Inna Goncharenko: Tuktamysheva is not the queen of PCS, but sevens – it is too low

Inna Goncharenko summed up the results of Russian skaters at the first Grand Prix Skate America 2019.

by Dmitri Kuznetsov for sport-express.ru dd. 21st October 2019

Did Anna Shcherbakova surprised you, she jumped two quadruple lutzes?

– Shcherbakova’s performance didn’t surprise, I hoped that she would make her masterpiece lutzes and win. She is a unique girl, amazingly light. I’m very happy for her. We must pay tribute to the coaching staff, who built the work in such a way that quads are something ordinary for their skaters. They do run-throughs of the programs every day, you can see that.

There was a lot of talk that our figure skaters are being held in their scores. In Anna’s case, is this opinion fair?

– I can’t say that the judges held Anya. She is a debutante, and everyone knows that she is a favorite. Competitions are held in America, a local skater is participating, who claims to get to the Grand Prix Final. I always told my athletes – in someone else’s territory you will get a minimum. And the American, in this case, will get the maximum. There is only one way out – to show even higher level. In the short program she had a small mistake on the combination, in my opinion, everything is fair. But she is a fighter, pulled out this gold.

Falling on a step sequence in the short program, what was it?

– I flinched at this moment, to be honest. She tried very hard, she wanted to give the components in the end, to accentuate the movements and this let her down. Another factor – in America, the ice rink is non-standard, smaller, and it seemed that she did not fit into it, was inconvenient.

Does her result mean that Tutberidze’s skaters are ahead with such a margin, that it’s impossible to compete with them this season?

– I don’t think so. There will always be rivals, and you are a rival for yourself. No one is sleeping. American Tennell looked decent, the program is well prepared. Japanese ladies significantly improved in skating. Nobody will give up.

Many fans are unhappy how the judges scored Elizaveta Tuktamysheva. Is she being underscored?

– In figure skating the fight goes not only on the ice. If an American who claims for the Finals participates in the Grand Prix in USA, she will be supported by the judges. All are well aware of this. You just have to do your job properly.

But the components – sometimes they give her only sevens.

– Here I agree, it’s too much. She is not the queen of components, but sevens – it is too low. Sorry, this is the world champion, she works for the audience. What is happening is too much.

Liza has a beautiful axel. She knows where the judges do not like her – these are the levels of spins, the second mark. It needs to be improved. I am glad that she went back to the original music in the short program. Bring also the movement back, Liza!

In the United States, Tuktamysheva didn’t jump flip, preferring a combination of toe loops. Was it right?

– You should never simplify. Psychology often works – mistake on this easy element immediately follows. She has excellent toe peaks jumps, one of the best lutzes. She is able to learn the quadruple lutz, and her toe loop is very confident.

After Finlandia Trophy, Elizaveta reacted sarcastically to the scores: she crossed her legs, showed her thumb, trolled the judges on Instagram. Could the panel at the US Grand Prix take this into account?

– Of course they could have been told. And such a behavior is not good, you need to behave yourself. The panel consists mainly of older people.

But emotions, she had the right to show them.

– Emotions and playing in public is wonderful, but you must always keep your temper.

What happens with Stanislava Konstantinova?

– Psychology and problems in the training process. Programs look unprepared, she thinks about the elements, there is no automatism. While it looks very bad, just tears. If you feel that you are not ready, it is better to withdraw than to fall from double jumps. Why also rotate something in between with tano arms, why doesn’t she control herself? I feel very sorry for her, she is a bright athlete. But not everything is lost, it is a matter of training.

Finally – about men. Is Aliev’s bronze a success?

– Definitely. He managed to get himself together, he knows how to skate inspiringly. The merit of the coach is that they were able to fix this after the pale test skate in Moscow. But our men still have to work and work. They just do too little run-throughs. I saw how Nathan Chen practices and how many jumps he makes during training. Many times more than ours.

Related topics: Anna Shcherbakova, Bradie Tennell, Dmitri Aliev, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Inna Goncharenko, Skate America, Stanislava Konstantinova