Euros - more results and controversies

[babyballerina]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2005/01/31/soices31.xml&sSheet=/sport/2005/01/31/ixothspt.html

As you can see from this article, Slutskaya won the ladies free with only 3 triples. The general consensus is Finland's Susanna Poykio was robbed. I'm no expert but Poykio's free programme was beautiful (however, I didn't see the short programmes and irina was already miles ahead after the short.)

In pairs there was a Russian sweep. Totminanina and Marinin were perfect. She is fine after the head injury at Skate America. Their programme was beautiful.

All the results are here

http://www.isufs.org/results/ec2005/

[sybyl]

I do not think the problem was with Irina winning overall but with her results in the freeskate with a program that was not performed well, but because of the annonomous judging the public can't accuse anyone of cheating.

[pairs_guy]

I don't think Susanna Poiko was really robbed, she didn't even have the highest tech mark, which you can't really cheat on, if there was controversy wouldn't it show up in the second mark, where she did have the highest mark, excluding Irina. Poiko didn't even beat Liashenko in the long, Liashenko had the highest tech mark. Poiko did 5 triples, not that much better then Irina. If anything Liashenko was the one that maybe got robbed. She did 6 triples, but most of them got minus on the GOE so they musten have been very good jumps.

[Jaana]

In my opinion Slutskaya deserved to win the competition, but she definetely did not deserve some of the marks she got from the judges for THAT freeskate performance. She was held up, which is a bad sign considering the future judging in Worlds and Olympics.

[icedancer2]

Well, I watched it on TV on Sunday. It looked like one of those competitions where no one skated particularly well in the LP. Slutskya fell and singled a couple of jumps but her elements and in-betweens were very strong, etc. Poikiyo's program was well-skated and clean, with no falls, but she doubled a planned triple flip and singled an axel. Her in-betweens, etc., were simpler than Irinas (she's a very pretty skater, however).

Liashenko's jumps were HUGE but definitely telegraphed her entrances and had some whacky landings.

So somebody had to "win" despite not-such great skating (the same thing happened at our Nationals, IMHO) and so why not Irina? They showed her SP and it was really strong and beautiful.This gave her a big lead and so of course she won. Like our TV commentators said (I think it was Terry Gannon) -- "It's not just about the jumps anymore."

Thank god.

[Alaska]

Like our TV commentators said (I think it was Terry Gannon) -- "It's not just about the jumps anymore."

Thank god.

Too bad he doesn't feel the same way about Sasha.

[icedancer2]

Too bad he doesn't feel the same way about Sasha.

What do you mean?

[danibellerika]

I think she means that everytime Sasha has a mistake on a jump, Terry and co. say that she's blown the whole performance and competition for herself. They pretty much focus much more on her jumping instead of counting the other stuff.

[icedancer2]

Yeah, that's true, isn't it -- that's how I justified Sasha's loss to MK at Nationals -- "well, she did fall..."

Sigh -- I guess only one person can win -- I just have to enjoy the skaitng and not worry about the placements -- it is too bad for the skaters, though -- they work so hard, and then...

:giveup:

[what?meworry?]

I think she means that everytime Sasha has a mistake on a jump, Terry and co. say that she's blown the whole performance and competition for herself. They pretty much focus much more on her jumping instead of counting the other stuff.
well, that's pretty much based on her history of crumbling after she makes one mistake.

recently, however, she hasn't. except for that, in my opinion, ugly distorted spin at the end, even with the "fall" sasha did ok.

having seen them at natls, i must say that michele won hands down. she is serene, focused, elegant, technically superior, and even inspiring. but, and this is a big "but" for me, i found mk's performance "formula" this time.

she has mastered her emotions in competition. she projects that she is in her element on the ice. mk does it all right, sets the example for the up n commers, but dang, this time i was not moved.

i gasp in horror as i type this---but perhaps it's time for mk, after the olys of course, to move from eligible skating into the arena of inspiring and teaching the next generation of skaters. share that technique that produces a quality of solid confidence in performance with the next generation of champions.

[danibellerika]

well, that's pretty much based on her history of crumbling after she makes one mistake.


she has mastered her emotions in competition. she projects that she is in her element on the ice. mk does it all right, sets the example for the up n commers, but dang, this time i was not moved.

i gasp in horror as i type this---but perhaps it's time for mk, after the olys of course, to move from eligible skating into the arena of inspiring and teaching the next generation of skaters. share that technique that produces a quality of solid confidence in performance with the next generation of champions.


I don't recall her crumbling a whole lot after she's had a mistake. She has, but then again, I can think of many times that she hasn't. At the Olys, she still landed everything despite that fall on the 3toe. During most of her GPs, she was pretty good about keeping it together after a jump flub. At worlds 2003 in her SP, she still got her 2axel in there after the fall on the flip. At the GPF it was similar for her SP. Missed the lutz but hit the other stuff. I don't remember how she did in the long, but I know she fell at least once. Since she usually falls on later jumps, there's not much to crumble on afterwards (jump wise).


With Michelle, her artistry to me has become calculated to the point of where it doesn't seem genuine anymore, especially for her SP. It seemed very forced I thought.

[Alaska]

Sigh -- I guess only one person can win -- I just have to enjoy the skaitng and not worry about the placements -- it is too bad for the skaters, though -- they work so hard, and then...:giveup:

What really ruins the skating is the comentators that feel they have to talk about a fall during the program. Its like we're too stupid to know the skater fell and in Sasha's case, they have to go on and on about when she will ever skate without falling. I think she is beautiful to watch, even with the falls, but the comentators have to talk over the music for most of the program. I guess the program is ruined for them so they have to ruin it for us too. I'm totally disgusted with them. They should leave their comments for the replays. IMO