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- Nov 22, 2015
2018-19 Russian Ladies' figure skating
- Thread starter Spirals for Miles
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2017
This is not the impact of the injury but of the 3 months off from jumping and difficult skating she had to take in order for her body to recover, mixed together with a completely different training approach. It's way too early to say what she's going to look like even just at the end of this season.
I do think her programs, her FS in particular, need a lot more complexity, but it is my understanding that this complexity will be gradually added as she gains form and fully recovers. No point in pushing it at a CS in my opinion.
TBH, I like better her programs now. Of course they need more work and she has to get used to and feel them better, but I like that she got rid off that artiffcial vibe that Eteri's program always had... and of course the overcrowded programs where the public didn't have time to enjoy the performance and the music.
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2018
Her poor lutz is exactly in it's usual place - under the board at he judge's side. All three of them. As for growing... she sure changed. I've never ever seen Zhenya to be like that and I mean it in a worst way. Yesterday's skate was just depressing to watch.
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2017
lol. All TWO of them are in the exact middle of the short side of the rink, perfectly visible. You obviously watched attentively.
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- Apr 26, 2018
I actually like both Zhenya‘s. Old and new. I think it‘s not bad that she‘s trying a new style now. I mean, okay, fans might get upset because she‘s not the same as before but really, that‘s not her problem. She is her own person and she‘s perfectly allowed to make her own choices and try new things. She‘s 18 now, sometimes in life you inevitably make changes, experience something new. Well, that‘s what she‘s doing right now. And I‘m glad for her.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2014
As Madonna sang, "you only see, what your eyes want to see". I see no declarations of Zhenya's career end at all. For one thing, Leonova's career is still on. But do we want that Zhenya goes that direction? I don't.
After watching Autumn Classic I am sure that programs that she has this season are the wrong vehicle for her. Well, they tried to cross out "Eteri's heritage". One can understand that. But what is the counter offer? Her SP does not suit her at all. She is in Ashley Wagner's territory and she loses to Ashley just miserably. Hef FS fits better. But it is too generic. Bradie was better - it is so hard for me to admit that.
They need serious discussion about the next steps. 204 for Medvedeva is nonsense. And I cannot take excuses seriously. Once again, look at her Olympic performances fresh after the injury.
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- Jan 29, 2015
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I checked the results this morning and of course I am disappointed that Zhenya didn't win, but second place is not bad and I really like the direction she's taking with her programs. And I mean really, if she finishes second or third or even off the podium in some competitions, it's not the end of the world. Skaters are allowed to have ups and downs after all. I believe she will still be competitive for a long time. 
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2018
You think her FS suits her better than the SP? That‘s a bit surprising because most people seem to think otherwise. I actually loved her SP performance at test skates because she had exactly the vibes needed for a program like this. But here she was more nervous. And even if the programs really don‘t suit her... it‘s just this season, right? So what? This is an experimental period right now, if not now, after the Olympics to try something new and maybe risk she‘s not winning everything then when?
And at the Olympics she might have been injured but she was also training like crazy. She hasn‘t jumped for months after the Olympics, that‘s a bit different to adjust to again. Meagan Duhamel said she could barely skate at the shows in Japan and why would she lie... she gains nothing from it, so that must be the truth. So, it‘s really a bit different.
I feel bad for evgenia beaten by bradie,and i know zhenya cant win it all but i just feel sad she got 2nd again,anyone knows who jinx herjk.
I think she would have still won, if not the spin, even with a fall... so, yeah it's a shame for that spin.
And Bradie is very consistent. she was last season and she's this season too, maybe even a medal contender at Worlds this season.
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2018
The way it looks now, unless politics gets in the way, I would be surprised if there were not at least two juniors on the podium. My bet is on Trusova for Gold, either Alina or Evgenia for silver (haven't seen Alina actually compete yet so won't lock it in), and Kostornaia for bronze again. I would actually put money on it if there was an option to. Politically I don't think they will put three juniors on the podium unless they are ready to completely write off Alina and Zhenya for next season. Unless both completely bomb out I can't see them not putting one up there. Like last year, Kostornaia in all honesty probably should have won silver but they couldn't give it to her because they really needed her in bronze to act as a political buffer so the third Olympic spot could go to Zhenya without contention. It's a shame it has got to be that way but at the end of the day they are a still a business and they've got to do what they've got to do in order to protect their brand.
Can we get a little realistic though? Yes this is a lovely journey for her, i'm sure she's learning so many new things but... we are still talking about the competitions, the season.
She is leaving Autumn Classics with two new concerning issues:
- she has been beaten by a non-russian skater who was not considered a top contender by anyone before (and good for Bradie, she looked really solid, but you can see it wasn't an Olympic Champion performance when you look at the poor skating skills and the almost complete lack of transitions, and i'd argue the questionable composition)
- PCS have been dropped big time, last time she received components under the 70s was at Rostelecom Cup back in 2015.
- She is already behind, her SB is lower than what Tuktamysheva got at Lombardia. (and yes different judging, different field,... but despite that with Eteri this never happened)
Ok, we can ignore all of this and pretending this is not important because it's just a senior B event, but you can't ignore that she will have to face some of these girls at GP and most importantly Russian Nationals, because if you are behind:
- Alina Zagitova
- Alexandra Trusova
- Anna Shcherbakova / Alena Kostornaya
- one of those skaters pushed by the judges (Sotskova or Konstantinova)
- some other potential surprise (Tuktamysheva?)
You're no assigned for Euro and Worlds and that's it.
I was a big fan of her at the Olympics, i wished she won there, and i supported this big change but right now i can't understand what's their plan to stay successful.
Anyway the curse of former Eteri skaters doing worse elsewhere is continuing.
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2017
I somewhat agree. I am not sure if suits her or not is relevant to me, because I think they were given to her at the wrong stage of her development. She has never really gone for these types of programs before, they were developing an ingenue-like character for her before this as dante pointed out, so if they really wanted to take this direction, they should have done so after trying to bridge the gap between the ingenue and the femme fatale this season.
The SP features her being very immature with the movement currently -- and not in a playful, fun way either. Her LP is very poorly choreographed. I did initially think she might pull off the tango better, she could have pulled from her character in that LP she had last season, but it isn't so yet, and it doesn't matter with just how bad the choreography looks currently. Maybe it will improve. Orser is known to make his pupils focus on the technical aspects for their first season with him, so the unimpressive programs aren't surprising to me.
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- Oct 16, 2017
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No, Averbukh only spoke about the difficult season, it was TAT who claimed that Zhenya has improved greatly.
Personally, I find the first part of Bradie's FS to Prokofiev kinda similar to Kanysheva's free program to Tchaikovsky - the music, mood and even the skaters themselves share some similarities.
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2018
I feel bad for evgenia beaten by bradie,and i know zhenya cant win it all but i just feel sad she got 2nd again,anyone knows who jinx her
Poor Bradie gets a poor wrap solely because she wasn't ready for what life threw at her last season. She's a good skater and she (and maybe Kailani Craine) was the only skater there who I felt arrived at the competition actually ready to start her season and as such she deserved to win it.
As for Zhenya, I don't mind her coming second. It gives her something to work for and I feel like that is what she really needs. I feel for a while there she was becoming a bit complacent and almost expected to win. I don't for a second blame her for that; I think anybody who had gone their entire senior career (and most of their junior) without getting not even beaten but even close to being beaten would get like that. She reached a hill now and she has to work over it, and she will either sink or swim, but I for one know I want to see her make it and come out a better, more mature skater and woman. I think she will be better for it and look back on this time of struggle as the real achievement of her career.
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- Apr 26, 2018
So, I watched the skate again and I‘m like... that wasn‘t even bad. 
I think we‘ve all just become so used to her not making mistakes that we‘re all going gaga when we see this. She had one step out and a fall. The spin was a result of that fall of the 3Lo because she had to play catch up and had she held the positions in the spin longer she wouldn‘t have finished on the music. I mean, there‘s tons of work to do but for a first outing after such a change that was actually not bad at all.
I think we‘ve all just become so used to her not making mistakes that we‘re all going gaga when we see this. She had one step out and a fall. The spin was a result of that fall of the 3Lo because she had to play catch up and had she held the positions in the spin longer she wouldn‘t have finished on the music. I mean, there‘s tons of work to do but for a first outing after such a change that was actually not bad at all.
