In the new season, the age to participate in international adult competitions in figure skating will reach the limit of 17 years, which the athlete must reach before July 1 of this year. For a single women’s event, this figure seems too high. The new rules of the game are especially unpleasant for our country. If we are finally allowed to participate in foreign competitions, there will be practically no one who can wear the ultra-S among adult girls.
Of the Russian women who have reached or will manage to cross the 17-year-old threshold in time, only two active athletes currently have quads and/or triple axles. The rest either do not have more difficult jumps in their arsenal or have lost them for various reasons.
In this situation, it will be more difficult than ever for our single skaters to win medals. Foreign referees are unlikely to welcome them with open arms, even in the once harmless tournaments of the so-called second tier. On the contrary, they will begin to find fault with every little thing, rewarding them little by little with ingredients.
What would an alternative world championship be like?
What would the medal distribution be like at the World Championships if Russian figure skaters had competed there?
But no matter how thorny the return to the international arena may be for our figure skaters, we will support them with double or even triple strength. Nine female representatives could travel abroad to defend Russia’s honor in the new season.
Maybe 10, but for this it is necessary for Elizaveta Tuktamysheva to urgently move from a break to an intensive training regime.
Russian women with ultra-c who will be able to compete in international competitions for adults in the 2024/2025 season
Currently, of our girls who qualify for international adult tournaments in the 2024/2025 season, only Adelia Petrosyan and Sofia Muravyova perform ultramarine diving. Adelia has a triple axle and two types of quads: flip and toe loop. Previously she also did a quadruple loop, but without falling into the competition, she achieved it last more than two years ago, and last season, in principle, she never tried it.
But even without him, Tutberidze’s student will surely take the lead in foreign competitions. She is not afraid that the judges will scold her for more or less successful performances. To get gold, she most likely won’t need to skate exceptionally clean. With several ultra-ifs, you can afford to make mistakes.
Adelia Petrosian
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
It will be very stressful for Sofya Muravyova to allow failures. Her triple axis is beautiful, but in the last year of competition she only achieved it at the Russian Championships. At the same time, Plushenko’s student is very emotional, which can prevent her from getting in the mood to skate under the gaze of foreign referees. But if she skates with at least one trixel in the free program without serious problems, hardly anyone will dare to sink her.
The main trixel player of our country, and perhaps the planet, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, unfortunately, suspended her career and did not promise to return. If the ban on our athletes is lifted, her lost motivation could be recovered, but then she will have to do an incredibly huge job in a short time to once again show the usual technical difficulty in tournaments. It is not a fact that the Empress will change her new life, rich in various projects, for a sports routine.
On the other hand, I really want to believe in his return. Our team really needs it, but the choice will be up to Lisa.
The lack of international departures has paralyzed many:
Stories
Our figures team has lost several stars. Who have we lost this season?
Russian women without ultra-c who will be able to compete in international adult competitions in the 2024/2025 season
Maya Khromykh made her debut in international adult competitions during the Olympic season, when she regularly jumped quads. Now she does not always manage to collect the usual triples in competitions and, probably, there is no point in fantasizing about winning back the quadruples from her next season. Without them, it will not be easy for Maya to get on the podium among the best foreigners.
Ksenia Sinitsyna knows from her own experience how unfairly foreign referees can go (although this also applies to ours) without a pedestal. In the same 2021/2022 season, she was never allowed to win a medal in the ISU Grand Prix stages. Now they will probably find something to complain about again and lower the components. To resist arbitrariness, Sinitsina needs some kind of ultra-si element, but the study of the quadruple jump has not yet been crowned with official success for her. The only time Ksyusha tried on a sheepskin quadruple coat ended in a fall, and it was in December 2021, at the Russian Championships.
Anastasia Zinina’s quads, like Maya Khromykh, have unfortunately sunk into oblivion after a series of injuries. Nastya wasn’t on competitive ice for a long time after a terrible fall at the Channel One Cup in January 2023, and her recent return to competition was marked by an extremely botched skate. As it stands, her prospects for going abroad are very vague.
What happened at the Channel One Cup more than a year ago?
Terrible fall in the Canal Uno Cup! Zinina could not get up, the doctors took her away.
The stability that Anna Frolova has gained this season should, in theory, help her beat foreign singles players. But, as in the case of Ksenia Sinitsyna, there is a fear that, if she so wishes, they will quietly withhold her marks to push forward the newly crowned European champion herself, Luna Hendricks. Anya’s amazing musicality and expressiveness without quads and trixels will not help to defeat the scandalous Belgian. Unless Luna is wrong (and she is generally very good at this).
Veronika Yametova, Ksenia Gushchina and Arina Kshetskaya could also participate in international adult competitions next season. All the girls are bright and talented. This is not the first year that Nika is deservedly called a hurricane for her impressive speed and powerful skating. But abroad, during performances, everyone will be scrutinized so as not to give away unnecessary medals. This means that in the coming months you will have to rely on the mistakes of your rivals again or quickly master the ultra-si.
