Russia dominates world figure skating

Russia’s Elena Radionova competes in the ladies short program at the Skate America figure skating event in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on Oct. 25. / AP-Yonhap

By Kwon Ji-youn

With 2010 Olympic champion Kim Yu-na no longer a threat after her retirement following the Sochi Winter Olympics this year, Russian skaters have been dominating International Skating Union (ISU) competitions with skaters like Elena Radionova and Anna Pogorilaya.

At the ISU Grand Prix’s Skate America event last October, Radionova secured gold with 195.47 points, outperforming countrywoman and short program leader Elizaveta Tuktamysheva in the free skate. U.S. skater Gracie Gold took bronze.

At Skate Canada, Pogorilaya finished first with 191.81 to edge out U.S. skater Ashley Wagner. Japan’s Satoko Miyahara finished third.

Since Adelina Sotnikova’s controversial win over Kim at the Sochi Games, Russian women have regularly been collecting golds, which critics say everyone should have seen coming given that Kim has left the ice and Japan’s Mao Asada and Carolina Kostner of the U.S. are taking breaks. Russia also dominated the last two World Junior Championships.

Russia has not had such momentum in the sport since two-time world champion and seven-time European champion Irina Slutskaya retired in 2006. When Russian women failed to medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the country began fostering new talent in figure skating, with a strong focus on rising star Yulia Lipnitskaya. At the Sochi Games, Lipnitskaya won gold in the team event.

Sotnikova and Lipnitskaya have yet to make their season debuts. Lipnitskaya will appear at the Grand Prix Cup in China, where she will face Tuktamysheva as well as 2014 Four Continents champion Murakami Kanako of Japan and bronze medalist Li Zijun of China. Korea’s Kim Hae-jin and Polina Edmunds of the U.S. are also set to compete in Shanghai.

Russia’s Adelina Sotnikova competes in the ladies free skate at the Sochi Winter Olympics in this Feb. 21 file photo. / AP-Yonhap

Critics say no skater active this season has what it takes to bring down the Russian skaters. Gold’s 179.38 was 16.09 points short of Radionova’s at Skate America, and more than 10 points short of silver medalist Tuktamysheva’s score. Wagner’s 186.00 was 5.81 points behind Pogorilaya.

However, there are claims that judges tend to give Russian skaters generous scores. At Skate America, Radionova stumbled on her first triple-lutz jump, but received a high score nonetheless. News outlets evaluated Pogorilaya’s performance as good, but not worth 191.81.

Even so, Russian skaters are expected to triumph at upcoming grand prix events. At the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, Russia, on Nov. 14-16, Sotnikova will finally take to the ice after skipping the world championships. Pogorilaya is also set to appear, as is Park So-youn, after a meaningful fifth place at Skate America.

Lipnitskaya and Radionova will perform at the Trophee Eric Bompard that begins on Nov. 21 in Bordeaux, France. Sotnikova will reappear in the NHK Trophy that starts on Nov. 28 in Osaka, Japan.

Russia has been a figure-skating powerhouse for a long time, but has had no such luck at the Winter Games with Sotnikova bringing home the country’s first gold in the Olympic women’s event.

And to keep the ball rolling, the champion appears to be gearing up for a second gold at PyeongChang in 2018. Russian news outlets said Thursday that Russia’s Olympic committee has announced a shortlist of candidates to compete in PyeongChang, and this list included Sotnikova, Tuktamysheva, Pogorilaya and Lipnitskaya.