Up-and-coming Russian skaters and COP...

[Lark]

I was wondering....

Russia does not seem to have a new crop of Slutskayas/Kuliks/Yagudins, etc. coming up that I am aware of.

They have all but stalled in Pairs.

Ice Dancing without N/K is, uhm, Russian roulette. :?? Anyone could reasonably place in the Top 5.

I have seen no promising Russian Men, and the Ladies; EKKKKKKK!

My question: Will it be years before we see a chance of another sweep of the Worlds' Gold medals by Russia, or will the judges "make sure" that Russia continues to remain a force to be reckoned with?

There have been many weird calls favoring the Russians, too many to count.

Has COP solved most of that?

[sceptique]

Why guess? Worlds '06 are in 10 days and they will be without top Russians. Let's see how the team places, and then you can make your conclusions about "Red Alert".

[Lark]

MY question was pertaining to the absence of Russian potential in the NEAR future; Not about the current Russian champions sitting out an event.

Any opinions?

[Lucky]

I have seen no promising Russian Men, and the Ladies; EKKKKKKK!

I am affraid the future is pretty bleak when it comes to single skating. But the pairs and dance are strong. IMVHO But the new code of points do not reward the jumps as much as it should and in any case they do not have anyone who is consistent enough to reach even the top ten. Perhaps Biktagirova, Kropotina and Gachinskiy could surprise us in the future but I will not hold my breath.

[Schmeck]

Well, Sergei Voronov got silver at Jr. Worlds, landing two triple axels...