- Joined
- Mar 29, 2014
Polina was a striking presence on the Metro Areena ice last Friday: tall, almost statuesque for a figure skater, her unitard emphasizing the long arms and legs that lend such beautiful lines and extensions to her skating. There were no miracles that day, only a demonstration of the hard work that had brought her much closer to where she wants to be than where she was when she began her comeback. The jumps were shaky, even ones she had performed in summer competitions, but consistency is always the last quality to be regained after a layoff. The skating skills were there, however, and her PCS was solid, the fifth best for the short program. It could have been even higher, if it’s true that TES tends to elevate or depress PCS. As disappointing as her combined score was, it was shadowed by great expectations. Consistency in her jumps--simply doing them as well as she had at other times--would have placed her among the leaders, because the program, with its severe elegance and pulsating music, is just that good. The long program is even better, light and flowing and very romantic. Perhaps her execution of it today will be better, too, or maybe not. The trajectory of her come-back is different from the approach Ashley and Mirai, Mariah and Karen, or Bradie and the others are taking, but all of them have San Jose in 2018 as a target and after that, the Olympics. It’s never too soon for speculation but writing any skater off in October is misjudged. Even Gracie Gold might emerge from her silence in spectacular fashion. As a fan of Polina and the way she brings the dance to figure skating, I’ll want her to do well, but as an interested observer of the sport, I see the season developing in a most intriguing way.
, and I haven't even watched the performance yet 
.
