2017 Worlds Preview: Pairs | Page 4 | Golden Skate

2017 Worlds Preview: Pairs

Who will earn the title?

  • Wenjing Sui and Cong Han

    Votes: 169 59.3%
  • Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov

    Votes: 3 1.1%
  • Vanessa James and Morgan Ciprès

    Votes: 9 3.2%
  • Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford

    Votes: 39 13.7%
  • Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot

    Votes: 35 12.3%
  • Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov

    Votes: 26 9.1%
  • Other

    Votes: 4 1.4%

  • Total voters
    285
  • Poll closed .

NoNameFace

GS given name - Beatrice
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
Wait until James/Cipres start winning events... I anticipate the haters will (similar to Meagan) go after her for having a strong, muscular, athletic body - and not the 'typical' pairs girl physique.

Like D/R's World bronzes, it's all good to have a technically superior team on the podium, as long as it's not the top spot... then came D/R's World golds and people's faves start losing, hence the vitriol. Or, even more than their faves losing, haters complain when a team that doesn't fit THEIR idea of what a winning pairs team should be starts winning or even dominating the discipline as D/R did 2014-2016.

if ppl will come after Vanessa - one of the most fit, charismatic, enjoyable and beautiful/seductive women in Pairs world - I'll open my can of worms and go after that ppl, I mean - some ppl should plain learn/accept or understand (selecting one or all 3) that some teams won because they were the best under all circumstances present at time, inluding foremost others' performances. Another thing to accept/understand is that your favourites are also humans, prone to mistakes and allowed to have an off day and no amount of hate/critic because of winning or bashing directed to other team who won won't change that, ever (maybe will make that ppl feel better, but then it speaks for itself...).

I think that all top teams are fully conscious about how competitive the field currently is and everybody is fully aware that they have to push themselves at their very best to success. But then - their definition of success may not match our personally projected definition of such, for example my take on Vanessa/Morgan story this season is one big success again all odds, Meagan and Eric's slow, methodical rise to the very top through their hard work and constantly proving their worth (often unnecessary) - another big victory in my book; Aliona being back into competition, being able to still develop herself and inspiring Bruno to grow, to produce stuff like FS at Europeans - gold in my book (even if they got silver); Evgenia and Vladimir defying that 'skilled but medicore/no spark team' label this season, getting recognition and more confidence as visible - huge success and great perspective for the future victories. And there is many more examples...Just wish some people would be more considerate over the fact that this amont of hate, unjustified, totally personally-influenced critic towards particular teams is just unwanted, mostly by teams themselves. And Meagan and Eric will keep on working regardless of our personal preferences.

And a similar situation is now resent in Ice Dance too, and also a Canadian team - Tessa and Scott - are under some hate fire mainly from people heavily favouring Gabriella and Guillaume, and why? Because they just returned and keep on winning by producing quality stuff, not by cheating, they just get awarded that way. And the hate ofc is directed at them, not at ppl actually judging them...
 

bobbob

Medalist
Joined
Feb 7, 2014
double standards : since the beginning, some of the flack D/R has gotten has to do with Meagan not being feminine enough and with Eric being gay. COME ON. As if he is the only gay in the village.... Other teams with "gay" partners are not receiving the same disrespect... (now it's relative who is out or not, as of course, this is 2017 and people don't "always" come out à la Rippon but just simply are open on their social media)

Are you suggesting that somebody is in the closet? There is nothing wrong with being gay but let's not speculate that other skaters are "gay". No other pair skater has publicly said that they were gay...so it is not appropriate to make such a statement about this sensitive issue. In any case it is not relevant, so no need to mention this...

So yes.... aesthetically speaking, we are used to a team looking more like T/M... but when people are complaining about D/R's music and programs, are they really liking T/M's long? (sorry Sugar) Another double standard here.
No double standard...T/M have gotten lots of complaints about their long (deservedly) this year, though IMO their skating skills as a pair are better than D/R .

And Sui/Han : they certainly appeal to the most. I like them a lot as well (like I do like the other teams, my post is simply offering a look at double standards). Their style is the epitome of great Chinese pairs skating.... however, they do have similar flaws as the other Chinese pairs... yet, people forgive them :) Same with Yu/Zhang. I understand that sentimental love both them are receiving, and they deserve it for what they have been through.... however, is that part of judging? Do you really believe that any team of the elite level has had a smooth ride to the top? Meagan and Eric have been through a lot... including being thrown under the bus by many people.... shouldn't that earn them a bit of sympathy??? Nah..... another double standard.
It really isn't a double standard for fans to support a touching story of combing back from injury...but that isn't why people are such huge fans of Sui/Han. Sui/Han are not just another Chinese team...they have a sense of refinement in their skating that transcends even Shen/Zhao or Pang/Tong, and I'm really not sure what flaws you are referring to. Sympathy for D/R? Sure, but that doesn't change people's view of their skating (or any pair's skating).


Anyways, it doesn't really matter what kinds of "double standards" we have, the only group whose opinions matter are the judges. Everyone else is free to support/talk about/critique whoever they would like. Often, this becomes a discussion in which people support the skater from their home country, which is fine. For judges, however, it is not acceptable.
 
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4everchan

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 7, 2015
Country
Martinique
Are you suggesting that somebody is in the closet? There is nothing wrong with being gay but let's not speculate that other skaters are "gay". No other pair skater has publicly said that they were gay...so it is not appropriate to make such a statement about this sensitive issue. In any case it is not relevant, so no need to mention this...


No double standard...T/M have gotten lots of complaints about their long (deservedly) this year, though IMO their skating skills as a pair are better than D/R .


It really isn't a double standard for fans to support a touching story of combing back from injury...but that isn't why people are such huge fans of Sui/Han. Sui/Han are not just another Chinese team...they have a sense of refinement in their skating that transcends even Shen/Zhao or Pang/Tong, and I'm really not sure what flaws you are referring to. Sympathy for D/R? Sure, but that doesn't change people's view of their skating (or any pair's skating).


Anyways, it doesn't really matter what kinds of "double standards" we have, the only group whose opinions matter are the judges. Everyone else is free to support/talk about/critique whoever they would like. Often, this becomes a discussion in which people support the skater from their home country, which is fine. For judges, however, it is not acceptable.

i am not suggesting that anyone is in the closet... Read again.. I am not here to out anyone either... What I am saying is that nowadays, people are not necessarily going to do a press conference coming out as they just live their lives the way they want to. Some skaters are out but haven't told the press. That's all. In my part of the world, this is no longer a sensitive issue ;) just so you know.

Well, Eric is injured... So let's see if more sympathy flows in from fans ;)
 
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jersey1302

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 10, 2016
Country
Canada
somehow the Canadians will win again with the skate of their season. Sui and Han will take silver, Seguin and Bilodeau will steal a bronze after being injured most of the year.. I dont think anyone knows what to expect with them but I do know they are very good then they are on.. I have the Germans 4th and French 5th and after less than stellar skates I have Tarasova/Morozov in 6th.
 

skatemouse

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 9, 2008
I think the quad twist is a good move for them. It's not suuuuper risky (not that it's easy either), and you can say you did a quad/above-average difficulty in your program which lends itself to greater appreciation for the overall performance. I know people say that tech should not equal PCS, but that is the reality, and IMO the top pairs teams should at least be attempting one risky element (whether a quad throw/twist, side by side jumps better than the age-old 2A/3T/3S, etc.).



I think it is a bad decision until the ISU makes the quad the same amount of points as a quad jump. The points are not worth it. Sometimes an excellent tripe is worth the same as a quad??? That is insane and beyond wrong. It is actually harder on the body too and more dangerous than a quad jump done by a single skater and its points value should show as such.
 

medvedevasocks

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 30, 2017
It is interesting to see the poll results here. Obviously the pairs short has already happened but I am extremely surprised that:

1. Sui & Han are so far ahead in the poll picks to win. I would agree they came in as the favorites, but you would think they were a Medvedeva or Virtue & Moir like favorite by the poll results. They clearly arent. They have failed to win the world title as of yet, although I hope they do later today. They blew the world title with a mistake ridden LP last year after leading after the short. And there are atleast 3 or 4 teams (2 who are now out of contention) easily capable of challenging/beating them. I would have expected them to lead this poll but not by that much, especialy since this is from before their SP victory.

2. Duhamel & Radford 2nd most votes to win. Really? Based on their season I would expect them to have less votes than Sui & Han, Tarasova & Morozov, and Savhenko & Massot and be no more than 4th on this poll. Even before Eric's injury and the short program results it seemed pretty clear they were medal contenders this year, but a win would be a huge long shot this time around, and more likely they would be bidding for a bronze this year.

3. 9 people thought James & Cipres would win gold? I hope those are all emotional votes since any serious prediction of that would make me question the sanity of said individuals.
 
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