Alexei Mishin: Gachinski did a better quad loop than Hanyu
Alexei Mishin about triple axels, quads, development of figure skating and performances of his students at Finlandia Trophy.
According to her own words, it was difficult for Liza in Finland.
– Yes. We had a very encouraging start in Oberstdorf, where she skated with pleasure, in Finland she felt some pressure. If she had got in Espoo the same marks as in Germany (185.93, 2nd place), she would have been among medalists.
When the triple axel will be ready?
– Triple axel is asleep, hasn’t woken up yet.
Is she doing it at trainings?
– She’s already rotated it on practice, so we’re moving on. But at the moment only one girl in the world performs a triple axel – Kihara. We hope that Lisa will be the second athlete this season, who will be able to do this.
Another Japanese girl, 23-year-old Mirai Nagasu is also going to perform this element.
– Mirai Nagasu tries it, but whether she will perform it we don’t know yet. This summer I was working with her in Colorado Springs, and she asked me to put her triple axel. I tried, but I can’t say that I completely tought her.
How do you think, will Mao Asada do a triple axel?
– You see, it all depends on the severity of manners. For example, when Sarah Hughes skated, all the jumps were underrotated. Mao Asada don’t even do 3-3 combinations now, she has 3-2, and judges treat her second jump, I would say, gently. In general, talking about women’s figure skating in Espoo, we can’t be satisfied with situation when Pogorilaya ranked third, and Lisa fourth. It means that fanfares of the hegemony of women’s figure skating at this moment can be applied only to one girl – Medvedeva.
At “Autumn Classic” in Canada Yuzuru Hanyu performed a quad loop, which either hasn’t been performed for a long time, or hasn’t been executed cleanly before Hanyu. A couple weeks before, this element was counted at the stage of Junior Grand Prix in a program of Alexei Krasnozhon, who is well familiar for you and now represents USA. I wonder whether Hanyu will have strength for the rest of the program after doing a quad loop at the beginning?
– Opinion that quad loop takes a lot of energy – it’s a myths of ancient Greece. We saw how Arthur Gachinski did a beautiful quad loop at trainings. He was doing it not worse than Hanyu. And, maybe even better. Yes, actually, certainly better than Hanyu. Viktor Kudryavtsev and other specialists saw it. But the fact is new stars come on the horizon now. In Finland, Nathan Chen performed quad lutz, quad flip with five quads only in the free program. That’s today’s starting point. Flip and lutz are the next page in figure skating. Not loop. And Chen did them easily and lutz was in combination.
What is quadruple loop? You put the emphasis on it, but today it’s not a sensation. If we are talking about a gray mass, then yes, its performance is certainly an achievement. Speaking of stellar leaders … At Finlandia Trophy we saw the leader of world figure skating. However, not yet crowned, but a leader. Now he doesn’t get high components, but in a year, he will receive appropriate high scores in the second mark, because he’s flexible and competent. And in the hands of Marina Zueva he will gain a choreographic charm. Unlikely he’ll jump better, but in his artistic development Zueva can make a huge improvement.
But consistancy is important.
– And he has a good consistancy. It’s difficult to consistently storm the world records, at this competition he did it. At practice he performed quads confidently, I can confirm. Krasnozhon learned quadruple loop with us, and a triple axel. It’s a good gift to the American figure skating from our school. But to thumb loop is no longer relevant, you’re stuck a little bit in yesterday.
Skaters stuck.
– I deeply respect Hanyu as person and athlete, not only as a pushing machine. I know him for many years and I was present during his rise, when my students were competing with him and winning. But I mean that he is an outstanding athlete.
And I mean that somehow quad loop was performed only now.
– Once again you turn the pages around the cover. It’s better to re-watch Nathan Chen.
But only one Nathane’s quad was more or less without mistakes – toe loop.
– It’s necessary to assess not his mistakes, but his breakthroughs. His breakthrough was very powerful. His mistakes weren’t natural, but the fact that he performed jumps – it’s natural. He fell on a quad toe loop, and a minute later did the same quad completely clean. And now let’s talk about our skaters at Finlandia Trophy,
What to say about ours? Is it real to expect something with two quads in the free program?
– Who among ours have two quads?
Executed? Kolyada.
– The second one was with error. Do you know who among Russians was the strongest in the free program?
Alexander Petrov. Was he the fourth?
– Third.
The guy is consistent, but he only dreams about one quad.
– He dreams, but has competent skating. We’re working on quad.
Do you see Petrov’s limits?
– I don’t see it, he’s still young. Urmanov also mastered the quad late. Petrov will learn it. Today on the ice you can see athletes who are the “past” of figure skating, its “today” and “tomorrow”. Who is in which category, you can decide identify yourself.
source: rsport.ru
Related topics: Alexander Petrov, Alexei Krasnozhon, Alexei Mishin, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, interview, Mao Asada, Mirai Nagasu, Nathan Chen, Yuzuru Hanyu
some chinese cow dung hope hanyu to change coach to him.
great choice
I don’t think he knows what he’s talking about. Pogorilaya had negative GOE on almost all her jumps, and Tuktamysheva’s programs were flat, not up to world champion level. Mao is a beautiful skater, and that’s how she beat the Russian girls. And Kaetlyn Osmond did deserve her win.
He is all about jumps and not choreography/packaging. To him, if you’re running across the ice in a burlap sack, but doing quads, you are worthy of a world title. (I’m not saying that Nathan or any other skaters exactly skate like that, but you get the idea). He doesn’t care that it’s supposed to be a beautiful sport.