and rivalry push both teams forward or not? Maybe Luba and Charlie both felt due to the pairs coaching success of Gauthier/Marcotte and Charlie hailing from Quebec, that Montreal is the logical training venue.

Anyway, I hope L&C will dig deep and find something special between them to bring out on the ice, and not rely so much on their tried-and-true styles and surface personalities. Or worse yet, I hope they don't look upon this partnership solely as a 3-year business venture with only one goal in mind. That kind of grand over-focus might overwhelm their day-to-day journey on achieving measurable goals and pushing themselves to reach for something extraordinary that only comes from within.

ETA:
Okay, I see this is all being discussed in the Canadian pairs thread instead of this new partnership thread.
 
Last edited:
You forgot to mention Zhang, but it may be difficult to post his accurate age. (which of his date of birth is real? The official or the one that was initially posted at the Chinese federation website?) Nevertheless, it is definitely over 30.

Maybe 35, even more.
 

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