Ladies and Gentlemen we have a new Russian Ladies Champion... and she is... [Archive]

Louis

12-27-2002, 01:07 PM

Originally posted by Emanfan
I think that's known as being a "bad winner". I'm always surprised when anyone takes such pleasure in someone's defeat.

You're being too kind -- I think it's known as being an obsessed fan. I doubt the original poster cares a shred about Sokolova and would be just as gleeful no matter who beat Slutskaya.

Marco

12-27-2002, 01:15 PM

Lena made it! She is the new National Champion! According to FSU she landed a 3z3t and all other triples but singled out her 2nd 3z, so I guess that's 6 triples. She beat Irina in a 6/3 split! So that's it! - Lena is going to Euros and Worlds! This will give her the confidence to go very far I would think!

Marco

12-27-2002, 01:21 PM

According to Roman on FSU, Irina fell on her 1st 3z, and later landed 2 more 2z'es. However, she did a 3s3l half loop 2sal.

Trillian

12-27-2002, 01:21 PM

Wow...very interesting. Guess this means the likely world team is Sokolova, Slutskaya, Volchkova, though I wonder if Basova and/or Nelidina will be given a shot at Euros. At any rate I would hope some serious consideration is given to naming at least one of the ladies who placed 3rd and 4th to the junior world team, since IIRC the results of the ladies on the JGP this season were not that impressive.

Dustin

12-27-2002, 01:49 PM

Wow 8O I wasn't expecting that. I enjoy Irina's skating more than Elena - too bad we can't see this. :(

olivia

12-27-2002, 01:49 PM

How thrilling for Elena!! But I do feel a little sad for Irina. She's had a tough season so far with the long-term illness and inability to train as usual. Fortunately, she had a great SP at Nationals (that should give her some confidence) and time to get ready for Euros and Worlds.

O-

JDC1

12-27-2002, 01:54 PM

That's great for Elena! Can't say I'm sad Irina came in second, I do feel for her though it sounds like she had a tough time of it and that had to be excrutiating. She has time to train and rest up and then she"ll skate better.

Wow, so what would be the US equivalent , if Amber Corwin won Nats? That would be wild!

adrianchew

12-27-2002, 01:59 PM

Originally posted by JDC1

Wow, so what would be the US equivalent , if Amber Corwin won Nats? That would be wild!

No - I wouldn't compare Sokolova with Corwin.... it would be more like Ann-Patrice or Jenny winning Nats.

yelana

12-27-2002, 02:01 PM

I think it would be more like Angela winning.

AxelAnnie22

12-27-2002, 02:02 PM

Originally posted by Louis
:roll: How sad that the original poster seems to be happier that Slutskaya was defeated (by anyone) than that Sokolova won.

Louis - you said that much more diplomatically than I would have. Thank you.

I am sad for Irina.....I do adore her. But, what a thrill for Elena. She has waited a long time, and worked very hard for this. I am so happy for her. Can't wait to see the performances (I hope we get to see them.) I love Elena's skating. What a happy day!

AxelAnnie22

12-27-2002, 02:04 PM

Originally posted by Dustin
Wow 8O I wasn't expecting that. I enjoy Irina's skating more than Elena - too bad we can't see this. :( If somebody can get me a Video, I can make copies and copies, and copies.

mk_fan

12-27-2002, 02:12 PM

I'm Sorry, I came off that way... I didn't mean to be like that. i am very glad for Sokolova, I just couldn't believe that Slutskaya was defeated. the YAY was for Elena, I am very glad for her. Congrats Elena!

Marilee:oops: :cry:

JDC1

12-27-2002, 02:14 PM

Oh so I have to admit I think it would be really cool if Andrea Gardiner or Amber Corwin had the skates of their lives and won but I guess too many other skaters would have to have an off day. (And this from a die hard MK fan. :-) I wouldn't be surprised if SH, SC or AN won, they all have the ability, but I would be flat out stunned if AG or AC won and happy at the same time probably just for the perverse reason that they're not expected to win or get on the podium. Anyhoo, Vika's my favorite Russian skater so if she had won I'd have been the "tacky" one thrilled that Irina was ousted by Vika. :-)

Trillian

12-27-2002, 02:53 PM

Originally posted by yelana
I think it would be more like Angela winning.

That's the most similar of the U.S. ladies. I guess those who are comparing Sokolova to Corwin, etc., have forgotten that she's actually a former Olympian who's been among the top 10 in the world? Granted, it was a while ago, but she's still more accomplished than Corwin or Gardiner--or even Kirk or McDonough.

JDC1

12-27-2002, 03:42 PM

My skating memory is very bad and selective certainly not trying to inadvertently cast aspersions. :-) I did remember that her nickname was "cupcake". :-)

nits

12-27-2002, 06:18 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Louis
[B]:roll: How sad that the original poster seems to be happier that Slutskaya was defeated (by anyone) than that Sokolova won.

We've seen the same type of response from "certain" fans if/when Kwan is beaten as well. I expect that If Kwan doesn't win Nationals, several boards will be saying much worse.

Good for Sokolova! I, for one, am SHOCKED that Irina didn't win this. With VV absent, it was her gold to lose. Wow! What is going on with Irina this season? I read that she did land a 3/3 though...FINALLY!!! I think we'll see Irina come back stronger at Europeans. She seems to be skating better than she was during her two GP events.
GPF and Worlds will certainly be interesting this year.

RoseAugust

12-27-2002, 07:03 PM

Without VV, I thought Irina had no competition . . . boy, was I wrong! Congratulations Elena! From reports it sounds as if Irina took this "loss" well. I have a feeling she will be very strong by worlds. This season has been full of surprises. It's been fun.

adrianchew

12-27-2002, 07:22 PM

Can we get on with the topic - I believe the original poster has posted an apology and let's leave it at that. ~adrianchew~

Mozart

12-28-2002, 01:05 PM

Axel Annie wrote:
"If somebody can get me a video, I can make copies and copies, and copies."
I'd love a copy, Annie! I'd pay for one, or perhaps you'd have a round robin.
I live in California too.
I hope that someone can provide a video.
Cheers,

Terri

12-28-2002, 05:54 PM

Originally posted by mk_fan
I'm Sorry, I came off that way... I didn't mean to be like that. i am very glad for Sokolova, I just couldn't believe that Slutskaya was defeated. the YAY was for Elena, I am very glad for her. Congrats Elena!

Marilee:oops: :cry:

Oh, it's okay. I'd rather the honest mistake post than the self-righteous routine from other posters. But yay for Elena, I'm shocked to see her win. I know some have said that she has fallen out of favor with the Russian Federation but it looks like they'll have to give her her props from now on. They're dealing with a national champion after all! So we'll see her at Europeans and Worlds this year. When was the last time that she went to Worlds?

Breakdown787

12-28-2002, 08:01 PM

Last time Sokolova was at Worlds was at 98 where she place 8th I believe, and 7th that year at Olympics. Sokolova hasn't been to Europeans ethier since 98. 99 and 00 were not bad years for her, it was just result at Nationals that kept her off the world team.

At 99, she was making some buzz with 2 medals on the GP including a impressive win at Nations Cup I think, and went on to finish 4th at GPF. And in 2000 I she was a jumping bean beating Sarah H. at COR where she landed T.Toe-T.Toe-d.lp and almost clean T.Shaccho-T.Loop.

Tony Wheeler

12-28-2002, 08:17 PM

Just a few mistakes, Breakdown. First, Sokolova has actually never been to a European Championship! In 1998, Butyrskaya, Slutskaya, and Soldatova were sent. Julia had a poor showing there and that's how Sokolova got onto the Olympic and World teams. Also, in the 1998-1999 season, she won two golds at Nations Cup (over Butyrskaya) and Cup of Russia (over both Soldatova and Slutskaya, I believe), and she won silver at Skate America, where a lot of people thought she outskated Butyrskaya.

Skatingsarah

12-28-2002, 09:19 PM

I have mixed feeling on this placement. I mean I love Irina, I have found her skating a little uninspiring in the ISU competitions but that is why they have them. Again that is my opinion.. ;) When I think of Irina I think of that Fireball that I saw at the gala at the Olympics! It seems different.
On to the Russian Champ! Wow this is what is so great about skating, everyone expects or predicts things and then ends up with something different. It proves that Miss Irina is only human and well Elena stood up for the challenge. Thats GREAT for her all the luck to her int he upcoming competitions! Its good to see the faces that ppl dont talk about much overachieving everyones expectations, exspecailly mine. I never in my wildest dreams pictured that Elena could step in. I pictured it all Irina since she wasn't being challenged my Victoria. All the luck to both girls Irina and Elena at Euro's!
-Sarah

Aussie Willy

12-28-2002, 10:20 PM

I glad to hear Elena won. I have always liked her skating and have been worried to see she has not performed as well as she could over the last few seasons. She really does have a beautiful smile :-) which when she skates well makes her enjoyable to watch.

kayskate

12-29-2002, 10:05 AM

I must have missed something. What happened to VV?

Kay

adrianchew

12-29-2002, 10:40 AM

Both Volchkova and Plushenko withdrew due to illness (not injury).

Marco

12-30-2002, 04:49 AM

Wow I still can't believe this is actually true :D

But I hope Lena can hang on strongly for Euros and Worlds. Her last strong Nationals showing in the LP was in 1998, but unfortunately she peaked there too sooon for Nagano and Worlds. Let's hope she stays focused.

Thanks to Kudryetsev and also to Mishin ;)

And I hope Lena understands that she still has a lot to work on, I mean, she has 3 more triples than Irina and no falls but still lost 3 ordinals to her. It is quite a relief to know that she has reportedly good speed and good presentation. :)

spiralsrfun

01-02-2003, 12:30 PM

WOW 8O

Add me to the shocked list...without Volchkova there, I figured it would be no problem for Irina at all. Sounds like Elena had an amazing skate!

Congrats to Elena...she must be on cloud 9. :P

To think that many of us thought that the Russian Federation was starting to write her off...what a great comeback for her and amazing skating story for this season.

loveskating

01-05-2003, 10:43 AM

Well, congrats to Sokolova and as an Irina fan, I'm not discouraged...she will do better at Worlds, and if not, well, she is a very great skater and decent person who has my total respect...and I will never forget her landing that 3 lutz/3 loop at GPF several years ago.

Sokolova has always had very strong jumps, and very difficult entries (spreadeagle into 2 axel and landing into a spreadeagle, for instance!!!). I'm not surprised she got it together.

OTHO, she has always had problems with basics like edgeing and flow.

Skating is a very wild sport...which is one reason I love it.

duane

01-08-2003, 01:34 PM

i'm sure elena is thrilled. she's been on the scene for so long. perhaps this win will provide the confidence that has been missing in her skating for so long.

seems some great combos were landed in this competition. hope to see such combos landed at Worlds.

MBH

01-11-2003, 08:59 AM

Can someone update me on Irina's illness? ALl I remember about Irina is that she had an ankle injury last summer and a chronic back injury sustained at the 98 Olys. Sorry to sound so clueless if this has been discussed before. :oops:

nits

01-11-2003, 11:27 AM

I don't think anyone ever said for sure what Irina's "illness" is. However, reports indicate she has been ill for a long time. I'm wondering if she should be hospitalized with such a chronic illness? Honestly, it's been 5 months!!! Irina, get yourself to the hospital dear!!

Blue Ridge

01-11-2003, 11:35 AM

Irina is not ill now. She had a severe upper respiratory infection in the fall which caused her to be hospitalized briefly. It hung on as bronchitis for quite a while, but I believe she is recovered now. It cost her a lot of time in terms of being fully trained and in shape for competitions. Whether it also effected her motivation, we can only speculate.

wvgal57

01-11-2003, 04:16 PM

As for the ankle injury from last year, it did flare up during her COI tour and she returned briefly to Russia as per Tom Collins Tour and TeamIrina for treatment and then she returned to the tour with medications and therapy prescribed.

Her illness this fall kept her off the ice for a month and she hasn't made any excuses for her training preparations other than she's been ill and not as prepared as she'd like to be. She's also stated in various interviews that it takes her a while to get comfortable with a program.

She also had new boots to break in and is trying a new blade design, which she hasn't even commented on herself, the new boots are evident but the blade design is a new venture she's working on.

All skaters have an off season, I'm not concerned about Irina having one - it comes to them all at one point or another.

Irina's whole life isn't centered around her skating. She mentions often having her husband and home and her animals, I'd imagine she's got a pretty full plate. While she says Sergei does a lot of the meal preparations, she says their life is like any other married couple with two jobs, they both have things besides their work that they have to do.

As for motivation, I don't have a clue. I do notice in the last few photos that Irina seems less stressed although she was said to be very, very pale at Russian Nationals (off ice). I feel she's quite happy with her life right now and that she is struggling with the several times mentioned desire to have a baby. I don't think she will she'll stay for Turino - she improved on her '98 Olympics medal at '02 and IMO Irina has no self-need for an Olympic Gold to validate herself or her skating career. I predict we'll see all new skaters on the podium in '06!

Mozart

01-11-2003, 08:07 PM

Hi Emma! :)
I haven't up till now heard anything aout Irina's having a chronic back injury or even a back injury.
Is this true?
Sincerely,

Excidra

01-12-2003, 05:47 AM

You know, it's so remarkable that Slutskaya is a married woman who has to divide her time between skating and her family. Yet, she won worlds and silver medal at the Olympics and has so many titles under her name. How many skaters can actually say that they have a world title and Olympic medal, let alone a skater who has a husband and home to take care of.

As Blue Ridge stated, Irina her self said she was ill and couldn't skate for about a month or so. She actually begin training and learning the choreography of her new programs in Oct, just a few weeks before she was to debute her new programs at CUp of Russia.
Instead of always finding fault in her skating and putting her down, I think we should praise her for continuing skating and going up against the young guns such as Sasha,Yoshie,Arakawa,Vika and others. In reality, she really doesn't have to go up against those skaters, because she has every title in figure skating(with the exception of Olympic gold) and has left her mark in the skatin world. But the love she has for the sport and being competitive is why she is still skating.

Taking the GP series off,I wonder just how prepared our Olympic champion and Olympic bronze medallist will be for their up-coming competition. If they come fighting and landing 3/3, all power to them, but if they don't, expect me to criticize them. :D

MBH

01-12-2003, 08:01 AM

I read in an article that Irina fell and injured the nerves of her back in practice in 98. Possibly during the Nagano Olys, or Worlds. Somebody blamed that chronic back ailment as the reason for her not winning in SLC. She said that Irina peaked too early in 2002 and then her back gave out on her. Don't quote me on the cause of the SLC results though. :lol:

wvgal57

01-12-2003, 09:41 AM

I've not seen anywhere a mention of Irina's BACK being the reason she didn't win Gold at SLC. I've read various reports that in fact Irina actually should have won the Gold because she was unfairly judged in the short program. The short program in SLC was flawless, her freeskate was without problem except the faulty landing on the 3 flip...she didn't hit the floor and while she was cautious she made no glaring errors. She landed two combos and her spins were very, very good, the choreography in Tosca is powerful but she did look scared and it came across.

Irina held back in the freeskate with no 3/3, she skated to hold on to a medal rather to WIN Gold.

I agree with the other poster who talked about Irina still competiting full swing this seaon. She could have sat out but she didn't. She's not afraid to compete or to lose, shows commitment. I'm sure that had she not been competiting and simply training hard all season she'd be in a lot better shape, and I agree it will be interesting to see how the other two Olympic medalists who've not competed but have been doing only intense training step up to the challenge this week. They sure won't have any competition fatigue like Sasha Cohen could experience.

nits

01-12-2003, 10:54 AM

Are we forgetting that Michelle Kwan HAS competed this season? She was a replacement for Sarah Hughes, who withdrew because she has an injury. Michelle had a powerful 2 week old SP, however a mediocre performance, for Michelle, in the LP, which wasn't very old either. Despite her errors, and leaving the door open, nobody stepped up to the plate, and Michelle won. If I remember correctly, there were threads all over about how awful MK was, and how she should've done better...etc... I think many overlooked the fact that MK had little time to prepare for this competition.
I don't know too much about Sarah Hughes, but do know that official word is that Sarah was injured, which is why she withdrew from the GP series. So Sarah isn't just "taking the season off," she is nursing her injury. I hope to see her at Nationals this year, healthy and strong.
Speaking of US Nationals, this is going to be an exciting competition. The US ladies are talented and it's going to be a tough battle for Gold. I hope Michelle wins, however don't really expect it this season. Sasha Cohen has been out there and has really shown improvements, and Sarah is the reigning Olympic Gold medalist.
If Michelle doesn't win, I am glad some have had a change of heart and will not be making negative comments about her. It's amazing what the off season can do.
And since the topic of the Olympic SP was brought up, I can't tell you how many people were in the arena that night that stated the results were fair. It was a split decision, so I don't think anyone can say so and so was "robbed." What about the GPF '02?

jkrjob

01-12-2003, 11:49 AM

Originally posted by Excidra
How many skaters can actually say that they have a world title and Olympic medal, let alone a skater who has a husband and home to take care of.

Umm, I know its a bit off-topic, but since you raised the issue, there are alot of grown, married men capable of taking care of themselves. In fact, most intelligent men like the idea of not being mommied for the rest of their lives, and instead prefer a wife who has more to offer than just "taking care" of the husband. Really, its not the 1950s, and marriage is very much an equal partnership these days. Thus, as a woman, I find your statement very offensive and naive.

Excidra

01-12-2003, 12:12 PM

Ohh my god,how many times do I have to hear about kwan fans crying about GPF 02, get over it.
nits, i'm not being rude to you, but i'm getting so frustrated about Michelle kwan fans always bringing up the GPF 02 results.
Maybe Michelle should've won LP 2, many people attended GPF 02 and personally told me Iirna displayed emotion, drama, speed, superb spinning, difficult footwork/spirals. Everything was there except a few of the jumps and few people said Michelle gave the judges doubt when she went and fall on her last 3, a 3toe.

Every skater(Irina,Sarah,Michelle and others) has been held up a few times in their career. Nothing wrong with that, they are worthy champions and have shown they can deliver when the competition is intense. So when they don't deliver, as they are humans, the judges will over look that and see the many times they have delivered superb performences.

if deul too much into the results of GPF 02 SLC, competitions that have taken place a year ago, then we are always going to argue and argue over nothing. I thought Irina should've won the hallmark thing as many people agree with me, but she lost and everyone has to live with that fact. Now should bring that lose up everytime Irina or Yuka is mentioned? nope.

Hannahclear

01-12-2003, 12:19 PM

Well just as Irina fans are tired about hearing about GPF Final, Kwan fans are tired of hearing about the SLC SP. It really cuts both ways eh? ;)

Excidra

01-12-2003, 12:20 PM

jkrjob,

I'm not saying Irina should cook,clean and take care of her husband every possible way, don't get me wrong. But the other partner sometimes needs love and care(be it the man or the woman). If anyone wants to have a successful marriage, they have to invest in it. Imagin if Irina was away all year long, doing competitions, shows, tv specials and other things. Do you really think her marriage would last, if the sitution was like that?

If I was a married elite skater, I would certinly make time to spend with my wife, loved ones and take care of home.