2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

SkatingFan9 said:

I don’t agree with this. I’ll give you the 4S, but 4T? 10.45 (with a 10% bonus) + 3 GOE would have given her about 13.5 points for a clean 4T. She only got credited with 3.56 points on her underrotated 4T once you factor the negative GOE plus the mandatory one point deduction for the fall. That’s a 10 point difference.

Sasha lost around 21 points for those two mistakes - definitely enough to win the gold, even if we are to ignore PCS, which would have surely increased by a lot with a clean skate.

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OK. then you have to do the same math for Anna

She got 4.50 for her 4F (incl the minus 1 for fall). With a +3 GOE she would get 14,3 so that's +9,8
And with the 4,2 she lost on the 4Lz that would be total +14 points.

Still not enough...but it's getting close

We can both agree though that Sasha lost it in the short program because Anna had a 7 point lead there. So if only that 3A....

Mishaminion said:

She HASN'T managed to do one you mean? I'm not sure Alina would have been able to stay ahead, her SB from JO was 151 skating clean. Sasha had ten points more than that in the FS.

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Alina had 154 at JO. 151 was her result at NHK.

Jontor said:

OK. then you have to do the same math for Anna

She got 4.50 for her 4F (incl the minus 1 for fall). With a +3 GOE she would get 14,3 so that's +9,8
And with the 4,2 she lost on the 4Lz that would be total +14 points.

Still not enough...but it's getting close

We can both agree though that Sasha lost it in the short program because Anna had a 7 point lead there. So if only that 3A....

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It would’ve been really close, but only if Sasha’s PCS would’ve remained the same with a clean skate, which we know it wouldn’t have. She likely would’ve seen a 3-4 point increase in the FS alone.

Falling on the 3A in the SP was unfortunate and gave her a smaller margin for error, but that is definitely not why she didn’t win gold.

SkatingFan9 said:

It would’ve been really close, but only if Sasha’s PCS would’ve remained the same with a clean skate, which we know it wouldn’t have. She likely would’ve seen a 3-4 point increase in the FS alone.

Falling on the 3A in the SP was unfortunate and gave her a smaller margin for error, but that is definitely not why she didn’t win gold.

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Which brings me to my original point. I think Sasha is focusing too much on her quads and forgets the rest.

I've checked (both SP and LP)
Anna beats her in spins and steps with 4 points
and Anna beats her on PCS with 5 points

That is 9 points right there where Anna is getting ahead.
So you can roughly say that Sasha can make one more quad than Anna, but it might not be enough because of the other elements.

I was just able to watch the girls skate and wow the 3A were amazing!! They are really revolutionizing ladies skating and I love them all for that!!

Alena- Our little angel was so strong today. Like others already said, skating after Anna and Sasha must be so difficult and she handed the pressure superbly!! That second triple axel was a beauty. Her jumps look so effortless. I love how she doesn’t let her practices effect her programs in competitions. At all of her events, her practices haven’t been that good yet she has been able to skate well despite that. I hope that she gets to travel and have fun these next couple of days!!

Anna- The opening lutz-toe combination was so good. The flip was also a very good attempt and I think that she will land it at Rus Nats. The costume change is still the highlight of the program for me and judging by Anna’s smile it is her favorite part of the program too lol. I also love that she has improved her performance quality of her short program. It is such a good program for her with beautiful music and the judges are finally understanding that. Good job Anna!!

Sasha- She is quite the fighter. Normally when the men pop a quad they lose confidence and the performance begins to fall apart, however Sasha was able to come back and land a beautiful lutz along with a quad toe combo. That was an uncharacteristic fall on the second quad toe, but once again she didn’t let it phase her or make her sad. I love seeing her in the kiss and cry because she is so smiley and happy. She is like two different people when she is on the ice versus off the ice. By that I mean that she she fierce and determined on ice and smiley and friendly off ice. Good job Sasha!!

Alina- That was a tough skate for her. At least she was able to do an amazing short program. I hope that she isn’t too hard on herself and realizes that her fans still love her and will always support her. It must be so hard to train with the 3A. I don’t think that Alina plans to retire or she would have done it after worlds last season. She clearly loves this sport and I think that she might be getting in her head too much when she is competing. Then again, I am just going off of my opinion so don’t attack me for it.

I don’t know how Eteri is able to do it. I am sure there is drama that goes on behind the scenes, but in public the girls all seem to get along very well. Eteri also is overall very good at getting her girls in the right mindset to skate and I applaud her for that. Is Ted doing another interview with her?

Jontor said:

Which brings me to my original point. I think Sasha is focusing too much on her quads and forgets the rest.

I've checked (both SP and LP)
Anna beats her in spins and steps with 4 points
and Anna beats her on PCS with 5 points

That is 9 points right there where Anna is getting ahead.
So you can roughly say that Sasha can make one more quad than Anna, but it might not be enough because of the other elements.

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Anna received her highest PCS ever as a senior, while Sasha received her lowest PCS ever as a senior (or close to it; haven’t checked). Would you say that’s going to be the norm moving forward? And honestly, we all know that Trusova isn’t a PCS skater. Her bread and butter is her unprecedented, unbeatable technical ability.

Yes, she still needs to perform her difficult content if she wants to win. But so does Anna. And Alena. If they make mistakes on their most difficult jumps, it will hurt them more because Trusova has the highest margin for error by far. You saw it...she was 14 points behind in the SP and still controlled her own destiny in the FS.

I was hoping for Alina to pull off this win. She had these same issues at and after the GPF last year. Talk of withdrawing and struggling with pressure. I suspect perhaps knowing she can’t beat her younger teammates could play a factor, but she had always known their potential. This is her lowest placement since Worlds after the Olympics.

I’m certain we will see a better performance at Russian Nationals.

Oh- and Alena completely deserved her win. She is the total package. Difficult jumps, well balanced programs- definitely Eteri’s most talented skater so far.

If 3A aren't going to world's it would be a travesty because these three are far and away the best skaters in Russia and the world. If they are fit they are going. Period.

Thrashergurl said:

I was hoping for Alina to pull off this win. She had these same issues at and after the GPF last year. Talk of withdrawing and struggling with pressure. I suspect perhaps knowing she can’t beat her younger teammates could play a factor, but she had always known their potential. This is her lowest placement since Worlds after the Olympics.

I’m certain we will see a better performance at Russian Nationals.

Oh- and Alena completely deserved her win. She is the total package. Difficult jumps, well balanced programs- definitely Eteri’s most talented skater so far.

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I agree.

SkatingFan9 said:

Anna received her highest PCS ever as a senior, while Sasha received her lowest PCS ever as a senior (or close to it; haven’t checked). Would you say that’s going to be the norm moving forward? And honestly, we all know that Trusova isn’t a PCS skater. Her bread and butter is her unprecedented, unbeatable technical ability.

Yes, she still needs to perform her difficult content if she wants to win. But so does Anna. And Alena. If they make mistakes on their most difficult jumps, it will hurt them more because Trusova has the highest margin for error by far. You saw it...she was 14 points behind in the SP and still controlled her own destiny in the FS.

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Yes I fully agree. Sasha controls her own destiny. And she is a risk taker, and I love her for it. That's what makes her so exciting! But I do think she needs to weigh the risks with the possible outcome. After all, one missed quad gets rewarded like a badly done triple. So, too many errors on the quads are simply not worth it.

But I'm sure Sasha will be working hard, and this result today is only making her more hungry!

SkatingFan9 said:

Anna received her highest PCS ever as a senior, while Sasha received her lowest PCS ever as a senior (or close to it; haven’t checked). Would you say that’s going to be the norm moving forward? And honestly, we all know that Trusova isn’t a PCS skater. Her bread and butter is her unprecedented, unbeatable technical ability.

Yes, she still needs to perform her difficult content if she wants to win. But so does Anna. And Alena. If they make mistakes on their most difficult jumps, it will hurt them more because Trusova has the highest margin for error by far. You saw it...she was 14 points behind in the SP and still controlled her own destiny in the FS.

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I think Trusova's PCS today was because of her fall on the 4T and her pop on the 4S. Supposing she skates clean, her PCS should rise by a couple points.

Anya00 said:

I think Trusova's PCS today was because of her fall on the 4T and her pop on the 4S. Supposing she skates clean, her PCS should rise by a couple points.

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Exactly. Her PCS probably would’ve been on par with Anna’s with a clean skate.

Trusova’s 4F is really quite spectacular. Maybe not the best takeoff, but look at the difficult transitions in, the height and the distance and the effortless flow. Anna’s looks promising too (her first 4Lz today was very nice).

SkatingFan9 said:

Exactly. Her PCS probably would’ve been on par with Anna’s with a clean skate.

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Anna had a fall, too, don‘t forget that. Her PCS would have been higher as well with a clean skate. Really, Anna‘s skating skills generally are worse than Sasha‘s but in a program with 5 quads Sasha‘s overall skating quality just suffers greatly. She‘s not a super human, she has to take that energy from somewhere and it leads to her running out of gas for the spins and steps. Anna deserves a PCS lead because she manages to perform despite the quads. She’s still juniorish (imo!) in her overall skating but one can see there‘s a true artist in her. Now I only hope we get to see her for many years so that she can develop properly in that area. As for Sasha... well, it‘s obvious what she loves and what she wants. It‘s the jumps and honestly, she‘s making history, so why not? But her PCS are not and should not be on par with Anna‘s and Aliona‘s, especially not for a FS that left her heavily running out of steam in the second half, losing commitment to the choreo and the rest of the stuff other than the quads going on.

What is the likelihood of Anna's PCS rising to near Kostornaia's by the end of the season? I see Anna's musicality as innate and I think that's a rare ability and should be rewarded.

Anya00 said:

What is the likelihood of Anna's PCS rising to near Kostornaia's by the end of the season? I see Anna's musicality as innate and I think that's a rare ability and should be rewarded.

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I could see it getting within 1-2 points with clean performances. Anna's skating skills probably hold her back a bit, but the other marks are within reach.

Anya00 said:

What is the likelihood of Anna's PCS rising to near Kostornaia's by the end of the season? I see Anna's musicality as innate and I think that's a rare ability and should be rewarded.

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I don't think it will catch up to Kostornaia's level, but I am so glad that Anna got scored better in this event. First her SP that I think was exquisite, and also the LP. I just love Anna's skating and I have been confused why she hasn't been rewarded as I would have liked! But clearly, people have mixed feelings about her and especially about her skating skills. Intererstingly, Chris Howarth (the ex-EuroSport commentator) said she had amazing (!!) skating skills! And I trust Chris! I've been listening to his commentating for 25 years.

Maybe Anna is just a slow burner for some people...hopefully they will come around!

Im just playing around and tried to count who will be in top 24 WS by the end of the season (removing 17/18 season point and counting 70% of 18/19 season) and Samodurova will stay in top 24 surely, while Konstantinova probably will be in 20s but still in top 24. Currently she is 18 but few skater below her will be competing in 4CC/EC/WC but i dont hink there will be 7 skater who will get above her. So i think its probable they both will recieve 1 GP spot next year. With 2 spot for 7 (4A + Tuktamysheva + Medvedeva + Sinitsyna) last 4 spot is a juggle between Samodurova + Konstantinova and Vasilieva + Tarakanova, unless Tarakanova drop out of top 24 SB (she's currently #21)

skatenewbie said:

Im just playing around and tried to count who will be in top 24 WS by the end of the season (removing 17/18 season point and counting 70% of 18/19 season) and Samodurova will stay in top 24 surely, while Konstantinova probably will be in 20s but still in top 24. Currently she is 18 but few skater below her will be competing in 4CC/EC/WC but i dont hink there will be 7 skater who will get above her. So i think its probable they both will recieve 1 GP spot next year. With 2 spot for 7 (4A + Tuktamysheva + Medvedeva + Sinitsyna) last 4 spot is a juggle between Samodurova + Konstantinova and Vasilieva + Tarakanova, unless Tarakanova drop out of top 24 SB (she's currently #21)

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I think the top SB24 will stand as it is now. It is very unlikely someone will get in there. Well, maybe Ryabova perhaps or if any of the injured skaters return.
But I think Tarakanova is probably safe.
I fear though that RusFed will decide that Vasilieva and Tarakanova will stay juniors next year, just to avoid GP assignments trouble.

But it's early days yet, a lot can happen in the next few months.

TripleAxelQueens3 said:

Honestly Sasha is the cutest little thing. She didn't do as good as she could've (though three landed quads and first to land 4F is already AMAZING), but she's still happy and smiley. She won't let "what could've been" destroy her happiness. She could've won this, but she looks overjoyed with her bronze too. That's good sportsmanship.

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She was the first who landed 4F. It's history. It can be one time. What is to be the champion of FGP compared to this? FGP happens every year