Mikhail Kolyada

[vorravorra]

Ok, who believes at this point that S/B do not have COVID that the Fed's covering up waiting for a negative? They didn't wait 5 seconds for Misha. But never mind.

I can hardly imagine what Misha must be feeling right now. It would be much easier if he'd never made the team in the first place. I wonder if we'll see him as well as the rest of the old guard at the RCF.

 

[cathlen]

Ok, who believes at this point that S/B do not have COVID that the Fed's covering up waiting for a negative? They didn't wait 5 seconds for Misha. But never mind.

I can hardly imagine what Misha must be feeling right now. It would be much easier if he'd never made the team in the first place. I wonder if we'll see him as well as the rest of the old guard at the RCF.

He was dropped like hot potato. We'll see if it doesn't bite them in the ass. Btw. do we know if Misha will continue skating after this season?

 

[vorravorra]

He was dropped like hot potato. We'll see if it doesn't bite them in the ass. Btw. do we know if Misha will continue skating after this season?

No, he hasn't said anything.

 

[RoundedBackCamel]

I need to write here because no one in my RL understands. If I tell people why I’m depressed they look at me like I’ve grown a third eye, lol. We’ve discussed how how some of us have spent a lifetime trying to convince friends and family how awesome figure skating is. That’s another cruelty; I really wanted my family to see Kolyada skating to such a beautiful program and hear their reaction! (I also wanted to see if they viewed things through “American googles” or like many of us lovers of the sport tend to see beyond borders. Not sure if they understand why Nathan isn’t my fave skater automatically. I like him fine; I think he’s a great skater. But it’s all so subjective and other performers move me more. Who’s to say why?)

I AM going to watch the Olys, but I can’t help thinking there are a few scenarios that will make me REALLY unhappy and I hate how that will affect my enjoyment of the events. I don’t like the bitter part of my personality. But I’ve also learned as I approach my sixth decade that karma is actually pretty darn rare.

ETA: There is another thread that discusses if any skater has gotten you through rough times. For me, it was watching Mikhail’s programs. It got me through a lot of my isolation during lockdown. Can’t post that, though.

 

[Tutto]

Just when you think things could not get any worse, they do... It was with a very heavy heart I watched the TE this morning. The only bright spot turned out to be Shoma skating sublimely to one of my favourite pieces of music. Thank you Shoma! I admire Nathan for his consistency, but for me his skating is so business like...
It did hurt to hear WC music. A lot.
And to watch the triumph of mediocracy over talent.

BTW I've got a new conspiracy theory on recent events. It is too shocking to voice it here. Absolutely everything points in one and one direction only but I cannot for the life of me to figure out why? the motive? (could I possibly be reading too much of Agatha Christie? )
But if on Monday I see Zhenya S skating FS it will be the last piece of jigsaw.

 

[Tutto]

Ok, who believes at this point that S/B do not have COVID that the Fed's covering up waiting for a negative? They didn't wait 5 seconds for Misha. But never mind.

I can hardly imagine what Misha must be feeling right now. It would be much easier if he'd never made the team in the first place. I wonder if we'll see him as well as the rest of the old guard at the RCF.

It seems to be obvious at this point, unless they are chained to the radiator at home by someone actively wishing D/S to skate TE FD and get OLy gold.
Regarding RCF I think it will be just another humiliation for him having to fight for his rightfully earned spot at Worlds. At other hand any competition is better than no competition. There is a small comp Tallilink at the beginning of March. I think competing internationally could be more use to building his confidence.
Anger can be very useful emotion if channelled correctly

 

[cathlen]

It seems to be obvious at this point, unless they are chained to the radiator at home by someone actively wishing D/S to skate TE FD and get OLy gold.
Regarding RCF I think it will be just another humiliation for him having to fight for his rightfully earned spot at Worlds. At other hand any competition is better than no competition. There is a small comp Tallilink at the beginning of March. I think competing internationally could be more use to building his confidence.
Anger can be very useful emotion if channelled correctly

Except Russia needs points and D/S would behind American, Italians, Canadians for sure, so... maybe SinKats will skate after all.

 

[Tutto]

Except Russia needs points and D/S would behind American, Italians, Canadians for sure, so... maybe SinKats will skate after all.

Remains to be seen

 

[RoundedBackCamel]

Well, I survived watching the men’s short TE event, but that was painful. It was quite obvious at Europeans how the scores were inflated to put the European/Eastern European men on the world stage to appear as though they are at the same echelon as Japan and US, but they’re just—not (at least the ones here). Boys skating among men. It wasn’t as evident when they were only skating against each other. And the PCS scores of the short were ridic. A certain Russ skater has the same PCS as a certain Japanese skater? Unbelievable. And one score was so inflated as to make the skater nearly untouchable.

Tutto, I understand what you are saying. It will be very interesting indeed.

 

[vorravorra]

Just when you think things could not get any worse, they do... It was with a very heavy heart I watched the TE this morning. The only bright spot turned out to be Shoma skating sublimely to one of my favourite pieces of music. Thank you Shoma! I admire Nathan for his consistency, but for me his skating is so business like...
It did hurt to hear WC music. A lot.
And to watch the triumph of mediocracy over talent.

BTW I've got a new conspiracy theory on recent events. It is too shocking to voice it here. Absolutely everything points in one and one direction only but I cannot for the life of me to figure out why? the motive? (could I possibly be reading too much of Agatha Christie? )
But if on Monday I see Zhenya S skating FS it will be the last piece of jigsaw.

Yes, there are people who are worried that once many top skaters retire after these OG, the skating will skew even more heavily towards jumps, with quantity over quality. The components already have become almost completely detached from what they are supposed to evaluate. The judges still like to reward the quality of skating all things being equal, but all things are rarely equal. In this way you can sometimes find fairer scoring in juniors where the stakes are low. I hope there will still be those who are a joy to watch even if they won't be the ones on the podium.

 

[vorravorra]

Well, I survived watching the men’s short TE event, but that was painful. It was quite obvious at Europeans how the scores were inflated to put the European/Eastern European men on the world stage to appear as though they are at the same echelon as Japan and US, but they’re just—not (at least the ones here). Boys skating among men. It wasn’t as evident when they were only skating against each other. And the PCS scores of the short were ridic. A certain Russ skater has the same PCS as a certain Japanese skater? Unbelievable. And one score was so inflated as to make the skater nearly untouchable.

Tutto, I understand what you are saying. It will be very interesting indeed.

Yes, I hope if Mark is going to be the face of Russian figure skating he at least works on some things, such as learning why skates have edges. As for Grassl, he has a cadre of dedicated fans who insist he's not bad, just different in a way that sticks in the mud fail to appreciate. Leaving aside European men, there is no explanation for Shoma's vs. Nathan's PCS other than the latter having more titles. But regardless, the final placements seemed fair.

 

[Tutto]

Yes, I hope if Mark is going to be the face of Russian figure skating he at least works on some things, such as learning why skates have edges. As for Grassl, he has a cadre of dedicated fans who insist he's not bad, just different in a way that sticks in the mud fail to appreciate. Leaving aside European men, there is no explanation for Shoma's vs. Nathan's PCS other than the latter having more titles. But regardless, the final placements seemed fair.

Indeed but will he? What is incentive if he is handed high PCS on the plate already? Mika had to wait for 43+ in SP for three senior seasons and got it for the first time for an amazing skate at CoC with 4lz which will stay in FS history & SS to die for. Why would Mark & his team bother? I have nothing against Mark in principle do not get me wrong, he seems to be a nice humble guy. It is not his fault but judges (and RusFed games of course). I can see that he ticks all the boxes for RusFed - he's got quads and he is fighting for every jump, never mind that the final result is rather unappealing - all the fight and very little else, like today he didn't have one single good landing, his spins too look like he is fighting something as to SS you said it Vorravorra. It is good thing he skated first, and not after Shoma the difference in class would be even more apparent.

 

[Tutto]

I need to write here because no one in my RL understands. If I tell people why I’m depressed they look at me like I’ve grown a third eye, lol. We’ve discussed how how some of us have spent a lifetime trying to convince friends and family how awesome figure skating is. That’s another cruelty; I really wanted my family to see Kolyada skating to such a beautiful program and hear their reaction! (I also wanted to see if they viewed things through “American googles” or like many of us lovers of the sport tend to see beyond borders. Not sure if they understand why Nathan isn’t my fave skater automatically. I like him fine; I think he’s a great skater. But it’s all so subjective and other performers move me more. Who’s to say why?)

I AM going to watch the Olys, but I can’t help thinking there are a few scenarios that will make me REALLY unhappy and I hate how that will affect my enjoyment of the events. I don’t like the bitter part of my personality. But I’ve also learned as I approach my sixth decade that karma is actually pretty darn rare.

ETA: There is another thread that discusses if any skater has gotten you through rough times. For me, it was watching Mikhail’s programs. It got me through a lot of my isolation during lockdown. Can’t post that, though.

RoundedBackCamel, I so understand you! Mika got me through very very tough times, I feel like he's become my talisman. And now it feels like it is all falling apart. My mother btw said she will not watch Oly because of what's happened to him! I have a few other skaters I am interested in so I will be watching but joy's gone, all is poisoned.

 

[vorravorra]

Indeed but will he? What is incentive if he is handed high PCS on the plate already? Mika had to wait for 43+ in SP for three senior seasons and got it for the first time for an amazing skate at CoC with 4lz which will stay in FS history & SS to die for. Why would Mark & his team bother? I have nothing against Mark in principle do not get me wrong, he seems to be a nice humble guy. It is not his fault but judges (and RusFed games of course). I can see that he ticks all the boxes for RusFed - he's got quads and he is fighting for every jump, never mind that the final result is rather unappealing - all the fight and very little else, like today he didn't have one single good landing, his spins too look like he is fighting something as to SS you said it Vorravorra. It is good thing he skated first, and not after Shoma the difference in class would be even more apparent.

I don't know why he hadn't worked on it before, but that's something a coach should be in charge of, not the student. Components don't seem to be Sokolovskaya's big concern, at least until her students gain prominence and someone points it out to her that they need more work in this area. But Mark doesn't appear to be the type to imagine himself the pinnacle of figure skating just because he's had some mushrooms thrown his way, he probably is aware of his weaknesses and wouldn't refuse to put effort into correcting them.

 

[cathlen]

Well, I wonder if Russ Fed will come to regret dropping Misha. He was the only one able to has comparable PCS with top skaters, Euros scores were completely uncomprehensive, but I think partly because there was no comparison. There was no Misha, no Matteo Rizzo. Only boys jumping quads. Deniss was the PCS skater in top flight only.

 

[vorravorra]

Well, I wonder if Russ Fed will come to regret dropping Misha. He was the only one able to has comparable PCS with top skaters, Euros scores were completely uncomprehensive, but I think partly because there was no comparison. There was no Misha, no Matteo Rizzo. Only boys jumping quads. Deniss was the PCS skater in top flight only.

Well, in the team event only placements matter, and you don't need to be a top-tier skater to beat Moris and Daniel. Mark did what was required of him, which was to skate clean. I think he was the right choice for the team event. As for the individual, I don't think the Fed will be worried since there are no spots on the line. Come Worlds, things may be different. It will depend on how the boys do here and how they are scored.

 

[RoundedBackCamel]

Well, that was such a world of butt-hurt, I feel compelled to make a list:

7. Seeing images of Misha projected on Olympic ice arena wall.
6. Seeing Mishin sitting in the KnC looking all puffy and proud of his new prodigy (not to take anything away from Semenenko, who performed well).
5. Thinking how beautiful that baby blue Oly uniform would have looked on Misha (not so much Mishin, lol)
4. Hearing Danil Grassl skating to White Crow. I had to mute.
3. An early skater (I’ve forgotten his name, forgive me) skating to Misha’s cut of Nutcracker. I muted.
2. Seeing Mark get the power and the glory forever and ever (lil JCS joke) instead of Misha. I need to remind myself that I loved Mark when he burst on the scene, but as a counterpoint to Misha and as part a wonderful pair of skaters showing the diversity of styles in Russia.
1. Argh, possibly the worst, seeing Danny G up there next to Morisei. *cough* *cough* No REALLY! *cough*

Silver lining: I was less nervous. But I was still climbing the walls by the time Yuzu came on. I went to pour myself a glass of wine I was such a wreck, and then I watched Shoma through my fingers. (I’m sad about Yuzu; I don’t like GOAT talk and US fans will say Nathan’s the GOAT, and that will annoy me.) Yay, Shoma tho!

That said, if I was that much of a wreck for Yuzu and Shoma, I can’t even imagine what I would have been like watching Misha! Good lord!

Really the major disappointment was Yuzu. You always want to see a legend at his best. I really do think it was a chunk of ice.

 

[vorravorra]

Well, that was such a world of butt-hurt, I feel compelled to make a list:

7. Seeing images of Misha projected on Olympic ice arena wall.
6. Seeing Mishin sitting in the KnC looking all puffy and proud of his new prodigy (not to take anything away from Semenenko, who performed well).
5. Thinking how beautiful that baby blue Oly uniform would have looked on Misha (not so much Mishin, lol)
4. Hearing Danil Grassl skating to White Crow. I had to mute.
3. An early skater (I’ve forgotten his name, forgive me) skating to Misha’s cut of Nutcracker. I muted.
2. Seeing Mark get the power and the glory forever and ever (lil JCS joke) instead of Misha. I need to remind myself that I loved Mark when he burst on the scene, but as a counterpoint to Misha and as part a wonderful pair of skaters showing the diversity of styles in Russia.
1. Argh, possibly the worst, seeing Danny G up there next to Morisei. *cough* *cough* No REALLY! *cough*

Silver lining: I was less nervous. But I was still climbing the walls by the time Yuzu came on. I went to pour myself a glass of wine I was such a wreck, and then I watched Shoma through my fingers. (I’m sad about Yuzu; I don’t like GOAT talk and US fans will say Nathan’s the GOAT, and that will annoy me.) Yay, Shoma tho!

That said, if I was that much of a wreck for Yuzu and Shoma, I can’t even imagine what I would have been like watching Misha! Good lord!

Really the major disappointment was Yuzu. You always want to see a legend at his best. I really do think it was a chunk of ice.

3. Konstantin Milyukov. He used to skate for Russia until a couple of seasons ago and now skates for Belarus.

I was watching and thinking Misha had never placed 15th, let alone 23rd, after an SP in any competition. It's so annoying to hear people say "he may have not done any better so what's the difference". Honestly, the myths about Misha have reached ridiculous proportions. I've heard "he doesn't jump quads","he always falls", "he'd be lucky to make the top 10" (he's never placed below 8th), "this season has been a failure so leaving him at home was justified" (he made the damn GPF and his scores were higher than any of the Russian guys until Mark got that huge bump at Euros). Propaganda works.

But anyway, I agree that at least I was less nervous watching the Olympics this time. Really bummed about Mozalev, why does the guy with the best skating has to have the most problems with jumps? And the best jumper the worst skating skills? Why do Russian coaches and the Fed by and large think working on components is a waste of time when you can't really make it in the world top without them? It's not like the Russian guys have Chen-level tech to compensate. As for Mark, he was already being talked about as a contender for a medal (!) in the individual event. I guess "the first Russian Olympic champion since Plushenko" must automatically become Plushenko in people's minds. So if he doesn't keep up his performance he won't necessarily fare so well in the public opinion because glory hunter fans don't forgive anyone who doesn't live up to their expectations. But he'll always have that gold medal to keep him warm.

 

[Heleng]

I tried not to think about Misha while watching the men’s sp but it was quite impossible while Daniel skated

I do really like Mark, Andrei, and Evgeni, each for different reasons, and I hope they all have fabulous free skates.

 

[Tutto]

Oh dear, missing the Oly suddenly seems less negative in light of the latest development? However I do not wish to speculate till the official confirmation.
I agree with you (reluctantly) Vorravorra and RoundedBackCamel watching competitions without Mika positively reflects on the heart medicine intake for some (me!) but I'd rather have another heart attack!
Seems, on PCS front the judges are coming to their senses ( 'mushrooms' or no 'mushrooms' )
I felt sorry for Andrei he's got nice SS hope he'll do better in LP.
I also wonder how many light years will take for RusFed to realise that their formula 2+3 (as the minimum) simply is not working. They broke Maxim K, they nearly broke Mika at least his confidence and others and yet any young skater able to produce 2 quads in SP and 3 in LP gets an immediate approval of the Fed, the hype and the rest - the result always the same but they do not seem to learn.
I don't believe fatigue was the reason for not so good skate from Mark. I see the pressure which was not on him before, but it is now, especially hard for him -a case of too much too soon? I just imagine what would have been said it was Mika in the 15th after SP?

To change the subject, with his birthday coming next week would you be interested to do something - to send a few words from us let him know that he's got a legion of fans on the Goldenskate?