The Mikhail Kolyada appreciation thread

[Vash01]

I love him. I saw him skate live in Boston last year and it was a treat.

I liked him when I first saw him skate at the Russian nationals in 2013 (I think). I love his flair, the way his personality comes through, and he has very good basic skating skills and jump technique. He is a complete package and I want to see him win the world championship some day.

 

[Ananas Astra]

Our boy won the SP at Cup of China today!
With a fantastic score of over 103 points!
Way to go, Misha!
Moreover...I think he managed to do the most beautiful and pure quad lutz ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpOkq4tpHA0

 

[Ananas Astra]

Misha won his first GP gold in China today and most likely made the GPF!

 

[Marta24]

His Lutz in the SP
So happy for him

 

[DreamSkates]

He does have great talent and this year has improved in many ways - has the difficult jumps, too. But there was a significant difference between Rostelecom and China, in scores. Hmmm....

 

[Xela M]

Our boy won the SP at Cup of China today!
With a fantastic score of over 103 points!
Way to go, Misha!
Moreover...I think he managed to do the most beautiful and pure quad lutz ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpOkq4tpHA0

That quad lutz is really the most gorgeous I have ever seen. It's breathtaking

 

[dinakt]

That quad lutz is really the most gorgeous I have ever seen. It's breathtaking

Agree. I replayed it multiple times and showed to my family- for the beauty in something so physically hard.

 

[whiteskates]

I'm so very happy for him. I was hoping he would win and he did. It's been said before but I can't help but saying it again: That quad Lutz is to die for! He has such excellent techniqe that it's unsurpassed. I just wish he could last through the LP. Why doesn't he? is it nerves?

 

[Cherub721]

Beautiful quad lutz! So happy he landed it.

I wonder what is the strategy of doing 3 different quads in the LP though? Why not replace the sal with the quad toe? Two new jumps back to back is asking a lot.

 

[Ananas Astra]

I wonder what is the strategy of doing 3 different quads in the LP though? Why not replace the sal with the quad toe? Two new jumps back to back is asking a lot.

My thoughts exactly. Better do 2 quad toes instead of the salchow which he has never been close to landing in competition.

 

[Cherub721]

My thoughts exactly. Better do 2 quad toes instead of the salchow which he has never been close to landing in competition.

I mean at least he falls on the lutz and gets points for that. He's constantly popping the sal, it's just a waste of a jumping pass. I would like to see him attempting it after the Olympic season.

 

[Sylvia]

Clip of an impressive 4Lz+3T in practice during Cup of China: https://twitter.com/patrick_han9/status/926659477947916288

 

[Vash01]

I have liked Misha for quite sometime. I wish he would become more consistent in his jumps. They are gorgeous when he lands them, like the 4Lz in the SP at COC. I love his flair.

 

[Wyliefan]

That quad lutz is really the most gorgeous I have ever seen. It's breathtaking

I literally gasped when I saw it!

 

[Sylvia]

Time to bump this back up... his FS wasn't pretty but Kolyada's SP in Milan was great and helped him win his first World Championships medal (bronze) in Milan!

Recent article/interview links:

January 9, 2018:

Interview with Mikhail Kolyada on the ISU website. He talks about why he feels spins are harder than jumps, on why he looks up to ice dancers and what is the best way for him to relax:

http://www.isu.org/figure-skating/f...rviews/11861-mikhail-kolyada?templateParam=15

Iinterview after Milan Worlds: http://tass.ru/opinions/interviews/5063494
Google translated excerpt:

- What did the Olympics teach you? Have you made any conclusion for yourself?

- And the conclusion is very simple. It is necessary to listen to everyone, but to do what I think is right. And do not be afraid to make a mistake. This fear was always. And perfectionism sometimes really hinders, and I try to get rid of it.

- That is, to become a champion, it is impossible to be a perfectionist?

- Of course. I personally think so.

"- I think that I will resume work from the end of April."

Interview translated in this GSD thread after he won 2017 Cup of China: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...en-i-need-a-kick-i-notify-chebotareva.102232/

 

[Ananas Astra]

I have to say I love his new FS to "Carmen". After dozens of horrible versions of it, he managed to find decent recordings and create a great program

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEBDj-ryUME

His SP is not bad either...although I don't like Muse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e5vHhawXH8

 

[Vash01]

I liked him when he was a junior. Then he had an injury and we didn't see him for sometime. I was lucky to see him skate two clean performances at the 2016 worlds in Boston and I became an instant fan. He finished 4th there, so I was looking forward to seeing him on the podium next time. He has been inconsistent, but I was encouraged by the fact that he skated well enough to place second at the recent RN. Not only that, but his natural flair was back. I love his basic skating, musical interpretation and artistry which set him apart from the pure jumpers without much artistry. When Misha is on, he is the best skater, or may be the best artist.

When he was young, some of us called him Baby Kulik. He doesn't look like Kulik. He is much shorter and his face is different, but his jumps are comparable to Kulik's and he has Kulik like flair in his presentation . I have been hoping to see him on or near the top of the podium for a long time. His recent performance gives me hope because if he could skate like that after being sick, how much better he could be when healthy?

 

[Sylvia]

Link to @Eislauffan's article on Mikhail who had to undergo endoscopic sinus surgery before he competed at Nationals: https://goldenskate.com/2018/12/mikhail-kolyada-i-opened-up-some-reserves/
Excerpts:

After his performances, especially after the free skating, Kolyada almost collapsed. He made only one serious mistake in the long when he fell on a triple Lutz.
“There, to be honest, my conscience was starting to fade away,” recalled the 23-year-old. “I don’t even remember a lot how all that happened. That is, I did the footwork and half of it I just can’t remember now. And the spins, of course. When I am spinning, it all starts to flow in, hurts. Not a nice feeling and the breathing gets out of rhythm, naturally. And when the breathing is off, the rhythm of the program is off and it is hard to get back into it.”
“I never have felt as bad as I did (after the program),” said Kolyada. “Who came to me, said something, I don’t remember that at all. We went to TV, they did an interview, I don’t even remember what I said. I was in such a condition that I couldn’t even focus, my vision was blurry. And then, when they took me to the anti-doping control, I saw stars, spots … The doctors said that it comes from a major lack of oxygen, hypoxia.”

Kolyada started to feel better over the next few days and attended the awards ceremony, but wisely withdrew from the exhibition gala. However, he regretted not being able to show his new fun “Charlie Chaplin” exhibition program that he had prepared.
After returning home to St. Petersburg, the plan was to see the doctors again, rest up and get healthy before hopefully returning to the ice on January 2 to prepare for Europeans. Kolyada feels he learned a lot from going through this ordeal.
“It is like a snowball,” he described. “At first a little bit, it is still okay, tolerable. Then, it becomes more and more. You realize that it is hard for you, but you still manage somehow. You forget about it ‘oh, it’s working, great.’ Then, when this snowball presses you down and you realize ‘that’s it,’ you can’t get out, then you take the shovel and start digging.”

 

[aftershocks]

So Kolyada is dealing with physical-related issues. Thanks for pointing that out. I hope things improve for him, including his confidence level.

It's difficult to know and factor in such issues because athletes generally don't like to rely on excuses, and tend to keep physical problems on the down-low.

 

[DreamSkates]

My thoughts exactly. Better do 2 quad toes instead of the salchow which he has never been close to landing in competition.

Keeping up with the competition? Hanyu, Chen, etc.

 

[Sylvia]

^^^ That's an old post you quoted from last season -- in November Kolyada opened his Rostelecom Cup GP free skate by landing a ++ 4S (9.70 BV, received 12.61 points) and 4T+3T (13.70 BV, 16.69 points) before running into jump problems.

 

[barbarafan]

So Kolyada is dealing with physical-related issues. Thanks for pointing that out. I hope things improve for him, including his confidence level.

It's difficult to know and factor in such issues because athletes generally don't like to rely on excuses, and tend to keep physical problems on the down-low.

kinda hard when you are in hospital after surgery and leave there to go to airport to leave for nationals

 

[Sylvia]

2018-19 has been an illness-plagued season for Kolyada - 5th at Europeans, 6th at Worlds and now his withdrawal from World Team Trophy. Here's his message in Russian/English/Japanese to his fans, plus 7 photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvyfl62FIkJ/

Cross-posting @Eislauffan from the WTT thread today:

Mikhail's sinusitis problems started at the beginning of the season, after he returned from the training camp with Rafael Arutunian in California, IIRC. So also after a transcontinental flight. He was treated for it with antibiotics, but started his season as planned with the test skates and Challenger events. However, he apparently never was really healthy, because he struggled with stamina in the Grand Prix and overall seemed not at his best. Just before Nationals in December the sinusitis hit him badly, he was hospitalized, but left the hospital after about three days to travel to Saransk for Nationals. He felt terrible but competed successfully. After Nationals he took a break to recover and was declared healthy (according to him). But apparently the illness came back now and even worse than before - now it was a two-sided sinusitis (before it was one sided). :-( At least there is no rush to get ready for a competition now and hopefully he can fully recover. He is feeling better already. Looking at these ongoing health problems all season I think it is still remarkable what he was able to do.

 

[Sylvia]

Kolyada Returns Healthy & Refreshed – International Figure Skating

After sitting out the entire 2019-2020 season, Mikhail Kolyada returned to training on Jan. 8, feeling happy, healthy and refreshed.

www.ifsmagazine.com

He officially has switched from his longtime coach Valentina Chebotareva to Alexei Mishin:

Глава ФФККР Горшков: не возражаем против перехода Коляды к Мишину

Глава Федерации фигурного катания на коньках России (ФФККР) Александр Горшков сказал РИА Новости, что ФФККР получила документы на переход фигуриста Михаила... РИА Новости Спорт, 27.06.2020

rsport.ria.ru

 

[Sylvia]

New article by Tatjana Flade (Sept. 10, 2020) ahead of the senior test skates this weekend:

Fresh start for Russia's Kolyada after coaching change

Last season, Russia's Mikhail Kolyada was absent from the figure skating scene as he had reoccurring sinusitis which eventually required surgery last

www.goldenskate.com

Excerpt re. his new programs:

At first, the team was thinking of keeping last year’s jazzy short program, but then decided to change both. The short is set to Jennifer Lopez’s song “Let’s Get Loud” interpreted by “The Baseballs” and the skater himself suggested it.
“I wanted to use that in one of the past seasons, but the coaches then said ‘no,'” recalled the skater. “When we were looking for music this time, my beloved wife reminded me of it.”
He took the music to the rink, and while Mishin first had to think about it, choreographer Tatiana Prokofieva agreed right away and said that this was a perfect choice.

The search for the music of the long program was much more difficult. Coaches and student were listening to a lot of different pieces. Eventually Mishin suggested the music from the soundtrack of the movie The White Crow which is based on a famous Russian ballet dancer, Rudolf Nureyev, who defected from the Soviet Union to France in 1961.
“My first impression was surprise and I said, ‘I don’t know,'” Kolyada recalled. “Then when working with (choreographer) Ilia Averbukh, we tapped into some things and I am starting to feel this music. I think the program will work out well. It is completely different from what I have skated to before and it can have some wow effect. When people who have been following me for a long time, see it, they will say ‘this is a different Misha.'”

Jackie Wong tweeted this clip earlier in the week: https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1303323103871864839

Found this gem from 2017 Worlds practice while I was scrolling through my photos. Mikhail Kolyada’s ridiculous 4Lz

Couldn’t post this at the time but thought this would be a nice treat for you all

 

[Sylvia]

He's back!

SP test skate earlier today:

Михаил Коляда. Короткая программа. Мужчины. Предсезонные контрольные прокаты по фигурному катанию

Призер Олимпийских игр, чемпионатов мира и Европы Михаил Коляда представил свою новую короткую программу. Спортсмен катался под кавер-версию песни "Let's Get...

www.youtube.com

This version has Ted Barton's commentary:

[R Test Skates 2020] Mikhail Kolyada SP

www.youtube.com

 

[Sylvia]

Kolyada's mesmerizing FS earlier today to "Nureyev" (from the film soundtrack of The White Crow), choreographed by Ilia Averbukh (version with Barton's awestruck comments afterwards ):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_K_x0dJGbs&t=1h24m30s

 

[briancoogaert]

He was fantastic at russian test skates. What a beautiful glide, what a presence !

 

[Sylvia]

IFS interview by @Eislauffan, published today (Nov. 9, 2020):

Season Opens on High Note for Kolyada – International Figure Skating

Mikhail Kolyada kicked off the new season with victories at Stage III of the Russian Cup in Sochi and Ice Star in Minsk, Belarus a week later.

www.ifsmagazine.com

Considered by many to be one of the most talented skaters of the current era, a rejuvenated Mikhail Kolyada opened this season by scoring two victories in late October.

Having missed the entire 2019-2020 campaign as he dealt with a sinusitis issue that eventually required surgery, the 25-year-old was happy to return to training in January 2020. Two months later, the C0VID-19 p*ndemic struck and the rinks in Russia were ordered closed. In June, Kolyada switched coaches, moving to train with Alexei Mishin. He laid down impressive performances at the Russian test skates in September, and a month later went on to win his first two competitions: Stage III of the Russian Cup in Sochi and Ice Star in Minsk, Belarus a week later.

ETA:

in Russian at figureskating-online.com (has different photos)

Next up: Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, Nov. 20-22, 2020.

 

[Sylvia]

He wasn't "perfect" in Moscow (3rd in SP, 1st in FS) but, still, GOLD at Rostelecom Cup! (only his second GP win... first time was 2017 Cup of China)

Kolyada also skated an absolutely beautiful EX program to Charles Aznavour

МИХАИЛ КОЛЯДА в Гала на Гран- при России 22.11.2020г.

Видео создано в ПО Movavi https://www.movavi.ru/?utm_source=yad... Источник видео: 1tv.ru

youtube.com