This and That: 2019 Japan Open, Shanghai Trophy & Gracie Gold at Regionals

[@ninatian2372]

TIME STAMPS!!! 2:09 Gracie Gold 18:47 Shanghai Trophy 19:36 Elizabet Tursynbaeva 21:59 Evgenia Medvedeva 25:06 Brief mention of other Russian Ladies, then back to Medvedeva 32:19 Eunsoo Lim 35:11 Peng/Jin 36:09 Katsalapov/Sinitsyna 37:25 Matteo Rizzo 39:21 Alexander Samarin 40:02 Boyan Jin 42:55 Shoma Uno 45:45 Michelle Kwan, miscellaneous 49:18 Japan open, Nathan Chen 54:01 Vincent Zhou 57:17 Javier Fernandez 58:24 Alexandra Trusova 1:03:37 Satoko Miyahara 1:05:41 Rika Kihira 1:07:18 Alina Zagitova 1:08:58 Bradie Tennell 1:13:00 Japanese commentators 1:14:10 Mirai Nagasu 1:15:48 Ted Barton 1:16:55 JGPF 1:20:30 Moment of the week

[@Sennagod]

I'll help you out... First 20 min was a lot of waffling about Gracie Gold i think. Did'nt interest me so i skipped through it 22.00 Medvedeva followed by a lot of waffling i have no interest in. 1.22.00 Zagitova discussion for 1 min. I have to say that she looked absolutely stunning. I immediately lost interest again and decided to view the comments instead

[@Anna1996tm]

@@Sennagod yeah, Same 😏

[@mustyfan1584]

Sennagod I did notice in this episode they spent a lot more time talking about who they didn’t like, and very little time talking about progress others have made. I agree that Zagitova has made bounds forward and is becoming a skater of increasing quality, yet they talked about her for barely a minute!

[@davidcosta4949]

Thank you. 🙏

[@CocogoatMain0501]

Thanks you're the best

[@MartychM]

Zagitova has gotten used to her "new" body growth and she has a lot more confidence, her hard work with the jumps is paying off and I think she's gonna have a solid season. It's looks like her coaching team is listening to her and there's a new-found cooperation since Worlds (they've finally found a solution that works for her when it comes to both physical and mental strength).

[@rahelhorvat1471]

@mish098aimer Exactly, this transition of the throne from Alina to Trusova has gone much more gently than from Medvedeva to Alina.

[@artemisadelaluna9901]

@@rahelhorvat1471 Alina has real sportsmanship that's why . She's more humble and learned the hard way so she has more empathy

[@rahelhorvat1471]

@@artemisadelaluna9901 I don't know how she does it, but she is in that group where these girls land quads and although she is still superior performer than them, they will dethrone her on the quad ground, but she doesn't mind, maybe Eteri prepared her, or maybe it came natural.

[@treelo11]

@Nathaniel Walker But in general Alina is in a better shape than last season. Too bad danil made her do so many useless 1sec transitions, like wtf is that ina bauer in her fs.

[@ramitodevioletas575]

Rachel Horvat: well, Alina is totally diferente: very intelligent, matured, disciplined, grateful, sweet etc. Evgenia is the opposite and believes she deserves everything.

[@zb6070]

Why I disagree with your view on Eteri and Elisabeta: Regardless of how many great russian skaters she has, Eteri will only be able to send a max of 3 of her russian skaters to olympics or worlds (and it's possible Eteri may only get 2 skaters past nationals). Elisabeta is an automatic pass to olympics/worlds and gives eteri another oportunity/safeguard to get a world/olympic metal.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Z B medal*

[@walterwyte01]

medals made of metals. though in some countries if you get the 4th place they say you got the wood medal

[@Clara-yn4jb]

The Shanghai Trophy had a lot of prize money, which is probably why they got some of these people. 1st prize was 25,000 dollars, even more than the Japan Open. Elizabet is recovering from a back injury, which was very visible here. I don't think she would've been there if not for the prize money. Oh and Medvedeva had the flu apparently with a high fever, so thats what she was referring to in the Kiss and Cry.

[@SuperJuanTV1]

Clara - so Elizabet won pretty good money then?

[@rachelguapa11]

@@SuperJuanTV1 Yeah, she got 18k USD for 2nd place.

[@RakuRadio]

I can scarce believe how relaxed Chen looks these days. That move to Yale has helped him spread his wings so much. His jumps generally look smoother on landing, however couldn't come at the tie-dye shirt. LOL. Trusova squeaked out those quads, bold skater and I find her very cute. For me Zagitova just shone out there. Confident performance! Love the opening 3-3, preferred Kihira's programme, but loved Zag's energy and attack. Thank for getting this out so early TSL! Found myself wondering what day of the week it was ;-)

[@rop888]

Nathan and Alina are like the chilliest skaters in the world lately and it really shows in their skating. Alina was so stressed out last season, but now (to steal from Dick Button) there is a joy to her skating. And Nathan too, no words. He's happy for a school break to go skate and is having fun too. They are the type of skaters I want to watch, and not the ones who look like they must land this jump or die trying.

[@zb6070]

@@rop888 I think ALina is satisfied if she ended with a worlds 2019 win and now has no external pressure. I feel nathan, on the other hand, 1. has schools and sees there is more to life than skating and 2. sees olympics as the only major important competition (bc in america, it sort of is that way.

[@meaganbooks179]

@@zb6070 the next games is where his mom is born that's very special to him also he indeed enjoying skating now school has help him alot plus he has a double life since he was a kid and he is incredible family too all the credits to his mom

[@druce911]

Ю

[@PeiwenTanbassoon821]

I'm a Game of Throne fan and Trusova's free just looks like she's practicing impressive technical contents while the soundtrack just happens to be playing in the background. Edit: Since there seem to be ppl having trouble understanding, I guess I need to make it clear that I'm criticizing the choreography, not the skater.

[@benbailey159bb]

That's EXACTLY what I though!

[@marikafasola8771]

that girl is terrible, she is no figure skater

[@ДмитрийАнтонов-е2з]

Your ability to reason is questionable. Maybe psychiatrist can help you.

[@rop888]

I don't think she's terrible, but as a GoT fan it bugs me that she's portraying Dany while skating to a bad cut of The Night King, which has nothing to do with Dany really. And how do you do a bad cut of The Night King, but somehow they managed to do it.

[@AC-co6cp]

Exactly, but it's still good. She's the only one I like who needs to improve their skating skills.

[@centuryla7937]

Nathan Chen surprised me in terms of how comfortable he seems with his quads even though he hasn't even trained with Yale and not being with Raf. If this is him not training, then what is Nathan like when he trained full time.

[@treelo11]

Probably worse. His jumps improved after he moved away from Raf.

[@shineluvslambiel]

Treelo you are just wishing so hard aren’t you?

[@grisgris6908]

Zagitova is such a star in that long program-stunning, relaxed, polished-I love seeing her owning her achievements and giving some grand dame energy

[@RakuRadio]

Same. She looked so relaxed and happy out there and really performing. That opening combo too. Wow.

[@grisgris6908]

@@RakuRadio the opening combo was the best one I've ever seen her do!

[@ramitodevioletas575]

Evan Perilstein : please stop repeating the same complaint everywhere.

[@Catalina_Estevez]

@@evanperilstein5308 is a joke ??

[@brushbender]

Out of the programs I've seen this season, Satoko's is the one I'll still be watching ten years from now. It's a real work of art.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

brushbender it is fantastic.

[@Rachel-rs7jn]

This is what makes me sad about where ladies' skating is today. The programs we'll watch 10 years later aren't the ones that win. The ones that win are a flash in the pan.

[@treelo11]

Too bad the judges don't feel the same way

[@colleenshaughnessy7081]

And Vincent needs to stop trying to be Nathan, right down to the costume. He can be himself. And PLEASE stand up straight Vincent!!

[@flying372]

Finally someone said it, if he keeps copying nathan he will be behind always

[@TheSkatingLesson]

It has happened his entire career.

[@Catalina_Estevez]

@@flying372 Agree.

[@biari8599]

I know, it gives me serious second hand embarrassment... f.i. has anyone seen his dreadful exhibition number to a chinese (?) rap song from this year? That just screamed I-wanna-be-as-cool-as-Nathan lol... didn't work at all, because it doesn't suit his body language or style. Especially when compared to Nathan's choreo sequence in his new FS... the contrast couldn't be bigger. Or Vincent's cover for that US skating magazine? Posing on a skateboard, in a hoodie, really? Since when does he skateboard? Come on now, that's so desperate (altho in this case probably not his idea) 🤦‍♀️

[@xmykeyx]

I really hope that Nathan is not wearing that blouse for the long the entire season!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

We can gofundme a new costume.

[@msmo2060]

I just love the wayZagitova smiles throughout her whole program - good or bad... even last yr when she really faltered she just always smiled

[@rahelhorvat1471]

Alina and Bradie were my favorites, both dress and performance, Evgenia ad Elisabet struggle, it is likely that Medvedeva won't get that third spot to get out of Russia, and Trusova and Zagitova seem sure for first two spots. Eunsoo is a nice skater with potential, not sure what happen with her and Raf, Satoko was good, emotional performance, Trusova is just a jumper machine, but no emotion. Rika is also good, though needs another costume, Daria Usacheva and Eteri's daughter qualified for JGP final, was an exciting skating week.

[@fashionmwah]

I don't know what happened between Eunsoo and Raf also, but regardless, I hope Eunsoo keeps moving forward and improving.

[@manonairs]

Rahel Horvat Evgenia had the flu and a high fever and missed a full week of practice, and had not been able to do a full run through of her program for two weeks. Elizabet was recovering from a back injury. I doubt either of them would’ve bothered competing if not for the huge prize money (relative to other figure skating events),

[@Catalina_Estevez]

Rahel ,Trusova remind me Nathan Chen season 2017-2018. If Chen improved now in pcs maybe Trusova can do it.

[@seleneh7675]

Anyone else bothered that Tursynbaeva, who has a back injury, is doing a biellmann in both her programs? She looked like she was in pain while doing them, honestly. And she didn't need to.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

This is also not an important year, so they clearly aren’t pacing her for 2022.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

The Olympics were different, as Eteri was planning on Medvedeva winning that event. She wasn’t expecting her to have to continue competing after that event. It is more reasonable to push a Biellmann spin in that situation. The Shanghai Trophy is quite different than the Olympic Games.

[@rop888]

Nathan not splatting all over Japan Open as per usual was a surprise to me and he's even doing a 4F and 4S. He was a hot mess last year at this time and didn't get it together for awhile, so this bodes well for him. Tbh, he and Kevin Aymoz are the only two senior men doing anything interesting in figure skating lately. And bless Alina. I love how she's 17 and transitioned herself into the Grand Dame of figure skating and getting those max PCS and upsetting everyone.

[@shineluvslambiel]

paradox and tomoki hiwatashi!!

[@kumrumir8072]

The people writing very rude things about Alina because she beat Rika overall and Trusova on pcs are so irritating. Rika has two 3As yes but her BV is only just 2 points ahead of Alina and Rika wasn't clean at all, has a mess as a program in which she doesn't connect with the music and doesn't interpret/perform. Honestly all the overhype about her last season coupled with her rabid fans who attack everyone who dare say something even slightly negative about her will turn me off of her skating completely soon. Similar thing with trusova... Complaints about her being lawballed is ridiculous, she was overscored even.

[@ДмитрийАнтонов-е2з]

It is well known that zagitova and medvedeva have + 15-20 points to their score just for reputation beside it your bla bla that trusova overscored looks stupid

[@Lily0713]

I loved to see Alina's skating becoming more mature, but not a fan of her dress.... As for Trusova, I mean I appreciate her and Eteri girls for pushing forward the ladies figure skating world with these harder jumps but her skating is just boring and always seems to have similar style. Wow with her jumps but meh overall. As for Eunsoo, with Evgenia and Elizabet both in bad shapes, Eunsoo had a good chance to win gold. But as always, Eunsoo made mistakes and kicked that chance away. She did much better than she did in Autumn classics but really.. she gotta improve her jump consistency and fix those under-rotarions and edge.. As a huge fan of Eunsoo, I really want to see Eunsoo's clean skates and hopefully she can deliver that in the grand prix.

[@Lily0713]

@@evanperilstein5308 Yes I am Korean but have been living in the US for 20 years now.. And I have been hitting like on your comments often for past couple months :)

[@Lily0713]

@@evanperilstein5308 I became US citizen about 15 years ago so I got used to not having Korean citizenship now. But it always feels like I am a foreigner whether I am in US or in Korea haha Thank you for liking my taste in skater and my comments! I am usually not a type of person leaving comments on anything but figure skating related videos are so hard to not leave any comments :)

[@Anna1996tm]

@@evanperilstein5308 Oh, here we go again with your "magnificent good taste" 😂

[@Anna1996tm]

@@evanperilstein5308 jajajaja 😂

[@grisgris6908]

Rika's programs aren't really resonating for me, she fades in them. I get nothing from her performance.

[@karinmorris4224]

First there are the glorious axels...and then...I agree, it fades. This years program doesn't compare to last years program.

[@Port712]

It's gonna grow, I hope.

[@davidcosta4949]

Totally agree. I hate the turquoise dress for the free skate. Seems all wrong for the program.

[@manonairs]

D Costa I agree, the dress tells you nothing about the program, and the program itself leaves me feeling nothing. Maybe she needs some modern music, more upbeat?

[@rop888]

I honestly can't even remember either program and both kind of blend together (doesn't help she wears similar colors for both) while I thought her FS from last year was the best of the year.

[@JackAShepherd]

Gracie should go to whoever worked on the mental/emotional side of Kaetlyn’s skating... Kaetlyn was able to absorb the advice and regurgitate it verbatim in interviews in a way that was pretty impressive. I could be wrong but I think her rise from 13th at Sochi to 3rd at Pyeongchang was due only to what was going on between the ears, ‘cause, like, I remember she was 2nd after a clean short in London and then bombed her free as per uj and ended up in 10th or something... I get the stuff about Vincent et al. exploiting her, and, while I don’t disagree, she seems soooo happy there, and she’s only ever been in environments that didn’t work for her on an emotional level. So if she really is happy, that’s probably what matters... They can always hire a technician or a mental-health person or whatever to add to the team she’s built there in Philly. Or maybe she should just move to Edmonton :-)))

[@TheSkatingLesson]

JackAShepherd what looks happy about this?

[@fashionmwah]

I agree about Kaetlyn! She's absolutely inspiring. Kaetlyn, Elizaveta, and Elizabet - those three.

[@grisgris6908]

@@TheSkatingLesson I think she's happy being the star of that rink...this is not the best environment to get the optimal performance out of her, but the pace seems good for her

[@lawr17]

The difference between Kaetlyn and Gracie is that their circumstances were different. Kaetlyn was her country's clear No. 1, on the way up, and was well-conditioned when she broke her leg. The prospect of a team and individual medal as well as the support of a good coach and federation helped her through. While it's commendable that Gracie is going out and competing (for whatever circumstances), she is on the way back, not the way up. I suspect that"s even tougher because she's had that touch of success (2014) but that's now further in the past than what she considers failures (2016+). I think she and Vincent should take a page from Cynthia Phaneuf's book. Try a program with simpler content but do it well and rebuild the stamina, speed, and confidence. That way you have a solid foundation to build off of instead of trying to Hail Mary the harder triples.

[@skaterboy-cz9wj]

People thought Gracie had far more potential than Osmond. Gracie had the American princess and power too unlike Osmond. But Osmond really got it together. Even her spirals and spins were real good comparatively. Gracie still might do it though I feel I was misled by Vincent's posts. Gracie is still coming back; she is not meeting her past skates.

[@Ardit-kq4bt]

You guys are always mean with Alina zagitova, If you have nothing nice to say don’t say it at all. Her free program was amazing, mysterious, musically, her dress was very beautiful. Her skating skills were top Notch

[@meltemt0245]

I agree that her free program is good her dress was so nice but for skating skills I can’t say that it was perfect.

[@artemisadelaluna9901]

I feel that deep down they are Medbots 😂😅

[@TheSkatingLesson]

We actually complimented her this week. We have watched way too much skating to pretend her programs or skating skills are brilliant, but there was improvement in her skating and jumps. And we noted that. Perhaps you didn't actually listen to what we said?

[@МаргаритаСтоянова-з7з]

​"We have watched too much skating" 😂😂😂, so from watching you became a "Top Expert"... How easy is to look for someone's mistakes. Instead of judging the others do something productive with your life first😉

[@LaChicaMadrilena]

I wouldn't write Evgenia off... She was said to be ill and skating with fever. Still, she got quite a check for those skates so I say it was worth it.

[@lanaefremova3443]

She always comes up with excuses when she can't deliver, nothing' s new this time. And material girl , that's for sure

[@danielarifaiova3345]

Evgenia was visibly sick. People who talk about 'excuses' should try to just dance after more than a week with high fever and then say how they feel about their stamina.

[@artemisadelaluna9901]

@Sam 😂 At the GPF the one who said about tripping with the cable was Ted Barton Lol He saw it and yes she burned her foot so what ? Don't be a typical Medbot hater always bringing Alina into the spot when your skater is mentioned 🙄 Can't you come up with something new ?

[@Anna1996tm]

@Sam But why you bring Alina's here?, is a constant of a Medbot 😂

[@jesuisleslie8509]

@Sam Why you people drag Alina in your comments. 😒🙄🙄 Sore 🍇

[@michaelcraig666]

Dave; it's like you were channeling my thought this week. I think I shouted out "Same!" at least half a dozen times. I was thinking, "I've been watching this damn sport for 55 years now, maybe it's time to quit" and then I watched Satako, and she sucked me right back in. I may have screamed just a little at her final pose...I don't care if she doesn't win a thing (although that's also everything that's wrong with the world, condensed version.)

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Michael Craig Satoko was wonderful!

[@Frooti.loopz23]

Skaters like Satoko are what make the sport and it's a shame that they aren't getting what they deserve.

[@TheAnnmjensen]

Between The JGP, Japan Open, Shanghai Trophy and Gymnastics Worlds - I have drained all my devises’ batteries. And my soul.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Coach Planner

[@KP-zd3hc]

I think their criticism of Japanese commentators is purely a cultural clash. I grew up watching figure skating on Japanese tv, and seriously, they’re like that with any sport. Especially baseball. Baseball in the US seems more muted in comparison, which is fine. They translate their interest in attendance numbers in stadiums and dollars. So I’m fine with the expressiveness...

[@TheSkatingLesson]

We don't dislike the commentators. The enthusiasm is just a bit much for some of the lesser elements. It can be a lot of fun.

[@Jontor11]

My moment of the week has to be Ksenia Sinitsyna's exquisite skating at JGP Egna. Her short program is a masterpiece imo. I think another Kostornaia is born. I wonder what she can do at senior RusNats, maybe she can stir things up a bit.

[@SergejKrolik]

I liked her free better but I agree that she is outstanding and probably the only participant of JGP who is doing jumps as they should be done - from running edge to running edge.

[@Jontor11]

@sof sym Yes! She is wonderful. It seems Dave and Jonathan didn't notice her though. Maybe because she is NOT from the Eteri camp. Jonathan referred to her as "the one I always say which one is she?" Maybe Sinitsyna requires a more European taste LOL.

[@Catalina_Estevez]

«Alfonsina y el mar» is a very good SP. Ksenia could be gold or silver medal in JGPF.

[@shineluvslambiel]

Although program is infinitely better than any Eteri programs Kostenaia has been skating to.

[@Catalina_Estevez]

@@shineluvslambiel I think that we should not exaggerate, Kostornaia in junior level has been the best and most complete skater, despite not doing quads. Ksenia still needs to improve, to be at the level of Kostornaia in junior, but is on good track. We'll see if in the JGPF she can break the SP record that Kostornaia has.

[@gtestkey]

Why did they nullify Evgenia's spin? I mean they did not downgrade it or gave negative GOEs but strictly gave her 0 points for it. What happened there?

[@brankakovacevic6174]

same question

[@selenity08]

They mentioned that she possibly did not have enough rotations in certain spin positions and/or sit position not as low as needed to get credit

[@rekacsermely7020]

Medvedeva said she had had a very high fever the week before Shanghai Trophy and had to skip practice. Some said she was still ill during the competition but it wasn't any official source.

[@flying372]

Means she's lucky, got a fever and all but still managed to get a heap of money

[@finethings2281]

Another lame excuse for her less than perfect skate

[@annfotlyan8655]

@@finethings2281 it's the truth it's not an excuse....lol

[@iosebdzamukashvili5360]

Can anyone explain why Satoko got only around 69 PCS -_- I was shocked! BTW I missed her older costume! 😵 (from US classic)

[@kumrumir8072]

I saw reports from the spectators say she is better on tv and the grey dress made her look faded and unimpressive.

[@vladvolkov4434]

Satoko's older costume had a 6-pointed star in the back. This was very controversial to a lot of people who found it offensive, so I'm assuming there came the need to change it.

[@Ed-cx6vr]

If you have a fall or an obvious mistake in a program, you cant get a pcs greater than 9. Also, shet doesnt have transitions jn and out of the jump compared to russian skaters..

[@Ed-cx6vr]

@mish098aimer yes but other skaters can do it as well, just not as good as satoko. So in terms of the completeness of the program, eteri girls are more complete although not exceptional.

[@treelo11]

@@Ed-cx6vr So how come Nathan got PCS components > 9 even though he singled his axel???

[@ColonelGreen]

With Matteo Rizzo, last season he began introducing the quad toe into competition. For the first half of the season it never worked; he fell or UR'd or stepped out every time. Then, at Europeans in the free skate, he landed it clean in the free, immediately put it in his short program and landed it twice when winning Universiade, and again in the short program at Worlds that put him in the final group for the free (where the quad streak ended, but everything else was good). I expect a similar progression with the quad loop this year; the fact that he's put it in the short program already perhaps suggests he's decided it will pay to be more aggressive at just hammering away until it starts working.

[@AT-jm4dl]

Matteo's skating is on the bland side for me, or at least his programs have been bland. I think Daniel Grasse is the more interesting Italian skater and will be quite a challenge for Matteo once he turns senior.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

I think Matteo will have a successful season and do well at Europeans.

[@MrChaseBlue]

Colonel Green maybe, but the quad loop is a completely different beast altogether. Many skaters have landed the 4T, but with the loop, I think only like 5 or so skaters have actually landed that fully rotated.

[@len-ru5uv]

About skaters like Shcherbakova, Tursynbaeva and sometimes Medvedeva - I have a special place in my heart for what is called 'junior' skating (that some skaters never "grow out of"). For one, it looks much less fake. Broken lines, abrupt movements, 'good student' face expression, badly hidden nervousness or joy have bigger emotional access and give interpretation rawness and sincerity. Sincerity & insecurity are trendy. Show me the skater's emotions as well as those of the character they are playing. Also, c'mon, very few adult skaters are actually capable of ballerina class choreo or good acting, they are all fakers too. Maybe we are witnessing 4th wall officially being broken down in the interpretation aspect by this new generation of skaters.

[@jdfoehl]

Entertaining video! I’m surprised you had no remarks about Ksenia Sinitsynas’ performances - she has some remarkable qualities and is very advanced in components. She seems super in control of what she’s doing - a steely kind of confidence. Digging her so far.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

jdfoehl I believe we discussed her another week. There were too many events this weekend. Our show is already very long.

[@AC-co6cp]

She was amazing!

[@SergejKrolik]

I wonder what PCS score Liu would have in JGPF if she will skate after Sinitsina with her godlike SS? )

[@renunit1503]

Alina's FS was end of season good. Her spins could be faster but that's just me being picky 😅

[@KatsumiManami]

music is too long i think she's slowing spins down to match the current choreo, it needs some adjustments

[@sk8rgrl3]

Nathan Chen and skating out of the box is like Daiskue Takahashi’s Techno Swan Lake SP which was FABULOUS and still one of my all time favourites! I am with you Dave ❤️

[@TheSkatingLesson]

[@davecoker3896]

Why is Medvedeva getting a positive GOE on that not outside edge Lutz?

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Because judges are often influenced by reputation.

[@KiffiStinkt]

TheSkatingLesson what actually is your problem with Medvedeva ?

[@rimmka29]

Has Jonnathan heard of Dimash (world’s best voice with 6 octaves)? asking this since he’s an opera singer.

[@rimmka29]

Pestroika Niugatsh Calm down. You sound mad lol. You should read carefully I said Jonnathan was an opera singer not Dimash. Also, nobody asked for your opinion. I was asking Jonathan. The fact that you can’t recognize simple facts, tells everything.

[@tb4522]

Sorry to disagree with Jonathan, but this ISN'T a little competition, because it means something in Gracie's mind - the road to Nationals. What we mean by little competitions are ones that don't mean anything, like club competitions, to get the rust out. If Vincent & his team haven't done what needs to be done to bring Gracie along after a year and a half, IMHO, they just don't know how. Not every coach does. If you're serious, please go to an experienced elite coach, Gracie!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

TB it would be easy to the point of a joke for her if she were in shape.

[@tb4522]

@@TheSkatingLesson True!

[@nikolaykozma6613]

Yes, Zhenya said she had a high fever and was thinking about withdrawing before competing here and decided against it. She was out of training for two weeks I believe.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Thank you

[@Bnizzofashizzo]

Evgenia 1- one thing about Frank Carrol, Galina zmievskaya, moskvina, they find a distinct vocabulary of movement for a skater and they master it. I don’t believe Brian and team have clearly defined that with Evgenia. If what we are seeing is in fact that, i think it needs far more highs and lows as well as choreography that accentuates it. I never thought I’d say this but , Averbukh gave her the better program this season 2- I’ve wondered for years how good of a coach Brian is in terms of the nitty gritty! How in the hell has he allowed her spins to be this poor? The calls on spins ? Not good. I hear yuzu’s jumps were made successful because of Ghislain , same with yuna. So if he’s a director more than a coach ? 3- she does look trained to me. She was sick here and lost training time bu the short and practices look like she absorbed last year over the summer and picked up where she left off/ has not regressed. The stroking looks great, turns, rockers, edges, spins, extension ... they need work 4- why don’t Lori and Brian work together ? I don’t always like Tom Dicksons choreo for Rika but i get what she’s trying to do and her coach reinforces it and IT DEVELOPS! What on earth is that free? The dress is awful and it’s not great from the holding of the umbrella gesture through the steps 5- she should absolutely compete.

[@grisgris6908]

Bnizzofashizzo I also can’t believe Brian has allowed her spins to get so bad, they’re terrible!

[@Bnizzofashizzo]

Grisgris * last year too

[@Bnizzofashizzo]

mish098aimer What?

[@Bnizzofashizzo]

mish098aimer my what was to how you arrived at the conclusion this this was about ghislain. Fix your comprehension

[@Helen-me1vn]

Sinitsyna has a fairly good chance of even winning JGPF. She has the second highest scores of the season, behind Valieva, and her PCS I believe are higher than Valieva's? Is the quaestors have a messy skate which is possible, she could win. Who knew, she didn't even make the final last year.

[@skaterboy-cz9wj]

What about Liu?? She keeps improving and has the quads and axel.

[@Helen-me1vn]

@@skaterboy-cz9wj And PCS aside, her jumps don't get the GOE that the Russians get. Her quad is impressive but Valieva's quad is close to double her's in height. Of course it depends on who goes clean and al 3 of them have a shot, but given the scores we've seen Kamila has to skate decently clean with no more than 2 major errors, and Ksenia has to be completely clean.

[@rop888]

She has no chance of winning unless Kamila completely bombs. She could prob beat Alysa if she had a bad day.

[@rop888]

@@evanperilstein5308 True. I should say bomb for an Eteri skater, which is make a mistake or two.

[@iris7484]

@@evanperilstein5308 maybe some super small mistakes, but doesn't Liu rack up a pretty good lead with two triple axels in the short? I actually haven't compared the numbers. I guess I should

[@Julia-js7bs]

My reaction when I saw Nathan Chen was also "Hanyu is screwed" 😂😂

[@juliaschulman6679]

I haven’t watched but... Goddamn. I don’t consider myself a fanyu in the bananas-sense, but I want all the things for Yuzu and I’m not a huge Nathan fan... I need Yuzu to win a third Olympic Gold!

[@rop888]

Have you seen the Fanyu reactions? they know

[@juliaschulman6679]

paradox No I haven’t... I follow TSL but try to steer clear of Deranged Skating Twitter (which I’m fairly certain is primarily girls and gay boys under Age 15... See: The comments about Scott’s fiancée). But I believe in Yuzu... He showed off an enormous 4Lz at one of the summer ice shows.

[@rop888]

@@juliaschulman6679 He's def. still Nathan's biggest rival, but the differences between them are even more obvious. Yuzu in his trademark costumes using a recycled program that wasn't that interesting last season being intense as hell vs. Nathan sliding across the ice to Bennie & the Jets, casually doing quads and having fun. Nathan is new and a breath of fresh air, Yuzu is what we've been watching win for years. I can see the judges being ready to move on from him if he's not completely perfect (and he rarely is).

[@skaterboy-cz9wj]

@@juliaschulman6679 I understand your fandom for Mr. Hanyu. However, I dout you need to have him win lol. I kind of want someone else to win. He could have lost to Chan in 2014 and there are so many good skaters. I guess I like to see others win but there is no doubt Nathan and Yuzuru are wonderful skaters in the era of jumps especially.

[@erin6621]

Wasn’t the story that Gracie supposedly picked the lp song herself (or, that it was from “her mom’s playlist” at least, so I figured she picked it as opposed to Jeremy? I think that was in the nyt article)? I would be interested to know what Gracie thinks of all of Vincent’s posts. I mean, it’s been going on for a while, so I figured she can’t have too much of a problem w it. I started getting reallly nervous when there were soooo many pole harness instas and talk about quads and axels all of a sudden. It’s one thing to have a “trying it out for fun” post, but it got to be a bit much, and you could tell it was getting people’s expectations out of whack. I think it’s also worth noting when talking about shows that Gracie still seemed to be wearing only very heavy sweatshirts in many videos only up until relatively recently. This is someone who is still in the early stages of a recovery process.

[@natalirios2510]

ted burton was saying that daniel grassl couldn´t make the final and that frolova was to the final......that´s why jonatan was confused

[@ColonelGreen]

For all Ted's expertise, he's hopeless at JGP Final qualification math; he regularly makes errors when he comments on it (for instance, before Haein Lee skated her free in Zagreb, he said she needed to be first or second, when she only needed to be third to be sure).

[@rywilk]

It was even more confusing because Frolova celebrated her score as if she'd made the final.

[@lenavinogradova950]

I know you guys are entitled to your own opinion and everything but I think that this time you were a little too hard on Evgenia. I agree making the team is going to be a challenge for her, but to be fair it's going to be a challenge for everyone except Trusova. She is the only lockdown in my opinion. I mean Zagitova seems to be in a pretty good shape, but she doesn't have the quads like Sherbakova or the triple Axels like Liza and she did have some meltdowns in the past. Now Liza has the difficult jumps all right, but she doesn't really have much going in terms of PC and Evgenia does. If both skate clean it is likely the judges are still going to go with Zhenya. And don't forget the dark horse Konstantinova who usually deliveres once a year at nationals. I actually think the Russian nationals this year are going to be more interesting than the World's. Back to Zhenya though. 1. She absolutely needs to work on her stamina, she does all right in the short, but loses quite a lot of juice in the free, and I think that's her main problem as far as her jumps are concerned. Notice how most of her mistakes happen in the second half of the program. 2. Her spins are atrocious. But the good news is she can totally fix them. Prime example Medvedeva's spins at the Russian Cup and at World's last season. There were some vast improvements in that area. 3. She should absolutely ditch the flutzes. Her flip loop combo looked very promising and like it was ready to be included in the program. And she already has the sal loop combo down (although to be sure that one still requires some work). With those two combos and a nice flip with some healthy goes, she can stay competitive provided she doesn't make any mistakes on those jumps. Her best bet is to skate absolutely clean. 4. She needs to do more run throughs of her free. It still looked raw and sort of incomplete. I think as season progresses they could add a few transitions here and there. Now if she does 1.2.3. and 4 she can actually be a threat at the nationals. It doesn't mean that she would make the team, but she would at least have the chance. And it's absolutely doable. I mean it does seem like a lot of work, but it's Evgenia we are talking about. She did win a silver medal at the Olympics with a fractured foot and a bronze medal at World's after a pretty shitti season. If nothing else she is very determined. But even if she doesn't make the team this season it is not the end of the world or of her career. Quads are a treaky business and don't always survive puberty. Just look at Liza she missed on the team for a few years in a row, and than last year she came back from the Oblivion.

[@nenavujicin7882]

@mish098aimer ,Elizaveta has a good technique,yes,but she has a problem with the spins.Her body isn't flexibile,not anymore.

[@lenavinogradova950]

@mish098aimer well, actually Evegenia's jumps are all right, her two major problems with them are lack of stamina and the flutz, that now gets e calls which never happened with Eteri. Both problems are easily fixable with proper training, and she could totally ditch the flutzes + include 2 loop combos in the free, and stay competitive. As for Liza the jumps are unfortunately all she has going for her, and that's not enough in today's competitive figure skating. She doesn't have much in terms of PCs and it doesn't look like she is working on improving in that area. But to stay on top she needs to. As I said earlier if both Evgenia and Liza skate clean the judges are going to pick Evgenia most likely.

[@nenavujicin7882]

@mish098aimer ,that's right. Unfortunatelly, we probably won't stand a chance to watch Liza & Evgenia at next Olympics (although both are great skaters) , Eteri's girls are here with their great technique -like Sasha,Anna and even Kostornaya who improved her lutz technique ,but still doesn't want to risk with the quads or triple axels.And ,don't forget-Alina is still in the game-Eteri's team invests a lot in Alina wanting to prove that Eteri can work with adult skater (Alina is almost adult) as successfully as puberty girls.

[@meltemt0245]

Lena Vinogradova 👏🏻👏🏻i agree

[@skaterboy-cz9wj]

I was kind of sad to see Evgenia struggle so much and to have lack lustre programs. She looks finished but she still won despite being sick. If she was not representing Russia she actually would have a chance of representing another country and place in the top eight in the world. ET was also a disappointment. I agree no quad salchow and she will not be competitive for a medal. Kind of sad that the 2019 world silver and bronze medallists look like an after thought now.

[@brankakovacevic6174]

Both girls-Evgenia& Lilbet were very sick before Shangai :don't understand -why did they participate at Shangai Trophy, if they weren't in a good shape.

[@brankakovacevic6174]

@B. ,believe U .

[@koknesis5226]

I guess that sooner or later she might become Canadian. Not in order to get more chances but solely because of love of Canada.

[@Catalina_Estevez]

Ever Evgenia represent other countries is not sure that she win a gold medal, remenber all japanese, russian and a kazaj skaters now or maybe a young skater in season olimpic.

[@brankakovacevic6174]

@@Catalina_Estevez ,this is not about gold medal, this is about team. Will she have a chance to be a part of Russian team in any of important competitions like Europeans or Worlds (not to mention Olymipics) competitions ?

[@vncntd3962]

Although I was a bit sad that Danielian did not make the JGP finals, it is exciting that the six who did qualify all won at least one JGP event this season. It's going to be a very interesting final, especially since the only male skater who won two competitions - Andrei Mozalev - is by no means a shoo-in to win. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Mozalev doesn't even medal. If all of the qualifiers hit their routines, I would see Kagiyama and Samsanov as vying for the Gold and Gumennik and Grassl for the Bronze. Mozalev, if he is consistent, could easily sneak in for a medal as well but - in my view - he is going to have to count on others faltering while he himself will need to hit all his big-ticket items (quads, 3A). As for Grassl: I would agree that his spins are not always the prettiest (even as he gets points for originality); his body line is not always great to watch on his jumps either. But I am a bit surprised that neither Dave nor Jonathan have yet to find anything positive to say about the theatrical flair that he brings to his routines. I myself am fascinated and impressed by the decision to perform the FS to music from two Tom Ford films, A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals. A surprising and interesting choice that Grassl invests with real drama. Is the costume too much? It could be, but Grassl makes it work. (And boy is it nice to see someone who isn't skating to the same old warhorses or to the latest on-trend musical selections that every other skater is performing to, like that horrible "rock" version of Sound of Silence or the medley of Queen tracks).

[@TheSkatingLesson]

It should push him to make the necessary improvements to his training.

[@goldik8362]

Medvedeva was ill with high temperature and out if training before Shanghai.

[@elfa9191]

for the free program but nor for the short one???, and what about tests in Russia, and the heavy jumps in autumn classics...? mmmm

[@KiffiStinkt]

Elfa then do it better 😉

[@meltemt0245]

Evgenia had high fever for a week and she said she couldn’t practice 😔

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Thank you. Hope she feels better.

[@dinifroggy]

I felt exactly the same about Shoma... for someone like himit didn´t look somych as a prgram.... et, I just watched his "Great Spirits" encore at Carnival on Ice and it did look a lot nicer to me tan the last time he did it, whenI thought some of the fun was missing. Maybe it isstill too son for his "Dancing on myOwn" program to be judged. It wouldn´t be the first time. In fact, all I could think of was "I really want to see this again in a few weeks".

[@TheSkatingLesson]

He definitely needs some time to get organized, confident and trained.

[@tapdncr]

Yay! You guys are so on top of the events this season! Love it ❤

[@TheSkatingLesson]

tapdncr you’re welcome!

[@magnoliabranca5149]

Another amazing video thank you Dave and Jonathan. 🇵🇹 😘😘😘

[@TheSkatingLesson]

[@corgeousgeorge]

who needs a life? I got TSL on my Saturday! Forget you alcohol and bad decisions, I'm staying in with my Banh Mi sandwich and watching some quality programming. It may be cuffing season but Imma gon' be cuffed to my screen for TSL! (yes I realize this perfectly encapsulates the sad state of affairs in my social life)

[@rimmka29]

Brian Brian 😂👍

[@Xosidhe]

Brian Brian Being social is overrated 😂

[@corgeousgeorge]

@@Xosidhe buh Banh Mi sandwiches are not overrated and isn't that REALLY what the moral of the story should be? lol

[@embeth446]

So what did happen with Eunsoo and Rafael? I mean obviously it seems like their relationship deteriorated after the Mariah debacle, but did he ask her to leave?

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Embeth 44 clearly.

[@a9029k]

As he should have.

[@a9029k]

vera weiss Wow very interesting. Although he didn’t seem “heartbroken” to me.. and said she was “one of” his hopes.. but wasn’t accustomed to having to be part of a group and couldn’t seem to get used to being part of a group. And he said “she lost me too,” in other words, it was equally her own loss because now she probably won’t do as well as she would’ve if she’d stayed and stuck it out

[@embeth446]

vera weiss Thank you so much for sharing that link! Very interesting interview!

[@Julia-js7bs]

Additionaly to the very selective edge callings (as other commenters mentioned), there was a very suspicious ur call. Same with Hanyu. I don't mind the tech panel being strict but false ur calls?! Tursynbajewa also got the same goe on her 2A with a very wonky landing as Medvedeva (if I remember correctly). Honestly, I just didn't enjoy Tursynbajewa's performance. She seems to lack skating skills and charisma on the ice. The programms where so dull, although that is only partially on her. (Not saying Medvedeva was perfect btw. There is a lot of work to be done, especially on her FS) Edit: so apparently Tursynbajewa has a back injury. That may explain her skating in Shanghai, but tbh I never enjoyed her performances.

[@seleneh7675]

The protocols did not make sense. As long as Tursynbaeva didn't fall, she got positive GOEs, even for clearly UR jumps (none of which were called). No edge call (she has a flutz that never gets called). Her Shanghai Trophy performance was inferior to her performances when she was with Brian, but scored higher.

[@goldburnm]

What a wonderful Saturday night gift. Thanks TSL!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

goldburnm you’re welcome!

[@danielarifaiova3345]

You are not a fan of Evgenia and her programs, but many of us are. For years, I hardly watched figure skating because no one was able to make me passionate about it again. Then Evgenia appeared and my interest came back. I keep rewatching her programs because they make me goosebumps. The Exogenesis is a piece of art. And I'm pretty confident that her Geisha will be too. People can have their opinions but they shouldn't act like their opinion is the only one and right. The program is like a movie or a book. Someone gets it, someone not. I hope Evgenia will never listen to people like you, because me as a fan, just want to see as many programs of her as possible. Other skaters are nice, but not enough to keep me interested (except Papadakis and Cizeron). Btw, at Autumn classic Evgenia's score was like at her first European Championship which she won and it's just the beginning of the season. It was also almost the same like Scherbakova's with quad and higher than Tuktamysheva's. However, I want to see her skating regardless of medals and scores

[@ruruku5490]

Your words are so touching.

[@ramitodevioletas575]

Daniela Raffi: you are obsessed with Evgenia.

[@danielarifaiova3345]

I'm a fan of Evgenia's skating and programs. You are the one obsessed by her. Bye.

[@stevebruier8497]

Same. I won't bother to watch ladies skating if she decide to retire. She is just something else.

[@nenavujicin7882]

@@ramitodevioletas575 ,sorry,but U're obsessed with Evgenia,but in a negative context (i've noticed your name-U always comment something on against Evgenia).If you have the right to comment against Evgenia (and you have,of course),let the other praise her.

[@amberelibrennan]

Elizabet’s programs are new programs, not the same as last year lol also Yes Evgenia was ill... If I remember correctly I think she missed one week of skating

[@brankakovacevic6174]

both-Evgenia and Lilbet were ill .

[@TheSkatingLesson]

The programs look the same as last year. It is like she could be skating to any piece of music. It is all the same garbage.

[@icebroccolisk8er]

Please create a Spotify podcast version!!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Sarah Green that would negate the entire purpose of having a KZbin channel.

[@garysimmons1485]

My Moment of the Week : Nathan Chen’s step sequence !

[@TheSkatingLesson]

I loved it too.

[@stuartmuzic]

I'm a Mariah stan but I have to say I really liked Bradie's program. The music is gorge with build and I actually felt something. And I enjoyed her movement. (Of course she needs some new tricks to compete but...)

[@eljj7968]

Looooved Nathan’s new programme. Also thought Hanyu is in trouble after seeing that. Nathan is always so chill, it’s awesome.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Elija J he looks very confident and relaxed!

[@arthurtheaardvark13]

You guys! Boyang’a FS is GORGEOUS! I’ve been listening to that song non stop and I am SO EXCITED to see it clean one day!

[@lindatatum8921]

Yuzuru Hanyu, the most complete skater. Triple Crown coming in Beijing 2022. History making in progress.

[@lindatatum8921]

@mish098aimer No Yuzuru will win. 3 time winner. History maker. Ground breaking Yuzuru Hanyu. The best. G o A T.

[@artemisadelaluna9901]

Yes Yuzuru is the GOAT ! ✨ No one like him ever he's unique ♥️

[@ColonelGreen]

Winning three Olympic gold in men's has already been done before, by Gillis Grafström (1920-1928).

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Nerves are a huge factor. Nathan had all of the quads in 2018, but he couldn't handle the pressure. He will have even more attention in 2022 after his recent success. He will have more experience in 2022, but it will still be tremendous pressure. The Olympics are very different from Worlds. Hanyu has shown that he can handle Olympic pressure. It could be an interesting competition if Hanyu stays in.

[@MrChaseBlue]

TheSkatingLesson i agree, but hanyu’s first outing wasn’t overall great. He crumbled in the FS. He just lucked out that Patrick did the same too. I did think Nathan made the mistake of going undefeated that season. Instead of winning the GPF by half a point, he should’ve lost it by half a point, and Pyeongchang could’ve resulted differently. Oh well.

[@hellsbellsmichelle]

I'm knitting my first autumn sweater right now, a simple raglan, but in beautiful hand-dyed skeins from Dye Candy. In three colours, in a styled fade. Colours "Spicy", "Get your hands off her you bitch", and "Glow". Should take a couple of weeks to finish. I love autumn and winter for hand-knit sweaters.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Amazing

[@pmcbride2052]

Yikes, I hope your take on gg is off because I’d hate to think anyone is using her after all she has been through. I hope she is in a good place within herself and is skating because she loves to, she is incredibly talented! Wishing her well and I would still love to see her skate if it’s what she wants.

[@emilytan4223]

I honestly question how tursynbaeva got a silver medal last season at worlds

[@antoniowu3089]

The other thing is that even though she was fourth (I think?) in the free skate she had an outrageous short program score (about 75). That's actually a huge part of why she got silver, it wasn't even the free skate with the quad salchow. Evgenia would otherwise have won silver if not for the short program scoring. As I recall Elizabet was 3rd and only marginally behind Kaori in the short

[@rimmka29]

Emily Tan I mean she’s the First Lady to land a quad in a senior competition

[@antoniowu3089]

@@rimmka29 that's true, but if you look at the detailed scores the quad salchow wasn't really the reason she got silver

[@scavo2003]

@@antoniowu3089 Watching her short at Worlds live, I thought Elizabet was impressive.

[@antoniowu3089]

@@scavo2003 I rather disliked it. As I remember, I was really bothered by the chopped up sections of Moonlight Sonata, and she also didn't have the base value of the other ladies (her combo was 3S+3T). I definitely don't think it deserved top 3 - even if it was a good program it seemed judged quite a bit out of proportion compared with others. But I'll watch it again and see if I missed something.

[@chipperterri]

TY for the Saturday evening treat..

[@TheSkatingLesson]

chipperterri you’re welcome!

[@zb6070]

And can evgenia try to go back to a flip-toe second half in the short program. But why did Shoma never consider Alexei Mishin (or beg frank carroll or tarasova to come back from retirement).

[@ColonelGreen]

Mishin is great at jump technique, but nobody would go to him to rebuild their skating skills and experiment artistically.

[@zb6070]

@@ColonelGreen But I feel like shoma's skating skills and artistry are amazing, but its specifically his jumping that needs work, which is why mishin would be a great choice.

[@zb6070]

@@evanperilstein5308 my bad. I think I was editing the comment before I posted it and took out the fact it was shoma I was referring to by accident.

[@SayYesToAwesome]

Hey Gracie, Get on a plane and go see Kori Ade RIGHT NOW! I mean, if anyone ever needed a 2-in-1 skating-life coach, it’s Gracie. I also heard that many current and former competitors sent Gracie messages of encouragement before and after her skates.

[@colleenshaughnessy7081]

I kind of feel like Marie-France isn't quite done with that beginning. I know the beginning wasn't in the clips of a few weeks ago. Maybe she will clean it up a bit. I think that will fix it. As for the shirt, he wore a very similar one for the GP last year. He just likes being very comfortable; he's not going to do the whole sequin thing.

[@elfa9191]

My opinion: Medvedeva is disrespecting her own career . And her highest peak is not enough anymore...

[@ramitodevioletas575]

Elfa : she should go back to Moscow and be Tatiana Tarasova’s partner.

[@matthewhines9787]

Love the episode! Thanks guys for all your work. BTW: Who was moving furniture in the background during the last 1/3 of the video?

[@TheSkatingLesson]

No one was moving furniture. There was construction going on outside by me.

[@juliaschulman6679]

Like if you think Medvedeva should cut the cord and compete for Canada. Girl is already in Canadian SOI. Everyone would benefit!

[@rimmka29]

I was waiting for you guys to cover those events.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

rimmka29

[@elfa9191]

me too

[@tylerc85]

Dave, I said the same thing about the song for Gracies free. It just seems strange.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Tyler C so off!!

[@xmykeyx]

She needs to skate to something like.. I'm walking on sunshine ☀

[@DSQueenie]

Aw it’s such a shame you guys didn’t talk more about the Shanghai Ice Dance and my guys Fear and Gibson.

[@JohnnyOpera1]

DSQueenie we dedicated a lot of time to them in the Nebelhorn video :)

[@DSQueenie]

Jonathan Beyer I missed that video. Thanks I’ll watch it now. You guys are awesome 🙌🏽

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@DSQueenie]

TheSkatingLesson I loved it, thank you! I appreciate you guys 😊

[@volhakorban9146]

You are so wrong on Elizabeth Tursynbaeva and on Russia as a whole. It's not always about the money. We are different.

[@karinmorris4224]

Gymnastics question: I have a request for you guys-I can't make heads or tales of how a gymnast or team qualifies to next years Olympics. I don't understand what Jade is doing, and how gymnasts are assigned 'at large.', without having to be in the top AA. I know you follow gymnastics, so perhaps you can explain this. Because I am totally confused.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Karin Morris the balance beam situation blog has definitely explained it! I would check that site.

[@rahelhorvat1471]

You guys were quick this time! Although, I have watched your show for over a year now, what I couldn't figure out yet is are you guys former skaters, coaches, sport journalists?

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Rahel Horvat I am a writer and I did adult skating. Jonathan is an opera singer. We have both followed the sport for decades.

[@rimmka29]

TheSkatingLesson Dave, weren’t you a host and commentator on NBC Olympics with Lipinski ?

[@TheSkatingLesson]

rimmka29 no

[@flying372]

unless i am mistaken, one of them was in the us national junior team

[@emmagubbels5248]

With Vincent posting all the video's of Gracie I feel like that mentally is going to set her up to fail because like you said instagram Gracie vs reality are very different….I can't stand the hashtags on those video of Gracie, its cringe. I would love to see her work with someone like a Ravi Walia but with her finical situation I doubt she'll leave Vincent

[@TheSkatingLesson]

It is quite troubling.

[@seleneh7675]

Come on guys, how could you go talk about Evgenia and not know that she was sick and skipped practice for over a week before Shanghai? Then to sort of declare that someone's career should be over? Did you actually watch her or just looked at the protocols? You would have known that Evgenia said to Brian that that FS was actually her first run through in two weeks. The UR calls were all wrong - sure the edge on the lutz was not inside, but NONE of her jumps were under.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Selene H talk to us during worlds. Our comments weren’t based on this singular performance.

[@seleneh7675]

@@TheSkatingLesson Actually, I am happy to. How can you say your comments were not based on this singular performance when you were talking about a URd 2T (that's actually not UR). In any event, it is obvious what your opinion is about her, regardless. I just sort of assume you try to have the proper context to a subject you discuss - if you bother to talk about her in a video, very basic information that everybody knows, you should know.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Selene H her career being on the down swing has little to nothing to do with the 2T. You’re upset with what we said and are pretending that any of that is relevant. Without the combinations, it was clear that her basic skating is labored and the programs are dull.

[@seleneh7675]

@@TheSkatingLesson Actually not upset about your opinion of her is. You can have your opinion - especially on your own channel. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. But you harp about journalistic ethics and credibility, then talk about an event, a particular performance and not [bother to] have proper context - I think that falls below the standard even you set for yourself.

[@iris7484]

The reality that it's going to be tough to make the Russian national team is right there for anyone to see. Does it mean her career is over? Not necessarily, but yeah, it absolutely could. If she doesn't have the technical content, and the PCS is just on par with the others, she really only does have a "stars aligned" chance this year. If she skated for America, or Canada, or basically any other country but Russia, it would be a completely different story.

[@shawnamessinger8077]

Dave, would you ever consider attending Easterns? Dan and I are, as I live about 30 minutes from Hyannis , MA, and now we have the extra bonus of getting to see Gracie! Would love to see you there Dave!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

I wouldn't go for one athlete, but I would consider it if it fit into my schedule and I could visit friends.

[@shawnamessinger8077]

Yes! We're going just to enjoy skating, and its close to home. Maybe Nancy could make an appearance or the Scotvolds?

[@biari8599]

So... phantom UR call is the new black?

[@hellsbellsmichelle]

49:30 Nathan - I'd prefer to see this Taron Egerton/Elton John programme as a short, opening at the start of Rocket Man and going into Benny and the Jets. The first minute or so - the music (and the programme) is just meh at the moment. I think it would have much more impact as a SP with the second and third pieces of the music, and do something else as a FP. He's grown into himself, he appears to have an inner-confidence that he certainly didn't have pre-Olympics. Perhaps he needed that meltdown at the Olympics SP to grow into the man he is now. His SP last season is probably my favourite men's SP of all time. That and Javier's Black Betty.

[@ElishaaLi]

Trusova is just sooooo boring. at this point i dont even care about the quads

[@TheSkatingLesson]

The performance isn't there. The jumps are great.

[@SaintHaHaLOLZ]

@@TheSkatingLesson She must be getting training tips from Jade Carey.

[@gtestkey]

You know what would be perfect example of "Cant see forest through the trees"? How you keep mention luck of choreography and skating skills of junior ladies and yet keep ignoring Ksenia Sinitsina. Her blade control and edge work, her very special choreography skills are unparalleled. If there is any chance to beat Valieva in finals my bet would be on Ksenia. This girl is amazing.

[@gtestkey]

@@evanperilstein5308 Well, what emotion or personality shows Valieva for example? She is very cute, but emotions? Ksenia shows true innate musicality her interpretation comes through her movements not through her face expressions.

[@iris7484]

they talk about Sinitsina all that time. they're the only reason I know who she is or have bothered to track her through the JGP. I agree that her skating is really nice. Yeah she could work on her emoting , and for now she's letting the skating do the talking in that regard. I think by seniors she'll have it together.

[@gtestkey]

@@iris7484 Last time she competed they dedicated 15 seconds to her, like "Sinitsina was ok, yeah she was ok..." and now when she actually won the event all she got was "which one is she? " by Jonathan. I guess one has to be Eteri's student to draw their attention.

[@iris7484]

@@gtestkey oh really? I start reading the comments during the show so I end up missing a lot, my bad. I seem to remember them discussing her at length but it must have been a few weeks ago. Then I just hear the name so I remember to check her out. I can't follow the entire JGP otherwise; it gets too boring. I think she'll get more hype when she really delivers what she's truly capable of. I would probably say she has a nicer skating quality than Kostornaia, but her "it" factor is still in development. As for having to be an Eteri student, well, it does sometimes feel like 90% of the skaters are hers haha it's not really any wonder they dominate the conversation just be sheer force of numbers.

[@lenavinogradova950]

She is really inconsistent though, more so than Valieva. If she delivers than yes, she could challenge Valieva and Alisa with their quads even, but the problem is that with Ksenia you just never know...

[@koknesis5226]

All what Medvedeva needed was to keep Sandra's Bezic program which Evgenia quiet/refused last year. Bezic gave her CHOICE for a good start to be A REAL SKATER, not just medvedeva. Bezic's program indeed was a gem. it still is a gem. Evgenia does not need to copy her old self and to repeat and repeat it ( and be satisfied that she succeded doing so). She needs to open the doors for the SKATER, not to bring an old copy of herself. She is not enough brave to do this. I said from the very beginning that Brian was tooooo merciful to take her, to naïve....first of all that Russian tank (=a soviet spirit which attacked them both through Russians) and then Evgenia;s fear to shed her old skin and to shine....if she is not going to do this, nothing will help her. Nothing. Agree that both programs are....mediocre. Anyway, wish her succeed. Everything is possible if she will make changes inside..

[@Julia-js7bs]

Seeing the scoring in recent years, especially these past events is just disheartening. It makes it hard to root for a skater and really get excited for competitions. False ur calls, selective edge calls and overscoring/ underscoring PCS depending on technical content and the infamous Eteri-bonus. It makes me mad. Some of these top level skaters are at best uninteresting to watch at worst straight up painful (Tursynbajewa for example). I want to see artistry rewarded, not just jumps. Whenever I watch Trusova I just get bored and start doing something else. Her skating just lacks beautiful movement or anything else, it's just jumping. My hope lays on Kostornaia. She is what I want skating to be. I also hope that Medvedeva continues to skate, she just has a personality and I connect to her in the ice. She needs a fierce program, a lot of luck and a whole bunch of training. We need female skaters that are actual woman, not only 16 year old teenagers. That exists in the male field. However, woman (especially in Russia) are just replaced after 2 years as seniors.

[@lenoreplatterer8211]

I think what they are trying to say is that Gracie is mostly an instagram influencer, along with her coach. (mostly her coach) From what I understand the money for that sort of thing is pretty good. She keeps her name in the conversation, these days, with social media the most important thing is to stay visible, any way you can. As long as her fans keep following her progress on instagram she makes money (so I understand) so good for her. And it is nice to see a plus sized girl out there competing, again, good for her.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Not what we were saying...

[@ahorita1103]

Lmao.......!!!!!! 1:13:20 I'm from Japan, and I'm also the one who tend to be a bit annoyed by that; Japanese commentators give overabundance of excitement.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Yes!

[@ahorita1103]

@@TheSkatingLesson It's really too much, and I would like to tell them "Relaaax!! we won't miss anything, so you can narrate more freely or naturally and say what you like to say".

[@biari8599]

Come on Jonathan, are you seriously telling me, that you don't enjoy this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJDElIyjrdZrd7M 😂 those facial expressions are everything, and he's radiating so much joy LOL this is cheesy at its best! ETA: for what it's worth though, I think that being overly dramatic in your performance is way more cheesy than this. and so is doing martial arts moves (yes, Yuzu and Vincent, I'm looking at both of you, although Yuzu was more subtle and made it look more organic in Seimei)

[@JohnnyOpera1]

bi ari I loved the moves included in that replay...it avoided the ones I thought were too much. ;)

[@biari8599]

@@JohnnyOpera1 ah, the 'chicken wings', as I like to call them? ;D

[@renunit1503]

Is this available as a podcast on spotify?

[@TheSkatingLesson]

SolsticeEcho no. I do upload the audio to Patreon

[@vncntd3962]

The JGP on the women's side has been far less interesting, at least up to now. I mean: Sinitsyna won JGP Italy by almost 40 points over Frolova. It hasn't helped that there have been so many entrants in the women's field as well. (At JGP Italy there were 32 entrants for women compared to 25 for men.) On the other hand, the JGP final is going to be a throw down between three skaters who have each won 2 events apiece: Hae-in Lee, Alyssa Liu and Kamila Valieva. If any of these three falters, Sinitsyna will be the likely medal beneficiary (but no more than a bronze, I would think).

[@vladvolkov4434]

Sinitsyna has a chance to beat both Liu and Lee, having a season's-best score higher than both of them, and a consistency to back it up. If she keeps skating like she did at her two JGP's, she will be scoring higher and higher.

[@SergejKrolik]

You are underestimating Ksenia greatly. She is the only girl from JGP finalists who have REAL skating skills, after all. And judges loves that.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Haein Lee certainly has real skating skills.

[@maritakarpa3198]

Would you ever consider saying Evgenia directly (face to face) that she should retire? Is being on the the top all the time artists or sportists goal, or is it self improvment? And, some Hanyu programs were snooze fest for you guys too, but there are people from non American cultures who absolutly loves them. Maybe, you could give more thought to that. It's ok to have personal opinion, but that was just too far..

[@TheSkatingLesson]

I think it would be hard to make the podium and I would ask an athlete what their goals were. It isn't mean. It is looking at how the sport is scored and where it is going. It is not a personal insult. I think she is a fine person. Skating is competitive and difficult.

[@maritakarpa3198]

I get your point. But I still think only skaters themselves know their goals and leave the competitive sport whenever they want. This sport is cruel enough, it doesnt need your help. But its ok, we are differente people, we can have different opinions.

[@anaksimandran]

It's interesting that you think that Medvedeva has a nice personality, cause it is exactly the personality that makes her so repulsive for a lot of russian fs fans. She hangs out casually with political figures in this sport and then gets somebody elses spots in competitions and extra financing. That is what gets her down in ratings and not the fact that she is coached by canadian.

[@annfotlyan8655]

lol....what a stupid comment

[@BillyWhaler]

The only successful elite-level comeback was Steve Jobs. Tyson & Tiger never got close. Even Jordan lost that violent explosiveness and became an outside shooter and defensive specialist. Gracie has “it” and presence at 10. Could she humble herself enough to adjust and become a pairs or ice dancer? She will never get back to where she was but could she sell herself on setting a new goal in the sport?

[@skatefan9495]

What about Virtue and Moir? Or Shen and Zhao?

[@flying372]

What does gracie do for a living?

[@BillyWhaler]

Markus Walberg Gracie is in the "story-telling" business. Same as Blockbuster Video. Same as Borders Books.

[@BillyWhaler]

idolfan9495 winners who leveled back not up. Ali never leveled up after his draft protest. Meanwhile Tom Brady and Michael Phelps never took a day off. Clubber Lang don't sleep.

[@a9029k]

Were you living under a rock during The Masters?

[@x.y.a.8020]

Still waiting for your verdict on Fear/Gibson!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

X. Y. A. We discussed them last week!

[@littlebachmonster]

I actually just bought a pair of roller blades. Bauer hockey roller blades, same as Michelle!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Joshua Paik tell us how you like them!

[@garysimmons1485]

I completely agree with you regarding Gracie Gold ,,,and to be honest she delivered what I thought she would, regardless of the Instagram posts. It will not surprise me if she withdraws from Sectionals. According to her Wikipedia page she wants to compete at the 2022 Olympics, but the technical content for ladies has surpassed her by leaps and bounds, and will continue to do so. She will be almost 27 at the next Olympics, and to believe she will be competitive I think is living in a dream world ,,,if she loves skating, great! Be an adult skater, be a coach, or something else altogether,,,,she’s made her mark in the sport, but she’s heading down the Patrick Chan path, but even worse. He was surpassed after a year away from competition , and couldn’t catch up, and neither can Gracie,,,,and that’s the reality. The Shanghai Trophy was a snooze, mainly because the Junior Men and Ladies were outskating the Seniors. Hopefully, Skate Canada will show some great Senior Performances. The JGP Final, to me, will be an exciting competition !! ( fingers crossed for Valieva and Samsonov). I hope the Seniors will up their game to make it noteworthy. It’s Trusova’s year ,,,probably the next World Champion, Russian Champion and European Champion. Beyond this year, who knows?! Ted Barton,,,,he has really grown on me, “ but that’s ok” 😆

[@Frooti.loopz23]

I'm glad nathan is trying color but that shirt wasn't it lol, hopefully he'll have something with lots of sparkle and feathers. Perhaps a popped collar even??

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Kayla Gaines gofundme a new costume.

[@corgeousgeorge]

40:35 Jonathan "My shallots are too big" Beyer (I will try to get this nickname to stick dag nabbit! I feel like Gretchen Wieners in "Mean Girls" with the word "fetch" but dammit, I'm willing to die on this hill!) says Agita like "Ah-Jee-Tah". It's a Yiddish word (As a Native New Yorker, you are required to know some Yiddish words by law, even if you're not Jewish. My Puerto Rican mother's favorite is, "Yenta" for me. look it up! people!) and the correct New York pronunciation is "Ah-Juh-Dah" said quickly. ex. "Jesus Christmas, your drama is giving me ahjuhdah" (agita). See look at me blending Judeo Christianity in one sentence!

[@JohnnyOpera1]

Brian Brian #latin

[@corgeousgeorge]

@@JohnnyOpera1 OMG I did an exhaustive deep dive on the word origins of agita (I googled it) and come to find the word has Italian American origins in NYC (which obviously is of latin origin like you pointed out), well this just messed up my childhood. What other lies did my neighborhood teach me? Though I do love a good Yiddish word origin.