Russian figure skating news & updates in 2022

[starrynight]

I know that lots of people see Diana as an extension or conduit of Eteri’s ruthless ambition. And so Diana skating for the US is seen as a proxy for Eteri entering the US skating scene.

Maybe that is the case. If so, I actually view Diana sympathetically because that would be a difficult situation for a young woman. Perhaps not an easy situation for her as a person and daughter.

 

[Vagabond]

Native Cypriot skaters wuzrobbed!

 

[Bouffantrex]

Where is your chagrin and annoyance, @Bouffantrex, at Emilea Zingas, who represented Cyprus in Women’s Singles at Worlds 2021 and last fall, for her return to the US fold in partnering with Vadym Kolesnik to compete in ice dance? How dare she, right? Or, is she, in your esteemed opinion, not enough of a threat for international assignments to warrant attention?

I don't know who that is, and to be frank, I don't care. But you have done a remarkable job of persuading me and I am eschewing my biased and apparently bigoted ways. I simply cannot wait to see Diana Davis and Eteri Tutberidze usher in the next great era of American ice dance! May God bless America, the Black Eyed Peas, and trimetazidine!

 

[Sylvia]

Ted Barton spoke via phone with Jack Gallagher on June 26 and touched upon Russia-related topics in this article - scroll down to the section titled "Thoughts on Russian Ban, Doping Scandal":

[ICE TIME] Announcer Ted Barton Sees Sakamoto, Uno Inspiring Whole New Generation | JAPAN Forward

“Japan did so well at [senior] worlds. Sort of a revival in a way. Maybe they dipped a little bit, but now they are back,” the skating analyst said.

japan-forward.com

Excerpt from the end:

Barton has broadcast the English feed of the Russian nationals the past three years. Ice Time wanted to know Barton’s position on that assignment going forward.
“I wouldn’t do it. I don’t have the answers,” Barton stated. “All I know is that people are dying, both Ukrainians and Russians for unnecessary reasons. I feel bad for the athletes of Russia who are trying to do the best they can. The government has made a decision that has stopped their careers and changed the pathway in their life.
“I was trying to help sport around the world and within Russia,” Barton noted. “It was an honor to do so at the time, but it is only figure skating. When stuff like that happens, as it did, it is much bigger than the sport. … But the world needs to get sorted out before you can start anew with a positive future, and we are not even close to that.”

 

[barbarafan]

They are not that deserving if they can't beat them. I honestly don't get the dislike for Davis and Smolkin. They are not a bad team and I don't think the US teams after C&B, and H&D are all that great either. Diana is a an American and it seems that Eteri is spending quite a bit of money for her daughter to receive dance training in the United States and has done so for the past few years. I don't think anyone can argue that Diana is not entitled to represent the United States as she is an American citizen. I remember years ago when many American females were "buying" foreign (most Russian) partners to compete with when ice dance didn't have enough male partners. No one, save for Punsalon and Swallon (over Gorsha Sur) said that these partnerships were not entitled to compete for the United States.

Question.....do you think that D/S were aware how horribly overmarked they were at least last year due to Eteri's political power or are they that dumb? Nevermind the what about ism ......we are just talking about them.

 

[Sylvia]

Sad news for Gordeeva & Grinkov fans...

RuFed's press release (July 2):

Ушел из жизни замечательный советский фигурист, призер чемпионатов мира и Европы, тренер Станислав Леонович - 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

Machine translation:

A remarkable Soviet figure skater, winner of the World and European Championships, coach Stanislav Leonovich passed away

At the age of 63, the Soviet figure skater and coach Stanislav Leonovich died in France.

This was announced on his Facebook page by his student Sarah Abitbol, who performed in tandem with Stephane Bernadis. After moving to France, Stanislav Leonovich coached this French duet and brought them to the leaders of the world pair skating. Under his leadership, figure skaters won medals at the European and World Championships.

Stanislav Leonovich was born on July 22, 1958 in Sverdlovsk. He started figure skating at the age of 7 at the SKA sports club. Then, switching to pair skating, he trained under the guidance of Igor Ksenofontov at Spartak. Later he went to Moscow to Stanislav Zhuk in CSKA.

Leonovich's first partner was Tatyana Muratova. Since 1977, he performed in a duet with Marina Pestova. Together they have achieved great results. Pestova - Leonovich won the USSR championships three times - in 1980, 1982 and 1983.

In 1980, Pestova-Leonovich won their first bronze medals at the European Championships in Gothenburg and the World Championships in Dortmund. Two years later, they became silver medalists of the European Championship in Lyon and the World Championship in Copenhagen.

At their first World Championships in 1978, the skaters performed the most difficult lifts on one arm and two triple twists. This happened a year after they paired up and started training with Stanislav Zhuk.

At the Olympic Games in Lake Placid, Pestova - Leonovich stopped a step away from the podium, took 4th place.

In 1982, Stanislav Leonovich became the Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, and after 6 years he was awarded the title of Honored Coach of the USSR.

After completing his sports career, Stanislav Leonovich switched to coaching. Among his students are Ekaterina Gordeeva - Sergei Grinkov, Anna Kondrashova (single skating) and others.

Since the early 90s, he moved to France, where he continued to coach. He worked with the sports couple Sarah Abitbol - Stephane Bernadis, the single skater Vanessa Gusmeroli, the duo Marylin Pla - Yannick Bonneur ... In the early 2000s, he worked with Nikolai Morozov, together they trained many athletes ...

Stanislav Leonovich was married to a former figure skater Olga Makarova, they had two daughters ...

“Personally and professionally, he was an unusually good man… with many qualities.

You left too soon... 63 years old.

I have special thoughts about Olga, her children, her family, as well as about all the skaters with whom he worked ...

Thank you for believing in us and for crossing our paths,” Sarah Abitbol wrote on her Facebook page.

Russian Figure Skating Federation

expresses deep condolences

relatives, relatives and friends

Stanislav Leonovich.

Bright memory…

 

[soogar]

Question.....do you think that D/S were aware how horribly overmarked they were at least last year due to Eteri's political power or are they that dumb? Nevermind the what about ism ......we are just talking about them.

I didn't think they were horribly overmarked. I didn't even understand the boos at Russian Nationals at Z&G's scores because to me, their skating looked quite labored and their program wasn't that great either.

I think Davis and Smolkin are a typical young team. Their program to cats looked immature but they have potential to grow. They are not any different than other young teams. I also think that people hate Diana because of Eteri. I find that Dave Lease's characterization of Diana as "untalented" to be incredibly rude and just plain wrong. There are videos of Diana skating singles and she had a few triple jumps and a double axel. In my opinion, that is hardly untalented. Very few people actually achieve these milestones, even if they start from childhood. I don't think Diana is untalented at all. She clearly benefits from having a mom who is a coach and understands the right steps to take with her and still gives her space to make her own decisions. People commented on how Benoit criticized Eteri, yet Eteri's daughter got choreography from him. It's clear that Eteri doesn't let personal feelings interfere in her decisions. Plus it is clear that she loves Diana, and Diana is everything to her. Any other parent in Eteri's shoes would do the same things she had done to get their kids to the Olympics. I just feel there is a lot of envy because Eteri is so effective.

 

[Karen-W]

I didn't think they were horribly overmarked. I didn't even understand the boos at Russian Nationals at Z&G's scores because to me, their skating looked quite labored and their program wasn't that great either.

The crowd at Russian Nats was with Z&G due to Tiffany's illness during the fall and the fact that it was a simple triumph at all for them to take the ice. I think they were a bit underscored in the RD, so I understood why the audience was upset. Doesn't a feel-good underdog triumphing against all odds sports story transcend all cultures?

 

[canbelto]

I refuse to apologize for advocating for the American dance teams that have trained in the United States in the USFS system their entire lives and careers who may be directly impacted by this sudden change.

This is nothing personal against Davis and her new husband (mazel tov!), but some here are being deliberately obtuse. Russia has been banned by the ISU due to the barbaric invasion of Ukraine, Diana's mother is the most powerful (and likely abusive) coach in the sport, and Davis/Smolkin silently married two weeks after the ban took place. Forgive me if I'm not thrilled.


Indeed. And that doesn't mean I have to be thrilled about Davis/Smolkin suddenly representing the United States and taking opportunities away from other dancers.

I hope you keep that same energy for Tanith Belbin and Christina Carreira who are both Canadian and represented the U.S. because of their training partners. And by the same token, Bruno Massot (French, represented Germany), the Danadians, and so on and so forth. But tbh you sound like one of those "real Americans" people.

 

[Amy L]

I hope you keep that same energy for Tanith Belbin and Christina Carreira who are both Canadian and represented the U.S. because of their training partners. And by the same token, Bruno Massot (French, represented Germany), the Danadians, and so on and so forth. But tbh you sound like one of those "real Americans" people.

And Vanessa James, who is Canadian by birth but not "Canadian enough" to represent Canada because she mostly competed for other countries before teaming up with Eric Radford.

The emoji was literally made about David Mitchell's mother who believed that Tanith Belbin wasn't American enough and American-born Americans should have preference over immigrants.

 

[Ena Grins]

I thought the boos at Russian Nationals weren't just about Davis/Smokin beating Zahorski/Guerreiro in the RD, but the (IMO) ridiculous difference in scores - 83.99 over 79.36. This was also a performance where I thought D/S were noticeably labored, where Diana seemed more unsteady than usual and had a hard time staying over her edges. The margin they finished with over teams with similar skills and performances (mainly Khudaiberdieva/Bazin and Morozov/Bagin) was huge.

This sounds like I'm trashing them, so I want to say for the record that I think D/S had a legitimate shot at the Olympic team no matter what and could have justifiably edged out their competitors even with equitable scoring. But their scores at Nationals and I think Warsaw Cup were ridiculously out of line with what they did on the ice. I think their Euros and Olympics scores were much more reasonable.

 

[Trillian]

But their scores at Nationals and I think Warsaw Cup were ridiculously out of line with what they did on the ice. I think their Euros and Olympics scores were much more reasonable.

Were the Warsaw Cup scores artificially high anyway? I seem to remember that being one that was an outlier for multiple teams, not just D&S. I didn’t watch Russian nationals, but nationals scores are always inflated. In general I thought D&S’s actual placements relative to other teams throughout the season were reasonably fair.

It makes sense for D&S to hold off on changing feds. They’re not going to have an international season either way. They can hedge their bets, try to win some events in Russia, and see how things look next spring. If it makes sense to switch at that point, then great, they already sat out a year. I’m guessing they wouldn’t get a ton of funding from USFS and they’d be fighting for fourth at nationals, so why switch now? But if a prolonged ban still looks likely by the end of next season, they’re in a good position to make a change then.

 

[Wyliefan]

Were the Warsaw Cup scores artificially high anyway? I seem to remember that being one that was an outlier for multiple teams, not just D&S.

If you say "Warsaw Cup" three times, @allezfred will appear.

 

[Dobre]

Were the Warsaw Cup scores artificially high anyway?

They were high, but not equally for all teams, no.

 

[Trillian]

If you say "Warsaw Cup" three times, @allezfred will appear.

They were high, but not equally for all teams, no.

Ha, I just googled the results and all I have to say for myself is: NEVER MIND.

 

[Vagabond]

Warsaw Cup
Warsaw Cup
Warsaw Cup

 

[Karen-W]

This sounds like I'm trashing them, so I want to say for the record that I think D/S had a legitimate shot at the Olympic team no matter what and could have justifiably edged out their competitors even with equitable scoring. But their scores at Nationals and I think Warsaw Cup were ridiculously out of line with what they did on the ice. I think their Euros and Olympics scores were much more reasonable.

In retrospect, the way the season happened, yes, DavSmo had a legitimate shot at making the Olympic team. Even at the Russian Test Skates, with Z/G coming off an injury, the field was somewhat open, with D/S, K/B and M/B in serious contention to wind up as 1st alternate or slide in should injuries happen to any of the top three teams. Which is, unfortunately for Z/G, what did happen. Had Z/G been competing all fall, they would have been scoring higher than the 3 teams nipping at their heels and, like HawBak in the US, I expect they would have successfully repelled the attack at Nats and earned the 3rd spot. As it is, DavSmo were able to take advantage, unlike either K/B or M/B, during the fall and got the scores that propelled them to Euros and the Olympics. But, if Z/G been in top shape, I'm not sure that DavSmo would have seen the rise in their scores during the fall or been legitimately in the mix for anything beyond 1st alternate for the Russian Euros and Worlds teams.

 

[Bigbird]

If I can speak plainly none of the Russian teams are particularly interesting or appealing or have that special quality. I've rewatched S/K programs in bewilderment wondering why why are they so overmarked. If you were to combine the skills of S/B and S/K and create that complete package there would be something to get excited about. D/S are not that team it would appear. We're just waiting for the next set of great teams from the ROC or elsewhere.

 

[tony]

They were high, but not equally for all teams, no.

Many teams saw substantial increases to scores they had gotten a week or two previously, and yet we had an entire season of some posters only pointing out the scores of D/S as if they were the only ones that had big jumps in seasons bests that didn’t make sense.

I mean, some posters seemed to use Muramato/Takahashi’s score there as a suggestion to why they could be top 10 in the World in March… ?

Selective application.

 

[allezfred]

If you say "Warsaw Cup" three times, @allezfred will appear.

Or if you tag me.

But LOL that nine months after the fact people are realising that the scores were bullshit.

 

[Karen-W]

Or if you tag me.

But LOL that nine months after the fact people are realising that the scores were bullshit.

Oh, we knew the scores were bullshit, but we just didn't know what it would mean for the teams that were, clearly, benefitting from the artificial increase. It did get MuraTaka a silver at 4CCs, which isn't really saying much in an Olympic year, but, heck, it's better than any of the Canadian teams managed at 4CCs, lol. And it did manage to propel DavSmo to 7th at Euros which, again, not too shabby. 7th or 8th at a fully attended Euros/4CCs seems about right for both teams (and GrePar, who won 4CCs in the absence of the top 3 US & Canadian teams).

 

[Bouffantrex]

If I can speak plainly none of the Russian teams are particularly interesting or appealing or have that special quality. I've rewatched S/K programs in bewilderment wondering why why are they so overmarked. If you were to combine the skills of S/B and S/K and create that complete package there would be something to get excited about. D/S are not that team it would appear. We're just waiting for the next set of great teams from the ROC or elsewhere.

I agree with all of this. Well stated, Bird.

But, if Z/G been in top shape, I'm not sure that DavSmo would have seen the rise in their scores during the fall or been legitimately in the mix for anything beyond 1st alternate for the Russian Euros and Worlds teams.

Sorry, but you are being willingly naive. Eteri was clearly determined to leverage her power and politic prowess (as ISU coach of the year ) to get her daughter to the Olympics, and she succeeded. Sadly, I don't think Z/G had a prayer to make the team, even if healthy.

Davis and her husband were clearly overmarked last season. However, like I said earlier, I have no ill will towards them as people. My misgivings lie completely with Eteri-- I want her nowhere near US figure skating, for VERY obvious reasons. And I am sad for the teams that will be displaced by the newlyweds.

 

[Lanie]

Warsaw Cup
Warsaw Cup
Warsaw Cup

Is it like the Bloody Mary game of FSU?

@allezfred I'm not going to tag you next time I'll just say WARSAW CUP three times fast in the mirror.

 

[Vagabond]

Is it like the Bloody Mary game of FSU?

It turns out not to be any different from any other time he posts on FSU.

 

[Trillian]

But LOL that nine months after the fact people are realising that the scores were bullshit.

In my defense, I pay so little attention to Russian dance that we were well into the season before I went, “Wait, she’s whose daughter?” But apparently I missed some fun threads in the process.

 

[Bigbird]

In my defense, I pay so little attention to Russian dance that we were well into the season before I went, “Wait, she’s whose daughter?” But apparently I missed some fun threads in the process.

You shouldn't worry. Every so often we take a trip down memory lane when we're bored, really bored.

 

[Holy Headband]

If I can speak plainly none of the Russian teams are particularly interesting or appealing or have that special quality. I've rewatched S/K programs in bewilderment wondering why why are they so overmarked. If you were to combine the skills of S/B and S/K and create that complete package there would be something to get excited about. D/S are not that team it would appear. We're just waiting for the next set of great teams from the ROC or elsewhere.

Kagapol are right there.

 

[barbarafan]

Or if you tag me.

But LOL that nine months after the fact people are realising that the scores were bullshit.

I saw a fair amount of stuff as it happened. I paid attention to their program when I saw it was such a copy of Tessa and Scott's except for the fact it was sluggish. I always had respect for Igor until that point.

 

[starrynight]

Doubt Eteri has that much sway outside of Russia now though. Even her biggest cheerleader Ted Barton has dropped her like a hot potato.

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

And I am sad for the teams that will be displaced by the newlyweds.

Off topic but I suspect that from now on I will always think of this team as The Newlyweds Thanks for that!