I'm glad to see so many people liked them this weekend ... I KNEW they were going to be players the first time I saw their debut SP in Talllinn.**
I'm sure Bruno's kicking himself about those 2 lifts today ... but they made a huge statement this weekend. I'm beyond excited, and I can't wait to see them at Worlds!!!
i actually believe she's the best female pair skater in the world.
I agree. Volosozhar looks almost better and lovelier than ever this year, and Stolbova has skary skating skills, but Aliona is #1 for me. She is the most badass,

, pairs girl the world has ever seen IMO!! Of all the pairs girls I love (and there are many

), Aliona is my all-time fave (with her polar opposite Gordeeva).
What I found incredible was that they were really there to win it (in their first season against V&T!) and that they were so disappointed with their skate and the scores, which were a massive gift to Aliona. They are really going for this!
Not really getting the complaints about S/M's PCS. Sure it was high, for a program with 2 fumbled lifts, but let's get real. PCS is not
just about the performance you put out that day (right or wrong). It's about reputation too, and it's about what the judges perceive as absolute quality---who are the best skaters in the event, bottom line. S/M were far & away the second-best pair in this event, even with the mistakes; they were amazing. The PCS simply reflect that IMO.
Well, they've only been competing together 5 minutes. I thought they would just be happy to medal at Euros, but they actually thought they could beat V&T and their programs and demeanor afterwards showed it. These two are aiming for Worlds Gold this year. They won't win, but they could medal at Worlds.
Well until now, a lot of people were saying S/M couldn't medal at Worlds. We now seethey could, theoretically anyway. Maybe we'll yet see they could even win. Who knows?
** (
My thoughts on S/M's debut back at Tallinn Trophy, if anyone's interested--scroll down to the bottom of the post to see the part about S/M).