Hahahaha. Hahaha. The 5th stage of the Cup of Russia, Russia's own manufactured Grand Prix/nationals qualification circuit, took place this past weekend. Initially this was set to be quite a showdown, with Kamila Valieva competing versus Kostornaia and Tuktamysheva, and Dmitri Aliev competing in the men's event.
Take a guess as to what ruined that plan. That's right. Coronavirus.
Russian skating has continued to struggle with COVID. Originally it was a shock when, in September, it was revealed that some of Russia's skaters had had COVID during the summer. However, from the looks of the first competition, it was completely clear why. The audience did not appear to be under any mask restrictions and skaters and coaches were not wearing masks either. At subsequent competitions, there was clearly more effort put into mask wearing, but still variable. I mean, the majority of coaches are seen along the boards with their noses hanging out of their masks as if they need to be instructed like a 3 year old. And unfortunately, this has resulted in continued COVID outbreaks at Russian skating training centers. In Moskvina's pairs rink, multiple team members were diagnosed and it's rumored that her husband may have died from COVID complications (although nothing has ever been said on that front). A few weeks ago, Anna Scherbakova had apparently been diagnosed with "pneumonia", while it was also confirmed that Evgenia Medvedeva had not only been suffering from her back injury, but a severe case of the disease and was in the hospital (and is now suffering from "lung damage" according to an article released today). Clearly, there was spread within the Sambo 70 rink; Eteri was also missing from competition and suffering from a "cold", so she likely had it too.
And now, this week, Alena Kostornaia, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, and Dmitri Aliev were all diagnosed with COVID and withdrew from competition. This should be no surprise to anyone who keeps up with Russian Skating. After Rostelecom in late November, all skaters could be seen packed into a normal-looking banquet dinner, taking pictures, all without masks. And last week skater Alena Leonova hosted a birthday party and invited very high profile skaters who all took pictures hugging and dancing, once again without masks. And now they have COVID. And have likely spread it to others in their rinks and communities.
But there was some skating this weekend, albeit much less exciting than initially slated. Here are some highlights.
#3 Mishina and Galliamov...I Guess
Like I say, what was supposed to be an exciting weekend turned very dull with many withdrawals at this Fifth Stage. However, I find myself enjoying this team more and more with every outing. In the past, I hadn't enjoyed them as much as Boikova/Kozlovskii and preferred other junior teams (Panfilova/Rylov specifically). But there's something I quite like about the way these two interact on the ice. It feels like an easy partnership, and this weekend the elements were so smooth. I also really love this short program, despite the music sometimes coming off dull and overused when other skaters utilize it.
#2 Kamila Valieva
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I don't like Kamila Valieva's skating as much as I like other skating from Sambo 70, and beyond. She seems so serious and almost scared on the ice, and the choreography (which is obviously Danny G's fault, and not hers), is so stodgy and packed that it makes her seem robotic and rushed, when in reality her beautiful extension and amazing jumping skills could come off so much better if she could relax into a program. I dislike the whole aesthetic of the Bolero long program, but I actually really love the music and the mood of the short. It has the potential to be beautiful, but just isn't quite there yet. I also wish her team would fix her combo technique- her reload is very uncomfortable to watch and I'm surprised judges don't take off more GOE points for it. All of this sounds really negative, but obviously she's a fantastic skater! She could very well win gold in Beijing! She's doing multiple quad jumps, in combo, for christ's sake!
#1 The Entire Junior Ladies Competition that took place on Monday and Tuesday.
The senior Cup of Russia event was...boring. But the junior ladies competition afterwards? Totally interesting. Decided to write a little about the 4 major players here.
Veronika Zhilina
Veronika ended up 2nd here, but I think she was quite overscored. She's coming from Sambo 70, so she's had coaching adjustments to make, plus she had COVID earlier this season. She's so talented and hardworking- she landed a 3A combo in the short, a 3A in the long, and attempted multiple quads. But all of her landings were wonky, she fell more times than I could count in the free program, and was continually tripping up on her blades in transitions and step sequences. The choreography in both programs is much too fast for her, and she performs everything like a robot-almost like Trusova. And hopefully, like Trusova, things will start to smooth out soon.
Adelia Petrosyan
I really do enjoy Adelia's skating. She's like a mix of Evgenia and Anna Scherbakova, and it was unfortunate that her free skate went as it did. Mainly, her jumps looked very untrained here. The landings were off, especially in the long, and she seemed disconnected, but I'm excited to see where this goes.
Sofia Samodelkina
This is who will challenge Daria Usacheva and Kamila Valieva. Her skating has such flow, and I could not believe my eyes when she landed that quad sal in the free, along with the 3As in both programs. I think it will really shake things up to have someone of this caliber come from outside Sambo 70, and I think that's part of what makes her performances so enjoyable- the choreography and style stand out because she's from a different training atmosphere. Good on her for winning here!
Elizaveta Osokina
In my opinion, Osokina's performances were the highlight of the week. Her skating is so pleasant to watch, mainly because her transitions are more simplistically elegant, versus overly complicated. Her spin positions are so unique, and her jump technique feels safer and stronger than her competitors, even though she isn't attempting 3As or quads. She should have been silver here.
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