Tuesday at any major championship is the day of predictions: everyone has already watched the training sessions, noted the form of favorites, complained about failures and built an approximate possible alignment of forces in their heads.
The judges do the same, and in Stockholm the training impressions are as relevant as at any of the previous championships: most of the skaters did not take part in the official competitions of the current season, and in general they appeared in plain sight too rarely to understand what exactly should be expected on the main start.
In this regard, the world figure skating community is openly jealous of Russian athletes.
“I think that all three Russian couples are able to fight for a place on the podium, because they are the only ones who have real competitive experience this season.
They competed with spectators, without spectators, and more than once, so I suppose that each of the Russian duos will prove to be a serious contender for the world champions, ”said two-time world champion in pair skating Megan Duhamel in the forecast for the American TSL channel.
Wenjin Sui and Tsun Han, who won the doubles tournament two years ago, do have a less obvious advantage now than, for example, another reigning world champion Nathan Chen.
Late on Monday evening, the American skated a free program twice in training, and even his mentor Rafael Harutyunyan noticed that he did not have a single question for his ward in terms of the quality of jumps.
“I don't really like to make any judgments on the first training runs, because they are rarely indicative.
Someone rides on excess adrenaline, does everything possible to show themselves, and at the same time to intimidate rivals, someone, on the contrary, goes to training directly from the plane, sleepy and tired.
It is much more accurate to determine the balance of power on the second or third day, ”explained the coach.
In Stockholm, skaters were given the opportunity to try the ice only a day after arrival - these are the quarantine requirements of the ISU.
As you know, it was not possible to avoid the COVID incident: on Tuesday it became known that the Belarusian single Victoria Safonova was excluded from the list of participants, but the question immediately arose: what to do with those who contacted the athlete on the plane on the way to Sweden, then at the hotel , where skaters, although they are obliged to comply with the isolation regime, still communicate in one way or another in a restaurant, common lounges, at the rink, finally.
It is clear, however, that to endure a week without actually communicating is perhaps the most difficult thing that the participants of the 2021 World Cup faced.
So, at least, it is commonly believed.
In fact, Swedish reality is fraught with another challenge.
Experienced coaches know that if a student intends to fight to become the best in the world (it doesn't matter if it happens at the Olympics or at the world championship), one of the most important tasks is to prevent nervous burnout.
In other words, to minimize information about rivals, not to allow the athlete to hang out too much on the Internet, and ideally, to generally switch his attention to something positive.
Send in your free time for shopping, in the cinema, an amusement park, anywhere, so long as the person does not stop spinning in his head the scenario of the upcoming fight.
But how can this be done in the conditions of almost prison isolation in Stockholm?
“With regard to Nathan, this question doesn't bother me at all.
He did not come to Sweden alone, but with his favorite electric guitar.
And he masters it all his free time by connecting headphones.
Although, in fact, this is one of the important components of what you said: an athlete really needs to be able to properly and usefully manage his free time, ”laughed Harutyunyan.
The specialist did not even go away from the question of whether he had ever made an effort before to teach the ward to behave correctly during the performances.
“Before, I really had to explain some things.
Now this is no longer necessary.
As one or another start approaches, Nathan thinks so much during training about what and why he is doing, so carefully analyzes his every move that the competition for him is a rest.
It's kind of relaxed when you can pick up a guitar and allow yourself not to think about anything else, ”the coach explained.
Of course, it is impossible to believe that the expected duel of the century, which even on the ISU website has already dubbed an "epic duel", will become an easy walk for its participants.
“I think Yuzuru will skate well.
I wonder how the lack of an audience will affect him, what strategy will be undertaken.
After Chen's performance at the US Championship, I wondered if Hanyu was going to try something like a quadruple lutz in the short program.
Although if he wants to win, he doesn't need this lutz.
This jump is capable of both bringing an advantage and throwing it back strongly in the event of a mistake, ”Duhamel said in the already mentioned TSL interview.
In her opinion, it is impossible to get into Yuzuru's head, since he is from another planet, while Nathan is extremely rational.
“In the free program, Chen does five jumps at one point and three more at the same point on the other side of the ice.
It seems that the program is specially designed so that all jumps in it are interchangeable.
As if after a six-minute warm-up, he goes backstage and only there decides what to do.
And he does everything calmly, cool and collected, ”added Duhamel.
Still, Chen's chances look preferable for now.
The famous American journalist Phil Hersh published interesting jumping statistics a few days before the World Cup: starting with the 2018 World Cup, where the American became world champion for the first time in Hanyu's absence, he managed to give a streak of 12 starts without defeat, while the Japanese has the most a long streak of victories lasted throughout the four tournaments.
During his performances, Chen made 129 jumps without falling, including 50 quadruple jumps.
In the same article, Hersh quoted the words of Olympic champion Scott Hamilton: “Looking back at the many champions who have dominated our sport, we can say that complexity and stability are two things that unite them all.
Nathan perfected these qualities.
To a level that none of us could have foreseen. "
But does Chen guarantee the third highest title?
And will Hanyu turn out to be the person who will be able to prevent this?