Russian figure skating news in 2023

[Frau Muller]

Numbers show regressive impact of Russian ban in skating. Is the decline good or bad? — Globetrotting by Philip Hersh

So here we are, hard upon a second straight figure skating Grand Prix Final without Russian entrants as justifiable punishment for their country’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, still waiting on a decision in the soap operatic Kamila Valieva doping case almost two years after the Russian phenom tes

www.globetrottingbyphiliphersh.com

Well, here's Hersh's take.

We’re currently in the “interregnum” of women’s skating, according to Hersh.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

The only thing I got from that is Russia is still trying to pretend that it's ok to abuse teenage girls. Probably with really destructive training methods and drugs. I'm fine with how things are on the international level.

 

[Trillian]

Really impressed by how Hersh managed to avoid any acknowledgment whatsoever that what he’s framing as “regression” might actually be a return to what normal progression looks like when technical content isn’t being largely driven by a training group (or maybe even an entire federation, we’ll never know since nobody has done a real investigation) likely to have been engaging in rampant doping and other forms of child abuse that he’s apparently decided to continue celebrating even after he should definitely know better. Was there even a mention of Valieva’s positive doping test anywhere in that piece? I didn’t see one, but I’m hoping I just missed it and he’s not really that irresponsible.

 

[Ka3sha]

Entries lists for 2024 Russian Nationals (to be held on 20-24th December in Chelyabinsk, GMT+5 time zone)

Федерация фигурного катания на коньках России

Официальный сайт Федерации фигурного катания на коньках России. Новости, интервью, календарь и результаты соревнований, состав сборной команды.

fsrussia.ru

Some noticeable changes in pairs: Sobinina/Khodykin, Boyarintseva/Pleshkov and Vasilieva/Zaporozhets all withdrew. S/B and B/P will miss the event due to "family issues" according to Russian press

 

[Ka3sha]

Liza Tuktamysheva's new post for her own blog on sports.ru
Why do figure skaters starve in vain? How to go through puberty and not retire?

 

[fan]

Liza Tuktamysheva's new post for her own blog on sports.ru
Why do figure skaters starve in vain? How to go through puberty and not retire?

she's a smart woman. that's why she's lasted and so many others have flamed out.

 

[Vagabond]

Liza Tuktamysheva's new post for her own blog on sports.ru
Why do figure skaters starve in vain? How to go through puberty and not retire?

As soon as I stopped weighing myself and reproaching myself for having an extra piece of food, it became easier to control my diet and maintain weight. I would like to convey this idea to my 16-year-old self.

Every girl training under Eteri Tutberidze and several other coaches should read this.

 

[Marco]

Counting down to when the RUS apologists come out and say that's why she never made it to the Olympics... let alone medal in one...

 

[irenemulindwairen]

Counting down to when the RUS apologists come out and say that's why she never made it to the Olympics... let alone medal in one...

They will.

 

[coppertop1]

Counting down to when the RUS apologists come out and say that's why she never made it to the Olympics... let alone medal in one...

Had Kamila's test results come in sooner, she could have gone to Beijing, since Adeliia and both Sofia S and Sofia M were all too young to be

Liza seemed to be one of the few Russians who doesn't seem all caught up in nationalism and seems to have a balanced outlook

 

[olympic]

You'll just have to watch him and decide for yourself.

I got around to watching Petr Gummenik.

3 quads [loop and salchow] and a good attempt at choreo. I do think he would still finish behind Shoma and Adam at an imaginary worlds where everyone is present, if they skated their best GP performances. Shoma has tons of cred and is World champ, and Adam is on another level right now

While Petr probably is better than Ilia on the 2nd mark, he would be too far behind him technically, as are most of the men.

Now in re Yuma, Petr might beat him right now if Yuma were to stay the same because he's a little behind technically as he recovers, but I expect Yuma to have more tech in his arsenal by Worlds, so IMO you are looking at a Russian man in 5th if everyone is skating well ... at an imaginary Worlds.

 

[Karen-W]

I got around to watching Petr Gummenik.

3 quads [loop and salchow] and a good attempt at choreo. I do think he would still finish behind Shoma and Adam at an imaginary worlds where everyone is present, if they skated their best GP performances. Shoma has tons of cred and is World champ, and Adam is on another level right now

While Petr probably is better than Ilia on the 2nd mark, he would be too far behind him technically, as are most of the men.

Now in re Yuma, Petr might beat him right now if Yuma were to stay the same because he's a little behind technically as he recovers, but I expect Yuma to have more tech in his arsenal by Worlds, so IMO you are looking at a Russian man in 5th if everyone is skating well ... at an imaginary Worlds.

You think he'd be ahead of Rizzo and Cha also? Presuming they're both healthy and skating well at Worlds?

 

[rfisher]

I got around to watching Petr Gummenik.

3 quads [loop and salchow] and a good attempt at choreo. I do think he would still finish behind Shoma and Adam at an imaginary worlds where everyone is present, if they skated their best GP performances. Shoma has tons of cred and is World champ, and Adam is on another level right now

While Petr probably is better than Ilia on the 2nd mark, he would be too far behind him technically, as are most of the men.

Now in re Yuma, Petr might beat him right now if Yuma were to stay the same because he's a little behind technically as he recovers, but I expect Yuma to have more tech in his arsenal by Worlds, so IMO you are looking at a Russian man in 5th if everyone is skating well ... at an imaginary Worlds.

Vlad Dikidzhi will be a skater to watch this weekend. He's a bit of a wildcard and doesn't have Gummenik's PCS, but has the quads and he's the only Russian currently working on the 4A--not that it's ready for competition. Of course when you're making a theoretical comparison between skaters, you assume they all skate perfectly. The reality is that seldom happens. You really don't know the results of a competition until it's over. But, top 5 at worlds? Gummenik, Dikidzhi, Semenenko are all possibles. These three are who I think will be on the Russian podium, but Savosin has skated well in the cup series and Aliev is always a possibility if he can survive the FS. The third place for the women and pairs are among 3-4 skaters/teams. Pairs should be an excellent event. The top 5 teams all skated very well in the cup series. Womens gold depends on Petrosin. If she's on, she wins. Step/Buk will win dance without any problems. Mish/Gal and Bok/Koz have not competed against each other in the cup series. Their scores are really close so it's going to be interesting to see how they finish. IMHO, B/K have the better SP and M/G have the better FS so either could come out on top. B/K have a new fire since the coaching change.

 

[rfisher]

You think he'd be ahead of Rizzo and Cha also? Presuming they're both healthy and skating well at Worlds?

Based on how he's skated and how they've skated, yes.

 

[olympic]

You think he'd be ahead of Rizzo and Cha also? Presuming they're both healthy and skating well at Worlds?

How is Cha? I was thinking about him and don't remember seeing him except for a very poor performance at the beginning of the season. I don't want to cause thread drift, but I don't know what happened to him

 

[olympic]

Vlad Dikidzhi will be a skater to watch this weekend. He's a bit of a wildcard and doesn't have Gummenik's PCS, but has the quads and he's the only Russian currently working on the 4A--not that it's ready for competition. Of course when you're making a theoretical comparison between skaters, you assume they all skate perfectly. The reality is that seldom happens. You really don't know the results of a competition until it's over. But, top 5 at worlds? Gummenik, Dikidzhi, Semenenko are all possibles. These three are who I think will be on the Russian podium, but Savosin has skated well in the cup series and Aliev is always a possibility if he can survive the FS. The third place for the women and pairs are among 3-4 skaters/teams. Pairs should be an excellent event. The top 5 teams all skated very well in the cup series. Womens gold depends on Petrosin. If she's on, she wins. Step/Buk will win dance without any problems. Mish/Gal and Bok/Koz have not competed against each other in the cup series. Their scores are really close so it's going to be interesting to see how they finish. IMHO, B/K have the better SP and M/G have the better FS so either could come out on top. B/K have a new fire since the coaching change.

Bold mine

Of course it's all theoretical, but what else is there to do?

But I also considered in my head the general hit ratio of each skater and all 4 of Ilia, Shoma, Adam and Yuma are doing rather well this year, and also the trajectory for all of them is stable to good going into Worlds. So, again I don't think Petr or any Russian man for that matter is going to beat these 4 in this current situation ... Hypothetical, of course.

 

[skateboy]

How is Cha? I was thinking about him and don't remember seeing him except for a very poor performance at the beginning of the season. I don't want to cause thread drift, but I don't know what happened to him

Haven't heard a word about Cha in weeks. I'm assuming he's working through stuff.

 

[rfisher]

Bold mine

Of course it's all theoretical, but what else is there to do?

But I also considered in my head the general hit ratio of each skater and all 4 of Ilia, Shoma, Adam and Yuma are doing rather well this year, and also the trajectory for all of them is stable to good going into Worlds. So, again I don't think Petr or any Russian man for that matter is going to beat these 4 in this current situation ... Hypothetical, of course.

Well, if we were talking about a perfect skate, Aliev could be on the podium. His PCS is as good as Shoma or Yuma and way better than Ilia's. He has the same jump content as Adam, or the Japanese men. The problem is he dies half way through his FS, but when he survives, he's on the podium at Euros for certain and theoretically could be bronze at worlds. Sadly, his one Euro championship is probably his only one because his stamina is terrible.

If Gleb Lutfullin is ever consistent with his quads, he'd be a threat as his skating is wonderful. Exquisite posture. Kolyada worthy. But, his quad consistency isn't there and he ends up 4th or 5th among the Russian men.

 

[olympic]

Well, if we were talking about a perfect skate, Aliev could be on the podium. His PCS is as good as Shoma or Yuma and way better than Ilia's. He has the same jump content as Adam, or the Japanese men. The problem is he dies half way through his FS, but when he survives, he's on the podium at Euros for certain and theoretically could be bronze at worlds. Sadly, his one Euro championship is probably his only one because his stamina is terrible.

If Gleb Lutfullin is ever consistent with his quads, he'd be a threat as his skating is wonderful. Exquisite posture. Kolyada worthy. But, his quad consistency isn't there and he ends up 4th or 5th among the Russian men.

Well, keep the hypothetical w/in reason. Aliev hasn't mattered on the international stage in some time

 

[Ka3sha]

Kostronaia & partner/husband changed their SP to The Departure by Richter

 

[Ananas Astra]

Russian Nats results so far: Stepanova/Bukin are leading after the RD, Khuda & partner are 2nd, Leontieva/Gorlekin 3rd, Shanaeva/Drozd FORTH.

Ростелеком - Чемпионат России 2024 - Tанцы на льду - Ритм-танец

 

[PRlady]

Russian Nats results so far: Stepanova/Bukin are leading after the RD, Khuda & partner are 2nd, Leontieva/Gorlekin 3rd, Shanaeva/Drozd FORTH.

Ростелеком - Чемпионат России 2024 - Tанцы на льду - Ритм-танец

Who the hell are Leon/Gor ? Literally never heard of the then.

 

[Ka3sha]

Who the hell are Leon/Gor ? Literally never heard of the then.

Svinin/Zhuk's team, it's their first season on the senior level.
Not sure I remember their RD this season, but FD is really good - here is the video back from September test skates, could find only this, sorry

 

[rfisher]

Russian pairs And semi drama as there always is. Boikova stepped out on her SBS jump and somebody posted a snarky meme on Gallimov's telegram page. Whether is was him or not is unclear. It wasn't bad, but snarky. I'm sure Boikova just laughed if she saw it. So all the BoiKoz fans are in an uproar. Tutberidze was in a serious conversation with Moskvina before MishGal skated and they broke it off as soon as they saw the camera person zooming in. MishGal skated a perfect program and are ahead. Their step sequence is absolutely brilliant and earns them a level 4 to B/K's level 3. Both got level 4 twists, although I think Boikova's is much better. Mishina's jumps are better than Boikova's. But, all and all nobody does pair skating like the Russians. And there is always Kostonaia drama. They should have stuck with the original SP.

The men were all over the place. Vlad Dikidzhi is in a well deserved lead and Aliev was clean and in 3rd behind Semenenko. I don't expect him to stay there after the FS, but I'm happy he's there for now. Gumennik will pass him in the free (he fell on the 3A). Every single Russian man attempted two quads to varying degrees of success.

 

[caseyedwards]

My mens prediction so far on the money! Lol

 

[rfisher]

My mens prediction so far on the money! Lol

I'm 1-2 on the money but I never trust Dima to survive.

 

[rfisher]

Men results https://fsrussia.ru/results/2324/rusnat2324/SEG001.HTM
Pair results https://fsrussia.ru/results/2324/rusnat2324/SEG005.HTM

 

[Andrey aka Pushkin]

For lack of having anything better to do, I watched the men and the pairs SP.

The pairs are the only Russian discipline I'm missing (not too much, but still). My actual pick is Chikmareva/Yanchenkov who skated first and were nothing short of sensational. I thought they were better than Boikova/Kozlovski. The second tier pairs were all excellent and world podium worthy with the exception of Shegai/Shamshurov and Kostornaya/mammal she's skating with. Really recommend to watch the SP of Mukhortova/Yevgeniev, which would easily be the talk of the season if they weren't locked in Russia.

Much like there are the "Oscar bait movies", there are "Olympics bait programs", and Mishina/Gallyamov definitely have one. It has "Olympics!!!!" written all over it, so it's a shame a)they will not get to the OG and b)if they will, probably not with a program of this caliber.

I stand by my claim Hase/Volodin are the only competition for the Russian pairs right now, and the top8 of the Russian Nats could easily be top8 in Montreal.

to @rfisher for being spot on with the boys. I didn't follow them this season (although, I heard they are all amazing), and the existence of Dikidzhi was a total surprise. But said that, he's the only one who is a world class contender (based on the SP) in Russia, and quads-shmaquads, none of the rest is a real threat to the Japanese boys, Malinin or Fa. The rest are unsuccessful Pluschenko clones with occasional quads and watchability of 26th season of the Simpsons. Vetlugin is the only one who has any kind of IT factor, but his jumping technique is the level of Italian pairs ladies.

Also, what is this new trend for men to skate to these unbearable depressing muzaks with no beat or development? I honestly start missing Carmen. Aliev is, of course, the worst, and it's lucky this program will never get skated at an international competition.

 

[rfisher]

For lack of having anything better to do, I watched the men and the pairs SP.


Also, what is this new trend for men to skate to these unbearable depressing muzaks with no beat or development? I honestly start missing Carmen. Aliev is, of course, the worst, and it's lucky this program will never get skated at an international competition.

Ignatov is skating to Carmen for his FS.

 

[Ananas Astra]

Gumennik was unreal. But he needs a haircut ASAP.