Fay

Come on, this sport has survived decades with this unfairness - and is likely to live on with it. Sometimes you just have to transcend the sport so much to make a real breakthrough, try and be an all round skater - or you’re put in a long queue. There’s very little time within which you have to prove your point - and you just learn to play it by the rules. Now the coach never wanted to play it by the rule in this case... Liza is a great jumper, but sadly her coaching team disregards skating skills, transitions, choreography, spins... so her programs do look antiquated and empty. Compared to her, Zhenya’s past programs filled with zillions of transitional elements looked a bit more fresh - so coupled with her consistency they brought her a reputation which was eagerly held up by the Federation. Now she has hit rough waters and has had to make quite a few changes on the way, because the old technique and skating skills don’t hold together anymore, but her past reputation helps her. Will we get a Russian skater with great jumping technique and good skating skills like Rika’s? See the further development of our series - so far I don’t see so many candidates for an all-round skater...

I understand your feelings. In fact, I feel sorry not for only Liza, but for Zhenya, since she’s finding herself under enormous pressure now. She wanted this and she fought for it teeth and nail, but she has to come up with something better at the Worlds, or get buried and vilified. So if it’s any comfort, the punishment might be in store for her. A failure to deliver from anyone else wouldn’t have been so severely judged. In her case, it will cost her dearly...

Mmmm. She was slower and less expressive than at GPF, she was pretty tentative in fact. I watched it too. No offence, she hasn’t recovered, so she was being really careful and wasn’t really into even that last choreographic sequence where she would finally come alive after jumping all her jumps. Sorry, Liza was overscored far more. But again, it would not have been the first case of a favourite being held up - so it was last few seasons that played against Liza’s reputation. A real shame - both skated better programs than any skated at Europeans, in fact. But you can happily carry on grumbling - won’t change much. Favourites have always been held up. Not good, but it just happens.

Well, she was given a chance, she didn’t win, did she. She did try to fight back. She could have won, had she not fallen on her 3A in the short and popped her 3T in 3Lz3T. It was that close. Ok, you can say that Evgenia was overscored technically - you know what the news is? Elizaveta was overscored in her second mark - no way would she have got her PCS internationally. She was quite slow and cautious - slower than usual, in fact.

Welcome to the world of figure skating. It’s the Federation that pays, and it’s the Federation that decides who to send. They play their own games. In this case, Mishin was in no way celebrating with his champagne, he was given a hard choice between his two students - they wouldn’t allow him to take both of them. I was smiling at you misinterpreting the situation back then. Champagne in Russia doesn’t necessarily mean celebration. It’s just an alcoholic drink - and in this case, judging from what the people in the carriage heard from him, he was far from happy. Where on Earth were you when Plushenko was getting sent to Sochi, I wonder... or when the injured Takahashi was getting chosen over Oda, for instance regardless of the bronze medal at the 2013 GPF. That’s the essence of the sport - you don’t get instantly thrown out you get into a bad period if you have already proved you can fight. And in this respect - I repeat - Zhenya’s achievements are more impressive than Liza’s. So she is given the benefit of the doubt.

Well, I can always argue that Satoko’s underrotations get ignored routinely. Which would be true - while Satoko has the best PCS in the world, she is one of the worst jumpers. And yeah, since Zhenya has been coming back from an injury, started training quite late, had to change her coaching team and her training attitude, the Fed is willing to give her some time to adjust herself. And yeah, it’s the Fed who decides who to send - is that news, really?

Excuse me? Who do you think it was to keep up a straight face and brightly say Yuzu was in no pain before the Olympics last year and was sure aiming at the gold? There was a very cunning PR campaign there - and Brian won it. Any coach will uphold and defend their charge. Mishin, Eteri, Brian - all of them will. That’s the part of the game.

Personally, I am more hurt at Mai Mihara being sacrificed to Satoko Miyahara. And most Japanese girls being underscored compared to Satoko last season. But no hurt, Satoko was coming back from a serious injury, so the Federation deemed it fit to hold her up a little. That’s what most federations do, they help their favourites. Whether you like it or not. As I said, Alina has been helped quite a lot too - not so many skater get 70 points PCS with TES just over 50. That’s quite some favouritism too.

If Liza had had the career trajectory Zhenya has had up to this season, she’d have been invincible in this situation too. The trouble is Liza’s career has always been up and down - and mostly down at that - so now she has been pushed aside for a bigger star with a more impressive record. You may hate it, but that’s what the sport is about. She had three impressive seasons in the seniors and she was sure to be held up for some time. Ironically, if Alina had delivered at the Europeans, this situation would never have arisen as Sonya would have been the one to get sacrificed alongside Stasya. Now if Stasya had delivered, that would have created a lot more curious situation, as the girl has got quite some connections, apparently...

She was in a wrong group, so couldn’t inspire Alina enough, apparently...

Wrong, Rika instead of Elizabet. But this hardly belongs here.

The girl has finally grown, she can’t always be in her pre-puberty body. And she never had a strong foundation to start with. Just her will and her fighting spirit and her iron nerves up to this season. Now she’s riding on that golden parachute, so it served her a good service.

To be honest, you weren’t the first one to come up with the idea...

Now Zhenya is a new secret Kardashian.... Yep, a consolation prize for Liza. A certain way of making some money!

The only people to suffer from so called bad karma will be skaters - fewer spots next year, congratulations, even fewer skaters will get through to the Worlds. Which means that next year you’re getting only juniors fighting for those spots. The field is quite depleted this year, so I guess getting 13 points for two skaters won’t be that difficult. Depends on a number of factors, of course - but I guess they will scramble through.

Look, these are silly numbers to begin with. They just don’t add up. She can’t go through that much money. But someone invented these numbers to emphasise the power a 19-year old girl has on the Fed and the Ministry for Sports. It’s a major Russian channel coming up with these numbers and making her into a financial liability for Russians. And the Fed is fed by state money, so they don’t function with business brains anyway. What matters for them are medals and the spots for the next worlds. But in this case, there’s a remarkable degree of lack of transparency, so clearly Medvedeva does have some clout.

Yeah, some guys at a federal TV channel believe she goes through 6 million roubles a month in Toronto at the expense of the tax payer. It translates into just below 100k bucks. LOL. Zhenya somehow manages to spend 3k bucks daily. Mind you, these guys multiply 20k Zhenya is supposed to spend daily on a hotel (while she clearly rents a far cheaper apartment) by 30 days a month and get 6 mil...

Actually, I wouldn’t mind, as that would mean that the most all-round skaters would win for once. So so far we know that Mozer and Zhulin voted for Zhenya.

TAT wasn’t a member of the committee which made the decision anyway, I think.

Guys, can I ask to be respectful towards the skaters themselves and not call anyone a mediocre skater? They have worked long and hard to get where they are. No mediocrity can get to be an elite skater.

Liza seems to be going to the Universiade now...

Anyway, get some more popcorn.

I am not sure this decision is going to help anyone. But ok, Zhenya’s going to the Worlds, Liza is staying at home.

Where’s that second leg...

Bring her here!