To be fair (and not to be a hater), watching the Japanese women SP on the same day as the Russian women SP is beyond illuminating. The Japanese women's SP was one of the best women's events I've seen in a long time, and it goes to show how much the Russian field would benefit from using international choreographers.
I loved Kostornaia, Shcherbakova, and Valieva. I thought Valieva was the best female skater I'd see in my lifetime. I was shattered when all the doping stuff came out and pretty much haven't watched the Russian women since. I was especially sad about Shcherbakova because I admired her tenacity and clutch skating so much and was absolutely thrilled when she won the Olympics. But, of course, it's highly likely her success was helped with drugs even though she's never been accused of it.
OMG Tsareva's kid medals with 2 quads. And, there was the tongue of disgust from Mama as well. I've waited for this since she was a junior. ITA about Frolova. I'm sad she's off the podium and Maria Z is on. Sad for one and thrilled for the other.
Anna Frolova, on the bother hand, doesn’t have any quads but has nice skating skills and maturity
It’s a rather rare example of a skater that I want to make it to international competitions just to prove that even Russia’s women skating is not only about some starved kids
She fell on the 2nd part of her 3-3 combo which earned the tongue. But. TsarevaMiniMe (she really looks like her mother) is no pushover. She's also muscled and past puberty. Her jump technique is really good. She got a bit too excited causing the fall. First year back after being out for 4 years and landed on the podium in a deep field earned a smile in the KnC.
I know some with wishful thinking have said Russian women were in decline. Watch the entire FS and rethink that. Skate after skate after skate. The depth of talent is mindboggling. And that's the first two groups.
So, I have never watched Russian women before today, and I watched from beginning to end. It was enlightening because if you only catch international competitions, you begin to believe that Eteri IS Russia women. But what I learned is that they also have Anna Frolova and Sofia Muravieva who are just great
I don’t think people are praying for decline. I think people are tired of seeing Eteri bots win by muscling jumps and it’s especially noticeable in combos when they swing their hips and overuse their arms, the mediocre choreography, suspected drug use, etc. I for one would be happier to see Muravieva or Frolova compete without quads internationally than anyone in camp Eteri.
But I like Adeliya more than the average Eteri pupil. She seems to understand the subtleties of choreography and the music is engaging, but in Milan she is going to have to land the 4T to compete with Kaori or even Alysa
I honestly don't think Russian ladies have hit their peak yet. There are too many Russian little girls (and their mothers) with big dreams and a willingness to work hard. What I hope we are seeing now is a course correction made necessary because of the practices of Camp Eteri. I see Kamila as a victim.
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