Sometimes i want to use vaudou for shut their mouths when a skater that they really don't like is on ice. They can be really harsh when they want.
Satoko Miyahara
- Thread starter ioanna
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2014
"Japanese Fed helped her get world medal", yeah sure, where were they in Boston then?call me biased towards Satoko but i think this might be one of the worst commentary from them
sure they had "some" nice things to say but they surely tossed her aside for Olympics already
I agree, I think it's the worst commentary I've heard yet. Implying that the federation put the Worlds medal around her neck and declaring her "replaceable" in the Japanese team? At this point I'd expect anything from casual fans who have been treating her like a disposable object anyway but from Eurosport commentators? Horrible. Have some respect for her medal record, after all she is the most decorated competing Japanese lady
Also, did they criticize her skating skills? 
I get the criticism for the jumps but... Whatever, she made her first step. Remember when she fell on the 3Lz and popped her 3Lo into a double at the ice shows? Considering the anxiety of performing in front of a big crowd (home crowd) after 11 months, I think she did pretty well. We already know she didn't come here with expectations to qualify for the GPF so it's all going according to plan. Beautiful choreography, gorgeous edge work and the best step sequence today. Best of luck tomorrow Satton
- Joined
- May 2, 2014
I agree, I think it's the worst commentary I've heard yet. Implying that the federation put the Worlds medal around her neck and declaring her "replaceable" in the Japanese team? At this point I'd expect anything from casual fans who have been treating her like a disposable object anyway but from Eurosport commentators? Horrible. Have some respect for her medal record, after all she is the most decorated competing Japanese lady
Whatever, she made her first step. Remember when she fell on the 3Lz and popped her 3Lo into a double at the ice shows? Considering the anxiety of performing in front of a big crowd (home crowd) after 11 months, I think she did pretty well. We already know she didn't come here with expectations to qualify for the GPF so it's all going according to plan. Beautiful choreography, gorgeous edge work and the best step sequence today. Best of luck tomorrow Satton
she is a great competitor, its not easy coming back from injury and not competing for almost a year, knowing how your teammates skated earlier in the season and how high they can score, knowing you arent appreciated because all FS is judged on are jumps and nothing else, its so much pressure and she did great considering everything, she has the best SP among the ladies for me (would have been perfect with her previous dress but we cant always get everything we want
)cant wait to see her LP tomorrow, i hope its another Tom masterpiece
Yeah they weren't objective about that.Also, did they criticize her skating skills?
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2016
Hi everyone!
I am not the biggest Satoko fan, but I really want to congrats her and and her fans with the first competition after injury.
I think she did well, I truly enjoyed her skating and program, despite it wasn't perfect but hope she is not upset about it as it's always extremely difficult to get back in shape after such a bad injury.
Memories of Geisha is one of my fav melodies so I am looking forward how she masters the program during the season! Good luck in FP and wishing you to stay healthy little fighter!
I am not the biggest Satoko fan, but I really want to congrats her and and her fans with the first competition after injury.
I think she did well, I truly enjoyed her skating and program, despite it wasn't perfect but hope she is not upset about it as it's always extremely difficult to get back in shape after such a bad injury.
Memories of Geisha is one of my fav melodies so I am looking forward how she masters the program during the season! Good luck in FP and wishing you to stay healthy little fighter!
Erm... to me, they seemed to admire Satoko a lot, I thought they were generally very positive?
I think what Hanretti was trying to say (but he made a mess of it)... was that for a long time Satoko was clearly the #1 Japanese lady, and therefore received the most funding/support/attention from the federation - and that was how they "helped" Satoko to a World medal? But now she has strong rivals, and has to fight to secure her place on the Japanese World/Olympics team? Well, whatever he meant, it didn't come out well...
It's really unimaginable, that a BESP commentator would suggest that a federation used some kind of influence, to get a wold's medal for one of its skaters... especially when they are active coaches, who must continue to work in contact with the ISU...
I thought their only criticism of Satoko's skating skills was, she's not as good as Carolina? Which is hardly a criticism...! But I suppose a bit pointless to mention it :-/
Chris Howarth always points out the flaws in skaters' jumps... he is eagle-eyed and tech-savvy... it's not pleasant to hear it of course, but what he says is usually right...
I think what Hanretti was trying to say (but he made a mess of it)... was that for a long time Satoko was clearly the #1 Japanese lady, and therefore received the most funding/support/attention from the federation - and that was how they "helped" Satoko to a World medal? But now she has strong rivals, and has to fight to secure her place on the Japanese World/Olympics team? Well, whatever he meant, it didn't come out well...
It's really unimaginable, that a BESP commentator would suggest that a federation used some kind of influence, to get a wold's medal for one of its skaters... especially when they are active coaches, who must continue to work in contact with the ISU...
I thought their only criticism of Satoko's skating skills was, she's not as good as Carolina? Which is hardly a criticism...! But I suppose a bit pointless to mention it :-/
Chris Howarth always points out the flaws in skaters' jumps... he is eagle-eyed and tech-savvy... it's not pleasant to hear it of course, but what he says is usually right...
I don't have the same impression.
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2014
Satoko was hardly the #1 Japanese lady when she got her World silver medal. She was the #1 on paper but wasn't treated like a #1 at that point in time. I don't know what Hanretty meant but it came out like it was JSF who handed the medal to her otherwise she wouldn't have gotten it. And now she is "replaceable", he used that word and I think it was insulting.
Re: her skating skills, we know Carolina is the best but Satoko is pretty good herself so I didn't get what he was trying to point out. Then Chris Howarth mixed Polina into the conversation and it stopped making any sense at all. He seemed confused as to why her skating skills aren't better and came up with another pointless argument: "maybe because she's so tiny? Oh my where did the 8 pounds go to she's still so tiny".
I have never heard Chris Howarth mention Shoma's prerotation before so he seems selectively eagle-eyed and tech-savvy.
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2017
The jumps may not have been perfect but the musicality and everything else was there. Congrats Satoko for coming back! Regarding the program, I was a bit scared because Lori's programs for Satoko haven't been my favorite (Un Sospiro was a little bland and Musetta's Waltz really paled in comparison to Firedance) so this was a pleasant surprise. Mixed opinions on the dress but the skirt looks kind of like a flower petal, which really shows during her spins. I hope coach Hamada makes any layout changes necessary for the FS (*cough* ditch the 3Lz+3T) but Satoko's a fighter and I'm sure the FS will be beautiful regardless of the jump height.
Well, Shoma's prerotation is way too fast to see without super slow-motion video. I couldn't spot it myself at Lombardia, even when I was close up, right next to the rink, and looking for it! I thought he must have fixed it! But then I made some high speed video (super-slow-motion) and then I could see it - but even then, I had to step through the video frame-by-frame before I was sure, because it happens so fast.
Chris Howarth is not infallible, but he is usually accurate in his calls, and usually he is neutral and impartial about it. I tend to trust him, even though he points out errors made by my favourite skaters. I doubt he was being "selective" or anti-Satoko, I think he was simply able to spot it this time.
I accept that Mark Hanretti's comments were insensitive... but at this point I'm willing to believe he didn't mean to be malicious - because he did keep saying how beautiful Satoko's skating is. He actually seems to like her. He probably regret it if he read this, and think about what he said, and the way he said it.
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2014
Well, most of the things he said were uncalled for. It's Satoko's first competition after a long, difficult time away, they're aware of that and they call her "replaceable". I'm baffled at this comment seeing as she was clearly irreplaceable at Worlds this spring as Japan ended up with 2 spots.
We must have been watching a different broadcast if you thought they were being positive!
Oh come on... Chris made some (valid) criticisms as he does for any skater, I don't think he did it in a mean way... and Mark made some dumb, insensitive or badly worded things.
But both of them also said a LOT of NICE things about Satoko. It's not like they went off on some outlandish anti-Satoko rant or anything. I was rewatching the ladies just now, and I still think they basically like Satoko's skating!
I watched the program after reading what people were saying about their commentary and thought they were very fair with her as well, giving criticisms for her jumps which are well known, to praising her spins and steps etc.. I didn't think it was nearly as bad as what people were saying.
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2016
No skater should ever be called "replaceable". It's just mean.
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2017
It's also silly considering that whoever wins Nationals (unless it's also Wakaba) will probably get the second spot so you can't rule out Satoko until then... Assuming she finishes 4th or even 5th here she really won't be in a worse spot than Mai anyway... I feel like this has been the story of her career, her carrying the Japanese ladies on her shoulders through sheer hard work and yet constantly being compared to a Mao or even to a Marin by international fans. It's good to know that at least the Japanese public has a lot of respect for her...
Anyway it's sad for me to see her jumps are smaller than ever because she seems pretty much locked out of the Olympic podium at this point and she has my personal favourite short program in the ladies field this season. What I love about Satoko is that not only is she extremely good at projecting an image but she is (again imo) the best in the world at doing so consistently and coherently in her entire program. There's not one moment in the whole thing where her character doesn't shine through or she strays off her theme. There's always a lot of buzz about the Russian ladies' transitions but Satoko's CO should be adequately rewarded as well the execution of her concept in this program is impeccable...
Anyway it's sad for me to see her jumps are smaller than ever because she seems pretty much locked out of the Olympic podium at this point and she has my personal favourite short program in the ladies field this season. What I love about Satoko is that not only is she extremely good at projecting an image but she is (again imo) the best in the world at doing so consistently and coherently in her entire program. There's not one moment in the whole thing where her character doesn't shine through or she strays off her theme. There's always a lot of buzz about the Russian ladies' transitions but Satoko's CO should be adequately rewarded as well the execution of her concept in this program is impeccable...
Good luck to her in the FS tonight, hopefully she can bounce back and be all fired up for her assignment in Skate America! Remember last year she wasn't expected to make the GPF, when she did, she wasn't wasn't expected to podium and then she came second with the 4th highest personal best score at the time!!! Anything is possible 
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2014
I think the reason for that is some people will never get over her jumps. No matter how great she is in every other aspect of skating, no matter how many improvements she makes, she will never be 100% accepted nor taken seriously with her jumps.
I agree, the jumps looked even smaller in the SP but having seen some practice videos I think it's a matter of time until she'll get some height back. At the moment she's still struggling with maintaining the axis in the air but compared to the jumps she performed here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gi7DF-2_VA
the ones she did today were a big improvement considering she's still not practicing nearly as much as she used to before.
Agree. That and because she's tiny.
