It’s always been follow the leader. Russia is the power now, so you need big jumps to win big competitions currentlyToo simplistic and makes no sense. What are you talking about? The U.S. ladies are strong and have depth. There is no gymnastic analogy. In figure skating, politics has a great deal to do with judging placements. Plus, Rusfed politics and the rise of Eteri's teenybopper phenoms has overtaken the discipline and the sport.
The landscape has changed. The U.S. was spoiled during the Michelle Kwan era. U.S. fed has always been behind-the-times and have always lacked political savvy. Forget about long term, strategic thinking to benefit their athletes. It is what it is. But it's not as woeful as fans on every forum love to lament. I always point out that U.S. ladies still hold the record for most Worlds and Olympics medals. It will take Russia, Japan, and South Korea many more years to catch up to that record. At this rate, Russia might get there first, but they have a long way to go. And trends and politics can change.
I'm more concerned about the welfare and well-being of athletes and of the sport than about yahooing for teenybopper quads and 3-axels. When Eteri began making waves on the scene with Lipnitskaya et al., the key to her success was planned strategy and the packaging methodology that she learned during her time in the U.S. She gave Lipnitskaya something that camouflaged her weaknesses and brought a tear to audiences eyes. Medvedeva always had poor technique, but blazing determination, quick rotations and consistency. Med benefited from Gracie Gold's meltdown at 2016 Worlds. It is what it is.
Kaitlyn Osmond was the best all-around skater among the ladies at the 2018 Olympics, but due to the over-hype and Rusfed politics and competitive strengths of Zagitova and Medvedeva, it was apparently in the bag that the competition for gold was only between those two Russian ladies. But look who won Worlds that year. The following year Zagitova had grown, Medvedeva had fled to Orser for redemption. No more bells and whistles for Zagitova to hide her tech weaknesses. Her crossovers were ugly, but she's beautiful and her competitive mindset along with justification by the judges for her Olympic gold, helped Zagitova to win 2019 Worlds. Where is Zag now?
I will say that the current crop of Eteri phenoms don't require the bells and whistles quite as much, and a few of them learned better technique prior to being coached by Eteri so that helps. To each their own. I'm just not that into watching skinny, desperate teenyboppers with Olympic rings in their eyes being overpraised and over-rewarded for quad and 3-axel smackdowns.
I want to see complete expressive skating with technical excellence and depth by mature young ladies who aren't daunted by being disrespected and having a nearly impossible mountain to climb, often domestically and internationally.
Thank you Bradie Tennell!!! Thank you Amber Glenn!!! Thank you Karen Chen!!!
Keep your head held high, Mariah Bell!!! Kudos Alysa Liu for your competitive grit!!!
Down the road, the criteria to win may change. But the jumps have been what’s been marketed.
And when the US was the power, let’s not pretend they weren’t selling or marketing their skaters and their skill set. And everyone else was crying about us dominance. It’s always been like that.
I like where figure skating is going. It’s an exciting time to be a fan. The jumps and speed of the sport is phenomenal. The Russian ladies have been absolutely fantastic for figure skating, and my hope is that a few more counties pour money to replicate their success. We need more Russiaot less.
Either the US gets some jumpers quickly, or starts finding other ways to start wining.
And it’s all subjective anyway. You can still enjoy “expressive skating” even if it doesn’t medal in the current climate.
Personally, I’ll take the quads and the medal though.
The USA also has the most Davis Cups in tennis history, but nobody is saying that they are the best tennis nation currently.
The US ladies’ figure skating glory seems to be black and white footage though. Seems like 2 generations ago.
That being said, one of the feel good stories of this season has been Amber Glenn! How can you root against her? And no bit of marketing can produce that!