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OriginalCyn
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46 minutes ago, carrier76 said:

All of the skating accounts on social media are losing their minds over Trusova. I just can’t be arsed to care. Another Russian teenbot jumping bean. Next.

Yeah, next in the assembly line. Talk to us after the puberty fairy has hit. Hope she isn't ruining her hips and other body parts doing these jumps on undeveloped bones and ligaments.

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2 hours ago, PoshSprinkles said:

On the episode of the Skating Lesson where they discussed the ladies technical programs, they asked Tom Dickson his opinion on the Russian girls when it came to their lack of physical development. It wasn't a critique of their bodies, just that the two hosts felt like all the Russian girls had the same "look" to them and whether that was just coincidence or it was pharmaceutical. Tom had no problem saying he felt it was pharmaceutical. Given Russia's doping current and past doping issues, I can totally see them giving these girls puberty blockers so they can continue to do these hard jumps. I doubt they give a crap about the girls physical well-being. All they want are medals. 

Even the fans don't get it. All they care about are medals, too, and everyone else who speaks out is just "jealous" that their country doesn't have "Goddess Eteri".

 

Several cultures have deities for food and preservation and prosperity. Russia has Goddess Eteri of Starvation.

Edited by fan94
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22 hours ago, PoshSprinkles said:

All aboard the speculation bus! 

On the episode of the Skating Lesson where they discussed the ladies technical programs, they asked Tom Dickson his opinion on the Russian girls when it came to their lack of physical development. It wasn't a critique of their bodies, just that the two hosts felt like all the Russian girls had the same "look" to them and whether that was just coincidence or it was pharmaceutical. Tom had no problem saying he felt it was pharmaceutical. Given Russia's doping current and past doping issues, I can totally see them giving these girls puberty blockers so they can continue to do these hard jumps. I doubt they give a crap about the girls physical well-being. All they want are medals. 

If the Russians are working those girls as hard as they worked their gymnasts in ye olden days aka a few decades ago, a lot of them don't even need drugs to delay puberty. A lot of gymnasts/dancers/female athletes who begin training before puberty don't get their periods because they are working their bodies so hard and not getting a lot to eat. Not that I'm denying Russia is above doping. Obviously they will do anything to win.

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Less than enthused at the Russians new crop of jumping beans. How long before they're fudging birth certificates to make little girls Olympic eligible?  Delayed puberty, eating disorders, coaches verbally abusing athletes. Eteri is the Marta Karolyi of figure skating. It worked really well for a number of years, medal wise, but look what we know, now and how it's falling out. Rampant abuse and long term physical and psychological damage. 

 

Good-bye "Ladies" Figure Skating. 

Edited by ChicksDigScars
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10 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

If the Russians are working those girls as hard as they worked their gymnasts in ye olden days aka a few decades ago, a lot of them don't even need drugs to delay puberty. A lot of gymnasts/dancers/female athletes who begin training before puberty don't get their periods because they are working their bodies so hard and not getting a lot to eat. Not that I'm denying Russia is above doping. Obviously they will do anything to win.

The Russian Rhythmic gymnastics group that won gold in London have this on their wiki pages: "For six months leading up to the Olympic Games, the Russian gymnasts only ate buckwheat in their diet."

Edited by HartofDixie
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So, is there some sort of competition on in Russia to have the longest hair? Trusova collected her medal with her hair down and it goes past her bum. Both Med and Zag also have surprisingly long hair as well.

Edited by MaKaM
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15 minutes ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Medvedeva out of World's per Phil Hersh (@OlyPhil). Reoccurance of foot injury. 

Oh dear.  What a lousy way to end what must have been a crushingly disappointing season for her (as disappointing as a season where you win two silver medals can be, anyway).

Admittedly, the contest will be more interesting with two spots on the podium open.  Lots of interesting possible combinations.

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21 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Less than enthused at the Russians new crop of jumping beans. How long before they're fudging birth certificates to make little girls Olympic eligible?  Delayed puberty, eating disorders, coaches verbally abusing athletes. Eteri is the Marta Karolyi of figure skating. It worked really well for a number of years, medal wise, but look what we know, now and how it's falling out. Rampant abuse and long term physical and psychological damage. 

 

Good-bye "Ladies" Figure Skating. 

I agree.  Years ago I enjoyed watching ladies skating but no more.  The beauty of it all is just about gone.  Pairs has become one major tension-filled program after another.  The only discipline IMO that still retains that unique balance of athleticism and artistry is ice dancing (which used to be such a bore way back in the day, pre-Torville & Dean).  The powers that be in skating better keep a beady eye on certain countries so we don't have preteens trying to pass as 15 year olds.

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Quote

Good-bye "Ladies" Figure Skating. 

All the artistic sports go through that ... and then the pendulum swings back. 

Look at gymnastics.  Aly Raisman--two Olympics, Gabby Douglas--two Olympics, Simone Biles--18 when she won and now she's back in training.  Svetlana Khorkina competed in 3 Olympics.  

Diving is the same way.  

Look at tennis and golf.  All of these young ones crash and burn... Michelle Wie, for example.  MEANWHILE, the Williams sisters are still going strong.  

 

As for the Russians, they are just as good artistically today as that always-gawky Sarah Hughes or Tara.  Or some of those ladies in the 1970s.  

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1 hour ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

All the artistic sports go through that ... and then the pendulum swings back. 

Look at gymnastics.  Aly Raisman--two Olympics, Gabby Douglas--two Olympics, Simone Biles--18 when she won and now she's back in training.  Svetlana Khorkina competed in 3 Olympics.  

 

 

Don’t forget Chusovitina. She was in her 40’s in Rio!

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Chusovitina is an anomaly.  Amazing that she can perform at that level in her 40's, but 99% of gymnasts would probably have too many joint problems by age 40 to do what she's doing. And she also benefits from representing a country that doesn't have much of a program.  It's not like we will ever see a wave of 40somethings like her, competing again. 

Edited by ChicksDigScars
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2 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Chusovitina is an anomaly.  Amazing that she can perform at that level in her 40's, but 99% of gymnasts would probably have too many joint problems by age 40 to do what she's doing. And she also benefits from representing a country that doesn't have much of a program.  It's not like we will ever see a wave of 40somethings like her, competing again. 

She is absolutely an anomaly, but that doesn’t mean gymnastics is a sport only for girls. I don’t think it’s true that gymnastics doesn’t have women competing anymore.  I don’t think that’s true for figure skating either.

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4 hours ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

All the artistic sports go through that ... and then the pendulum swings back. 

Look at gymnastics.  Aly Raisman--two Olympics, Gabby Douglas--two Olympics, Simone Biles--18 when she won and now she's back in training.  Svetlana Khorkina competed in 3 Olympics.  

Diving is the same way.  

Look at tennis and golf.  All of these young ones crash and burn... Michelle Wie, for example.  MEANWHILE, the Williams sisters are still going strong.  

 

As for the Russians, they are just as good artistically today as that always-gawky Sarah Hughes or Tara.  Or some of those ladies in the 1970s.  

Wow, I disagree re: Sarah. Her LP in SLC was stunning. Tara on the other hand had painted-on artistry. You could tell she was trying but it just wasn't integral.

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On 3/13/2018 at 4:54 PM, CeeBeeGee said:

Wow, I disagree re: Sarah. Her LP in SLC was stunning. Tara on the other hand had painted-on artistry. You could tell she was trying but it just wasn't integral.

Sarah was ok at SLC but no artiste, IMO, that's for sure (and her earlier programs reminded me of dance school recitals).  Tara?  Right from the first time I saw her skating on those little bent legs, with her skates ka-lunking back down onto the ice after each jump (probably a habit from her roller skating days), I thought she just didn't belong in senior ladies.  Even when she won the O gold medal.  But she could do triple triples and figure skating is a sport.  

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So Med is out of Worlds too.  The Worlds right after the Olympics is always so weird. I guess the only mystery in the women's and dance events will be what kind of record breaking score Zag and Papadakis/Cizeron can rake in.  Sigh.

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I've looked at the TV schedule for Worlds that someone provided over at SkateFans, and realized that the only discipline I really will make plans to watch is ice dancing.  Re: the stupendous scores that Zag and P/C are "earning" truly mystify me.  They're great skaters but the judges score them as if they're skate-gods-on-ice.  Let's hope TPTB make a rule about backloading/frontloading. I think Zag could skate a balanced, beautiful program (wish she'd switch coaches and find one that appreciates her).  P/C have got to start skating programs w/o the angst & face clutching.  We need to see what else they can do.  Same with Hubble/Donohue.  I recall she skated to some really different music with her brother (since they couldn't do the steamy, romantic programs).

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Karen Chen withdraws from worlds singles; Mariah Bell to replace her after Ashley Wagner declines spot.  Pairs team Tarah Kayne - Danny O’Shea also out; Deanna Stellato - Nathan Bartholomay in per Phil Hersh.

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3 minutes ago, HartofDixie said:

Karen Chen withdraws from worlds singles; Mariah Bell to replace her after Ashley Wagner declines spot.  Pairs team Tarah Kayne - Danny O’Shea also out; Deanna Stellato - Nathan Bartholomay in per Phil Hersh.

I wonder if Karen withdrew because of her never ending boot problems. Interesting that Ashley declined. Good for Mariah though! It will be a miracle if the US keeps three spots. Maybe they’ll surprise me.

I really like Stellato/Bartholomay, so I can’t wait to see how they’ll do. 

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29 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

I wonder if Karen withdrew because of her never ending boot problems. Interesting that Ashley declined. Good for Mariah though! It will be a miracle if the US keeps three spots. Maybe they’ll surprise me.

I really like Stellato/Bartholomay, so I can’t wait to see how they’ll do. 

I am probably being way too grumpy here, and of course I have no idea what it is like to be a world class athlete, but doesn't Worlds mean something to these skaters?  I know the Olympics is the pinnacle and all that, but after all the years of hard work I would think a trip to Worlds would be an honor and barring injury or illness, an athlete would go for it.   It seems like the number of withdrawals is really high, even for an Olympic year.  Oh well.  I hope Mariah, Nathan and Deanna seize the opportunity and skate well.

Edited by Libby96
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27 minutes ago, Libby96 said:

I am probably being way too grumpy here, and of course I have no idea what it is like to be a world class athlete, but doesn't Worlds mean something to these skaters?  I know the Olympics is the pinnacle and all that, but after all the years of hard work I would think a trip to Worlds would be an honor and barring injury or illness, an athlete would go for it.   It seems like the number of withdrawals is really high, even for an Olympic year.  Oh well.  I hope Mariah, Nathan and Deanna seize the opportunity and skate well.

I agree completely. Anything can happen in a post-Olympics Worlds, and this is probably the best chance some skaters will ever have to medal at Worlds. Why not give it your all? 

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I didn't think Ashley would go to Worlds, even if she had made the Olympic team.  Actually, I think she is going to retire.

Surprised about Karen Chen though.  I wonder what that is about.

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2 hours ago, MostlyC said:

 

Surprised about Karen Chen though.  I wonder what that is about.

She says she’s been having boot problems all season and was recently thrown under the bus by her boot manufacturer after she posted a pic on Instagram of the heel coming apart (she never gave the name of the company). But someone from Avanta decided to jump in and point fingers making themselves look stupid in the process. 

I don’t know if that’s the actual problem or if she doesn’t have the mental toughness to compete but either way it’s frustrating. 

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NBC looks to have one up, fwiw  http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2018/03/16/figure-skating-worlds-broadcast-schedule/

 

Wednesday

Women’s Short6 a.m.-12 p.m.Olympic Channel (LIVE)

Women’s Short12-2 p.m.NBCSN

Pairs’ Short2-6 p.m.Olympic Channel (LIVE)

Thursday

Men’s Short5-10 a.m.Olympic Channel (LIVE)

Men’s Short12-2 p.m.NBCSN

Pairs’ Free3-5 p.m.NBCSN (LIVE)

Friday

Short Dance6-11 a.m.Olympic Channel (LIVE)

Short Dance1:30-3:30 p.m.NBCSN

Women’s Free3:30-5:30 p.m.NBCSN (LIVE)

Saturday

Men’s Free5-9 a.m.Olympic Channel (LIVE)

Free Dance10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.Olympic Channel (LIVE)

Free Dance12-2 p.m.NBCSN (LIVE)

Men’s Free5-7 p.m.NBCSN

Sunday

Exhibition4:30-7 p.m.Olympic Channel

April 8Recap3-6 p.m.NBC

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On 3/15/2018 at 3:43 PM, annzeepark914 said:

Sarah was ok at SLC but no artiste, IMO, that's for sure (and her earlier programs reminded me of dance school recitals).  Tara?  Right from the first time I saw her skating on those little bent legs, with her skates ka-lunking back down onto the ice after each jump (probably a habit from her roller skating days), I thought she just didn't belong in senior ladies.  Even when she won the O gold medal.  But she could do triple triples and figure skating is a sport.  

Sarah had a great night but remember she won because won the free And Michelle didn’t finish 2nd in the free skate. 

2 hours ago, COESpiral said:

She says she’s been having boot problems all season and was recently thrown under the bus by her boot manufacturer after she posted a pic on Instagram of the heel coming apart (she never gave the name of the company). But someone from Avanta decided to jump in and point fingers making themselves look stupid in the process. 

I don’t know if that’s the actual problem or if she doesn’t have the mental toughness to compete but either way it’s frustrating. 

Hasn’t she had boot problems for muliple seasons now?

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18 hours ago, PoshSprinkles said:

The Olympics tend to be the end-all, be-all for most athletes. They never have a world championship for gymnastics in the same year as an Olympics so I'm not sure why they do it for Figure Skating. It's prime money-making time after the Olympics so most of your high-profile athletes won't go and claim "injury". 

I don’t think most of these folks are “claiming” injury. I think many are injured who say so. Evgenia was injured most of this season and not fully recovered at the Olympics as was Yuzuru. I believe Sui/Han have been fighting injury this season as well. While the others opting out are either retiring or choosing not to compete with no excuse to give as to why. 

I think the ISU should consider adopting the gymnastics approach in an Olympic year, just scrap worlds all together. For the medal winners they’re schedules are packed with appearances after the Games, and as I understand it, some of these appearances are obligatory by their skating federation , specifically for those non US athletes. Also, the Olympic season is really long and most of these kids are just exhausted. The Olympics alone I’m sure takes a lot out of them physically and mentally.

That said, with exception of worlds in 2014 (men’s) and 2010 (dance) when the Olympic Gold Medalists did compete and win, the worlds after the Olympics is a great opportunity for the next generation of skaters to show what they’re made of. 

I think the men’s event will be the most interesting this year because Shoma, Chen and Boyang are all strong contenders for gold. Though I think if all goes clean, Shoma will win, with Chen taking silver and Boyang bronze - again. ?

Edited by Enero
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19 minutes ago, Enero said:

I don’t think most of these folks are “claiming” injury. I think many are injured who say so. Evgenia was injured most of this season and not fully recovered at the Olympics as was Yuzuru. I believe Sui/Han have been fighting injury this season as well. While the others opting out are either retiring or choosing not to compete with no excuse to give as to why. 

Yeah, it's more a case of people who competed at the Olympics despite injury.

The number of people who are neither injured nor retiring is fairly slim.  The Shibutanis would probably be the most high-profile example.

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1 hour ago, HartofDixie said:

This and That: 2018 World Championships Preview & Interview with Marie-France Dubrueil

 

 

They're just so annoying when it comes to their biases. For instance, in the men's field, surely they see that Shoma's jumps aren't good at all, and that his "artistry" has stagnated and hasn't really improved since last season, no matter how close the judges put him to Patrick Chan (who has retired now), and how the judges score his jumps? And that Nathan's programs are mere shadows of what they were at the beginning of the season? And yet they only ever roll their eyes at Boyang Jin, who's shown more growth than either.

At least they don't pretend to be real journalists. Unlike Christine Brennan.

Edited by fan94
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The Skating Lesson was never better to me than when they were covering the 2015-16 season. After Jenny Kirk left, it's gotten way too negative and messy for me. Dave Lease gets too off the track of the conversation, and seems more into making innuendo without doing actual reporting, to show how "connected" he is to the skating world (and I'm not even going to touch Jonathan who accuses skaters of acting "faux emotional" after they finish their programs after important events, after his whole "Rohene Ward made me cry and I locked myself in a public restroom" drama).  

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I think there would be room for a podcast to properly break down the skating skills, transitions, composition etc. of each skater/team, because the scores so often don't correlate with what's actually on the ice. But the Skating Lesson...isn't that. I don't know if Jonathan has a skating background, but Dave occasionally lets on that he's more knowledgeable than he seems than when he's going on about 'emotions' and 'feelings'. I suppose their access would be shut down pretty quickly if they properly called out some of the BS. I do agree with them on H/D though. It really is now or never. They're on their eighth life already. I'm half expecting P/C to score a silly 83.7 in the SD just for the WR. I'll be glad to never have to hear some of these terrible Latin mixes again soon. 

Edited by herbz
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I listened to the one that Meagan Duhamel guested on during the Olympics, and I could barely get through it because the two hosts were so biased, gossipy, and self-important; they even got Meagan to gossip, which I didn't like at all.  The one host who has what I can only describe as resting condescending tone of voice really thinks he's the prohibitive figure skating expert (he's not), and they both have their heads so far up their own asses that it's a miracle they haven't suffocated on their own crap.  Bye.

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45 minutes ago, herbz said:

I think there would be room for a podcast to properly break down the skating skills, transitions, composition etc. of each skater/team, because the scores so often don't correlate with what's actually on the ice. But the Skating Lesson...isn't that. I don't know if Jonathan has a skating background, but Dave is definitely more knowledgeable than he seems when he starts on about 'emotions' and 'feelings'. I suppose their access would be shut down pretty quickly if they properly called out some of the BS. I do agree with them on H/D though. It really is now or never. They're on their eighth life already. I'm half expecting P/C to score a silly 83.7 in the SD just for the WR. I'll be glad to never have to hear some of these terrible Latin mixes again soon. 

They did a set of videos breaking down the PCS that I haven't watched yet.  Dave is the more knowledgeable of the two and I will admit the show has changed since Jenny left (back in school and started a non skating youtube channel).  They just need to find a way to balance it out when talking about skaters and their programs without being too mean about it and I think having other guests come on from time to time will help that.

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1 hour ago, herbz said:

I think there would be room for a podcast to properly break down the skating skills, transitions, composition etc. of each skater/team, because the scores so often don't correlate with what's actually on the ice. But the Skating Lesson...isn't that. I don't know if Jonathan has a skating background, but Dave occasionally lets on that he's more knowledgeable than he seems than when he's going on about 'emotions' and 'feelings'. I suppose their access would be shut down pretty quickly if they properly called out some of the BS. I do agree with them on H/D though. It really is now or never. They're on their eighth life already. I'm half expecting P/C to score a silly 83.7 in the SD just for the WR. I'll be glad to never have to hear some of these terrible Latin mixes again soon. 

 

I kind of wonder how they manage to get their guests. They're not too well-liked by several skaters, yet they manage to get others. FS already suffers from an image issue, and association with gossip-mongers isn't something that helps. I could just watch the Kardashians.

 

Dave is an adult skater. But I don't think he's managed to convince me he can look past his biases. I don't see how Boyang Jin's SS are so far behind the rest of the men's field to warrant their bs.

 

But they do actually call out some bs on Twitter. And when Jenny Kirk was there, they made a series of videos to break down the GOE and PCS. I think their current style is a reflection of the scoring system: biased and abrasive.

Edited by fan94
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3 hours ago, fan94 said:

Huh. Tennell made it to group 4 now somehow.

 

2 hours ago, carrier76 said:

Must be her dazzling arm movements.

She’s Cinderella. She has a fairy godmother looking out for her.

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