Savchenko/Massot Fan Thread

[Mrs. P]

Their costumes reminded me of Torville and Dean from Bolero. Overall, it felt like the whole program had a similar vibe, with the difference being that it's obviously pairs, not ice dance. I think Christopher Dean being the choreographer, contributed to it. Plus the sheer perfection of the performance and execution. It should go down in history, just like Bolero did. As soon as you watch it, you know this is an Olympic gold medal skate.

I was thinking that while surfing the net and I don’t think there’s been a more popular one. Every tweet and Facebook post I’ve read has been positive and their performance affected even less than casual fans. T&D’s Bolero maybe was close but there was no social media then.

My prediction ..... just being realistic here .... is that their performance will remain the most popular. With men’s, dance and ladies coming up..hmmmm....I’d say let’s enjoy the peace, love and solidarity of this moment. Shits’s gonna happen somewhere.

So I checked and yesterday (2/14) was actually the 34th anniversary of Bolero! It was 2/15 in Korea, so not quite on the day of Bolero, but pretty dang close!

 

[nimi]

It's #ThrowbackThursday, so let's revisit this interview (translated by TAHbKA) from 2016:
Vaytsekhovskaya's interview with Savchenko `It's not about the winning, but competing'

Seriously, if you haven't read this and you love Aljona, go read the whole thing.

EV: What was it in Bruno?
AS: I saw him on the video, how he skate and `saw' him skating with me. I imagined what we could do together. When Bruno started throwing me on the ice it was amazing... I still feel an inner joy during the throws. I even shout in the air - it's so exciting.

WHEEEEE!!!

EV: I know there is your autobiography in the working. How open are you there?
AS: 1000%

Oh please yes I want to read this!!!

 

[MIsty Blades/Skate Mom]

Deleted post.

 

[Spun Silver]

Has this been posted?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/how...first-gold-medal-during-her-5th-olympics.html

Most of the coverage so far is pretty routine. The world just does not know about Aljona let alone Bruno. If she were American the entire planet would know her name.

 

[DFJ]

I don't know how many times I've watched this FS. I absolutely love it. And I love all that backstage stuff.

 

[chapis]

Has this been posted?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/how...first-gold-medal-during-her-5th-olympics.html

Most of the coverage so far is pretty routine. The world just does not know about Aljona let alone Bruno. If she were American the entire planet would know her name.

But I guess she is a star in Germany

 

[Guinevere]

I just saw the Canadian feed of the pairs event and my favourite part was when Paul Martini was interviewing them and Bruno seemed hesitant to say "gold medallist" and Paul Martini started encouraging them - "Say it! Just say it!" And then they laughed and said "gold medallist." I thought it was cute the way he was trying to encourage them to finally accept that they won.

 

[oleada]

Really great celebration pics in the Team Deutschland page:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/TeamDeutschlandde/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1710674078988667

 

[Quadjump]

But I guess she is a star in Germany

Not at all.

Figure skating is not main sport anymore in Germany. Most people remember Witt and nothing more.

Most people notices Aljona's name yesterday for the first time. Even the German TV commentators have no clue about FS. In sotchi the commentary was a horror to listen.

The FP was not broadcasted live.

 

[Spun Silver]

Not at all.

Figure skating is not main sport anymore in Germany. Most people remember Witt and nothing more.

Most people notices Aljona's name yesterday for the first time. Even the German TV commentators have no clue about FS. In sotchi the commentary was a horror to listen.

The FP was not broadcasted live.

That's sort of what I thought, from talking about them last year to a friend of mine who lives in Germany. She never heard of them and she's into arts, sports and news. Sigh.

 

[chapis]

Not at all.

Figure skating is not main sport anymore in Germany. Most people remember Witt and nothing more.

Most people notices Aljona's name yesterday for the first time. Even the German TV commentators have no clue about FS. In sotchi the commentary was a horror to listen.

The FP was not broadcasted live.

 

[annie_mg]

For all those wondering if Robin congratulated her, he even did it publicly on his instagram https://instagram.com/p/BfPKehDHmdt/

 

[text_skate]

The FP was not broadcasted live.

It was, on Discovery's TLC (free TV) – and every major newpaper reported in advance in a "how to watch", that one should probably do a station search on the telly and look for this channel, so one is able to watch figure skating live.

The public broadcasting service isn't holding the rights for any live coverage for figure skating. (We nearly didn't have any Olympic coverage on pbs due to cost, Discovery wanted too much money for the rights, only a last minute agreement and less $$$ got the pbs on board – they have to justify spendings)

 

[annie_mg]

Their costumes reminded me of Torville and Dean from Bolero. Overall, it felt like the whole program had a similar vibe, with the difference being that it's obviously pairs, not ice dance. I think Christopher Dean being the choreographer, contributed to it. Plus the sheer perfection of the performance and execution. It should go down in history, just like Bolero did. As soon as you watch it, you know this is an Olympic gold medal skate.

When they fell on the ice at the end I got chills through my spine, because indeed I thought of the ending pose of Bolero. Thankfully it was the same medal colour for both teams!

 

[Ka3sha]

I have already posted this video (a geoblocked version of it) here and there on the board but decided that it should be in a fan thread as well
it actually brings me to tears every time I see it
Aljona and TAT hugging and crying
https://youtube.com/watch?v=A7Pavt3-Vws

 

[cocotaffy]

Finally the video of the actual medal ceremony and not geoblocked
ETA no anthem but still better than nothing
Don't know if this one was posted but we can see how anxious Bruno is and how supportive Meagan is. Also how happy both couple are at the final score.

 

[Jeschke]

I have already posted this video (a geoblocked version of it) here and there on the board but decided that it should be in a fan thread as well
it actually brings me to tears every time I see it
Aljona and TAT hugging and crying
https://youtube.com/watch?v=A7Pavt3-Vws

This is ****ing awesome!

 

[text_skate]

crossposting...

I posted a separate thread for some nice clippings for German news coverage, including an interesting article about Alexander König and his future plans: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...-first-gold-medal-in-pairs-since-1952.103384/

 

[chapis]

Nice https://twitter.com/torvillanddean/status/964421297122852864

----------

NBC uploaded their performance, geoblocked out of USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT6SnklMkVU

 

[Golden1]

I have watched their FD and the flower ceremony so many times, I practically know every move by heart now. They are amazing and make Germany so proud. I really admire Aliona and wish I could be half as driven as she is.
Bruno is also a really kind guy. I don't know who else would let someone borrow their gold medal during the first night as an Olympic champion: https://www.instagram.com/p/BfPcjuxFYYx/?hl=de&taken-by=jotipolizoakis

 

[text_skate]

crossposting...

This morning Aljona, Bruno and Alexander König where in the studio, interviewd by Rudi Cerne (4th at Men's in Sarajevo, in the then FS his lutz was elusive, he said, still hunting him )
Link (geoblocked): https://olympia.zdf.de/aktuelles/eiskunstlauf/talk-mit-massot-und-savchenko-100/

Bruno is allowed to speak French . They said "Allez", focus on their strength, the FS. Giving-up was never an option. Aljona knew with the first elements, they have a run, she needed to focus until the end and hold her concentration, because she had so much energy. Too much energy might take you right into mistakes.
It was an advantage to be the first on the ice.
Alexander had a hard time at the barrier, because as a coach you know every little detail and movement, you're standing there and you want to sway everything into the right direction, but you can't do a thing, you're utterly helpless.
Aliona talks about the 3Tw4 (around 9'0''): They worked on it until the last minute. Problem: either there was the split or the arm above, never both. And finally they managed in FS.
Around 10'20'' and 11'08' the team of zdf shows in a split screen the final moments of T/D Bolero and S/M with underlying music La terre vue de ciel. Very interesting. Bolero choreo works with S/M music. Plus epic ending pose on the ice IMO T/D's choreo works even better
They didn't plan to lay on ice. All stress disapeared suddenly. Aliona: FS ended and she thought, what already finished?
Bruno talks very enthusiastically about minutes after the skate, he's very exited, as almost as he wants to skate right away. With a performance like this, you have the desire (in German we would say "Lust") to do another skate like this, even better. Bruno actually would prefer the SP, because ... well because. The goal is two clean performances.
They are eyeing worlds, start preparations over the coming weeks.
König: After SP there was no tense atmosphere. They were always united as a team. König, Ballester an Skotnicky talked to S/M after SP, encouraged them.

 

[Mad for Skating]

Words CANNOT DESCRIBE how happy I am right now for Aliona and Bruno!!! I was dry-sobbing hysterically the WHOLE TIME!!! Deep down inside, I always knew they could do it!
Also, Aliona is divine and I don't think even Grinkov could match her level, but Bruno deserves some serious respect too. He's improved so much during the past 4 years, he's like a totally different skater. So much <3 <3 <3

 

[judgejudy27]

Yes Bruno's improvement and the hard work he has done to partner Aliona is incredible. Aliona meanwhile is arguably the finest pairs skater ever period. Just an incredible women and champion.

Already looking forward to them gunning for that first World title in a months time, but no matter what happens from here they gave the sport one of its most emotional, satisfying, and all around epic moments, and they did it together no matter what some might try and say.

 

[nimi]

@reut posted this link in the German thread:

Great interview with Aljona by Vaytsekhovskaya (Russian):
https://rsport.ria.ru/winter2018_analytics/20180220/1132914981.html

It's pretty long but definitely worth your time!

A few google translated excerpts, edited by me (my Russian is super basic so my "corrections" are mostly guesswork and are not to be trusted lol)
ETA: oh there's a real translation available now, see @text_skate's comment below


Aljona's reaction after SP:

- I said: "So what? Double, so double." When we returned home, gathered the whole team, they reassured Bruno, as best they could. They said: "Stop, it's all in the past. (...) Tomorrow will be a new day, and tomorrow you should be like a tiger." I think that we really reassured him

About that crazy planned content sheet for the FS:

The planned list of elements we wrote immediately after the Grand Prix Final, in mid-December. We really wanted to insert these elements into the free program. Dreaming about the impossible is necessary, right?

About leaving the 3A out:

- When we performed at New Year's shows, I fell from a double axel and damaged my leg. For a while after that, we did not do throws at all (...) We decided that this is a sign: then you need to continue to learn the triple axel. (...) And when we arrived in Pyeongchang a week before the Games, I caught a cold. Therefore, the question was whether to include in the program an element that is not quite ready (...) We just couldn't find the right rhythm when it came to this element.

Well, sounds like that cold Aljona caught was a good thing if it kept them from insisting on the 3A.


Not only did Bruno gain an OGM, the boy also learned some valuable life lessons:

There were times when we... well, not that we quarreled, but we had different opinions, let's say. That is, I knew that this is necessary, and Bruno as a man wanted to show that he is a man. Koenig all the time "mediated" between us. If it were not for him, I think, our partnership would not have lasted a month.
- When a woman, working together with a man, takes the initiative, she always risks to be in a difficult situation.
- This was the problem. Bruno for a long time could not accept the fact that a woman can also be right. That a woman can say something, and it will turn out to be right. We had a lot of disagreements in this regard.

Aljona meets Liam:

And he took me to a mountain. Only there it dawned on me that I had skied before only on the plain, but here - a steep cliff. I had to hurry to recall everything that I had ever seen on TV - how people from the mountains skate. It was at times scary for my life, but I reached the end.

Aljona: I have never done downhill skiing but I have watched people on TV doing downhill skiing, so I think I'm gonna do just fine on this steep cliff! *Does just fine*


Bruno being useful off-ice:

To me, in fact, Bruno was the first to say that Liam had his eye on me. I myself in life about this did not guess - was too busy training.

But Liam cooks, and very well. When we began to live together, my food has changed a lot, let's just say. Before that, I ate only one chocolate. I did not love anything else.
- And how can you train on chocolate alone?
- I somehow worked. But Liam managed to convince me that it is necessary to eat right. And I somehow got used to it.

Thank you, Liam!


Good question, even better answer!

- If you had to go to an uninhabited island and you could take only three medals with you, would they all be Olympic?
- No, those that are bronze, I would definitely not take. Enough of one - the current one. The rest I would simply melt and merge them into one, so that there would be everything in this piece of metal: memories, works, pain, and happiness.

Words of wisdom from the Empress herself:

Soft people in sports do nothing.

 

[text_skate]

@TAHbKA just posted translation of the whole interview. https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/vaytsekhovskayas-interview-with-savchenko.103436/

@nimi I like you comments in post above very much

 

[Xela M]

For all those wondering if Robin congratulated her, he even did it publicly on his instagram https://instagram.com/p/BfPKehDHmdt/

Han is absolutely TINY compared to Bruno and Eric

 

[nimi]

Han is absolutely TINY compared to Bruno and Eric

Remember the podium in Helsinki where Han as the gold medalist was in the middle and almost got lost (visually I mean) between the other two, so Bruno and Vladimir grabbed a hold him and lifted him up? You can see his feet just dangling there if you look closely

Btw, Meagan talked quite a bit about Aljona and Bruno in her TSL pairs recap. I posted about it in the pairs thread:

I'm currently listening to Skating Lesson's This and That: 2018 Olympic Games Pairs Recap with Meagan Duhamel

This far (I'm around the 15 min mark) it has been pretty focused on D/R's experience on the Olympic ice, but the episode being TWO HOURS in duration I presume Meagan will bring up other pairs stuff, too!

ETA: After the 20 min mark they discuss Ksenia&Fedor not being there and Meagan talks about how Ksenia has been a lot more warmer and friendlier this year than before. And then (23 min) they talk about Aljona (always been nice to Meagan) and Meagan thinks she's just going to keep going, like, forever. Then (25 min) it's Yu/Zhang and how beautiful skater Yu is, and after that they discuss what a great event the pairs was in general. Then (28 min) comes MT/M2, then Knierims, after which (maybe after the 38 min mark or so) they talk about the team event. Then after 45 min they move onto Sui/Han; Meagan's comments re: lost levels in FS was pretty interesting to me. Around 50 min it's Ryom/Kim (Meagan is currently coaching them!) and a few minutes after that they move onto James/Cipres (who used to live at Meagan's house in Montreal heading into the 2012 Worlds!) and training in Florida with John Z. & his team. Then around the 60 min mark there's some more general talk about different approaches to coaching etc. Around 1:07 she starts to analyze S/M's brilliant long program, after which they talk about T/M's not-so-brilliant FP.

ETA2: Okay, back to this... For a detailed 3twist technique analysis, listen to 1:14-1:18. Then it's throw techniques.
Around 1:24-1:27 they start to talk about Julianne&Charlie. Then Valentina&Ondrej and Nicole&Matteo.

...and then miscellaneous stuff about judging, points system, pee testing plus general Olympic talk etc.

 

[annie_mg]

This was such a great interview! I always enjoy interviews with Aljona. I just love her answers. So honest, and a role model of perserverance and hope! A few things I noted down:

- She used to only eat chocolate?! How how how did she find the strength to skate? Thank you Liam for teaching our Aljona how to eat
- Her comment on having twin girls got me thinking "two at once so that she can go back on the ice earlier" (does anybody else think of Chusovitina the gymnast?)
- Love her answer on the medals. That she would melt them all and only keep the Olympic gold. It goes to show how much this means to her.
- So she doesn't exclude a 6th Olympics. If her body holds up, I can honestly imagine her there!

I just hope she can convince Bruno to continue...

 

[clairecloutier]

- Her comment on having twin girls got me thinking "two at once so that she can go back on the ice earlier"

LOL!! That's probably exactly it.

I just kept smiling while reading that interview.

There truly is no one like her.

 

[nimi]

- Love her answer on the medals. That she would melt them all and only keep the Olympic gold. It goes to show how much this means to her.

Aljona's instastory, with her precious shiny new OGM in the starring role, got posted here: https://twitter.com/FSIgstories/status/965580966365458432