How are russian women able to do quads and not others in figure skating

[Rich]

I just saw Trusova do a 4lz and 3ta and was wondering why other people cannot do them

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[KristyJ]

I think part of it is the training philosophy that allows for very very heavy practice schedules at a very young age and continues that even as bodies start to break down. Trusova has a very strong and athletic build naturally which may have protected her from some of the wear, though.

 

[CameliasFingerpaint]

PEDs, delaying puberty and horrific, unsustainable technique. Eteri is a fucking monster. There’s a reason she has had zero success with male skaters.

 

[KristyJ]

The thing is I don't want to attribute it all to drugs, because I don't think it is all drugs. We see skaters in other countries learn quads but lose them due to wear-and-tear and subsequent weight gain. Though if anything it might be that the drugs hide the wear-and-tear longer.

Edit to add that Eteri is, in fact, a monster though

 

[arabiandoublefront]

Plushenko has girls/young women with quads, too. Russia in general has a different philosophy towards training.

 

[JDB]

Alexandra Trusova is one of the world's best conditioned skaters and uses PEDs for recovery.

 

[Hatsumomo]

Didn't Kim Yuna do quads?

 

[JDB]

Yuna Kim never competed quads nor triple axel. Quads would have destroyed her back.

 

[KristyJ]

A number of skaters trained quads but chose not to compete them regularly. I remember multiple Japanese skaters and Sasha Cohen all training quads in the early 2000s and landing creditable ones in practices.

 

[Tutto]

I

A number of skaters trained quads but chose not to compete them regularly. I remember multiple Japanese skaters and Sasha Cohen all training quads in the early 2000s and landing creditable ones in practices.

Oh yes I remember vividly Sasha' s 4sal. She abandoned the attempts quick enough due to back injury.
One of the reasons Eteri girls do quads is due to a 'clever' cheating technique - > than a quarter on take-off and spin on the landing = approximately 3.25 - 3.5 rotations in the air and they call it a quad. But of course considering most ladies chronically underrotate their triples, yeah it can count for a quad.

 

[KristyJ]

To be fair, the proper technique in figure skating does include pre-rotation on the ice. It was a really hard thing for me to learn when I started skating after having been so strict about not pre-rotating anything in gymnastics. Anything up to just under a half rotation on ice in takeoff can be considered correct, and anything under a quarter rotation shy on landing is accepted as well. This means up to just under 3/4 of a rotation is technically fine on ice for some jumps. Loop jumps tend to have a longer pre-rotation to get the spring, in toe loops you almost have to draw your foot through to get the proper technique and it's more like 1/3 a rotation pre-turned. It varies by jump.

To pre-rotate more than 1/2 rotation makes the jump sort of weird, though, and I will say I've seen some odd technique from some camps. Eteri's skaters don't necessarily do this, but they do "whip" their jumps around a lot. It's no wonder that Medvedeva now says she can't turn her back in one direction after all of that for years.