#shame on eteri

[macaroni-rascal]

Okay, I have to do the men first while they're still fresh in my mind.

Malinin wtf, that's one of the worst outfits I've ever seen. It's giving ClipArt, it's giving shitty MySpace photo edits done in MS Paint, it's giving WinAmp skin. And it's a freaking Succession program - a simple ribbed black turtleneck sweater would've sufficed, but no. At least he's improved his movement quality.

Kevin with the slay of the weekend so far, such a shame it was to Bolero. I had forgotten it was Bolero and then the dread of the realization set in when the music started. His gloves were stained red by the blood gushing from my eardrums. But when he was standing in the middle of the ice, hip cocked, staring down the judges? Iconic. He needs to close his shirt a little bit and it needs some sort of intricate beading or a pattern or something, it's all a bit plain and boxy again and dark. And the hair again - truly reminiscent of some of Scott's worst post-retirement moments.

Shun, if you're gonna skate to the Four Seasons, then why dress like the cracked earth of the Atacama Desert? It looked better up close and I'm sure it looked great as a drawing, but it had these skeletal lines that made me wonder if it was a Halloween costume. It looked like if someone ripped the ruffles off of one of Yuzuru's old costumes and ran over it with their car in the mud.

Nozomu - this costume is too literal and silly and it belongs on a cruise ship show, not a senior GP. If a novice boy was wearing this, it'd be cute, but this is a grown-ass man. I did like the color and beading on the vest upon closer inspection and default bonus points for not wearing black pants, but the music selections were too heavy and dramatic for such a childish outfit. And I thought we'd left the boot covers behind in the early 90s, wth.

An Eteri boy? In this economy? The ripping-open of the shirt is such a cheap Dani G gimmick as to be a parody of itself at this point. And a red shirt for Roxanne? Groundbreaking. At least he's appropriately attired for what he is to his coach - just another Redshirt.

Deniss would be my main B if it weren't for the problems. I love how the audience was creaming itself as soon as he started moving. I looooved the fuchsia color, but let's be real for a sec - that's a blouse. He's wearing a blouse. But I don't care. He looked like a slutty pirate and I'm here for it. That said, his body was performing, but his face wasn't, and I hate that for him, because he's the only boy here who could bomb and still get a standing O.

Gogo's shirt was having an identity crisis. Was it supposed to be kimono-inspired? Is the music from some obscure sci-fi show and this shirt is somehow based on an alien civilization? Because both short sleeves over long ones and a scarf (that's just a little shorter than the shirt) under a belt is a lot to be going on. Was the costume brief "just fuck my shit up"? The color wasn't bad and it suited his complexion, but the gloves were an unnecessary touch in an overall look that followed no rhyme or reason.

Litvintsev strikes again, this time with an overly literal costume and a community theater interpretation of a toy soldier that he doesn't have the rizz to make camp enough to work. The ruffled collar I found to be personally offensive.

Tatsuya wearing a random, loosely fitting tactical outfit and skating to contemporary classical music, because those two things somehow go together. Whatever.

Naumov's shirt I possibly liked best, but that's mostly because it was slim pickings out there. It was more interesting up close, but the little colorful islands of rhinestones just looked like stains in wide shots. I liked the ombre, it was well-positioned and the shirt was well-constructed and fit him well.

Torgs strikes again, this time in a system failure blue crewneck sweater someone tested black and white eyeliner swatches onto. I'm issuing an arrest warrant for whoever is responsible, he should demand his money back. At least he had a redemption skate.

Nordeback with the laziest Batman costume. I can't even be bothered to comment. His performance def was a dark knight of the soul.

I'm gonna give on sentence on each skater along with you, as a fun game.

Ilia: Why, bro...just why?

Kevin: V necks are apparently the reason for the season, but I'm not sure if they are in.

Shun: You nailed it so hard I have nothing to add besides a crisp thumbs up.

Nozomu: Boot covers should be outlawed unless you are skating to Kinky Boots, then an allowance will be made, but only if BOTH skaters wear bright red knee high boot covers.

Eteri boy: Ugh.

Deniss: Oh, Deniss.

Gogolev: Every time he skates I think: does he hate this?

Litvintsev: Camp is only camp if it's camp and this wasn't camp.

Tatsuya: Boring.

Naumov: Pretty solid.

Torgashev: What a choice.

Nordeback: Rough stuff.

[llyfrbryf]

I thought I hated Eteri & co before, but that’s nothing compared to today! First they forced a minor to take illegal drugs, and when found out, they left the child alone to face the journalists! Look at these pictures! A 15 year old! Forced to  hide her face, desperately clinging to a plushie! And not a single adult anywhere! Just anyone, any-fucking-one, just to put a comforting hand on her shoulder!

I’d be the first to say, Kami didn’t deserve most of the scores and medals she got - way too overscored, though potentially talented. She has been annoying me by being promoted as “the next Olympics winner” for the past 3-4 years. I kept thinking “has it all been decided years before the competition even took place?!” and disliked her even more. Not her fault, her coaches fault, RusFed fault, PR fault. But there you go.

BUT! Like Kamila or dislike her, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s a child, who has been physically abused, given suspicious substances and then left alone to face the vultures!

I’m horrified. I saw these photos an hour ago, started crying and I’m still unable to stop. I can’t even imagine what the poor girl is feeling now. Devastating! Shame on every adult who left this child alone!

[kazuha-pista-badam]

a thread about sambo 70's dirty work

tw// abuse of young kids in figure skating

this thread was originally made by someone else on twt. i'm just posting it here so y'all can spread it. you can also translate it in different languages.

for those who don't know: sambo 70 is a major sports club in russia and the figure skaters under this club are abused by their coaches eteri tutberidze & daniil gleikhengauz

some keywords: owg- winter olympics gp- grand prix jgp- junior grand prix gpf- grand prix final fs- free skate/long routine 4cc- 4 continents cup

Thread: Eteri Tutberidze and the team at Sambo 70 have a long and horrifying history of disregarding skater health, diminishing serious injuries, and forcing injured teenage athletes into premature retirement. All of this has been enabled by the ISU, judges, and commentators.

1. Yulia Lipnitskaya OWG: 🥇 (2014) WC: 🥈 (2014) Retired at: 19 (injury & anorexia) "Eteri Tutberidze was proud to inform the press that Yulia Lipnitskaya ... sometimes existed almost entirely on a diet of 'powdered nutrients.'"

2. Polina Tsurskaya Youth Olympics: 🥇 (2016) Junior GPF: 🥇 (2015) Retired at 17 after struggling with consistency due to body changes. Polina at her prime

3. Daria Panenkova Junior GP: 🥇🥈 (2017) Retired at 17. After she left Sambo, her old coaches accused her of shirking training: "[She] once again refused to go on the ice ... she said that did not want to go to training."

4. Anastasia Tarakanova Junior GPF: 🥉 (2017) Retired at 17, citing "health reasons." She also struggled with receiving funding and federation support at the end of her career.

5. Alena Kanysheva Junior GPF: 🥉(2017) - under coach Svetlana Panova. Switched to ice dance from singles at 15 following a chronic back injury aggravated by training the 4T (Quadruple Toeloop, a jump) at Sambo. Retired from the sport entirely at 16. Alena's beautiful JGPF FS

6. Elizabet Tursynbaeva (KAZ) Youth Olympics: 🥉 (2016) 4CC: 🥈 (2019) Worlds: 🥈 (2019) Retired at: 21, but had not competed since age 19. Despite a chronic back injury, she trained and competed a 4S. She cited her health as the reason for her retirement.

7. Evgenia Medvedeva Olympics: 🥈🥈 (2018) - had a stress fracture. Worlds: 🥇🥇🥉 (2016-17, 2019) Has not competed since age 20. She can only safely execute two types of jumps due to a chronic back injury that leaves her unable to turn to the left.

8. Alina Zagitova Olympics: 🥇🥈 (2018) Worlds: 🥇 (2019) Has not competed since age 17. Alina commented that she and Evgenia were not permitted to drink water to keep their weight down at the Olympics: "We just rinsed our mouths and spit it all out."

9. Daria Usacheva Jr Worlds: 🥈 (2020) Jr GPF: 🥉 (2019) Daria fractured her hip (reported by Russian media as an upper leg injury) in warmup at the 2021 NHK Trophy, at age 15. She left in a wheelchair and has not competed since. Tw: Injury, bodily harm

10. Alena Kostornaia GPF: 🥇 (2019) Euros: 🥇 (2020) Eteri claimed Alena had refused to share the ice with other girls. When Alena returned to Sambo after a season with another coach, she was placed on a "probationary period" that required her to re-master the 3A (triple axel, one of the hardest jumps) in two months. Alena later fractured her wrist during a 3A attempt and could not compete for an Olympic spot. Eteri said, "I believe that with such an injury it was possible to skate." She is 18

11. Anna Shcherbakova (2022 Olympian) Worlds: 🥇 (2021) Euros: 🥈🥈 (2020, 2022) Sambo's choreographer, Daniil Gleikhengauz, bragged that Anna could eat two shrimp for dinner and be full, and said he was "glad that she was not obsessed with food." Anna contracted pneumonia in the fall of 2020 and visibly struggled to breathe at 2020 Russian Nationals. Her coaches gave her something to inhale at the boards, possibly smelling salts. Despite this, her "tenacity" was praised by commentators. She is 17.

12. Alexandra Trusova (2022 Olympian) Worlds: 🥉 (2021) Euros: 🥉🥉 (2020, 2022) Sat out most of the fall of 2021 due to a fractured foot, but still competed quadruple jumps in the events that she entered. She is 17.

13. Kamila Valieva (2022 Olympian) Euros: 🥇 (2022) Kamila is undefeated this season and the favorite for the Olympic title. On Feb. 8, after the team event, it was revealed that she had tested positive for TMZ, a banned substance used to increase heart metabolism. She is 15.

14. Adian Pitkeev Jr Worlds: 🥈 (2014) Jr GPF: 🥈 (2013) Left singles skating at 18. Most elite men are able to compete well into their late 20s. Spent much of his career competing on a chronic injury. Despite this, Sambo coaches persisted in having him train quadruple jumps.

Skating fans are well-aware of the horrors that arise from Sambo 70's training methods. I hope that this thread will help bring this into a mainstream light. As fans, there's little we can do, but sports authorities can and should act.

Please protect these kids.

[tessisawriter]

The aftermath of the women’s free skate...my god. 4 girls, all crying, not out of happiness, but out of sadness, strain, confusion, frustration, anger, etc. I hope every single one of the judges on the CAS panel that allowed Kamila Valieva to compete was forced to watched the following unfold:

The decision to let Kamila skate, which they claimed they made to save her from “irreparable harm,” backfired. Letting her skate did irreparable harm. She fell apart in the free skate, started crying before her bows, and the first thing Eteri said to her when she came off the ice was, “Why did you stop fighting?” Proof positive that Eteri doesn’t care about her skaters/is abusive.

Sasha Trusova (silver medalist) pushed Eteri away from her and screamed, “You knew everything!” That was justified, but then she threw a fit about never winning a gold medal in a major competition and how 5 quads should’ve been enough. Well, guess what? It’s figure skating: technical elements are only half the score. If Sasha had put even 50% worth of effort into her PCS/choreography, she would’ve won. But that didn’t happen b/c she was told she’d win if she just did the jumps, and now she “hates this sport.”

Kaori Sakamoto (bronze medalist), who defied all the odds and stopped a Russian sweep of the podium, was sobbing. This poor girl had NOTHING to do with this—she is not trained by Eteri nor is she Russian. Kaori became the 4th Japanese woman to win an Olympic medal in figure skating, and this should’ve been the best night of her life, but the CAS panel took that away from her. Kaori was dragged into a horrible situation, and let’s face it, probably the only one in the top 4 who didn’t dope. So unfair.

When Anna Shchebakova (gold medalist) got off the ice after her program, the first thing Eteri said to her was, “Why didn’t you do the quad lutz?” And then, after finding out she was Olympic Champion, she was left all alone for at least 5 minutes. Can you imagine winning an Olympic gold medal and having nobody on your team congratulate you? Again, what should’ve been the best night of Anna’s life was ruined by the CAS panel. No wonder she felt “emotionally empty” after the win. 

How can the CAS panel think their decision benefited ANYONE? Shame on them, and shame on the IOC & ISU for not taking more action against Russia after the state-sponsored doping scheme from 2014 was revealed. The shit-show that happened immediately after the free skate ended was 100% PREVENTABLE.

[anewbeginningagain]

This was her comment on Zhulin’s post (which now has thousands of comments supporting Eteri and saying “Bravo” to Zhulin). She should really teach a course about gaslighting, she’s the master of it.

[destinyannfoxx]

Guys remember at jnats Kaori nearly cut off the judges' heads during Matrix? Yeah she better actually do it at Worlds as revenge for this robbery and clownery

[sapphieissleepy]

this is so incredibly frustrating

[acerola-tree]

Shouldn't she just ditch the 4S? It's only giving her trouble and it's not like she needs those points

[alchemistys]

The year is 2030. the Winter Olympics are being held in Sapporo. johnny weir went bald in 2024 but that doesn’t stop him—there is a taxidermied poodle on his head. Nathan Chen shows up in a tie-dye shirt, black jeans and flip flops, all by gucci. This is unfortunately one of the best costumes in mens singles. eteri’s posse is selling photocards and lightsticks. a fifteen year old russian frantically shaves her mustache. The judging panel is already deducting marks from team Japan and giving them to usa, Canada and SGR - some guys from russia. 

Kyle smith, representing america in sweatpants and a hoodie, takes the ice. His short program is to shape of you by ed sheeran, in which his pcs skyrockets for dryhumping the air. At the end, two hundred white girls rise in the stands to throw baseball caps onto the ice at him because flowers are too gay. nbc zooms in on his straining, manly face in slomo while the panel holds an auction on goe. Finally the results are in. one hundred twenty. kyle leans over to kiss his girlfriend, a ninety-pound womens’ singles skater who is retiring at the ripe old age of eighteen. Fucking ancient. Her coach publicly shamed her after she had the audacity to date a boy her own age instead of marry him, forty years her senior, after wasting years of effort grooming her. 

‘Next, representing Japan, is…oh my god, it IS him! He’s here! Good lord have mercy he’s HERE!’ 

Thirty-five-year-old Hanyu yuzuru steps onto the ice. all of japan collectively orgasms. He has the face of a fifteen year old and the body of a prima donna ballerina. His ankles are held together with duct tape. Ito satomi has draped him in gossamer silk held together by the tears of angels. somewhere in Spain, Javier Fernandez starts bawling and immediately jumps on a plane to win yuzuru’s love back. But it is too late, for yuzuru’s one true love is the quad axel (in an open relationship with the hydroblade). But none of this matters, because hanyu yuzuru has the power of god and anime on his side. He lands a quintuple flip and french kisses the ice. isu shits its pants, screaming crying throwing up on the floor. They have to give him the points. Twenty is deducted from the component for being a little hoe. Yuzuru wins gold and immediately retires. He forces isu to read his thesis and they make him president. AI tech scores babeyy. nathan Chen is put on trial for war crimes (fucking basic-ass costumes) and declared not guilty, while vera wang is called to the stand and charged with dressing him in galaxy print. evgenia, now with bionic joints, teleports into the middle of the ladies event and wins gold. She, Yulia and Alina start a support group for teenage russian figure skaters. Eteri is put on trial for child abuse and excommunicated. She pays fifty million dollars to everybody ever associated with her. 

Life is good.

[relish-alittlenonsense]

please please please raise the minimum age. these girls are being used and discarded, one after the other. people cheer them on when they win, but they're actually just cheering on the ghosts of these empty children who have been starved and abused for years. rusfed, eteri, and the isu are being cheered on for such behavior. there is no argument that can justify the destruction of these girls. the cameras and the media are absolutely sick-minded for focusing on Kamila and Sasha's breakdowns. and the entire world knows that in two years, maybe even one, no one will remember these girls, for there will just be a new batch of talented young skaters to pick from. how has this become the legacy of women's figure skating? these talented young girls have been stripped of their love for the sport.

for those who are shaming Kamila and Sasha for their reactions, check yourself and ask yourself, "how much is a little girl worth?" because from what we've seen just these past two weeks, they're worth nothing. and that's how horrifically messed up the system is. at this point, I don't worry about who's going to place on the podium, but about the well-being of these girls.

and while I pray for them as much as I can and rant to strangers on the internet, this is what figure skating has become.

[raininyourblackeyes]

On one hand, I did laugh through the entire Kamila’s free skate because I am a terrible person who probably should be doing something about that, and because I have felt nothing but disgust seeing all three Russian girls skating this entire week. However, on a much more mature and sensible hand, this was terrible. This child had just went through the most traumatic week of her already messed up life. It was just a matter of time when this happened. To even think that she did this on purpose is a joke - would Eteri not want to have a podium sweep, if this was meant to happen, then she’d tell her not to mess up this much... But that’s besides the point. Point is, this child is tired and traumatized (and drugged most likely) and instead of offering any support, her coaches chose to behave as if the mistake ridden program is a shame on their school’s name. To Kamila Valieva, I can only wish a peaceful retirement. I sincerely hope she doesn’t compete anymore. She doesn’t deserve any of this shit.

Neither do Anna and Alexandra. Anna did not deserve that gold medal. Her skating is some of the worst out there and yet she is tremendously awarded for it. What I still cannot comprehend is her lack of any reaction to the gold. While it is certainly a life changing medal and it probably needs time to sink in, her being nearly stone-faced still seems unnatural. Alexandra’s outburst does seem a bit unsportsman-like at first. But, she knows better than all of us, how Eteri works and plans ahead. Alexandra Trusova probably feels as if she is being punished by her coaches (she also seems to be aware that her coach controls the system) for leaving last season, even if she had returned. This girl is continously risking injuries just to land as many quads as possible, and yet when she finally does it is still not enough. Sure, she prerotates, sure, that program is 95% crossovers and nothing else. But this looks like a young woman not being rewarded for her efforts, instead being punished for them, by the system monopolized by her own coach. The cameras had no right to film her crying. As much as I would love to see her continue skating and growing because we saw the glimpses of potential last season with Plushenko, I think the smartest thing would be to retire and heal. Same thing goes for Anna Shcherbakova.

That being said, all three of these girls are nothing less than victims in a sport that rewards only the “chosen ones” who are in Eteri Tutberidze’s good graces, and aren’t completely broken in body yet. They are victims of a coach who created not a system, but a well oiled machine always working, always ready to produce yet another child doll/star who will wow the world for a season or two, bring more money and then it is time for a new one.

The only way to stop the death of women’s skating, not just Russian girls, but in general, is for abusive coaches, starting with Sambo-70 team, to all be banned from the sport. Then raise the age limit to 17, then limit the number of quads women may do in the free. And then we can talk of the improvements needed to IJS. Or, said in simpler words, jail for Eteri, and a new governing body for this broken sport.

[thoughtdump]

I’m back with another rant because I fucking hate this world!

The Kamila verdict timing is genuinely insane. They’re just all insane. It makes me think they timed it then because they know they’ve been cleared and now they can have their whole repulsive propaganda, fake ass “in your face” moment and the possibility of that makes me sick. (I admit I don’t know that much about the entire world of figure skating so I don’t know what actually went into the timing decision. I hope it was just how it panned out but that’d be too easy right?)

I’ve said it ever since the Olympics but I’ll say it again, I have never seen such a disgusting, public, shameless display of abuse on a teenage girl in my life. They’re waving her around like a political pawn, a russian hero and a symbol of “russian strength” but there is no strength, no honor, no glory in abusing a child. All that the world has seen from their organization is weakness and malice. They have no shame, no conscience and at the center of it is a girl who just wanted to skate. Now, she’s been brainwashed and abused and will never just be able to skate as an individual human being. They make their students machines, robots & hide them from the truth for their selfish gain. They are a disgrace. 

It’s hard for me to decide whether I think Kamila herself should be banned. On one hand, the wrong was done, end of story and she needs to learn that you get punished for doing wrong or being a part of wrongdoings. That you need to be conscientious of the world (people) around you and most importantly, she needs to learn that the adults in her life wronged her. Not the media, not the “evil west”, it was her coaches, her state run media, probably even her parents. But even at this I think a ban on her should be short. On the other hand though, she was 15, raised in the four walls of a skating rink with 3 coaches telling her lies, controlling her, abusing her, brainwashing her. What else are you gonna know if all you’ve ever known is the fake little world that’s been built within Sambo70′s walls. This distorted reality they create to keep their students needing them. And at the end of the day, even though I do think 15 year old’s in normal settings have a sense of right and wrong, 15 is still too young to be blamed for this, 15 is still impressionable and 15 is still an age where you’re going to be influenced, especially by the adults in your life who are like parental figures for you. Whether she knew about it and was okay with taking the drugs is irrelevant considering her age, at the center of this are adults who should’ve never let it happen in the first place and they are the only ones to blame.

I’m very nervous for this verdict because as we’ve seen time and time again, in and out of sports, in every country on this planet, justice is rarely, if ever served. Especially when it comes to women and girls and I’m sick of it. If they all get away with this it’s not only another blow to justice but a win for an abusive regime that will take their ego to an even higher, more disturbing place that I just can’t stomach. It’s just so morally wrong and I genuinely think, if Eteri, Daniil, rusfed etc. get away with this, it will be the end of figure skating as we know it. They will never gain the rest of the world’s respect back no matter the verdict, but at least if they are found guilty, fans of the sport could trust that the powers that be will not stand for abusers. If they let them get away with this, the sport falls and I hope there is an uproar from skaters/coaches from other countries.

Overall, my anger is not and has never been with Kamila. She is the victim here. & despite all my anger, there is a bigger sadness watching this unfold, not only for her but for every one of those girls. The reason so many of us are passionate about this case is because probably 90% of us have experienced our own personal versions of injustice and therefore, when we see it, it hits home. I feel pretty indifferent towards Kamila getting banned just as long as her coaches and the entire Tutberidze team/Sambo70 Skating Club get banned for life and goes down in complete, humiliating disgrace.

[kazuha-pista-badam]

ngl but seeing sasha breakdown really made me feel bad for her. i wonder what eatery had said to her making her think in that way. even anna looked so dejected. if a local looked at her, one must think that she fucked up and lost the olys but in reality she's the ogm and the fact that eatery was not comforting anna... pyeongchang 2018 flashbacks. and poor kamila. she had to compete inspite of the immense pressure she was facing. eatery even said sumn to kami about her axel ig.

this sport has failed these kids. ig the only good thing that will come out of this is that one of them (i have a strong feeling that it's sasha) will most likely leave eatery (like how zhenya did)

[kittyprincessofcats]

Okay, so now RE: Kamila...

I really don’t think there’s anything more I can say that hasn’t already been said today. This decision is absolutely disgusting and shameful in every way. Even if it’s not the final decision, even if they might strip her of the medal later, the choice to let her compete at all is still disgusting.

I feel bad for every clean athlete in this sport who basically got told today that their efforts don’t matter and it’s okay for their competition to dope. There are already reports of the other women being distracted and having messy practices because this whole situation is weighing on them. Even if you amend the results later to remove Kamila from them, this is already creating an unfair situation right now. (Also when I heard that Anna somehow magically got better over night again... Yikes. Ngl, I’m questioning literally ALL the ET girls’ past results right now.)

I also feel bad for all the clean athletes who spent these last years chasing after the ET girls, who had to make big sacrifices and got hurt trying to get ultra-C elements, some of whom are at these Olympics (Wakaba, Kaori), and some of whom got injured and aren’t here (Rika, Bradie).

And I also feel bad for Kamila herself. The statement that not letting her compete “would be bad for her mental health” is such BS. What about the mental health of all the clean athletes who are suffering now? And do they really think it’s healthier for Kamila to compete now under scrutiny of the whole world and then get stripped of the medal afterwards? The best thing for her mental health would be to send her home. Also “she’s a protected person”? That should mean protecting her from people like Eteri and their abuse, not letting her compete on doping.

It’s telling just how huge this is when even the skaters aren’t holding back with their outrage anymore. The fact that Yuna Kim posted about it, that so many retired skaters are talking about it, that Wakaba and Rika are openly liking posts that criticize this decision (and they’re right to!)... This isn’t over, but it just got uglier.

(And also, the hypocrisy? Carolina Kostner got banned because her boyfriend doped. Not even she herself, her boyfriend. Yelim Kim, 13-years-old at the time, got reprimanded harshly for missing a testing appointment (not even for testing positively, just for missing the appointment) and no one cared about her age. In fact, they argued at the time that her age didn’t matter. How must she be feeling now to have to compete against Kamila who’s just... allowed to dope?)

Also, this might seem “superficial”, but it’s really not: Someone who fairly wins an Olympic medal deserves a medal ceremony. Going “if Kamila’s on the podium, we just won’t do a medal ceremony until we have a final decision” is just robbing skaters of an Olympic moment they deserve. Whoever would get that bronze (assuming that Kamila is disqualified and Sasha and Anna take gold and silver in either order), deserves not to have their Olympic medal be an afterthought that takes weeks to decide on. They deserve to have their moment on the podium. And Team USA and Team Japan deserve their podium moments together for the team event as well. Like, you all know I hate the team event and think it’s a sham, but that doesn’t change that now that that team event happened, those teams deserve to actually have their podium moments together.

And one more thing because it belongs on this post and I can’t say it often enough: I FUCKING HATE RUSSIA. Why can’t that country just be normal instead of ruining everything for everyone else? God, I hate them. They learned nothing. They’re literally framing this whole story as an “attack on Russia” in the media and making Kamila their martyr-figure who’s being unfairly accused and held back by those evil Russia-haters. That’s what they’re framing this as instead of putting the blame where it should go: Eteri. Honestly, it’s not surprising after how they also framed themselves as victims for not getting to have their beloved ugly flag in 2018. Russia has such a gigantic victim complex it’s insane.

And Kamila’s toxic "fans”? The worst. Did you hear how they apparently bullied Jason Brown and said antisemitic things against him just because he said he believes in clean sport (something that should literally not be controversial at all)? Scum of the earth, honestly.

[jennibeultimate]

Personal recap Skate America 2021 - Ladies SP

I am back with personal recaps for the GP series 😁 FYI personal means just this, personal feelings and some babbling about scoring and how I see things. You can agree or not 🤷‍♀️ I am also only talking about what comes to mind, my bias is clearly voiced, but it doesn't mean I am in the wrong. 😉

The ladies all delivered good performance, not perfect but not like the disaster of the men. I love to watch skating, also ladies skating but the scoring makes it hard to enjoy. While there are countless wrong things in men scoring, there is even worse going on in ladies. Eteri's skaters are not superior over everyone. Stop it ISU!

This time you get the report by order from 1st to last.

Kseniia Sinitsina - she had a lovely skate. Something about her looks so fragile. I liked the program. 😊 3rd place was good finish, but if I look at Usacheva's and Trusova's score, it really shows who gets favors here.

Audrey Shin has such a bright vibe about her. All smiles. She skates with so much joy, it is infectious. The music reminds me of Marin Honda though and her lovely program to the music and it makes me sad we never saw Marin's full potential in seniors.

Daria Usacheva - I wish it wouldn't be a Gleighenkauz program. She has great commitment to her skating, skated crystal clear but the choreo is so much arm waving, no hold of any position...it's just too much of everything - also the make-up. She is 15 years old she looks like 30 with this makeup. Daria deserves so much better. *sigh*

Yuhana Yokoi - why does she always make huge errors? 😭The fiery program suits her. I like it. Just why oh why is she always proned to falter under pressure???

Amber Glenn - Such an emotional skater. Also for Amber it was a solid program. I like her expressions and the program. (I would love to see her make the Olympic team, but I fear she will always have it hard to be chosen with her inconsistency 😭)

Starr Andrews - I always love to see Starr. 😍 She is always lovely to watch. I love her smile. Love the costume. And she skates to a song she sang herself. Sadly she couldn't deliver all the elements cleanly. She doesn't have the difficulty, so clean programs is what she needs. Hope it's better tomorrow!

Satoko Miyahara - No one does spins as good as Satoko Miyahara and when I don't see her winning spins on the protocol I scream! This program is a masterpiece. ❤️I got goosebumps, I am so relieved she had a good skate, one small error. She deserves the highest PCS of all. Yes her jumps aren't big, but her skating is sublime. Sadly she seldomly gets the PCS she deserves. 😭 If Usacheva can get 34, she should get 40 - yes that's how much better she is. Roughly same PCS as Usacheva is a joke.

Yelim Kim - My fairy 🧚‍♂️ ❤️❤️❤️ If other costumes are beautiful, her costume is simply breathtaking. The details 😍😍😍 She had a fantastic skate! ❤️ The combo in the beginning was huge. Her interpretation of the music got so much better. She has such a graceful presence! I feel like Yelim would have deserved a place above Young You and Kaori...

Ekaterina Kurakova - The cutest sunshine you will ever find. 😊 Interesting program, completely different to the usual stuff we often see. I like it. 😍

Young You - Shame about the fall on the 3A, otherwise beautiful program, beautiful costume, great attention to detail. 😍

Kaori Sakamoto - oh no!!! 😭😭😭😭 KAORI YOUR COMBO!!! She saved it well though. The 2A is simply the best of the field. She is my personal favorite. She is always standing out with different choreography (not everything Benoit does is good but I think for Kaori he makes the right choreography) Her spins are extremely improved over the years. 😍 If only the combo would have worked she could have won the SP here 😢

Alexandra Trusova - she did improve over the last year but still she is the jumper not the artist. I think it's the best program she performed and her jumps are good, I also think to not do the 3A was a wise choice. I just think there was a lot of Eteri bonus in the works. No way her spins were as good as Satoko's or Kaori's or Daria's. Also her steps were not on the level of the others. She gets highest PCS, the biggest joke of the night. 🤬 🤡

Sorry this scoring was a joke par excellence! Trusova presentation wise the best??? I beg your pardon, no one with eyes can agree on this sh*tshow.

A reminder why I hate watching ladies atm. The Eteri bonus is so annoying, it ruins the whole sport. 🤬🤬🤬

[alenightshade]

Well he did call it an excuse tho, those were his actual words in the video. I don’t think it was necessarily an attack but it was called an excuse which really isn’t true

I just think that people are latching on that word. He said “para mi es un problema pero no una excusa”. Yes it was harsh and not necessary since Yuzu had given his reasons but he obviously was making an assumption from his own perspective. He also added afterwards that it was truly a shame but that’s what he thought regarding the mistake. You also have to understand that he’s probably explaining all this to complete newbies of the sport and trying to put forward the technical side since, you know, he’s trying to sell the sport to a whole country (even though WE have seen the photos of the hole). Moreover we lack more information on why he was explaining all of this, or if the “excuse” came firstly from the question he answered or even if he used the word cause everyone who is not reading interviews already thinks that. In general we need more context.

Also Spanish people tend to sound crass specially in comparison to the rest of Spanish speakers, much more so than Latinamericans. We are widely known to minimise anything that sounds negative and not being straightforward with our words as to not offend (ask any Mexican from the North and they’ll tell you how frustrating it is for them to deal with that) which makes things worse since Latinamerica is such a big place and most of us native speakers come from there so culturally the video sounds bad. Going out there giving another version than that of who experienced is not a great move specially cause they know each other, on that I agree

That people feel hurt cause they want Javi to be Yuzu’s cheerleader or always say good things is understandable but going as far as saying this is a betrayal and how poor of a friend he is, that’s something else entirely. And again it’s not like Javi is attacking Yuzu, it’s just a point of view that probably a lot of people asked for (even if we know he’s incorrect). We have really no idea what their relationship is like and it’s not our business either tbh. They are both adults and whether Yuzuru takes offence or not, I’m pretty sure they can handle it without any of our opinions

Sorry this is a long comment, it’s just I’m so tired of cancel culture, mistranslations, out of context, over-reactions, parasocial relationships, etc. that spread like wildfire on anything. Go focus your anger on the monster that Eteri is or the fucking latinamerican commentator who was talking about “female body types” during the event and minimising Asians instead of a man who has never been great at choosing his words who could very well be talking with Yuzuru about the OGs right now 🤷‍♀️