- Joined
- Dec 4, 2014
vI think if RSF favors S/B over I/Z, they would have given them a push at Nationals to at least win over M/K. Right now, the FED seems more in the wait-and-see mode. They are going to support the couple, that has the best shot to win the OGM in 2018. The international judges seem to clearly favor I/Z over any other Russian couple, so I think they have a good shot to be #1 in the future.
Actually the Federation laid greater expectations on Sinitsina/Katzalapov for the simple reason that more physical load falls on the partner, and Ruslan was a recent junior having so much less experience than Nikita.
When it became clear that Ruslena does better, they got no less support than anybody else.
From very politically correct (vague, obscure, hazy) statements of the officials, I have a feeling that Ruslena are supported as Number 1 team. The Federation also hopes that Bobrova-Soloviev will come back. Sinitsina-Kazalapov may do much better next year. THey are still preference number three.
Of course, Stepanova-Bukin have all the administrative resource behind them (from Ivan's famous father Andrey to his former coach Tatiana Tarasova), but the lady-partner is so inferior to all the others, including Xenia Monko, that the fed's money is not bet on this team. They are provided with everything necessary for their progress, but nobody would pull them by hair to the medals.