Zhulin: Hard to Accept that Liu is Oly Champion but Valieva is Not

[Theatregirl1122]

Weird how he fails to engage with the fact that Kamilla lost to Anna. And Sasha and Kaori. Alysa’s gold was four years later. What do they even have to do with each other.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Alexander Zhulin: “It’s hard to accept that Liu is an Olympic champion, but Valieva is not.”

Alexander Zhulin stated that he cannot call Alysa Liu the strongest figure skater in the world.

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Maybe we should have two categories for gold: one with grandpa's backwash, one without!

OMG. I spat Wild Cherry Pepsi Max all over my screen reading that.

You win the internet with that remark!

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I think all of the Russian girls at Sambo70 were victims. Much like the East German swimmers.

Funny you should type that.

Back in the day I saw a fascinating documentary about the East German Sports doping program, and how many of the athletes were unaware of what was happening to them.

What I found really interesting is that years later several of them were interviewed and said their medals meant nothing because doping distorted the true value of their athletic worth. They never really knew their actual potential.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Out of interest I watched Valieva, Scherbakova and Trusova in Beijing again. It was all jump jump jump and gosh, the girls looked so disengaged and miserable like someone was pointing a gun at their heads while they skated.

Such a stark contrast to Milano where everyone looked so happy to be there and supported each other to do their best.

 

[PRlady]

Rewatched Valieva’s Beijing TE Bolero program. The choreo is so repetitive and angular, there’s no grace at all. But most important is how upset she is as soon as the music stops for falling on one jump, despite successfully landing quads and a 3A. The look on her face is just awful. Don’t miss this a bit.

 

[Cachoo]

Rewatched Valieva’s Beijing TE Bolero program. The choreo is so repetitive and angular, there’s no grace at all. But most important is how upset she is as soon as the music stops for falling on one jump, despite successfully landing quads and a 3A. The look on her face is just awful. Don’t miss this a bit.

Yes, I have been reading comments on social media attatched to Alysa's skating. Of course some are Americans who are over the moon at being on the Olympic podium again and some are comments about the good vibes of the whole competition and the camaradarie of the women. I think the third group is the most interesting. These are people who are not that familiar with skating but who felt compelled to comment on how her evident joy affected them. A second smaller group were people who knew her story from "60 Minutes" and loved her approach to competition. She's something new I think. I do wonder what the Russians think of her approach.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I assume they think she is a one-of-a-kind, and that the rest of the Women in the world are under the same stresses that their athletes are. And that she will be wiped from the podium the first year they are allowed three back.

 

[Perky Shae Lynn]

I enjoyed Anna's skate. No need to put her down to make a point. Valieva is also a lovely skater, and yes she did look like she was about to die from pressure.

 

[Cachoo]

I wish we had some of Alysa's Olympic programs without commentary. I did find this one from Nationals. And then I found Anna's Olympic short......I honestly prefer Alysa's program but I can understand the next person liking Anna. Of course I'm sure Zhulin is talking about the quads.

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[Icetalavista]

OMG. I spat Wild Cherry Pepsi Max all over my screen reading that.

You win the internet with that remark!

And Averbukh said StepBuk could have won silver. Okay, Ilia.

 

[PRlady]

I wish we had some of Alysa's Olympic programs without commentary. I did find this one from Nationals. And then I found Anna's Olympic short......I honestly prefer Alysa's program but I can understand the next person liking Anna. Of course I'm sure Zhulin is talking about the quads.

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I compared Anna’s SP to Isabeau’s. The girls are similar in physical type and both skate lightly. But Isabeau looks healthy (and slender) and Anna looks emaciated. Isabeau skates the music with a persona all her own, Anna is saddled with the same kicks and dramatic arms all the Eteri girls had. I can’t help but wonder what Anna could have done with some individuality and her own style…

Here’s Isabeau, watch her with Anna back to back:

Isabeau Levito in eighth after SPECIAL debut in women's short | Winter Olympics 2026 | NBC Sports

Isabeau Levito made her Olympic debut skating to 'Almost In Your Arms' and 'Zou Bisou Bisou' in her Sophia Loren-inspired short program. Levito finished the ...

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