Anna & Martin, extended review Jr worlds
Reposting my extended review of these two from the "column", I hope to not look like a spammer, but I really love these two
Reposting my extended review of these two from the "column", I hope to not look like a spammer, but I really love these two
3.0 "Because it´s too difficult"
This is, what Maxim Trankov told me, when we had a chat about the reasons for the lack of pairs at Nebelhorn, a competition in which we only had seven reaching the finish line. He also said, there is a lot of talent in the Czech Republic and he is so right about that!
3.1 Anna Dushkova & Martin Bidar
Pairs Skating took quite a dip for me when all those Quads came up, very similar to the men's competitions. I just do not support falling for points, but I appreciate a strong will combined with doable difficulty, great balance between the partners and good story lines. All of that and more, do Anna and Martin offer.
These two, have won the Juniors and they have done so, with a super high level of difficulty, clean execution of their elements and a super charming attitude. If you see skaters as often as I do at times, then you see how they progress over a season. I am totally honest with you, when I saw them early in the season, I wouldn´t have thought about a medal at junior worlds and I certainly wouldn´t have dreamed about a golden one. That being said, right from the first moment on, I saw something that you can call sympathy.
Anna, was a skater who just never gave up. I saw her fall in practice 10 times in a row and she kept doing the element until she did no longer fall. Martin, was on the ice, all by himself, doing nothing for 30 minutes than lifting air, spinning with air or throwing air – as Anna, was not around during the practice. It is dedication and strong will, to perform at your absolute best and this is also what these two said about themselves. "We want to show our best, the placements, do not matter much for us".
You can classify Anna as the smile and Martin the Joker, and it´s really the best of both worlds for me. A super strong male part, who doesn't mind making a joke or even putting his tongue out during competition while Anna is in the air and it makes them so likable and natural. These skaters are no VIP´s, that you must ask for an interview and then they don´t show up, or those that will just go, if you are one second late, no they appreciate to be there and be a part of the so called "normal folks" on this planet.
Their skating can compete with the best from Russia, the alignment that I so admire with Russian pairs, can be found here with those two, from Prague, who definitely do not have the funding like the top pairs in the States, China or Russia and yet, they can keep up with them or even out-skate them as seen here.
Keeping up is a good point by the way, as so often the male part can not keep up with the lady, something which isn´t even their fault! I am a male too and I can´t be a women, I cripple my legs already if I even think about pulling my leg a tiny bit towards a split! Therefore, what Martin does on ice, can not be rated high enough.
He has a super flexibility, as seen on the pair spin in their Free, but also the very present attitude of a Maxim Trankov, of course less mature, but he is not hiding behind his beautiful lady and I love that so much, just like Anna´s super landings, as seen on the triple throw Lutz, an element that the top three Seniors at Europeans didn´t have!
The so called balance, is one of the hardest things to achieve in pairs and dance, and it is so present with these two skaters, but also with so many other skaters and we really have to give credit to the males, who are not stiff or the usual truck driver, no they really care for their ladies, do all those difficult spins and lines with them and don´t treat them bad. A really bright future lays ahead of us in pairs, thanks to the ability of those guys and girls.
As for Anna & Martin, next season, they want to step up and join the seniors, with the requirement of a third lift element in the Free, something that I am somehow not in the slightest worried about.
Maybe, they will fall a lot again at the start, but at Europeans and Worlds, who knows what will happen, maybe again personal bests like now at Debrecen, with their 181.82 in combined total, 64.71 in the Short and 117.11 in the Free.