0:01 TSL video schedule and 1:43 Dave's unfortunate injuries 8:07 Dave's chat with a skater who trained at Eteri's rink and at CSKA rink (environment conditions, comparison in weighing at Eteri and Tarasova-TAT) 11:39 || Cup of Russia (4th stage) || - there was a live stream here on UA-cam via the "1tv. ru channel" ( in russian written as "Первый канал", but I don't know if there are any geo-restrictions) 12:03 Kostornaia - my opinion: she seemed to be a little bit out of shape considering the few mistakes in SP and FP, I guess she needs to work on the performance for next competition, and she said that she wants to bring the 3A back but doesn't want to rush it and get injured 15:56 Kostornaia's injuries and the possible reasons why she left Eteri 16:59 Plushenko's new ice rink and Yana's instagram videos 19:12 messages from fans (Mexico fan asking about Dave's fave jump) 20:10 also from Mexico, two rich sisters with their own rink; one of them - Ana C. Cantu Felix is doing interviews with Valentina Marchei and others, talks about Galina and how Galina didn't like the other sister 21:01 Valentina talked with Ana about Galina 22:01 siblings that have skated - Michelle and Karen Kwan (who was more liked) 22:23 Ana called Galina for help about the Olympics 22:54 Kostornaia's 3A (a news clip only showing past footage) 24:18 the difference in personalities between Trusova, Shcherbakova, Kostornaia, Eteri, Medvedeva 26:16 Kostornaia's jacket throw and Hot Sergei (did he change his hair color?) 28:52 Kostornaia's SP and / 34:36 her attitude / 35:15 her relationship with Trusova / 35:50 Kostornaia's FP and Shae-Lynn + music edits / 39:16 back to SP / a 4S?? 40:33 Trusova's 3A attempt 41:22 split screens showing all skaters during the warm up at the Cup 42:05 Trusova's young coach Dmitrii Mikhailov 44:28 Trusova's 4S - my opinion: that jump was explosive, she had an amazing performance despite the fall on the third quad, she has the stamina to go through the jumps, I like her SP more and I think she'll eventually land the 3A in the SP too 46:36 Khromykh 48:04 Samodurova 49:02 Zagitova performances at a festival, skating as Esmeralda to the musical "Notre-Dame de Paris", choreo by Daniil G 55:29 || Japan || 59:42 Wakaba's 3A 1:04:04 US Nationals and hosts (Dave wants Oksana Baiul to host) 1:04:52 Oksana Baiul's instagram hiatus, upset about the Canadian terminology of the Mohawk and Choctaw 1:05:35 the Canadian terminology confusion + Tracy Wilson 1:07:34 || Cup of China || 1:13:50 Alysa Liu exhibition for Skate America? Tessa Virtue Barbie doll is here to talk about it!
Despite the fact that Trusova has a very stiff upper body and severe lack of facial expression, she's always been one of my favorite to watch. True she might never be the most elegant skater, but the grit and persistence and humbleness about her draws me in and makes me want to see her succeed. I notice that her hands (not wrist, but fingertips) are quite expressive and can be further explored. If the coaches can work on her neck extension that would be a big bonus, cause right now her head seems a bit disconnected from her body (Just my own two cents 😅).
I agree on working on her head positioning! I also think it would make such a difference if they could get her to make even the most minuscule of facial expressions as well
@@grisgris6908 yes! They dont have to be Medvedeva levels of extra but what made me love Yuna, Carolina and Mao sooooo much was how they were all emotive skaters that put just the right amount of everything in. (Btw not dissing Evgenia, I love her lol)
@@MMm-lf7fp yes! I remember when she did a shoot for Adidas or something and they didnt use the winged eyeliner she normally does, and gave her some facial makeup as well to enhance her cheeks etc. That look suited her so much and would definitely make her look more elegant in my opinion.
Trusova has really, really grown on me! I really like the amount of improvement she's shown in the SP this year, and omg, the beginning of the Romeo and Juliet FS makes me SO FREAKING EXCITED with all those big jumps on that giant, dramatic music! I don't even care if it's a jump drill full of crossovers, it works for me and it gets my heart rate up so much
It was touching to see how emotional Tarakanova and her coach got after the free. It’s so refreshing to see something other than an Eteri girl crying over first or second place.
I have watched Kostornaia’s free now a fee times and have gone from thinking it’s ok to it has real potential. It could have the ethereal qualities of her short last year if skated well. Is it me or is her lutz better and the flip less donkey kick? I agree with Dave. Starting to love the attitude of the short.
@@50781975 her programs are SO disappointing. Particularly alena’s and mariah’s, who I think are two of the most beautiful and expressive skaters right now. Their programs dont highlight their skills at all in my opinion
@@ElishaaLi A podcast I listen to (Flutzes and Waxels) brought up a point that I think is really interesting. They said that choreographing over zoom and other virtual platforms is a lot harder to match with the skater since the choreographer isn’t there to get a feel for the presence the skater has. This claim CAN be backed up by looking at Shae-Lynn’s previous programs compared to the ones this season. I do hope that it is an issue of zoom because I personally, really liked her choreo in past seasons.
About Eteri-Kostornaia being too similar, I also agree Evgenia Medvedeva is more like Tutberidze, but I don't think they're that far off. It seems to be, that by experience & guidance of Eteri-Tarasova, Medvedeva is very smart about what to say/what not to say. It's all a game and she knows it. Then ofc there's her want for longevity. Can't have that if you burn all your connections. Maybe it's lack of experience or awareness, or maybe Aliona really is that special in her own bubble talent, but she really does give Eteri a run for her money. Eteri went on the Zhenya attack against Aliona, and when she finally responded it was in front of cameras and she did not stutter! I'm honestly so impressed by Aliona lol.
@@lc4822 I agree. We all know the hell Eteri gave to Evgenia. Granted she was her favorite, probably still Is now that she'll cash in on her 40% too. That said, both (Medvedeva and Kostornaia) are clearly strong attitudes/personalities. Daniil is someone who clearly always favors the more "quiet obedient" student. Evgenia turned his programs down and Aliona flat out said she didn't like his program & ever since lol, just look at his demeanor towards them. The photo with Evgenia coming back said it all for Daniil's thoughts on the situation. 😂
Medvedeva was (is) her favorite and everyone knows it, and I think it is because she is not afraid of her? Like she is always joking around and keeping positive attitude and Eteri always laughs with her. I also think that Kostornaya was special to Eteri too. Idk I just always had a feeling. That’s why she got SO mad when Alena left.
@@ВалерияГорская-е2р yes Eteri loved Aliona. Remember that interview she did with Ted Barton at the JGPF in I think 2018? She went on about how Aliona was like an Angel and how much she loved her skating
@@shelleyc853 yeah I think she meant just loves hers skating but not really anything about the personality. Definitely now you can see the coaching situation with aliona. They do not like her
26:17 "Kostornaia has the power." Probably a big reason for her leaving Eteri, considering Tutberidze has been quoted at saying that once you're on her rink, regardless of what you accomplished, you're nobody. "You should see me in a crown" Aliona said, "no I am a somebody." I love herrrr.
That’s not correct. “Once you step out of podium, you’re a nobody” is a Irina Viner quote, meaning that you have to work from the scratch the same way as you work before, meaning is if you won something doing something, you have to do it the same way, not suddenly change everything to make more comfortable just because you won a medal. The quote meaning is against laziness, ego and poor work ethics more than saying someone is a “nobody” in a literal way.
@@SamKreinberg There's literally a documentary on Eteri saying this. Yes, a part of it is "don't get complacent/lazy" but also a tactic Eteri uses to keep her students "in line" as they say. She's been very vocal about not liking when any student makes "demands" for a better environment..
I think Aliona's long has a lot of potential despite her meh performance! I just hope she gets her butt in gear because I think she's such a beautiful skater :(
Yay Han Yan is back. Beautiful skater! It's the third consecutive year he repeates the short program, it is much better to keep something that is such a great, I wouldn't even mind if he repeats for the Olympic season again. His triple Axel is amazing too.
Okay, so Sofia Samodurova's hands in the short 100% remind me of Squidward from Spongebob and now all I can see when I watch that program is Squidward doing "interpretive" dance, I can't unsee it so I need to pass this on to everyone else.
Kostornaia sells & feels the music so much more than Trusova. Trusova's short has a little better skating & a little more feeling when she skates, but in her long pgrm, she reverts back to focusing on the quads and forgetting her posture and skating skills.
Aliona said in the interview that she kinda butchered the long program - didn’t follow the pattern, added her own arms and steps and “died” half way through the program and the whole thing to her looked raw and under-practiced even though she had a decent amount of time to practice it. She was very critical of herself. She also said she was scared to hear what shae-lynn was going to tell her after this skate. So maybe this program can look better. 🤷🏻♀️
As much as I find Kostornaia’s long boring I think she should keep it for this not really season and it would make the Olympic season program seem extra special *praying for a master piece
@@L.Spencer indeed very similar and just not what a senior ldy should be skating too against the girls sticking to classical pieces and quads. Honesty it was very boring and the dress didn't help :/
I think general expectations were a bit too high for the LP because it's Shae-Lynn. I do like the music (apart from that one music cut) but hope they'll fill it in a little more. Her SP ist growing on me as well, similar to last year when I first hated Twilight but towards the end of the season almost started to clap along like an idiot when the Muse part came up 😂
Regarding Kostornaia back problem, I've heard about it but then I saw a training clip where she did more extended version of Biellmann position (almost up to candle Biellmann) and I thought that she shouldn't have a back problem if she did that. I assumed she was training her flexibility because of some progress I saw. Hr I-spin, for example was also noticeably much straighter. So perhaps the SP layback spin was just a silly mistake? But then the FP Biellmann position in her combination spin was also not convincingly good as the training clip. I guess time will tell. I love Kostornaia candidness actually. In 1 interview she gave a comment that she was afraid that she would receive lower score because she left Eteri (this confirms that it's not just us talking about Eteri Bonus, even domestic skaters in Russia thought that as well lol). That's why she was surprised as well as relieved after seeing her SP score because she is still in judges' grace.
In the interview after comp she mentioned recently falling and hurting during her 3A practices so maybe her back condition regressed after raising the training intensity of the 3A? I also thought her flexibility improved during those training vids and was really excited to see her new spin positions as well but seems like it's gonna take some time for her to get back in prime state without her back getting in the way.
@@Nice-sz4ee ouch that ought to hurt. It could be because in SP her half bielmann position (in the flying camel spin) was not as extended as the clip I saw. The biellmann in FP as I mentioned before also not the same as the clip. Hope she recovers soon.
Her i-spin, that she used to do, was supposed to look the way it did. Her new one is a different variant and it isn’t really an indication of improvement. I’m seen her hold both positions in her novice years.
Hmm I did remember checking her i-spin while she was in junior and it was better than last season (1st senior year). I thought that she was focusing on 3A so she didn't train her spins too much. It seems the same to me though, just better this season.
To answer your question about program ownership, Tarakanova is using her senior free program from last year when she was with Panova even though she switched coaches in the summer. By the way even with some errors from her I was very happy to see her happy for herself!
@@oleczekr8528 To be fair, Alena admitted that she missed out on doing a lot of the choreography during her performance. But yes, I think that Shae-Lynn Bourne needs to revise and update the program for Aliona.
I just cant get Evgenia, 2016 Boston Worlds first 15 seconds of the free program with the hands on her ears out of my head for me to get into Alena’s free program p.s that burger king paper crown joke had me dyingggg
Having known the soundtrack of W.E before Zhenya skated to it, I remember thinking it was strange but smart the editing they did to the opening piece. Everyone thought she had amazing interpretation of the music but I mean all they did was alter the volume to make it seem like she is hearing music for the first time. In reality that has nothing to do with the film or score, and it is open for anyone’s own interpretation.
The way Tara hyped up Alysa was ridiculous. They talked about 3As and quads and how she'll compete with the best of the world, yet she showed only double jumps in her EX, including a very small bad 2A attempt. 3A or quads? She already lost her triples.
What Dave couldn't say is how out of shape Alysa is. I get that this is a transition year for her. Hopefully, she can get in shape and at least regain her triples. Let's hope her jumping technique holds up after puberty.
Yay! Finally! I saw Aliona was shocked after she saw her score like she didn't believe she'd have score that high after she made a mistake. I was hoping to see she'd do triple Axel. Trusova did 3 different quads successfully and she kept having problem with her combination 3lutz + 3Loop. Hopefully she'd do so much better in the next competition. It's great to see Trusova and Aliona again. I can't wait for Rostelecom cup, It'd be a tough competition like a deathmatch 😬
I was looking forward to Aliona's performance most but Trusova's 4S was HUGE i forgot she still had it. Also after the fall on the 3lutz+3loop she looked MAD and I think that added a lot of intensity for Dance of the Knights part. Now the competition feels complete seeing all of them and we're definitely gonna get a deathmatch!
@@Nice-sz4ee Yeah, I was surprised to see that 4Salchow and she executed that jump well. She had issue with that quad last season. If Trusova execute 3Axel with no problem in the next competition, it'd be tough for other competitors. She likes to challenge herself, I saw her attempted 4Loop in the practice. I hope Aliona will get stronger in Rostelecom Cup with Triple Axel In her program, Her triple Axel was huge and beautiful last season.
I loved how Aliona didn't hug Trusova when she stepped on the podium until the 3rd place girl did and then she was like Ok I guess I can hug her 😂 I can smell the tension between them Lol
I think she was thinking something else. 'I thought everybody agreed to social distance and not hug? And now this little twerp is making me look as if I did'nt want to hug out of spite.Making me look bad.....smart....very smart....
Yeah, it wasn't on purpose. Once she realized they weren't going to full on follow social distancing protocols, when Maia hugged Sasha, the two went in for a hug. I feel the drama is less existent than other sources say. It's ok for them to train completely diff schedules. Orser did that for Javi and Yuzu.
@@user-7AB23 because a lot of TSL watchers secretly want the drama. Even if it isn't there. I mean, If I want to know about everything figureskating,I don't need TSL. But I check in. Not only for the insight and gaining a deeper understanding of the sport but mainly, for the drama.
Well I think Alena has a right to give herself some slack this “not really” season and to be honest i’m tired from seeing the girls with the “Eteri is gonna kill me” face after the program
I agree. Obviously no one wants to have mistakes in their program, but all athletes and coaches need to learn that it’s not the end of the world and that mistakes happen. It seems like Alena and Sasha finally have this mindset, whereas Eteri’s girls (particularly Kamila) look terrified and devastated. It’s the “I’ll go back and work on this” vs “oh shit they are gonna make me do 100 repetitions of this tomorrow” thought process
@@mmg1800 they all have been there actually. Literally all. Maybe except for Zhenya, but she is a different story. I think she is the only one who isn’t afraid of Eteri, that’s why Eteri loves her so much.
They gave Alena so much in SP that she wouldn’t swim under Maya at the end. It was obvious that Sasha Trusova will take over in long program with quads. You are wrong about Alena’s attitude, she was surprised on high score in SP and admitted her errors and that she isn’t fully ready in interview. She is very down to earth and open about her flows but also confident.
By the way, about Kostornaya’s billman, she said earlier in the interview that two weeks ago when she was training her axel and broke her skates she fell very hard on her back and it was very painful but she said “oh, ok its not the first time it hurts. No big deal“. I really worry for her after that interview
Yes but she also said that it was when Plushenko was with Sasha on competitions. and it was 4 weeks ago, not 2. So she had almost a month to get used to skates. Blaming everything on boots and back injury (while posting extended billman in insta) is very much similar to how Plushenko was behaving when he was a sportsman. Also the fact that Plush said ‘Sasha is queen of figure skating’ and bought presidential suit for her after competition says a lot. You can’t act like that when you have 2 top figure skaters in your team. It just shows that he forgot about Alyona and doesn’t train her property. Her horrible programs, lost axel and billman, poor physical condition is a proof for that. And that’s a pity cuz Alyona was my fav skater last season. I really cried when I saw her Angel. I still watch this program from time to time and can’t understand why she left people who made her a champion. I understand why Sasha left, she was always the third despite she has the most complex elements. But why Alyona moved to a beginner coach, I can’t explain to myself. Also she said she wanna stay with her coaches in Kazan after competitions for a few days, but gran prix of Russia starts in 10 days! And she still doesn’t have her axel! And her coaches are ok with it. Do you think it’s normal?
@@sonyaklevakina8461 1) Her horrible program (only the FS is horrible for me) is Shae-Lynn Bourne's fault. Just like how Mariah Bell's horrible ABBA FS program is also Shae-Lynn's fault and NOT Rafael Arutyunian's. 2) Funny how you think "blaming everything on boots and injury" is Plushenko's trait whereas after Kamila fell a shit ton times, her fan base ate a made-up excuse that it's her boots (some people even made up stories telling they saw Plushenko sawed her boots). 3) She has only moved for... how many months is it?? August-September-October-November. *ONLY FOUR MONTHS.* Not even Trusova herself has landed a clean Triple Axel in the competitions so far, and she moved there first. *Not really an incompetence on Plushenko's part tho, seeing NONE in Team Tutberidze has landed a clean Triple Axel in the competitions so far too!*
@@sasstsuma1467 1) that’s coaches’ fault too, don’t you think so? It seems to me that they’re not blind. They saw this program, so if they had enough qualifications and taste, they would change it or at least add smth to this program. 2) Kamila’s coach said that boots aren’t an excuse for a bad performance))) what fans said is not very interesting for me. Kamila never complained about her skates or anything when she had bad performance
@@sasstsuma1467 3) both her programs by Danilo were ready in summer but she decided to leave. And you know what? Despite everyone says that his programs are shit, I’m 100% sure they would be better than what we saw yesterday. I mean, look at Departure. It’s a masterpiece 4) NO ONE? what about Sofya Akatyeva who landed 3 axel and a quad ? She also said that she couldn’t land 3 axel in Novogorsk in summer (just like Alyona) but when they came back to their rink, she could manage. And if you’ve noticed, I said not only about 3 axel 🙂 if she lost just this jump, I wouldn’t say anything cuz I understand it’s super difficult to restore it She was really my fav skater last season, and I’m super sorry for her decision. I’m sure she’s already realized she made a mistake.
@@sonyaklevakina8461 Didn’t it occur to you that she’s already 17yo? How many russian female skaters have struggled with puberty esp at the age of 17 such as Lipnitskaia and Zagitova who fell apart at competitions thus retired, and Medvedeva who had such a severe injury that she had to withdraw from most competitions during the olympic season? Do you think puberty has no impact on Alena? The pandemic and changing coaches have made the situation even worse for her. Even if she’s looking for excuses for her performance, I’m ok with it coz I think it’s better than that eteri’s girls all have a “it’s all my fault, eteri is gonna kill me” face after bad skates, which makes me really worry about the kids’ mental health. Alena is my fav and I really hope she can survive puberty and bring back triple axels, but it’s also understandable if she can’t coz we’ve seen so many russian ladies fail. Women’s figure skating nowadays is for 15-16yo girls only.
I had exactly the same feeling from Yan Han's performance as Jonathan and struggle to find the right words to express that overflowing lightness. But i do share the same impression from it - his skate was full of softness and smoothness but with so solid jumps, so balanced, it was full of air - I haven't seen such a delightful skate in a very long time among nice but overcomplicated routines, or rushed, staffed with out-of-music transitions programs, or just boring/ ridiculous routines. Thanks for sharing your feedback ☺️
Yan Han has been one of my favourites for a long time and I'm so glad to see him skating like this and with this music. I don't have many long standing favourites but he is one! The skating skills are just stunning
For the quads clearly. Jumps look different often depending on the angle, and the TV view is not always the best. It could also be a sort of appreciation: the jump is so good i have to film it. In platform diving is way more common during competition.
My favorite jump has always been flip, even before I ever stepped on a real rink. There's is just something about the rhythm of the 3turn into the pick take-off.
I think those 6 extra points are from the bonuses (literal extra points) that they give for difficult elements (level 4 spins, quads..). It's a thing of the Cup of Russia. Yagudin and Grishin mentioned it
Yeah I don't think the coaches are doing her favor, she could skate clean without the quad. But look Eteri is so powerful, her skaters can make the podium anyway even with 3 falls.
People (probably like you) pretend that Rika or Liza Tuktamysheva have a quad despite they never landed it succesfully in the competition and Maiia at least lands it solidly in a training, definitely better than what I've seen from the other two.
I have an extremely stressful work call tomorrow and this is the relaxation/hangout I needed for some indulgent peace tonight. Thanks for a great show, as always!!
Well that coach is off for supporting Trump, he’s not wrong in saying he’s leaving the US when traveling to Hawaii. Hawaii is technically an independent country that is illegally occupied by the United States. There was never a treaty of annexation and we Hawaiians have been fighting for 127 years for our independence back.
While i hope that Kostornaia will restore her 3a, improve her stamina and consolidate her spins...what the hell happened to her 3lz? She changed the entrance once again, the edge became flat and she has almost a full blade assistance and 1/2 before she takes off. Her lutz last season was so much better than before so why would she do it now in Zagitova/Usacheva/Scherbakova style :(
It s not just eunsoo, the whole korean team seemed to vanish. I thought some of them would compete for Chinese Cup, but nope. No one there. I mean i m not suprised though, KSU was never helpful nor function properly to begin with. YY probably could get a spot for NHK but we would see, if her coach would help her. Some of the younger ones seems to start training 3A is the only thing i know. Never the less, i hope they are building eunsoo mentality and confident again though. Girl look so distracted last season
Dave talking about the wait and hitting refresh. That was me in 2008 for the USA gymnastics team. In europe. At night. I could have just waited. But it was like I had a shot at making the team. Btw: I did not make the team.
I dont know if I read too much into it but watching the whole 6 min warmup, kostornaia spends almost half of it just warming up edges and doing wallys, whereas both trusova and Maiia did like three laps and then immediately started going into jumps. I feel like that just shows that trusova just doesnt care about the skating skills at all. We get the narrative that she’s working on them, but I kinda dont believe it
To be fair, i think everyone warms-up differently, practicing edges for 6min before a performance isn’t exactly going to make a world of a difference....
@@ElishaaLi Another key factor here is, this is Aliona's first competition back. I think it was wise she not burn herself out in a warm up considering she was a bit slower than usual, which is expected for a first performance back after a while like in her case.
Well she works on skating skills, but she doesn’t care about that. I sure Plushenko made her do it simply just by showing her 2010 Olympics men event and that she would lose to Kostornaia despite her quads if she doesn’t change her training & programs style. Plushenko is straight to the point, he won’t keep her delusional like Eteri made Medvedeva by having her skate the same layout for 4 years and make her believe she would win forever because of that.
She could be conserving energy or perhaps preventing burn out. She could be in the stage of training where her body could not handle too much strain. Like Hanyu in Olympic 2018 training session where he did only stroking and single jump exercise.
"Because she got all the LEGAL GOE'S..." hahahahahaha. As a canadian watching your election, I'm glad that you guys are finally climbing out of this 4 year dumpster fire....!
I was happy to see Kostornaia back in action. She landed all the jumps and rotated most of them cleanly. Trusova's jumps looked great. Nice to see her looking slightly more artistic. Maia Khromykh is NOT fun to watch. At all. The noodly I spin wasn't even cute.
loved the Han Yan experience, reminded me of Patrcik Chan in his prime - but also can we talk about the fact that half of Cup of China was skated to the freakin' "for a 1000 yeaaars"? song, over and over again :D what's with that? also, I dig the Billie E music choice of Aljona and I'm with Dave on that - give us all the diva drama, girls! ;)
Choreographically, Alena's free program is like Anna's: kind of pretty and pleasant but veeeery generic, boring, and uninspired. However, Anna's musicality and expressiveness elevates the program and it can be dynamic with her performance, but Alena is so blank throughout hers and you can tell it's just not for her. She's way more into her short than her long, and she isn't performing the long at all. I thought she really phoned in the performance, was off the music in many areas, didn't hold the spiral or many of her positions, and she didn't really do much better than Sasha in performance and interpretation.
I think Alyona could still get a 4S or 4T, both of those she does very well as triples and she was super consistent with the 3A that Sasha still hasn't mastered. Rika Kihira is also older and less shredded and lands quads in training all the time (not in competition whyever). I feel Hot Sergei or Plushenko could work on this but they are focused on the 3A and getting her in shape now
Random question I get to ask now that I'm one of the first... I asked Jackie Wong this and he didn't know, so now the pressure's on. When/where/who was the first Lady to score a Level 4 step-sequence? I ask this 'cause, during a recent rewatch of Yuna's Roxanne SP, Dick Button mentioned that no Lady had ever scored higher than a Level 3, and I believe he was including Yuna at that Worlds. Anyone know?
It would have been in the 2005-2006 season (2nd season of Code of Points). Multiple ladies got level 4 step sequence at worlds so first one probably would've been grand prix event.
@@benbailey159bb Not according to Dick Button. He could be wrong but given what you just said about the election I'm not keen to take your word over his
I just watched the Alysa Liu exhibition... I didn't see much wrong with it. I'll reserve judgement because perhaps she didn't want to change her entries to make way for a 3T or 3S. But her body has changed to where I'm highly skeptical of quads. The 3A might still happen.
Trusova is giving me real Nathan Chen 2017/18 vibes going for broke on all the jumps. Hopefully she'll also turn her attention to skating skills/performance once the jumps are really solid
@@ElishaaLi Yes she needs something more intricate or not as flat for her free. Kinda feels disrespectful to give her such a boring free considering her musicality haha.
I loved the Cup of Russia. Evgenia Medvedeva is very smart about to keep her mouth. She has been in the game for a long time and she can play the game. I loved both programs of the Alinoa and Trusova a lot. I Etri- Kostornaia is being not smart about her thoughts about her old couch. She need to keep her mouth closed. I want to say HI from Mexico
And if it's state funded, why does it seems like Plushenko owns it? I mean Eteri is the top coach at Sambo crystal but she's not the one who really manages the rink...
It’s a rink built on Rudkovskaya’s money. Plus as you know, there’s a big corruption problem in Russia so it’s almost impossible to build smth like that without using budget money. Plush is friends with Roman Rotenberg (who is Putin’s friend and also one of the richest man in Russia and has power) and Sobyanin (who is a mayor of Moscow). Rudkovskaya has her money thanks to of her ex husband plus powerful patrons = Plushenko’s rink. I’m 100% sure that this rink was built with the help of budget money, but Rudkovskaya shows off that they did so good job and they develop sport in Russia. Well...🤷🏻♀️ Lying is a main trait of this couple. We have witnessed so much lie from them, so now no one takes their words seriously.
She's not picturing a Burger King crown. Hers has jewels. 👑 Lol. Why is Kostornaia insisting on doing a Biellman with a bad back? She really doesn't need it. I loved Shae Lynn's Ashley programs, but I think she has definitely run out of ideas.
Tbf, she admitted that she forgot a lot of the choreography and completely improved the steps. Hopefully next time we see it the program will be fuller.
Kostornaia remind me so much of Gracie gold. They look similar on the ice, they skate similarly and they're both overly cautious on the ice and seem afraid in competition.
Dave, I'm a little worried about you hurting your other eye from those looks at 1:20 to 1:22 (ish). I watched that exhibition performance after; oh dear. Thanks, Gentlemen!! Love your content.
@@TheSkatingLesson Great looking forward to checking it out! In LA it is typically hot all year around so sweaters are mostly reserved for the ice rink!
Speaking of Shae-Lynn Bourne, Marin Honda's short is also by her. "I'm an Albatraoz"!? Not my favorite either...What does everybody think of Marin recently, her East Japan Sectionals was ruff....
So you started to say what you thought of Zagitova’s performances, but didn’t finish. Don’t leave us hanging, I’m genuinely curious about what you thought of it...
Do you ever say “Galina, demonstrate!” when you don’t understand the move she wants? That sometimes stops my coaches in their tracks because they’re not physically able to do it anymore, lol.
Dave I agree with you that Kosternaia's short program becomes more appreciated with each viewing. I think that the footwork and arms/hands really make the program. I personally prefer Daniil's choreography and think that Ms. Bourne's long program was rather boring.
I have a question. When Dave doesn’t speak for five minutes and just makes faces, and then Jonathan goes, “oh, I see. Understood,” .... does Jonathan really read Dave’s thoughts or is he just pretending to know what’s going on? Inquiring minds need to know.
I don't even know how to describe my overall perception of Alena's skating. Last year, her presence and expressions were great. I felt very pulled in when she performed. I even loved her choice in music. People said the music was bad but I loved it. Her music this season is not my favorite. It's not my idea of what I feel suits her. Anyways, her presence just felt off. Very bland and flat
Skaters only have so many months/days they can be in their best form, and only so many months/years in their body where they can train super hard. Why the heck would they be in their best form and training really hard now? There's zero point lol
you NEED to start putting clips into these videos. i wan't to see what you're talking about bc i don't remember every jump everyone does and no one wants to have to dig through videos to find what you might be talking about.
I've to say judging at domestic competitions in Russia is a whole new level of annoying. This time again there were 2-3 skaters just as good as Maya Khromykh who skated cleaner and they got lower scores by some 20-30 points because they are not from the "right" camp. Of course politics have always played a role, but this season is way more nonsense than usual.
It’s all about the points, but her technical content even on the spins and ftrwk it add up I’m sure she was prob about 6-7 on the pcs but samodurova jumps look abit tight and if I was a caller I would def review her jumps, tsbinova she appear clean but in the slow mo you can see jumps are under-rotated .... Elizaveta nugumanova should have been higher but once again under-rotation and if she get a 3/3 in that 2nd half she could be a very good mid-tier skater as i think eteri, plushenko, davydov kids are in that top group of girls...
Still thousand times better than out of this world overscoring in Skate America was - where everyone were masters of lvl 4 spins and stpsqses, surprisingly ) The girls there with the same performances and jump rotations never would get higher than 150 if they performed at CoR - at least tech panel there is more competent.
0:01 TSL video schedule and 1:43 Dave's unfortunate injuries
8:07 Dave's chat with a skater who trained at Eteri's rink and at CSKA rink (environment conditions, comparison in weighing at Eteri and Tarasova-TAT)
11:39 || Cup of Russia (4th stage) || - there was a live stream here on UA-cam via the "1tv. ru channel" (
in russian written as "Первый канал", but I don't know if there are any geo-restrictions)
12:03 Kostornaia - my opinion: she seemed to be a little bit out of shape considering the few mistakes in SP and FP, I guess she needs to work on the performance for next competition, and she said that she wants to bring the 3A back but doesn't want to rush it and get injured
15:56 Kostornaia's injuries and the possible reasons why she left Eteri
16:59 Plushenko's new ice rink and Yana's instagram videos
19:12 messages from fans (Mexico fan asking about Dave's fave jump)
20:10 also from Mexico, two rich sisters with their own rink; one of them - Ana C. Cantu Felix is doing interviews with Valentina Marchei and others, talks about Galina and how Galina didn't like the other sister
21:01 Valentina talked with Ana about Galina
22:01 siblings that have skated - Michelle and Karen Kwan (who was more liked)
22:23 Ana called Galina for help about the Olympics
22:54 Kostornaia's 3A (a news clip only showing past footage)
24:18 the difference in personalities between Trusova, Shcherbakova, Kostornaia, Eteri, Medvedeva
26:16 Kostornaia's jacket throw and Hot Sergei (did he change his hair color?)
28:52 Kostornaia's SP and / 34:36 her attitude / 35:15 her relationship with Trusova / 35:50 Kostornaia's FP and Shae-Lynn + music edits / 39:16 back to SP / a 4S??
40:33 Trusova's 3A attempt
41:22 split screens showing all skaters during the warm up at the Cup
42:05 Trusova's young coach Dmitrii Mikhailov
44:28 Trusova's 4S - my opinion: that jump was explosive, she had an amazing performance despite the fall on the third quad, she has the stamina to go through the jumps, I like her SP more and I think she'll eventually land the 3A in the SP too
46:36 Khromykh
48:04 Samodurova
49:02 Zagitova performances at a festival, skating as Esmeralda to the musical "Notre-Dame de Paris", choreo by Daniil G
55:29 || Japan ||
59:42 Wakaba's 3A
1:04:04 US Nationals and hosts (Dave wants Oksana Baiul to host)
1:04:52 Oksana Baiul's instagram hiatus, upset about the Canadian terminology of the Mohawk and Choctaw
1:05:35 the Canadian terminology confusion + Tracy Wilson
1:07:34 || Cup of China ||
1:13:50 Alysa Liu exhibition for Skate America? Tessa Virtue Barbie doll is here to talk about it!
Despite the fact that Trusova has a very stiff upper body and severe lack of facial expression, she's always been one of my favorite to watch. True she might never be the most elegant skater, but the grit and persistence and humbleness about her draws me in and makes me want to see her succeed. I notice that her hands (not wrist, but fingertips) are quite expressive and can be further explored. If the coaches can work on her neck extension that would be a big bonus, cause right now her head seems a bit disconnected from her body (Just my own two cents 😅).
I agree on working on her head positioning! I also think it would make such a difference if they could get her to make even the most minuscule of facial expressions as well
@@helenaprout1061 Totally agree, facial expressions alone would elevate her programs.
@@grisgris6908 yes! They dont have to be Medvedeva levels of extra but what made me love Yuna, Carolina and Mao sooooo much was how they were all emotive skaters that put just the right amount of everything in. (Btw not dissing Evgenia, I love her lol)
I totally agree with your comment. I think she should change her make up a little bit, to make her facial traits more visible.
@@MMm-lf7fp yes! I remember when she did a shoot for Adidas or something and they didnt use the winged eyeliner she normally does, and gave her some facial makeup as well to enhance her cheeks etc. That look suited her so much and would definitely make her look more elegant in my opinion.
I definitely prefer to have the episode later with more quality content than early. Thank you for doing this!
PwT you’re welcome!
Agreed!
Trusova has really, really grown on me! I really like the amount of improvement she's shown in the SP this year, and omg, the beginning of the Romeo and Juliet FS makes me SO FREAKING EXCITED with all those big jumps on that giant, dramatic music! I don't even care if it's a jump drill full of crossovers, it works for me and it gets my heart rate up so much
It was touching to see how emotional Tarakanova and her coach got after the free. It’s so refreshing to see something other than an Eteri girl crying over first or second place.
I have watched Kostornaia’s free now a fee times and have gone from thinking it’s ok to it has real potential. It could have the ethereal qualities of her short last year if skated well. Is it me or is her lutz better and the flip less donkey kick? I agree with Dave. Starting to love the attitude of the short.
Shae lynn did everyone so dirty this season...
Why do you think that?
@@50781975 her programs are SO disappointing. Particularly alena’s and mariah’s, who I think are two of the most beautiful and expressive skaters right now. Their programs dont highlight their skills at all in my opinion
@@ElishaaLi A podcast I listen to (Flutzes and Waxels) brought up a point that I think is really interesting. They said that choreographing over zoom and other virtual platforms is a lot harder to match with the skater since the choreographer isn’t there to get a feel for the presence the skater has. This claim CAN be backed up by looking at Shae-Lynn’s previous programs compared to the ones this season. I do hope that it is an issue of zoom because I personally, really liked her choreo in past seasons.
i actually am really excited abt medvedevas alegria... i believe that was choreographed in person
@@lilimmck i kinda doubt that she will perform this season tbh
About Eteri-Kostornaia being too similar, I also agree Evgenia Medvedeva is more like Tutberidze, but I don't think they're that far off. It seems to be, that by experience & guidance of Eteri-Tarasova, Medvedeva is very smart about what to say/what not to say. It's all a game and she knows it. Then ofc there's her want for longevity. Can't have that if you burn all your connections. Maybe it's lack of experience or awareness, or maybe Aliona really is that special in her own bubble talent, but she really does give Eteri a run for her money. Eteri went on the Zhenya attack against Aliona, and when she finally responded it was in front of cameras and she did not stutter! I'm honestly so impressed by Aliona lol.
She might just not be a sheep so Eteri-incompatible
@@lc4822 I agree. We all know the hell Eteri gave to Evgenia. Granted she was her favorite, probably still Is now that she'll cash in on her 40% too. That said, both (Medvedeva and Kostornaia) are clearly strong attitudes/personalities. Daniil is someone who clearly always favors the more "quiet obedient" student. Evgenia turned his programs down and Aliona flat out said she didn't like his program & ever since lol, just look at his demeanor towards them. The photo with Evgenia coming back said it all for Daniil's thoughts on the situation. 😂
Medvedeva was (is) her favorite and everyone knows it, and I think it is because she is not afraid of her? Like she is always joking around and keeping positive attitude and Eteri always laughs with her. I also think that Kostornaya was special to Eteri too. Idk I just always had a feeling. That’s why she got SO mad when Alena left.
@@ВалерияГорская-е2р yes Eteri loved Aliona. Remember that interview she did with Ted Barton at the JGPF in I think 2018? She went on about how Aliona was like an Angel and how much she loved her skating
@@shelleyc853 yeah I think she meant just loves hers skating but not really anything about the personality. Definitely now you can see the coaching situation with aliona. They do not like her
26:17 "Kostornaia has the power." Probably a big reason for her leaving Eteri, considering Tutberidze has been quoted at saying that once you're on her rink, regardless of what you accomplished, you're nobody. "You should see me in a crown" Aliona said, "no I am a somebody." I love herrrr.
That’s not correct. “Once you step out of podium, you’re a nobody” is a Irina Viner quote, meaning that you have to work from the scratch the same way as you work before, meaning is if you won something doing something, you have to do it the same way, not suddenly change everything to make more comfortable just because you won a medal.
The quote meaning is against laziness, ego and poor work ethics more than saying someone is a “nobody” in a literal way.
@@SamKreinberg There's literally a documentary on Eteri saying this. Yes, a part of it is "don't get complacent/lazy" but also a tactic Eteri uses to keep her students "in line" as they say. She's been very vocal about not liking when any student makes "demands" for a better environment..
Should write fiction
Yes, we saw her crown yesterday... She didn’t look like a queen sorry
@@sonyaklevakina8461 Me neither, but I wasn't expecting her to be 100% caught up either. Mostly agree with everything Dave & Jonathan pointed out.
I think Aliona's long has a lot of potential despite her meh performance! I just hope she gets her butt in gear because I think she's such a beautiful skater :(
Yay Han Yan is back. Beautiful skater! It's the third consecutive year he repeates the short program, it is much better to keep something that is such a great, I wouldn't even mind if he repeats for the Olympic season again. His triple Axel is amazing too.
Okay, so Sofia Samodurova's hands in the short 100% remind me of Squidward from Spongebob and now all I can see when I watch that program is Squidward doing "interpretive" dance, I can't unsee it so I need to pass this on to everyone else.
Kostornaia sells & feels the music so much more than Trusova. Trusova's short has a little better skating & a little more feeling when she skates, but in her long pgrm, she reverts back to focusing on the quads and forgetting her posture and skating skills.
Aliona said in the interview that she kinda butchered the long program - didn’t follow the pattern, added her own arms and steps and “died” half way through the program and the whole thing to her looked raw and under-practiced even though she had a decent amount of time to practice it. She was very critical of herself. She also said she was scared to hear what shae-lynn was going to tell her after this skate. So maybe this program can look better. 🤷🏻♀️
Do you mind sharing where you found the interview? Thanks!
It’s the music choices and edits that are pretty bad tho.
@extra fs thank you so much! I’m a follower. Guess I missed it. :)
As much as I find Kostornaia’s long boring I think she should keep it for this not really season and it would make the Olympic season program seem extra special *praying for a master piece
I find her short is too much like her long last year.
@@L.Spencer indeed very similar and just not what a senior ldy should be skating too against the girls sticking to classical pieces and quads. Honesty it was very boring and the dress didn't help :/
I have been looking forward to this all day, can’t wait to hear your thoughts on cup of Russia! Thank you!
Hope you enjoy it!
I think general expectations were a bit too high for the LP because it's Shae-Lynn. I do like the music (apart from that one music cut) but hope they'll fill it in a little more. Her SP ist growing on me as well, similar to last year when I first hated Twilight but towards the end of the season almost started to clap along like an idiot when the Muse part came up 😂
Regarding Kostornaia back problem, I've heard about it but then I saw a training clip where she did more extended version of Biellmann position (almost up to candle Biellmann) and I thought that she shouldn't have a back problem if she did that. I assumed she was training her flexibility because of some progress I saw. Hr I-spin, for example was also noticeably much straighter. So perhaps the SP layback spin was just a silly mistake? But then the FP Biellmann position in her combination spin was also not convincingly good as the training clip. I guess time will tell.
I love Kostornaia candidness actually. In 1 interview she gave a comment that she was afraid that she would receive lower score because she left Eteri (this confirms that it's not just us talking about Eteri Bonus, even domestic skaters in Russia thought that as well lol). That's why she was surprised as well as relieved after seeing her SP score because she is still in judges' grace.
In the interview after comp she mentioned recently falling and hurting during her 3A practices so maybe her back condition regressed after raising the training intensity of the 3A? I also thought her flexibility improved during those training vids and was really excited to see her new spin positions as well but seems like it's gonna take some time for her to get back in prime state without her back getting in the way.
@@Nice-sz4ee ouch that ought to hurt. It could be because in SP her half bielmann position (in the flying camel spin) was not as extended as the clip I saw. The biellmann in FP as I mentioned before also not the same as the clip. Hope she recovers soon.
Her i-spin, that she used to do, was supposed to look the way it did. Her new one is a different variant and it isn’t really an indication of improvement. I’m seen her hold both positions in her novice years.
Hmm I did remember checking her i-spin while she was in junior and it was better than last season (1st senior year). I thought that she was focusing on 3A so she didn't train her spins too much. It seems the same to me though, just better this season.
To answer your question about program ownership, Tarakanova is using her senior free program from last year when she was with Panova even though she switched coaches in the summer. By the way even with some errors from her I was very happy to see her happy for herself!
What I noticed about Kostornaia’s LP was that there weren’t really any transitions. It seemed bland and basic.
This appeared to be Shae-Lynn Bourne choreography that everybody was wishing for Alena before... now get it
@@oleczekr8528 To be fair, Alena admitted that she missed out on doing a lot of the choreography during her performance. But yes, I think that Shae-Lynn Bourne needs to revise and update the program for Aliona.
Having a waking nightmare of Tarsova watching me being weighed and commenting! Scary
You and me both.
@@TheSkatingLesson Do you have a favorite skater of all time?
I just cant get Evgenia, 2016 Boston Worlds first 15 seconds of the free program with the hands on her ears out of my head for me to get into Alena’s free program
p.s that burger king paper crown joke had me dyingggg
Having known the soundtrack of W.E before Zhenya skated to it, I remember thinking it was strange but smart the editing they did to the opening piece. Everyone thought she had amazing interpretation of the music but I mean all they did was alter the volume to make it seem like she is hearing music for the first time. In reality that has nothing to do with the film or score, and it is open for anyone’s own interpretation.
@@ElishaaLi the program was dedicated to eteris daughter who was particularly deaf so that’s the whole point of the volume
15:43, 23:10 and 28:54 kostornaia
49:00 zagitova
The way Tara hyped up Alysa was ridiculous. They talked about 3As and quads and how she'll compete with the best of the world, yet she showed only double jumps in her EX, including a very small bad 2A attempt. 3A or quads? She already lost her triples.
What exhibition?
@@susanfield3680 it's an exhibition version of her La Strada SP actually
What Dave couldn't say is how out of shape Alysa is. I get that this is a transition year for her. Hopefully, she can get in shape and at least regain her triples. Let's hope her jumping technique holds up after puberty.
Yay! Finally!
I saw Aliona was shocked after she saw her score like she didn't believe she'd have score that high after she made a mistake. I was hoping to see she'd do triple Axel. Trusova did 3 different quads successfully and she kept having problem with her combination 3lutz + 3Loop. Hopefully she'd do so much better in the next competition. It's great to see Trusova and Aliona again. I can't wait for Rostelecom cup, It'd be a tough competition like a deathmatch 😬
I was looking forward to Aliona's performance most but Trusova's 4S was HUGE i forgot she still had it. Also after the fall on the 3lutz+3loop she looked MAD and I think that added a lot of intensity for Dance of the Knights part. Now the competition feels complete seeing all of them and we're definitely gonna get a deathmatch!
@@Nice-sz4ee Yeah, I was surprised to see that 4Salchow and she executed that jump well. She had issue with that quad last season. If Trusova execute 3Axel with no problem in the next competition, it'd be tough for other competitors. She likes to challenge herself, I saw her attempted 4Loop in the practice. I hope Aliona will get stronger in
Rostelecom Cup with Triple Axel In her program, Her triple Axel was huge and beautiful last season.
I loved how Aliona didn't hug Trusova when she stepped on the podium until the 3rd place girl did and then she was like Ok I guess I can hug her 😂 I can smell the tension between them Lol
I think she was thinking something else. 'I thought everybody agreed to social distance and not hug? And now this little twerp is making me look as if I did'nt want to hug out of spite.Making me look bad.....smart....very smart....
Yeah, it wasn't on purpose. Once she realized they weren't going to full on follow social distancing protocols, when Maia hugged Sasha, the two went in for a hug. I feel the drama is less existent than other sources say. It's ok for them to train completely diff schedules. Orser did that for Javi and Yuzu.
I hope they'll talk about this. I'm sure it would be such a misunderstanding why Kostornaia didn't hug Trusova.
We all noticed, ppl have started talking
@@user-7AB23 because a lot of TSL watchers secretly want the drama. Even if it isn't there. I mean, If I want to know about everything figureskating,I don't need TSL. But I check in. Not only for the insight and gaining a deeper understanding of the sport but mainly, for the drama.
Well I think Alena has a right to give herself some slack this “not really” season and to be honest i’m tired from seeing the girls with the “Eteri is gonna kill me” face after the program
I agree. Obviously no one wants to have mistakes in their program, but all athletes and coaches need to learn that it’s not the end of the world and that mistakes happen. It seems like Alena and Sasha finally have this mindset, whereas Eteri’s girls (particularly Kamila) look terrified and devastated. It’s the “I’ll go back and work on this” vs “oh shit they are gonna make me do 100 repetitions of this tomorrow” thought process
@@mmg1800 I think it’s interesting that you guys always say you want to save these girls, while dissing their performance. So hypocritical...
It refers to all coaches, Etery isn't an exception
@@mmg1800 they all have been there actually. Literally all. Maybe except for Zhenya, but she is a different story. I think she is the only one who isn’t afraid of Eteri, that’s why Eteri loves her so much.
@@mmg1800 Kamila is such a sweet child and I have a feeling that it is hard for her to compete. Especially under such pressure
They gave Alena so much in SP that she wouldn’t swim under Maya at the end. It was obvious that Sasha Trusova will take over in long program with quads. You are wrong about Alena’s attitude, she was surprised on high score in SP and admitted her errors and that she isn’t fully ready in interview. She is very down to earth and open about her flows but also confident.
It was attitude in a positive way. She has some sass, which we appreciate :)
@@TheSkatingLesson she does :)
By the way, about Kostornaya’s billman, she said earlier in the interview that two weeks ago when she was training her axel and broke her skates she fell very hard on her back and it was very painful but she said “oh, ok its not the first time it hurts. No big deal“. I really worry for her after that interview
Yes but she also said that it was when Plushenko was with Sasha on competitions. and it was 4 weeks ago, not 2. So she had almost a month to get used to skates. Blaming everything on boots and back injury (while posting extended billman in insta) is very much similar to how Plushenko was behaving when he was a sportsman. Also the fact that Plush said ‘Sasha is queen of figure skating’ and bought presidential suit for her after competition says a lot. You can’t act like that when you have 2 top figure skaters in your team. It just shows that he forgot about Alyona and doesn’t train her property. Her horrible programs, lost axel and billman, poor physical condition is a proof for that. And that’s a pity cuz Alyona was my fav skater last season. I really cried when I saw her Angel. I still watch this program from time to time and can’t understand why she left people who made her a champion. I understand why Sasha left, she was always the third despite she has the most complex elements. But why Alyona moved to a beginner coach, I can’t explain to myself. Also she said she wanna stay with her coaches in Kazan after competitions for a few days, but gran prix of Russia starts in 10 days! And she still doesn’t have her axel! And her coaches are ok with it. Do you think it’s normal?
@@sonyaklevakina8461 1) Her horrible program (only the FS is horrible for me) is Shae-Lynn Bourne's fault. Just like how Mariah Bell's horrible ABBA FS program is also Shae-Lynn's fault and NOT Rafael Arutyunian's. 2) Funny how you think "blaming everything on boots and injury" is Plushenko's trait whereas after Kamila fell a shit ton times, her fan base ate a made-up excuse that it's her boots (some people even made up stories telling they saw Plushenko sawed her boots). 3) She has only moved for... how many months is it?? August-September-October-November. *ONLY FOUR MONTHS.* Not even Trusova herself has landed a clean Triple Axel in the competitions so far, and she moved there first. *Not really an incompetence on Plushenko's part tho, seeing NONE in Team Tutberidze has landed a clean Triple Axel in the competitions so far too!*
@@sasstsuma1467 1) that’s coaches’ fault too, don’t you think so? It seems to me that they’re not blind. They saw this program, so if they had enough qualifications and taste, they would change it or at least add smth to this program. 2) Kamila’s coach said that boots aren’t an excuse for a bad performance))) what fans said is not very interesting for me. Kamila never complained about her skates or anything when she had bad performance
@@sasstsuma1467 3) both her programs by Danilo were ready in summer but she decided to leave. And you know what? Despite everyone says that his programs are shit, I’m 100% sure they would be better than what we saw yesterday. I mean, look at Departure. It’s a masterpiece
4) NO ONE? what about Sofya Akatyeva who landed 3 axel and a quad ? She also said that she couldn’t land 3 axel in Novogorsk in summer (just like Alyona) but when they came back to their rink, she could manage.
And if you’ve noticed, I said not only about 3 axel 🙂 if she lost just this jump, I wouldn’t say anything cuz I understand it’s super difficult to restore it
She was really my fav skater last season, and I’m super sorry for her decision. I’m sure she’s already realized she made a mistake.
@@sonyaklevakina8461 Didn’t it occur to you that she’s already 17yo? How many russian female skaters have struggled with puberty esp at the age of 17 such as Lipnitskaia and Zagitova who fell apart at competitions thus retired, and Medvedeva who had such a severe injury that she had to withdraw from most competitions during the olympic season? Do you think puberty has no impact on Alena? The pandemic and changing coaches have made the situation even worse for her. Even if she’s looking for excuses for her performance, I’m ok with it coz I think it’s better than that eteri’s girls all have a “it’s all my fault, eteri is gonna kill me” face after bad skates, which makes me really worry about the kids’ mental health. Alena is my fav and I really hope she can survive puberty and bring back triple axels, but it’s also understandable if she can’t coz we’ve seen so many russian ladies fail. Women’s figure skating nowadays is for 15-16yo girls only.
I had exactly the same feeling from Yan Han's performance as Jonathan and struggle to find the right words to express that overflowing lightness. But i do share the same impression from it - his skate was full of softness and smoothness but with so solid jumps, so balanced, it was full of air - I haven't seen such a delightful skate in a very long time among nice but overcomplicated routines, or rushed, staffed with out-of-music transitions programs, or just boring/ ridiculous routines. Thanks for sharing your feedback ☺️
Seeing Han Yan this past weekend was the highlight of CoC.
Yan Han has been one of my favourites for a long time and I'm so glad to see him skating like this and with this music. I don't have many long standing favourites but he is one! The skating skills are just stunning
This show is so great!!! Love all the Galina stories. Did you see Mishin film Trusova's skate? why though?
Maybe because Mishin is a Trusobot.
For the quads clearly. Jumps look different often depending on the angle, and the TV view is not always the best. It could also be a sort of appreciation: the jump is so good i have to film it. In platform diving is way more common during competition.
For a second i thought it was Plushenko’s cameraman that holds the phone for the livestreams and then I realized it was mishin lol
oh wait what when, omg I have watch the program again
@@cheukwong1792 They showed it on the Russian stream when she was waiting for the scores in the Kiss and Cry
My favorite jump has always been flip, even before I ever stepped on a real rink. There's is just something about the rhythm of the 3turn into the pick take-off.
I love Roman’s new program!!!!! Much better than last year!♥️
AHHHHH it's Friday and I'm so glad to share COR with you!
I think those 6 extra points are from the bonuses (literal extra points) that they give for difficult elements (level 4 spins, quads..). It's a thing of the Cup of Russia. Yagudin and Grishin mentioned it
Yes, they are
I’ve never been this early, been waiting all day 💙
Whispers into void: Can we stop pretending that Maiia has a quad now?
Yeah I don't think the coaches are doing her favor, she could skate clean without the quad. But look Eteri is so powerful, her skaters can make the podium anyway even with 3 falls.
Maiia was perfect in SP.
People (probably like you) pretend that Rika or Liza Tuktamysheva have a quad despite they never landed it succesfully in the competition and Maiia at least lands it solidly in a training, definitely better than what I've seen from the other two.
@@simtopia2334 3? Math is not your favourite subject, is it?
Lol this comment didn't age well
J is now lighting for the vase instead of his own face, that's love
Lisa 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
26:24 I live for the times when I get the double entendre the exact second Johnathan's eyebrows pop.
Matthew Hines ❤️
Alena stated that she forgot the FS programme and improvised it. :D
Hi, can you share where you found the interview? Thanks.
OMG! The whole day I was thinking Maia reminded me of Polina! They both had very lanky, gangly figures.
She's channeling some Pogorilaya vibes too with how tense she looks every competition.
She looks like she could be her sister.
I have an extremely stressful work call tomorrow and this is the relaxation/hangout I needed for some indulgent peace tonight. Thanks for a great show, as always!!
wonderfullightfixture hope you have a better night tonight!
DAVE WAS IN GREASE OH MY GOD. Any other week this would be the best news ever.
CL Camden I was the singer at the prom.
Oh, Yessss, Han Yan was my Highlight at Cup of China. It was gorgeouuuuus! That's skating ❤️❤️❤️
I’ve been patiently awaiting this!!!
I know this may be a really stupid question, but... Where are you guys watching all of these skating events?
Well that coach is off for supporting Trump, he’s not wrong in saying he’s leaving the US when traveling to Hawaii. Hawaii is technically an independent country that is illegally occupied by the United States. There was never a treaty of annexation and we Hawaiians have been fighting for 127 years for our independence back.
Thanks Dave and jonathon, dead on about Alina kosternia programs
Thank goodness!!! I’ve been waiting!!!!!♥️♥️♥️♥️
I love Aliona’s free program music but I agree the edit cuts were not very smooth.
While i hope that Kostornaia will restore her 3a, improve her stamina and consolidate her spins...what the hell happened to her 3lz? She changed the entrance once again, the edge became flat and she has almost a full blade assistance and 1/2 before she takes off. Her lutz last season was so much better than before so why would she do it now in Zagitova/Usacheva/Scherbakova style :(
Anybody know what’s going on with Eun Soo Lim? Haven’t heard a peep from since February.
Mariah aka tonya toe picked her in the shin
It s not just eunsoo, the whole korean team seemed to vanish. I thought some of them would compete for Chinese Cup, but nope. No one there. I mean i m not suprised though, KSU was never helpful nor function properly to begin with. YY probably could get a spot for NHK but we would see, if her coach would help her. Some of the younger ones seems to start training 3A is the only thing i know.
Never the less, i hope they are building eunsoo mentality and confident again though. Girl look so distracted last season
I watched Alyssa Liu's exhibition skate because of Dave's eyes. Oh dear. I hope USFS is pleased with the mess they've created for themselves.
Same!!!!
Dave talking about the wait and hitting refresh. That was me in 2008 for the USA gymnastics team. In europe. At night. I could have just waited. But it was like I had a shot at making the team.
Btw: I did not make the team.
I dont know if I read too much into it but watching the whole 6 min warmup, kostornaia spends almost half of it just warming up edges and doing wallys, whereas both trusova and Maiia did like three laps and then immediately started going into jumps. I feel like that just shows that trusova just doesnt care about the skating skills at all. We get the narrative that she’s working on them, but I kinda dont believe it
To be fair, i think everyone warms-up differently, practicing edges for 6min before a performance isn’t exactly going to make a world of a difference....
@@almourie okay yeah i was maybe thinking so but I wasn’t sure how important those 6 minutes were to a skater. Thank you though!!
@@ElishaaLi Another key factor here is, this is Aliona's first competition back. I think it was wise she not burn herself out in a warm up considering she was a bit slower than usual, which is expected for a first performance back after a while like in her case.
Well she works on skating skills, but she doesn’t care about that. I sure Plushenko made her do it simply just by showing her 2010 Olympics men event and that she would lose to Kostornaia despite her quads if she doesn’t change her training & programs style. Plushenko is straight to the point, he won’t keep her delusional like Eteri made Medvedeva by having her skate the same layout for 4 years and make her believe she would win forever because of that.
She could be conserving energy or perhaps preventing burn out. She could be in the stage of training where her body could not handle too much strain. Like Hanyu in Olympic 2018 training session where he did only stroking and single jump exercise.
What's happened to the Emma Tang accusations its all gone quiet?
wonder which part of trusova's program mishin was recording lol
Nicoelle Salim surely the jumps. Not the choreography.
@@TheSkatingLesson Probably the choreography too. I wouldn't say Tuktik's free program this season is better choreographed than Trusova's.
A new winner for “nice” things... She has a nice smile >> She is a nice girl >> She is a hard worker
Elanymire Te Carn ❤️❤️❤️
"Because she got all the LEGAL GOE'S..." hahahahahaha.
As a canadian watching your election, I'm glad that you guys are finally climbing out of this 4 year dumpster fire....!
Daddy & Grace Storytime ❤️❤️❤️❤️
@@TheSkatingLesson : I watched the elections from Austria - finally, four almost unbelieveable Years are over!!!!!!
The next 4 years are gonna be even worse....
Poor Yuma. His fall landed right on lower back but he fought through the rest of the program.
I was happy to see Kostornaia back in action. She landed all the jumps and rotated most of them cleanly.
Trusova's jumps looked great. Nice to see her looking slightly more artistic.
Maia Khromykh is NOT fun to watch. At all. The noodly I spin wasn't even cute.
My friend in Providence says he wishes your program The Skating Lesson was on podcast. ..so he could listen while doing other things...
Glad you guys came on tonight have me something to watch while my husband watched football
Tracy Latak ❤️❤️❤️
12:34 She got all the "legal" GOEs. Brilliant. Love it. That just made my day :)
Michelle Evans ❤️❤️❤️
Morning I just woke up and checked it was 4.00 am and there you are.
Enjoy!!!
I'm canadian and I LOVED the shibs first coldplay program!! Lol
Misty 🤣🤣🤣🤣
loved the Han Yan experience, reminded me of Patrcik Chan in his prime - but also can we talk about the fact that half of Cup of China was skated to the freakin' "for a 1000 yeaaars"? song, over and over again :D what's with that? also, I dig the Billie E music choice of Aljona and I'm with Dave on that - give us all the diva drama, girls! ;)
IDK why but while watching alena during her fs, all I could think of was her departure programm...damn it was beautiful!
Random question from your last video: what happened to Scott Wendland?
Choreographically, Alena's free program is like Anna's: kind of pretty and pleasant but veeeery generic, boring, and uninspired.
However, Anna's musicality and expressiveness elevates the program and it can be dynamic with her performance, but Alena is so blank throughout hers and you can tell it's just not for her. She's way more into her short than her long, and she isn't performing the long at all. I thought she really phoned in the performance, was off the music in many areas, didn't hold the spiral or many of her positions, and she didn't really do much better than Sasha in performance and interpretation.
What's hot Sergei's IG? I need to look at him again.
instagram.com/gosu.coach/
@@TheSkatingLesson Thank you!!! Yummy.
Sergei will make a great fiancee for aliona
@@flying372 wtf stop.
I think Alyona could still get a 4S or 4T, both of those she does very well as triples and she was super consistent with the 3A that Sasha still hasn't mastered. Rika Kihira is also older and less shredded and lands quads in training all the time (not in competition whyever).
I feel Hot Sergei or Plushenko could work on this but they are focused on the 3A and getting her in shape now
Random question I get to ask now that I'm one of the first... I asked Jackie Wong this and he didn't know, so now the pressure's on.
When/where/who was the first Lady to score a Level 4 step-sequence? I ask this 'cause, during a recent rewatch of Yuna's Roxanne SP, Dick Button mentioned that no Lady had ever scored higher than a Level 3, and I believe he was including Yuna at that Worlds.
Anyone know?
Hahahahaha
It would have been in the 2005-2006 season (2nd season of Code of Points). Multiple ladies got level 4 step sequence at worlds so first one probably would've been grand prix event.
@@benbailey159bb Not according to Dick Button. He could be wrong but given what you just said about the election I'm not keen to take your word over his
Well accoording to the ISU protocol which I checked. But obviously it being written in black and white is irrelavent. Moron
47:12 lmao @ maiia khromwuigx lmao her entry backing up a car SENT me
liceous facts
I just watched the Alysa Liu exhibition... I didn't see much wrong with it. I'll reserve judgement because perhaps she didn't want to change her entries to make way for a 3T or 3S.
But her body has changed to where I'm highly skeptical of quads. The 3A might still happen.
Trusova is giving me real Nathan Chen 2017/18 vibes going for broke on all the jumps. Hopefully she'll also turn her attention to skating skills/performance once the jumps are really solid
You should see her in a crown baby. I CAN’T HAHAHAHA @12:50
Speaking of Shalyn I loved her choreo for Radionova's short program a few seasons back
I loved Mariah’s free last season and was hoping for something like that (like the big climactic choreo seq at the end) for Aliona :/
@@ElishaaLi Yes she needs something more intricate or not as flat for her free. Kinda feels disrespectful to give her such a boring free considering her musicality haha.
I loved the Cup of Russia. Evgenia Medvedeva is very smart about to keep her mouth. She has been in the game for a long time and she can play the game. I loved both programs of the Alinoa and Trusova a lot. I Etri- Kostornaia is being not smart about her thoughts about her old couch. She need to keep her mouth closed. I want to say HI from Mexico
regarding Plushenko's new rink, is it also funded by their government? or is it from their own pockets?
And if it's state funded, why does it seems like Plushenko owns it? I mean Eteri is the top coach at Sambo crystal but she's not the one who really manages the rink...
It’s Plushenko’s rink, but he receives funding for skaters that are in Russian National team.
It’s a rink built on Rudkovskaya’s money. Plus as you know, there’s a big corruption problem in Russia so it’s almost impossible to build smth like that without using budget money. Plush is friends with Roman Rotenberg (who is Putin’s friend and also one of the richest man in Russia and has power) and Sobyanin (who is a mayor of Moscow). Rudkovskaya has her money thanks to of her ex husband plus powerful patrons = Plushenko’s rink.
I’m 100% sure that this rink was built with the help of budget money, but Rudkovskaya shows off that they did so good job and they develop sport in Russia. Well...🤷🏻♀️
Lying is a main trait of this couple. We have witnessed so much lie from them, so now no one takes their words seriously.
She's not picturing a Burger King crown. Hers has jewels. 👑 Lol.
Why is Kostornaia insisting on doing a Biellman with a bad back? She really doesn't need it.
I loved Shae Lynn's Ashley programs, but I think she has definitely run out of ideas.
Or she can't choreograph over video... 😅
@@shelleyc853 good point.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t love Aliona’s free. Love her short, but the free was boring
Both her programs were awful
@@abbibrophy7671 I really love the free! It could be a bit more refined, but I think the music suits her. And the choreography was good
Tbf, she admitted that she forgot a lot of the choreography and completely improved the steps. Hopefully next time we see it the program will be fuller.
@@abbibrophy7671 you are awful
Kostornaia remind me so much of Gracie gold. They look similar on the ice, they skate similarly and they're both overly cautious on the ice and seem afraid in competition.
Dave, I'm a little worried about you hurting your other eye from those looks at 1:20 to 1:22 (ish). I watched that exhibition performance after; oh dear.
Thanks, Gentlemen!! Love your content.
Dave did that sweater your ordered live up to your expectations?
Kim J. It is okay. Not AS good. I will wear it when it is cool again. We have had some global warming going on this week.
@@TheSkatingLesson Great looking forward to checking it out! In LA it is typically hot all year around so sweaters are mostly reserved for the ice rink!
Speaking of Shae-Lynn Bourne, Marin Honda's short is also by her. "I'm an Albatraoz"!? Not my favorite either...What does everybody think of Marin recently, her East Japan Sectionals was ruff....
Dave - your local police department is gonna have to hire you to be their interpreter for the children with dolls.
Michelle Evans 🤣🤣
So you started to say what you thought of Zagitova’s performances, but didn’t finish. Don’t leave us hanging, I’m genuinely curious about what you thought of it...
Kostornaia is the gift that keeps on giving
Do you ever say “Galina, demonstrate!” when you don’t understand the move she wants? That sometimes stops my coaches in their tracks because they’re not physically able to do it anymore, lol.
dave's dramatic delivery is everything
ameliair 🙏🙏
Dave I agree with you that Kosternaia's short program becomes more appreciated with each viewing. I think that the footwork and arms/hands really make the program. I personally prefer Daniil's choreography and think that Ms. Bourne's long program was rather boring.
I have a question. When Dave doesn’t speak for five minutes and just makes faces, and then Jonathan goes, “oh, I see. Understood,” .... does Jonathan really read Dave’s thoughts or is he just pretending to know what’s going on? Inquiring minds need to know.
Embeth 44 I think he knows me pretty well by now!
Wish they would have talked about pairs...
Also Moskin...
And especially Tarasova/Morozov.... the made a statement!
I don't even know how to describe my overall perception of Alena's skating. Last year, her presence and expressions were great. I felt very pulled in when she performed. I even loved her choice in music. People said the music was bad but I loved it. Her music this season is not my favorite. It's not my idea of what I feel suits her. Anyways, her presence just felt off. Very bland and flat
Skaters only have so many months/days they can be in their best form, and only so many months/years in their body where they can train super hard. Why the heck would they be in their best form and training really hard now? There's zero point lol
you NEED to start putting clips into these videos. i wan't to see what you're talking about bc i don't remember every jump everyone does and no one wants to have to dig through videos to find what you might be talking about.
I've to say judging at domestic competitions in Russia is a whole new level of annoying. This time again there were 2-3 skaters just as good as Maya Khromykh who skated cleaner and they got lower scores by some 20-30 points because they are not from the "right" camp. Of course politics have always played a role, but this season is way more nonsense than usual.
RIGHT! I was so annoyed
It’s all about the points, but her technical content even on the spins and ftrwk it add up I’m sure she was prob about 6-7 on the pcs but samodurova jumps look abit tight and if I was a caller I would def review her jumps, tsbinova she appear clean but in the slow mo you can see jumps are under-rotated .... Elizaveta nugumanova should have been higher but once again under-rotation and if she get a 3/3 in that 2nd half she could be a very good mid-tier skater as i think eteri, plushenko, davydov kids are in that top group of girls...
can we talk about the domestic competition in USA ??? come on is worst overscored !!
Still thousand times better than out of this world overscoring in Skate America was - where everyone were masters of lvl 4 spins and stpsqses, surprisingly ) The girls there with the same performances and jump rotations never would get higher than 150 if they performed at CoR - at least tech panel there is more competent.
100% I was distracted by the way Russian Coaches and audience members wear their masks, I could just NOT pay attention to anything else hahaha!
50:15 Zagitova comeback begins. Why not. Jordan, Ali, Tiger, Teddy Roosevelt. Her bank account backloaded with commas for a reason.