Since I don't follow Men's, Pairs, or Dance that much (I probably follow Dance the most), I'm doing a quick preview of all three disciplines.
For Men's especially, I don't really know the skaters very well, i.e. their consistency, mental game, etc.
Anyways, here we go:
Men's:
The top players here are most likely going to be the same from last years Euros. The dominating forces in Men's are Russia, France, and the Czech Republic. Spain also has Javier Fernandez, who caused a major upset at Skate Canada this season by rightfully defeating Patrick Chan. Fernandez was the only European skater at the GPF, placing 4th, although winning the FS. He has an excellent chance of nabbing bronze, but he'll need to be completely clean.
Michal Brezina and Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic were 4th and 5th, respectively, last year at Euros, and should do about the same.
Florent Amodio and Brian Joubert of France were 3rd and 8th, respectively, last season. Both are always a force, and can be relied on for a top 10 finish. If Florent Amodio is low after the short program, don't assume he's finished. Amodio was 7th after the SP and Trophee Eric Bompard this season, and came roaring back to win the FS and the bronze medal.
All three Russians, Evgeni Plushenko, Sergei Voronov, and Maxim Kovtun, all have excellent shots at medals. Don't be surprised if Plushenko and his flailing arms while skating to the next jump win over skaters who understand the concept of artistry. Maxim Kovtun is the reigning JGPF champion, and was somewhat controversially picked over Konstantin Menshov, with Morozov dramatically claiming that Menshov's life has been ruined. Kovtun will be at his first senior ISU Championship, and needs to not let the pressure get to him.
Pairs:
It appears that only 15 pairs will be competing here, which makes things a bit interesting.
The main players for medals here are going to be Savchenko/Szolkowy of Germany, Bazarova/Larionov, Kavaguti/Smirnov, and Volosozhar/Trankov of Russia. All three Russian teams were at the GPF, with V/T winning, and B/L placing 2nd. Now, 3 of the 6 teams who qualified were not European (Pang/Tong, Duhamel/Radford, and Moore-Towers/Moscovitch). S/S withdrew from their 2nd GP event, which meant that they could not qualify. Stefania Berton/Ondrej Hotarek of Italy were 2nd alternates to the GPF, and were 4th at last years Euros (S/S were also out due to injury). They have an excellent chance at the top 5, and maybe even the bronze if one of the Russian teams has some problems.
Other teams like Popova/Massot and James/Cipres, both of France, should easily be in the top 10, give this absurdly weak field.
Dance:
This was supposed to be an easy win for Péchalat/Bourzat, the 2-time reigning European Champions and reigning World/GPF bronze medalists. They are easily the best team in Europe, but had to withdraw due to a groin injury to Bourzat.
That means that like the Ladies' competition, this will also be an Italy/Russia competition.
I'd say that the favorites are Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte of Italy. They were 2nd at both of their GP competitions, and placed 4th at the GPF, behind the absolute 3 best teams in the world. They'll be chased by all three Russian teams, Bobrova/Soloviev, Ilinykh/Katsalapov, and Riazanova/Tkachenko. The first two Russian teams were both at the GPF, and placed 5th and 6th, respectively. Riazanova/Tkachenko were the 2nd alternates to the GPF, but the 1st alternates were not European. They can get on the podium if one of the other three teams makes a mistake, but will most likely place 4th.
Other teams to look for in the top 10 are Tobias/Stagniunas of Lithuania and Zhiganshina/Gazsi of Germany. I know nothing about all the other random teams competing here.
The 2013 European Figure Skating Championships being Monday, January 21st, and go until Sunday, January 27th.
Yes, it is the same week as the US Championships, so it should be a fun week of skating. I'm psyched.
- IllusionSpin
Friday, January 18, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
European Championships Preview - Ladies
In anticipation of the upcoming European Figure Skating Championships, which will begin on Monday, January 21st, I'm doing a quick preview. This post will just be Ladies, but I will briefly preview the other 3 disciplines in another post.
Ladies:
It's really a testament the strength of the North American/Asian skaters that there are 3, maybe 4 medal challengers here for the podium. 5 of the top 10 finishers from last years Euros (Korpi, Korobeynikova, Makarova, Leonova, and Silété) won't be at this years Euros. Korpi has an Achilles injury, Silété is injured, and none of the 3 Russians made the team.
Last year's winner, Carolina Kostner of Italy, has competed in two competitions this seasons: the Golden Spin of Zagreb, which she easily won with legit scores (not the overly inflated scores she received last season), and the Italian Championships, which she won with the world's most ridiculous FS score ever: 143.56. Domestic scoring in all countries is usually inflated, but this passes the border of ridiculous. Kostner skates with the technical level of a Junior skater, not a senior skater who has been in the senior ranks for 10 years, has 4 World medals, 4 European titles, and 2 Olympic appearances. Kostner has an excellent chance of defending her title, but not if the Russians have anything to say about it.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia, who has finally reached age eligibility for senior ISU Championship events after spending what seems like forever in the junior ranks. Don't take this to mean that I've been waiting and waiting for her to turn senior. Something needs to happen to her flailing arms and Leonova-esque choreography before she shows up at Worlds and expects to win a medal. Elizaveta has had solid showings this year, with a silver at Trophee Eric Bompard and the second-best FS at the GPF during that splatfest. However, in this insanely weak field, Tuktamysheva should have no problem medaling here at her first European Championships, as long as she lands her triples, which usually don't give her a problem.
Adelina Sotnikova of Russia is also age-eligible for ISU Championships this year. Remember that she was born a few hours in July 1st, which made her ineligible for last year's Euros and Worlds by a matter of hours. I can't imagine how pissed off that has always made her. Anyways, despite her absurdly tacky Christina Aguilera/blues/jazz FS, her jumps combined with the weak field should most likely get her a medal. If she goes splat on a jump or two, which she seems to have taken a liking to, she'll still most likely finish in the top 5.
Nikol Gosviyani, also of Russia, is the surprise 3rd member on the team, after being the 3rd highest senior lady at Russian Nationals. Nikol is completely untested internationally (except for 3 minor competitions several years ago), let alone on big stages like the European Championships. She did excellently during Nationals, but there's no telling how she'll do under the pressure of Euros. She could either do well and place in the top 6, or completely implode under pressure and be buried in the standings. I honestly have no idea what to expect.
Elene Gedevanishvili of Georgia, has become increasingly tackier as the seasons go on, but still should depress us all by placing in the top 10 by shaking her DDs around and landing a bunch of sloppy triples, doubles, and popped jumps. She has almost no chance of defending her bronze medal from last year, but she will still most likely place in the top 10. Will she ever go away?
Given her success so far with two straight international wins, albeit it at minor events, Jenna McCorkell of Great Britain will also very likely place in the top 10, as long as she keeps her thoughts focused on the ice and not on her husband at home.
Maé Bérénice Méité of France, seems to have taken the idea of "skate like your idols" to a whole new level. Her programs are so reminiscent of the horrors that her idol, Surya Bonaly, used to scar our eyes with, along with horrendously ugly costumes that have no relation to the music at all, it looks like it's Surya back out there at first glance. Given her absurdly high scores so far this season, she will most likely place in the top 10 as well.
Others to watch:
Valentina Marchei of Italy, 8th at Euros and Worlds last year, should most likely be in the top 10.
The Helgesson sisters of Sweden, could place anywhere from 7th to 24th. Look out.
Excuse my Austrian side for a moment here. Kerstin Frank, 30th at Euros and 21st Worlds last season, should place somewhere around there. Look for a completely uninspired performance, complete with jumps with zero flow out of them, and sloppy as hell spins. I had to mention her, given that I'm half-Austrian, whether I think she's a good skater or not.
Look for a podium that will most likely consist of Kostner, Tuktamysheva, and Sotnikova, in any order. Kostner will most likely get a reigning Euro and World champion bonus, whether she actually deserves it or not.
I'll do a quick preview of Men's, Pairs, and Dance soon (basically who will most likely be on the podium).
- IllusionSpin
Ladies:
It's really a testament the strength of the North American/Asian skaters that there are 3, maybe 4 medal challengers here for the podium. 5 of the top 10 finishers from last years Euros (Korpi, Korobeynikova, Makarova, Leonova, and Silété) won't be at this years Euros. Korpi has an Achilles injury, Silété is injured, and none of the 3 Russians made the team.
Last year's winner, Carolina Kostner of Italy, has competed in two competitions this seasons: the Golden Spin of Zagreb, which she easily won with legit scores (not the overly inflated scores she received last season), and the Italian Championships, which she won with the world's most ridiculous FS score ever: 143.56. Domestic scoring in all countries is usually inflated, but this passes the border of ridiculous. Kostner skates with the technical level of a Junior skater, not a senior skater who has been in the senior ranks for 10 years, has 4 World medals, 4 European titles, and 2 Olympic appearances. Kostner has an excellent chance of defending her title, but not if the Russians have anything to say about it.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia, who has finally reached age eligibility for senior ISU Championship events after spending what seems like forever in the junior ranks. Don't take this to mean that I've been waiting and waiting for her to turn senior. Something needs to happen to her flailing arms and Leonova-esque choreography before she shows up at Worlds and expects to win a medal. Elizaveta has had solid showings this year, with a silver at Trophee Eric Bompard and the second-best FS at the GPF during that splatfest. However, in this insanely weak field, Tuktamysheva should have no problem medaling here at her first European Championships, as long as she lands her triples, which usually don't give her a problem.
Adelina Sotnikova of Russia is also age-eligible for ISU Championships this year. Remember that she was born a few hours in July 1st, which made her ineligible for last year's Euros and Worlds by a matter of hours. I can't imagine how pissed off that has always made her. Anyways, despite her absurdly tacky Christina Aguilera/blues/jazz FS, her jumps combined with the weak field should most likely get her a medal. If she goes splat on a jump or two, which she seems to have taken a liking to, she'll still most likely finish in the top 5.
Nikol Gosviyani, also of Russia, is the surprise 3rd member on the team, after being the 3rd highest senior lady at Russian Nationals. Nikol is completely untested internationally (except for 3 minor competitions several years ago), let alone on big stages like the European Championships. She did excellently during Nationals, but there's no telling how she'll do under the pressure of Euros. She could either do well and place in the top 6, or completely implode under pressure and be buried in the standings. I honestly have no idea what to expect.
Elene Gedevanishvili of Georgia, has become increasingly tackier as the seasons go on, but still should depress us all by placing in the top 10 by shaking her DDs around and landing a bunch of sloppy triples, doubles, and popped jumps. She has almost no chance of defending her bronze medal from last year, but she will still most likely place in the top 10. Will she ever go away?
Given her success so far with two straight international wins, albeit it at minor events, Jenna McCorkell of Great Britain will also very likely place in the top 10, as long as she keeps her thoughts focused on the ice and not on her husband at home.
Maé Bérénice Méité of France, seems to have taken the idea of "skate like your idols" to a whole new level. Her programs are so reminiscent of the horrors that her idol, Surya Bonaly, used to scar our eyes with, along with horrendously ugly costumes that have no relation to the music at all, it looks like it's Surya back out there at first glance. Given her absurdly high scores so far this season, she will most likely place in the top 10 as well.
Others to watch:
Valentina Marchei of Italy, 8th at Euros and Worlds last year, should most likely be in the top 10.
The Helgesson sisters of Sweden, could place anywhere from 7th to 24th. Look out.
Excuse my Austrian side for a moment here. Kerstin Frank, 30th at Euros and 21st Worlds last season, should place somewhere around there. Look for a completely uninspired performance, complete with jumps with zero flow out of them, and sloppy as hell spins. I had to mention her, given that I'm half-Austrian, whether I think she's a good skater or not.
Look for a podium that will most likely consist of Kostner, Tuktamysheva, and Sotnikova, in any order. Kostner will most likely get a reigning Euro and World champion bonus, whether she actually deserves it or not.
I'll do a quick preview of Men's, Pairs, and Dance soon (basically who will most likely be on the podium).
- IllusionSpin
Monday, January 14, 2013
Some Sad News
Some sad news has emerged from USFigureSkating. Unfortunately, Alissa Czisny, the stunningly graceful and artistic 2009/2011 US National Champion, has had to withdraw from the upcoming US Figure Skating Championships, due to a dislocated left hip.
http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=48878&type=media
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130114&content_id=40957020&vkey=ice_pressrelease (full article)
Alissa, who is also the 2010 GPF Champion, is a universally loved skater. She is world renowned for her spins, which are considered to be the fastest and among the most beautiful in the world. Her spins travel faster than lightning, and each one hits multiple gorgeous and difficult positions. Her other famous trait is her artistry, which only rivals Sasha Cohen for the best in the world, as well as her clean, deep, and pure edges as she skates.
Alissa started off last season strong with a win over Kostner at Skate America, but then slowly, the season began to fall apart. Her season ended with her infamous meltdown at Worlds, where she fell twice in the SP (along with a large stumble on her Axel) and 5 times in the LP. However, Alissa was unknowingly skating with a torn labrum in her hip, which caused her to struggle to land her jumps, not just at Worlds but at the Challenge Cup a few weeks prior as well.
After Alissa and her coaches discovered the injury in May, she underwent surgery in June, and subsequently spent the majority of the summer off the ice while she recovered. Alissa was assigned to the NHK trophy, the last GP event in the hopes that she would be ready in time, but she was forced to withdraw a week prior, stating a lack of sufficient recovery and training time.
A couple weeks ago, IceNetwork ran an excellent article/interview with Alissa, where she stated she was fully recovered and ready to compete again at Nationals for the first time since Worlds.
This weekend, Alissa appeared in a small competition in Wisconsin called the Fox Cities Invitational. This decision to compete less than two weeks before the US Championships was considered odd and alarming to many. Then, this weekend, this tweet was released by the USFSA, which shocked and alarmed many:
The skating world eventually became aware of what seems to be the story of what exactly happened: Czisny fell on a triple flip a couple of minutes into her LP, and was unable to leave the ice without assistance. Finally, after two days of frantic hoping and speculation, the USFSA sadly revealed that Czisny would unfortunately have to withdraw from the US Championships, due to a dislocated hip that will require surgery to fix.
Many people are now questioning whether we will ever see the lovely Alissa Czisny compete again, or if her meltdown at Worlds last year is the last we ever see of a competitive Czisny. This season has felt empty without Czisny, who is unarguably one of the big stars of current day competitive skating. Let us all hope that Alissa recovers well and comes back to compete at her 2010-2011-self, even if it is one final competition, where she skates lights out and leaves us with lasting, good memories of this exceptionally talented, graceful, and beautiful skater.
While we wait for more news from the Czisny camp, let us enjoy these two performances of her masterpiece "Winter into Spring" program, that won her the GPF and the US Nationals in one season.
Get well soon Alissa - we miss you!
UPDATE:
IceNetwork recently posted this full article on Alissa and her injury, including several quotes from her coach, Jason Dungjen.
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130115&content_id=40966986&vkey=ice_news
- IllusionSpin
http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=48878&type=media
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130114&content_id=40957020&vkey=ice_pressrelease (full article)
Alissa, who is also the 2010 GPF Champion, is a universally loved skater. She is world renowned for her spins, which are considered to be the fastest and among the most beautiful in the world. Her spins travel faster than lightning, and each one hits multiple gorgeous and difficult positions. Her other famous trait is her artistry, which only rivals Sasha Cohen for the best in the world, as well as her clean, deep, and pure edges as she skates.
Alissa started off last season strong with a win over Kostner at Skate America, but then slowly, the season began to fall apart. Her season ended with her infamous meltdown at Worlds, where she fell twice in the SP (along with a large stumble on her Axel) and 5 times in the LP. However, Alissa was unknowingly skating with a torn labrum in her hip, which caused her to struggle to land her jumps, not just at Worlds but at the Challenge Cup a few weeks prior as well.
After Alissa and her coaches discovered the injury in May, she underwent surgery in June, and subsequently spent the majority of the summer off the ice while she recovered. Alissa was assigned to the NHK trophy, the last GP event in the hopes that she would be ready in time, but she was forced to withdraw a week prior, stating a lack of sufficient recovery and training time.
A couple weeks ago, IceNetwork ran an excellent article/interview with Alissa, where she stated she was fully recovered and ready to compete again at Nationals for the first time since Worlds.
This weekend, Alissa appeared in a small competition in Wisconsin called the Fox Cities Invitational. This decision to compete less than two weeks before the US Championships was considered odd and alarming to many. Then, this weekend, this tweet was released by the USFSA, which shocked and alarmed many:
The skating world eventually became aware of what seems to be the story of what exactly happened: Czisny fell on a triple flip a couple of minutes into her LP, and was unable to leave the ice without assistance. Finally, after two days of frantic hoping and speculation, the USFSA sadly revealed that Czisny would unfortunately have to withdraw from the US Championships, due to a dislocated hip that will require surgery to fix.
Many people are now questioning whether we will ever see the lovely Alissa Czisny compete again, or if her meltdown at Worlds last year is the last we ever see of a competitive Czisny. This season has felt empty without Czisny, who is unarguably one of the big stars of current day competitive skating. Let us all hope that Alissa recovers well and comes back to compete at her 2010-2011-self, even if it is one final competition, where she skates lights out and leaves us with lasting, good memories of this exceptionally talented, graceful, and beautiful skater.
While we wait for more news from the Czisny camp, let us enjoy these two performances of her masterpiece "Winter into Spring" program, that won her the GPF and the US Nationals in one season.
Get well soon Alissa - we miss you!
UPDATE:
IceNetwork recently posted this full article on Alissa and her injury, including several quotes from her coach, Jason Dungjen.
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130115&content_id=40966986&vkey=ice_news
- IllusionSpin
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Nikol Gosviyani Obtains Minimum TES for Euros
Nikol Gosviyani, the 3rd member of the 2013 Russian European team, hit the required minimum TES at a tiny meet in Poland this week, and is presumably cleared to compete. Nikol, who hadn't competed internationally in over two years before this weekend, had no TES minimum from this season or last season. She therefore had to compete at a tiny competition to obtain the TES minimum, which she has, in order to compete at the upcoming European Championships, which will take place from January 21st - January 27th.
The required TES for the SP was 20, which Nikol comfortably cleared with a 29.50. The required TES for Worlds in the SP is 28, so she's also fine for that. She somehow received a 1.00 time deduction (for going overtime), which I cannot see in the video. Let me know if you see the time deduction here:
The required TES for the LP was 36, which Nikol also easily cleared, with a 45.62. However, the required TES for the LP at worlds is 48. Nikol will try to hit 48 at Euros, but if she cannot, she will not be able to go to Worlds. I hope for her sake that she hits 48 and can have the opportunity to compete at Worlds, but also for our sake, so that we're all spared the sight of Leonova competing at ANOTHER Worlds. Here's her LP:
- IllusionSpin
The required TES for the SP was 20, which Nikol comfortably cleared with a 29.50. The required TES for Worlds in the SP is 28, so she's also fine for that. She somehow received a 1.00 time deduction (for going overtime), which I cannot see in the video. Let me know if you see the time deduction here:
The required TES for the LP was 36, which Nikol also easily cleared, with a 45.62. However, the required TES for the LP at worlds is 48. Nikol will try to hit 48 at Euros, but if she cannot, she will not be able to go to Worlds. I hope for her sake that she hits 48 and can have the opportunity to compete at Worlds, but also for our sake, so that we're all spared the sight of Leonova competing at ANOTHER Worlds. Here's her LP:
- IllusionSpin
Friday, January 11, 2013
2013 American Cup Lineups (Partially) Released
For those of you who may not have seen the announcement by USA Gymnastics today, the partial lineups for the 2013 American Cup were released. This year's American Cup will be in Worchester, MA, and will feature multiple big names.
6 of the 8 women who will compete were announced, with the announcement that the final 2 will be decided later. Those 6 are:
Kyla Ross (USA) - the only member of the "Fierce Five" to continue fully training, will finally get her chance to shine after being a team player in London. Kyla turned in solid performances all around in London, with key hit sets on bars and beam in the team final. Her more famous teammates usually outshone her, both results and personality-wise, but with Jordyn, Gabby, and Aly doing the Teen Choice Tour, and Mckayla not fully training/pursuing acting opportunities, Kyla will get a golden chance to step out from living in the shadows of her teammates, and shine internationally while competing individually.
Elizabeth Price (USA) - one of the rising Americans who rivals Raisman for the award of fugliest American gymnast, won two World Cup titles at the end of 2012 in the absence of any legit competition, while relying on gigantic start values, horrible form, and jaw-droppingly terrible artistry, not to mention sufficiently shitting on the wonderful memory of Afanasyeva's crowning moment at Worlds in 2011. Price took Afanasyeva's music, and used her dance ability that is on par with Raisman's to make the entire international gymnastics community take note of her complete lack of ability to do something that resembles dance. I hope for the sake of our sport, that pretty and boring Kyla Ross manages to beat Price, even if it's not for first - if Price wins multiple big competitions this year, it will be a huge injustice to what was once dominated by beautiful gymnasts.
Larisa Iordache (ROU) - one of the main international stars in the first half of 2012, she was expected to shine at the Olympics. Unfortunately, Larisa was injured with plantar fasciitis during training in London, and after being a favorite for all-around, beam and floor medals, she placed 9th in the all-around and 6th on beam, only walking away with a team bronze. Hopefully Larisa has properly healed, and can dominate this year. It would be magical if she could snatch this American Cup from both of these Americans, and continue to dominate, hopefully battling someone like Komova later for the World AA title. If anyone can win this title apart from the Americans, it's Larisa.
Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) - the 22-year-old gymnast who continues to whine about (fairly) losing the Olympic floor bronze to Mustafina in the tie-break, has finally decided to attend this year, after having qualified but not attended for the last who-knows-how-many-years. Ferrari, who is locked in a never-ending battle with Catalina Ponor for the award of worlds sluttiest gymnast, will most likely show up in some sort of eye-sore leotard, show off her horrible forward giants on bars, fall on beam, crank out an awful DTY on vault, and place no higher than 6th.
Elisabeth Seitz (GER) - the non-adult German star, who has somehow mistaken uneven bars for men's high bar, performs bars with the excitement of Epke Zonderland and the form on all events of Zou Kai. Seitz has the distinction of being one of the only gymnasts able to do the Def while having a leg separation wider than the width of the vault table. The German, who somehow home-countried her way to the 2011 European silver, shouldn't expect a placement anywhere near that, not in America.
Asuka Teramoto (JPN) - tiny Japanese gymnast who's 16, 4ft 6in, and 66 pounds, swings bars approximately the swing of He Kexin and the form of Koko Tsurumi. She also performs floor with the same amount of choreography as Koko. The ever-upbeat Blythe Lawrence of Examiner proclaims her as one of the up-coming stars of this quad, but she has about as much pizazz as Kyla Ross, i.e. NONE. She has clean, consistent, and boring gymnastics...yawn.
According to The Couch Gymnast, Canada accepted a spot, but they haven't decided who will go. Given that a chunk of their top elites are now in colleges in the US (Lee, Vaculik, Rogers, Savona), don't be at all surprised if Victoria Moors goes for the second year in a row. Maybe her floor will actually be televised this time, as she took the time to whine about last year.
USA Gymnastics has not yet announced which country will take the last spot, but given the bizarre World Cup rules, I haven't the slightest idea who will show up, and what country they'll be from.
On the men's side, the lineup for 7 out of the 8 men who will eventually compete has been announced as thus:
Danell Leyva, USA
Jake Dalton, USA
Marcel Nguyen, GER
Jorge Hugo Giraldo Lopez (who?), COL
Sergio Sasaki, BRA
Kristian Thomas, GBR
Oleg Verniaiev, UKR
The final man is reported to be announced shortly. I'll update this as I receive info on the final 3 competitors.
- IllusionSpin
6 of the 8 women who will compete were announced, with the announcement that the final 2 will be decided later. Those 6 are:
Kyla Ross (USA) - the only member of the "Fierce Five" to continue fully training, will finally get her chance to shine after being a team player in London. Kyla turned in solid performances all around in London, with key hit sets on bars and beam in the team final. Her more famous teammates usually outshone her, both results and personality-wise, but with Jordyn, Gabby, and Aly doing the Teen Choice Tour, and Mckayla not fully training/pursuing acting opportunities, Kyla will get a golden chance to step out from living in the shadows of her teammates, and shine internationally while competing individually.
Elizabeth Price (USA) - one of the rising Americans who rivals Raisman for the award of fugliest American gymnast, won two World Cup titles at the end of 2012 in the absence of any legit competition, while relying on gigantic start values, horrible form, and jaw-droppingly terrible artistry, not to mention sufficiently shitting on the wonderful memory of Afanasyeva's crowning moment at Worlds in 2011. Price took Afanasyeva's music, and used her dance ability that is on par with Raisman's to make the entire international gymnastics community take note of her complete lack of ability to do something that resembles dance. I hope for the sake of our sport, that pretty and boring Kyla Ross manages to beat Price, even if it's not for first - if Price wins multiple big competitions this year, it will be a huge injustice to what was once dominated by beautiful gymnasts.
Larisa Iordache (ROU) - one of the main international stars in the first half of 2012, she was expected to shine at the Olympics. Unfortunately, Larisa was injured with plantar fasciitis during training in London, and after being a favorite for all-around, beam and floor medals, she placed 9th in the all-around and 6th on beam, only walking away with a team bronze. Hopefully Larisa has properly healed, and can dominate this year. It would be magical if she could snatch this American Cup from both of these Americans, and continue to dominate, hopefully battling someone like Komova later for the World AA title. If anyone can win this title apart from the Americans, it's Larisa.
Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) - the 22-year-old gymnast who continues to whine about (fairly) losing the Olympic floor bronze to Mustafina in the tie-break, has finally decided to attend this year, after having qualified but not attended for the last who-knows-how-many-years. Ferrari, who is locked in a never-ending battle with Catalina Ponor for the award of worlds sluttiest gymnast, will most likely show up in some sort of eye-sore leotard, show off her horrible forward giants on bars, fall on beam, crank out an awful DTY on vault, and place no higher than 6th.
Elisabeth Seitz (GER) - the non-adult German star, who has somehow mistaken uneven bars for men's high bar, performs bars with the excitement of Epke Zonderland and the form on all events of Zou Kai. Seitz has the distinction of being one of the only gymnasts able to do the Def while having a leg separation wider than the width of the vault table. The German, who somehow home-countried her way to the 2011 European silver, shouldn't expect a placement anywhere near that, not in America.
Asuka Teramoto (JPN) - tiny Japanese gymnast who's 16, 4ft 6in, and 66 pounds, swings bars approximately the swing of He Kexin and the form of Koko Tsurumi. She also performs floor with the same amount of choreography as Koko. The ever-upbeat Blythe Lawrence of Examiner proclaims her as one of the up-coming stars of this quad, but she has about as much pizazz as Kyla Ross, i.e. NONE. She has clean, consistent, and boring gymnastics...yawn.
According to The Couch Gymnast, Canada accepted a spot, but they haven't decided who will go. Given that a chunk of their top elites are now in colleges in the US (Lee, Vaculik, Rogers, Savona), don't be at all surprised if Victoria Moors goes for the second year in a row. Maybe her floor will actually be televised this time, as she took the time to whine about last year.
USA Gymnastics has not yet announced which country will take the last spot, but given the bizarre World Cup rules, I haven't the slightest idea who will show up, and what country they'll be from.
On the men's side, the lineup for 7 out of the 8 men who will eventually compete has been announced as thus:
Danell Leyva, USA
Jake Dalton, USA
Marcel Nguyen, GER
Jorge Hugo Giraldo Lopez (who?), COL
Sergio Sasaki, BRA
Kristian Thomas, GBR
Oleg Verniaiev, UKR
The final man is reported to be announced shortly. I'll update this as I receive info on the final 3 competitors.
- IllusionSpin
A Few Thoughts on Russian Nationals
The Russian Figure Skating Championships for Seniors were held about 2 weeks ago in Sochi, and the Ladies competition provided some interesting results.
Side Note: In Russia, the Senior Nationals and the Junior Nationals are held separately, but Juniors (i.e. anyone not old enough for senior competition, since there are some who compete at senior nationals who aren't even old enough for junior international competition) are allowed to compete in both. The Junior championships will be held between January 31st and February 3rd in Saransk. Look for a Lipnitskaya/Radionova showdown.
Anyways, the Seniors ladies had several nobody's at the top, and several veterans buried in the standings.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva somewhat unexpectedly won her first national title, after winning the SP and LP with absurdly high PCS. Heads up Liza-camp: you're not going to get in the 30s for the SP and the high 60s for the LP for PCS at Euros and Worlds. Her flailing arms are reminiscent of Slutskaya and Plushenko, and something that won't get fixed in order for her to win the Olympic gold if she continues with Mishin after this season. Half of her Dark Eyes music is what Nastia used in her 2006-2008 routine, a routine that also brings back memories of flailing arms, and just lots of bad memories. Her attempts to be dramatic just completely fail, and she can't bring out the drama and nuances in the music. If you can't do Dark Eyes like Sasha Cohen, don't do it at all.
Kudos to her, though, for skating through what was reported to be a pretty bad cold, and managing to win the competition on top of that. Her triple lutzes were gorgeous as always, but a popped triple flip and a sloppy landing on a triple Salchow only gave her the 5 highest TES of the night. Here's her LP:
Elena Radionova pulled up to 2nd after sitting in 3rd after the short program with a gorgeous dress and a PCS score that was inexplicably 5 points below Leonova. I don't think Radionova is as artistic as everyone says, but Leonova is much worse.
Speaking of Radionova's artistry. Many people are acting like she's the next Sasha Cohen, but I just don't see it. Her LP consists of her frantically flying over the ice while waving her arms around, but still holding out a few nice positions. I see potential, but like Lipnitskaya, she needs to work on holding out her movements. For example, at the end of her program on literally the last note, her arms hit about 50 different positions before the end. She needs to just go into one position, and go into it while taking her time to extend. Another example: at 2:03 in the video, the music slows down, and transfers into fewer notes that are held out for longer. She holds out one movement on the first movement, but then she goes into the next jump. She needs to take that time to maybe to a spiral, or choreo that can be really expressive. However, one thing I do see is a 13 year old (who turned 14 today!) who clearly loves what she does and genuinely seems to love skating, and lets it show. Her long legs also give her a lovely layback, particularly her Biellman. Here's her LP:
Adelina Sotnikova, the 3-time Russian champion and two-time defending champion was 2nd after the short program, but stumbled to 3rd after a sloppy LP. That Christina Aguilera/jazz program is one of the worst programs of the season; I'd be shocked if it goes over well at Euros and Worlds. There's nothing wrong with a jazz program, but mixing in Christina Aguilera's moaning just makes it awful. As I said before, when the music started at SA, my initial reaction was, "what IS this crap?" For the 2011 World Junior Champion who even did Liebestraum last season, there's really no excuse for this ridiculously tacky program that's expected to challenge for a World medal come March. Something tells me she had a hand in picking the music, since you can see her enjoying herself during the awful step sequence. I get that you're 16 Adelina, and you want to be a teenager, but save the teenage stuff on ice for exhibitions, not for long programs. Still, she'll probably medal at Euros, and will easily challenge for a World medal now that she's finally old enough. Here's her LP:
Serafima Sakhanovich, the latest up-and-coming star of the Russians, pulled up from 9th to 4th with a beautiful and near-perfect LP, along with the highest TES of the night. I won't say much about her here, because I'm going to do a whole post on her soon, but this kid has the potential to become biggest Russian star ever. She has fabulous skating skills, a landing knee-bend to die for, and a beautiful lyrical quality to her skating. From my sources, she is 12, and therefore ineligible for Junior Worlds this year, but I believe she will be old enough for the JGP circuit next season (this fall), which I fully expect her to dominate. A full post will come on her soon, but here's her LP:
Anna Pogorilaya, the JGPF bronze medalist, placed 5th after a solid all-around skate, but that was somewhat unremarkable. Anna has many of the ingredients to make her into a force to be reckoned with, but her choreography leaves something to be desired. A LP like this is what's typically viewed as boring: when the music has a lot of detail and many notes, but the skater isn't doing much choreographically, which makes it look like the fast music is playing and the skater is just sort of doing a bit of choreography, but not much. With more attention to detail and work on her jump technique (her jumps have about as much flow out of them as Asada's triple axel does), she can easily medal at Junior Worlds.
Side Note: the Junior World team is expected to be Lipnitskaya, Radionova, and Pogorilaya. I believe it will be determined after the Russian Junior Championships.
Here's Anna's LP:
Nikol Gosviyani, the 3rd ALTERNATE to the Nationals, had the two skates of her life and placed 6th. This has earned her a spot on the European team. However, since it's been over 2 years since she competed internationally, she has to go to a small competition in Poland this weekend to try to earn the minimum required scores for the Europeans. Nikol has competed internationally 3 times in her entire career. The Coupe de Nice in 2007 (as a novice) and 2010 (as a junior), and one JGP in 2010. Like I said, she was the 3rd alternate to the Russian Nationals, and had Lipnitskaya not gotten a concussion, she wouldn't have even competed. She's a pretty skater, but like Pogorilaya, really needs to work on bringing out all the accents of the music. Her jump technique is a little funky, and could use some work. I'll link her SP as well, which I like better. She decided to copy the reigning World Champion by wearing a bedazzles body suit. Heads up Nikol: Just because Kostner decides to wear the worst costume ever to win Worlds, does not mean that you should follow suit. Given that Nikol's has not competed internationally in over 2 years, I honestly have no idea what to expect from her. She's a complete unknown to the skating world. Should she not get the minimum TES scores, Leonova will most likely go to Euros instead. Please do well Nikol, so that we can all be rid of Leonova. Nikol is 16, and is actually coached by Alexei Urmanov, the 1994 Olympic Champion.
The Others:
Oldies Leonova and Makarova placed 7th and 8th respectively, but since Tuktamysheva and Sotnikova are finally old enough for Worlds, they have almost no shot at the Worlds team. Korobeynikova, who was 4th after the SP, slipped to 10th after an subpar free skate that only earned 102.19. Important to note, 8th, 9th, and 10th were all within 0.79 of each other, and everyone from 11th and up scored over 160 for their total score.
The full results can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Russian_Figure_Skating_Championships#Ladies
As soon as I find out if Gosviyani hit the minimal TES score for Euros, and if someone has to take her place if she doesn't, I'll post it.
- IllusionSpin
Side Note: In Russia, the Senior Nationals and the Junior Nationals are held separately, but Juniors (i.e. anyone not old enough for senior competition, since there are some who compete at senior nationals who aren't even old enough for junior international competition) are allowed to compete in both. The Junior championships will be held between January 31st and February 3rd in Saransk. Look for a Lipnitskaya/Radionova showdown.
Anyways, the Seniors ladies had several nobody's at the top, and several veterans buried in the standings.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva somewhat unexpectedly won her first national title, after winning the SP and LP with absurdly high PCS. Heads up Liza-camp: you're not going to get in the 30s for the SP and the high 60s for the LP for PCS at Euros and Worlds. Her flailing arms are reminiscent of Slutskaya and Plushenko, and something that won't get fixed in order for her to win the Olympic gold if she continues with Mishin after this season. Half of her Dark Eyes music is what Nastia used in her 2006-2008 routine, a routine that also brings back memories of flailing arms, and just lots of bad memories. Her attempts to be dramatic just completely fail, and she can't bring out the drama and nuances in the music. If you can't do Dark Eyes like Sasha Cohen, don't do it at all.
Kudos to her, though, for skating through what was reported to be a pretty bad cold, and managing to win the competition on top of that. Her triple lutzes were gorgeous as always, but a popped triple flip and a sloppy landing on a triple Salchow only gave her the 5 highest TES of the night. Here's her LP:
Elena Radionova pulled up to 2nd after sitting in 3rd after the short program with a gorgeous dress and a PCS score that was inexplicably 5 points below Leonova. I don't think Radionova is as artistic as everyone says, but Leonova is much worse.
Speaking of Radionova's artistry. Many people are acting like she's the next Sasha Cohen, but I just don't see it. Her LP consists of her frantically flying over the ice while waving her arms around, but still holding out a few nice positions. I see potential, but like Lipnitskaya, she needs to work on holding out her movements. For example, at the end of her program on literally the last note, her arms hit about 50 different positions before the end. She needs to just go into one position, and go into it while taking her time to extend. Another example: at 2:03 in the video, the music slows down, and transfers into fewer notes that are held out for longer. She holds out one movement on the first movement, but then she goes into the next jump. She needs to take that time to maybe to a spiral, or choreo that can be really expressive. However, one thing I do see is a 13 year old (who turned 14 today!) who clearly loves what she does and genuinely seems to love skating, and lets it show. Her long legs also give her a lovely layback, particularly her Biellman. Here's her LP:
Adelina Sotnikova, the 3-time Russian champion and two-time defending champion was 2nd after the short program, but stumbled to 3rd after a sloppy LP. That Christina Aguilera/jazz program is one of the worst programs of the season; I'd be shocked if it goes over well at Euros and Worlds. There's nothing wrong with a jazz program, but mixing in Christina Aguilera's moaning just makes it awful. As I said before, when the music started at SA, my initial reaction was, "what IS this crap?" For the 2011 World Junior Champion who even did Liebestraum last season, there's really no excuse for this ridiculously tacky program that's expected to challenge for a World medal come March. Something tells me she had a hand in picking the music, since you can see her enjoying herself during the awful step sequence. I get that you're 16 Adelina, and you want to be a teenager, but save the teenage stuff on ice for exhibitions, not for long programs. Still, she'll probably medal at Euros, and will easily challenge for a World medal now that she's finally old enough. Here's her LP:
Serafima Sakhanovich, the latest up-and-coming star of the Russians, pulled up from 9th to 4th with a beautiful and near-perfect LP, along with the highest TES of the night. I won't say much about her here, because I'm going to do a whole post on her soon, but this kid has the potential to become biggest Russian star ever. She has fabulous skating skills, a landing knee-bend to die for, and a beautiful lyrical quality to her skating. From my sources, she is 12, and therefore ineligible for Junior Worlds this year, but I believe she will be old enough for the JGP circuit next season (this fall), which I fully expect her to dominate. A full post will come on her soon, but here's her LP:
Anna Pogorilaya, the JGPF bronze medalist, placed 5th after a solid all-around skate, but that was somewhat unremarkable. Anna has many of the ingredients to make her into a force to be reckoned with, but her choreography leaves something to be desired. A LP like this is what's typically viewed as boring: when the music has a lot of detail and many notes, but the skater isn't doing much choreographically, which makes it look like the fast music is playing and the skater is just sort of doing a bit of choreography, but not much. With more attention to detail and work on her jump technique (her jumps have about as much flow out of them as Asada's triple axel does), she can easily medal at Junior Worlds.
Side Note: the Junior World team is expected to be Lipnitskaya, Radionova, and Pogorilaya. I believe it will be determined after the Russian Junior Championships.
Here's Anna's LP:
Nikol Gosviyani, the 3rd ALTERNATE to the Nationals, had the two skates of her life and placed 6th. This has earned her a spot on the European team. However, since it's been over 2 years since she competed internationally, she has to go to a small competition in Poland this weekend to try to earn the minimum required scores for the Europeans. Nikol has competed internationally 3 times in her entire career. The Coupe de Nice in 2007 (as a novice) and 2010 (as a junior), and one JGP in 2010. Like I said, she was the 3rd alternate to the Russian Nationals, and had Lipnitskaya not gotten a concussion, she wouldn't have even competed. She's a pretty skater, but like Pogorilaya, really needs to work on bringing out all the accents of the music. Her jump technique is a little funky, and could use some work. I'll link her SP as well, which I like better. She decided to copy the reigning World Champion by wearing a bedazzles body suit. Heads up Nikol: Just because Kostner decides to wear the worst costume ever to win Worlds, does not mean that you should follow suit. Given that Nikol's has not competed internationally in over 2 years, I honestly have no idea what to expect from her. She's a complete unknown to the skating world. Should she not get the minimum TES scores, Leonova will most likely go to Euros instead. Please do well Nikol, so that we can all be rid of Leonova. Nikol is 16, and is actually coached by Alexei Urmanov, the 1994 Olympic Champion.
The Others:
Oldies Leonova and Makarova placed 7th and 8th respectively, but since Tuktamysheva and Sotnikova are finally old enough for Worlds, they have almost no shot at the Worlds team. Korobeynikova, who was 4th after the SP, slipped to 10th after an subpar free skate that only earned 102.19. Important to note, 8th, 9th, and 10th were all within 0.79 of each other, and everyone from 11th and up scored over 160 for their total score.
The full results can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Russian_Figure_Skating_Championships#Ladies
As soon as I find out if Gosviyani hit the minimal TES score for Euros, and if someone has to take her place if she doesn't, I'll post it.
- IllusionSpin
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Photo/Video of the Day
The Shibutani siblings recently posted a video set to "Good Time," featuring rehearsal/fun behind-the-scenes clips from the Skating and Gymnastics Spectacular, which will air on NBC on January 20th.
To acknowledge how these two sports coming together is sometimes great but also quite funny, here's a photo for your entertainment:
Just enjoy this for a second: Gabby Douglas, Maia Shibutani, Meryl Davis, Nastia Liukin, Alissa Czisny, Jordyn Wieber, Gracie Gold, and Aly Raisman all chilling/dancing on a beam. Ashley Wagner is at this too, but somehow barely appears in the video. I also live for Nastia and Maia acting like BFFs. I doubt Nastia has even hear of Maia or Gracie.
Enjoy the whole video of skaters and gymnasts who have never met, not to mention many of them have probably never heard of many of the other, acting like BFFs.
- IllusionSpin
To acknowledge how these two sports coming together is sometimes great but also quite funny, here's a photo for your entertainment:
Just enjoy this for a second: Gabby Douglas, Maia Shibutani, Meryl Davis, Nastia Liukin, Alissa Czisny, Jordyn Wieber, Gracie Gold, and Aly Raisman all chilling/dancing on a beam. Ashley Wagner is at this too, but somehow barely appears in the video. I also live for Nastia and Maia acting like BFFs. I doubt Nastia has even hear of Maia or Gracie.
Enjoy the whole video of skaters and gymnasts who have never met, not to mention many of them have probably never heard of many of the other, acting like BFFs.
- IllusionSpin
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