Ilia Averbukh: European Championships 2017 preview
European Championships preview from Ilia Averbukh. Don’t know why but only about single skating)
About men:
Even if Fernandez make a few mistakes, the gap between him and our guys is still very high. I think the Spaniard for sure will take the gold, because the gap he has from the rest of the field is approximately the same as Evgenia Medvedeva has in women’s figure skating or Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron in ice dance. So we can say that there is no intrigue in three of the four disciplines at European Championships. And for the second place can fight Kolyada and Kovtun, as well as the Israelis Daniel Samokhin and Alexei Bychenko.
About Maxin Kovtun:
I helped him this year’s with the short program, I visit his trainings. He is in a very good shape. In general, throughout the season everything turns out at trainings. I do not know and he does not know, and no one can answer the question why he can not perform at competition the way he can skate at trainings? Every time there is hope that he will succeed. And if he succeed, then I think he can claim for silver.
About Mikhail Kolyada:
Kolyada also improves. At the Russian Nationals he performed a lot better than at the beginning of the season. Maybe this season we expected a bigger spurt from him, but we hope that at the European Championships our guys will be able to feel more confident, because at the World Championships Japanese, Americans and Canadians will join and it will be very difficult to fight even for the top-six. It’s always an honor to be on the podium, and I think that the European Championships will be a major test before the main battle – the World Championships.
by Elena Diyachkova rsport.ru
About ladies:
There is no need to be an oracle, or a great expert in the world of figure skating, to say that even if there were not three but five girls from Russia, if for example Elena Radionova and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva joined to Medvedeva, Sotskova and Pogorilaya, then I think all the top five places would be ours. And if Alina Zagitova, who simply is not age-eligible to compete at Europeans, also was there, then all six places would be ours! European Championships is, of course, the continuation of the Russian National Championships.
About Evgenia Medvedeva:
This season I’m very happy for Zhenya, it wasn’t easy for her and her coach to keep such an amazing shape that she had last season. It also wasn’t easy for me to find the new colors for her programs second season in a row, but I think we made it. First of all we need to speak about Zhenya as a figure skater, who progresses from competition to competition. This season she has already broken several world records.
It’s difficult to expect from an athlete such a stunning shape through the whole season. And, of course, we want to see records at every competition, but still the World Championships is the most important for Zhenya. Of course, European Championships is also an important tournament, but even if Evgenia won’t be able to show there a record skating, the main thing is to win and maintain energy for the most important tournament of the season – World Championships.
About Maria Sotskova and Anna Pogorilaya:
If we talk about whose skating impresses me more, I would name Sotskova, because I like her programs this season, as well as her skating, it’s so easy, purely feminine and delicate. But, of course, Pogorilaya is more experienced. She’s World’s bronze medalist, medalist of the European Championships. She also showed very good performances at the beginning of the season. I think with equal skating the judges will give preference to Pogorilaya because she has a higher ranking. But if Anna make some mistake Sotskova has every chance to bypass Pogorilaya, like it happened at the Russian Nationals.
About Carolina Kostner:
I love Kostner’s performances, she shows etalon female skating. Miracles are always possible, but during her absence athletes started to do a very serious set of elements. Carolina could hardly gained shaped to fight. Perhaps she will fight for the third place, but I do not believe in such miracles.
by Elena Diyachkova rsport.ru
Related topics: Anna Pogorilaya, Carolina Kostner, European Championships, Evgenia Medvedeva, Ilia Averbukh, Javier Fernandez, ladies, Maria Sotskova, Maxim Kovtun, men, mikhail kolyada
He’s sure confident in their team! I don’t know if I’d be so bold to say that, but I agree Russia’s team is so strong.
And not a word about ice dance)
Or pairs! I hear Ksenia Stolbova plotting revenge…