You Go...GOGO - Stephen Gogolev Fan Thread

Here's to two fab skates for the JGPF. Now he can keep are formerly lone qualifying Canadians L/L company!
 
screech said:
Not only did he win, but he won by 15 points!

When's the last time a GPF alternate won the event? I know Emanuel Sandhu did in 2003, but I don't know who else has done that.

Chuckled at his interview after the win.
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And to think I saw him live about a week ago!
 
screech said:
Not only did he win, but he won by 15 points!

When's the last time a GPF alternate won the event? I know Emanuel Sandhu did in 2003, but I don't know who else has done that.

Chuckled at his interview after the win.
Click to expand...
Can you post the link to the interview. Missed it.
 
Canadian figure skater Stephen Gogolev claims men's gold at Junior Grand Prix Final

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/...gure-skating-final-vancouver-friday-1.4937833

13-year-old from Toronto put down huge free skate to propel into 1st place

Gogolev sat in second place with 78.82 points after Thursday's short program, but put on a stunning performance in Friday's free program. His score of 154.76 easily propelled him to first.
 
While I'm primarily a Yuzu fan I've become very interested in Stephen, as I see him as the next Yuzuru Hanyu. When Stephen won the Junior Grand Prix final he set a record as the youngest ever to win the JGPF. The former record holder - Yuzuru Hanyu. Add to that the fact that they train on the same ice under the same team of coaches (with Lee Barkell being Stephen's primary coach now). This week is shaping up to be possibly one of the most important in Stephen's skating career, where he takes on the senior men in seeking the Canadian national title. It's intriguing that in the skating order in the short program Stephen is in the final group of six, meaning that he's being viewed as a contender for a medal position. Since Stephen's skating skills have improved markedly since last year's senior men's event (where Stephen came in tenth) I think it very possible he can medal here. If by some chance Stephen takes the gold he'll go into the Junior Worlds as the heavy favorite. All in all these next couple months have the potential to put Stephen on the international map and should Stephen take gold at junior worlds he would become one of the early favorites for Beijing in 2022.
 
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micaelis said:
While I'm primarily a Yuzu fan I've become very interested in Stephen, as I see him as the next Yuzuru Hanyu. When Stephen won the Junior Grand Prix final he set a record as the youngest ever to win the JGPF. The former record holder - Yuzuru Hanyu. Add to that the fact that they train on the same ice under the same team of coaches (with Lee Barkell being Stephen's primary coach now). This week is shaping up to be possibly one of the most important in Stephen's skating career, where he takes on the senior men in seeking the Canadian national title. It's intriguing that in the skating order in the short program Stephen is in the final group of six, meaning that he's being viewed as a contender for a medal position. Since Stephen's skating skills have improved markedly since last year's senior men's event (where Stephen came in tenth) I think it very possible he can medal here. If by some chance Stephen takes the gold he'll go into the Junior Worlds as the heavy favorite. All in all these next couple months have the potential to put Stephen on the international map and should Stephen take gold at junior worlds he would become one of the early favorites for Beijing in 2022.
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big line of ifs. I hope he has had a productive month with no growing issues. Fingers crossed..Who ever is still junior eligible should go to Junior Worlds in order of nationals and GP season. If it is Stephen then I hope his growing holds off until he competes and that people do not pressure him.
 
The issue of growth spurts is one that has been addressed by his coaching team, learning particularly from the experience with Nam Nguyen. The operative plan right now is at the first hint of pain there is no jumping for a couple of weeks. When growth spurts do occur intensive training is set aside until things once more stabilize. At 14 years of age Stephen is assured of much more growth in the near-future (next 3-4 years) but exactly how things play out is something that varies from individual to individual. We have to remember that Yuzuru Hanyu continued to skate competitively through his growing years and there seems to have been little trouble that he encountered during those years, at least none that is acknowledged publicly. If Stephen's adolescent growth involves a gradual progression rather than a number of intensive spurts things might go well for Stephen.

As far as my speculations go as to Stephen's performance in the remainder of this season I have to admit that there are a lot of 'ifs' involved. What I was looking at was a best-case scenario for him. This weekend will tell the tale for Canadian nationals. If he medals, which is a possibility almost verging on a probability, he will definitely start being watched in the world outside Canada. Any kind of medal will automatically put him into that small pool of medal hopefuls for the junior worlds. A gold at worlds means he would then probably be seen as leading the pack of 'up-and-coming' young skaters. Already there are signs of that taking place and I'm finding some intriguing parallels between Stephen and Yuzu at the same time in their careers, although the comparison should not be taken too far. I do have to say that Stephen does not have nearly as much charisma as Yuzu does, but very few skaters, and even very few people in general, have that. But that's another topic and I'll leave it at that. If Stephen starts to become a phenomenon like Yuzu he'll at least have access to expert advice on how to handle superstardom.

All in all, though, much will be resolved this Friday and Saturday. I'm hoping that Stephen can handle the pressure and will acquit himself well. It's all boiling down to those six minutes on the ice where he has to make his case to the judges.
 
micaelis said:
The issue of growth spurts is one that has been addressed by his coaching team, learning particularly from the experience with Nam Nguyen. The operative plan right now is at the first hint of pain there is no jumping for a couple of weeks. When growth spurts do occur intensive training is set aside until things once more stabilize. At 14 years of age Stephen is assured of much more growth in the near-future (next 3-4 years) but exactly how things play out is something that varies from individual to individual. We have to remember that Yuzuru Hanyu continued to skate competitively through his growing years and there seems to have been little trouble that he encountered during those years, at least none that is acknowledged publicly. If Stephen's adolescent growth involves a gradual progression rather than a number of intensive spurts things might go well for Stephen.

As far as my speculations go as to Stephen's performance in the remainder of this season I have to admit that there are a lot of 'ifs' involved. What I was looking at was a best-case scenario for him. This weekend will tell the tale for Canadian nationals. If he medals, which is a possibility almost verging on a probability, he will definitely start being watched in the world outside Canada. Any kind of medal will automatically put him into that small pool of medal hopefuls for the junior worlds. A gold at worlds means he would then probably be seen as leading the pack of 'up-and-coming' young skaters. Already there are signs of that taking place and I'm finding some intriguing parallels between Stephen and Yuzu at the same time in their careers, although the comparison should not be taken too far. I do have to say that Stephen does not have nearly as much charisma as Yuzu does, but very few skaters, and even very few people in general, have that. But that's another topic and I'll leave it at that. If Stephen starts to become a phenomenon like Yuzu he'll at least have access to expert advice on how to handle superstardom.

All in all, though, much will be resolved this Friday and Saturday. I'm hoping that Stephen can handle the pressure and will acquit himself well. It's all boiling down to those six minutes on the ice where he has to make his case to the judges.
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I'm pretty sure winning the JGPF (easily) already put him into the pool as a medal hopeful for JW.
 
I agree there, but a medal at the Canadian senior competition, even if not a gold, would make Stephen the favorite for gold at junior worlds and not just any of the three medals
 
micaelis said:
I agree there, but a medal at the Canadian senior competition, even if not a gold, would make Stephen the favorite for gold at junior worlds and not just any of the three medals
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I’m failing to see the connection between a medal at a Canadian senior competition, of which only one other competitor will possibly be at junior worlds, and a medal at junior worlds. Frankly, the field at junior worlds could be tougher than the senior men’s field at Canadians.

But hey, at least you had a post that wasn’t comparing Stephen to “Yuzu”
 
I think it's more along the lines of how skaters want to enter Worlds/O's as the best in their country (reputation!). If Stephen is proven to be the best/one of the best in Canada, it may help his reputation going into Jr Worlds. Yes, he's definitely made a name for himself thus far this year, but he's only done 3 competitions, so having another good result at a 'major' event could help him in that respect.
 
Congratulations to Stephen on his silver. For me this was the perfect placement - it shows he's being taken seriously, but he has things he has to work on. (His jumping prowess helped enormously in being taken seriously, of course).

What impressed me the most was his ability to handle the stress of skating last. He seems to be developing good habits for focussing well during competition.

He has improved greatly over the last season in his overall skating. It's been a very enjoyable journey to watch that improvement.
 
Well, the competition is done and while Stephen did not take the gold he did take the silver. That is most impressive. Worlds are next and Stephen's main task before then is to polish his junior level program. In Canada the word about him is out and has been for a while. This win, though, puts him squarely on the international map as one who should be watched. Stephen will definitely be one of those being closely watched when he arrives in Zagreb for Junior Worlds. If he's got his growth spurts under control he'll be one of the contenders in Beijing (barring no disaster between now and then, and as a Yuzu fan I know all about disasters). In Canada, though, with his achievement this weekend Stephen cements his position as the brightest of the bright hopes for the future in the men's ranks.
 
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