An amazing future star - Caroline Zhang !!

[dancindiva03]

I don't get what was "negative" in regards to Sasha. So they used her as a point with which to compare Caroline's flexibility.

Frankly, I still think the kid is being overhyped too much. The pressure could crush her before she even gets to seniors. If a growth spurt doesn't get to her first. Really, she is very flexible and she's a lovely skater, but I don't think she's worth all this attention YET. She has lots of potential, but how many skaters have we seen that were just amazing as novice/junior level skaters, but then flopped as seniors? I do enjoy her skating, but I'm not going to get too excited until she has a year or two at the senior level under her belt.

[attyfan]

I also believe that she is getting too much hype. While she has given some unbelievable performances, think Ms. Zhang should still be having fun, instead of having people create expectations that no human could possibly live up to.

[inloveagain]

Actually, there wasn't anything in that article that could be called an insult on Cohen. Anybody who's seen Caroline seems to notice her likeness to Sasha's style, so you mention it. But this was an official press release, and I don't think it was a wise move for the USFSA to bring up their reigning champion in comparison in order to hype a little girl who's barely a teenager. And they were doing the same thing with Kimmie and Michelle at the Spring Marshall's. ARGGH.

[Eeyora]

It's just the USFSA's way of hyping a skater. I never liked it. How many years did we hear skaters compared to Tara and Michelle.

[soogar]

I don't think Sasha is that flexible, just more flexible than the average skater but nowhere near a rhythmic gymnast. Caroline is a nice skater and all but that kind of flexibility is very common in young skaters. I see little kids at the rink all the time pulling themselves easily into biellmans and doing crazy laybacks and I don't think they are top level skaters. I just think flexibility comes easily for children. Whether she will keep that flexibility when she gets older remains to be seen. Even Sasha isn't as flexible as she was when she was younger.

[Mathman]

I don't think Sasha is that flexible, just more flexible than the average skater but nowhere near a rhythmic gymnast.

When people speak about Sasha's flexibility, yes, I think they mean in comparison to other figure skaters, not in comparison to rhythmic gymnasts and professional contortionists in the circus.

[soogar]

When people speak about Sasha's flexibility, yes, I think they mean in comparison to other figure skaters, not in comparison to rhythmic gymnasts and professional contortionists in the circus.

With the way people are so awed by Sasha, you would think she was a contortionist. Shizuka is the most flexible skater in skating (at least for the ladies). I actually think Shawn Sawyer is probably the most flexible skater competing today.

[floskate]

Well she has some interesting years ahead of her that's for sure. However it would just be nice to actually see a LP of hers to fully appreciate her abilities. When oh WHEN is this girl going to be televised????? Lets just hope and pray she gets to the JGPF which normally gets some coverage somewhere. And after that who knows what could happen for her?

Hype or no hype I think she's totally fabulous!!!

[Spun Silver]

And she just won in Mexico - by 56 points!

Stunning! May she continue to soar!

[Mathman]

Here is the results thread, q.v.

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sho...t=14199&page=2

[dizzydi7]

Yes, she is young which likely explains her extreme flexibility. And yes, she is tiny at this point which probably makes rotation in the air easier. However, what I see is a very musical, graceful and poised skater. I don't believe that can be taught but is a natural ability that she likely won't lose in the future. It's the latter that gives me hope that if she can survive the next few years without injury, she has real potential as a top senior skater.

Dizzy

[MKFSfan]

Caroline's LP practice from this competition in on youtube. Wow, she really is something else! Especially considering she is only 13. After watching that, she reminds me more of NNN than Sasha when they first debuted. But man, her spins are out of this world!

[nymkfan51]

Here's the link to that practice video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmTEBhfE8AA

I do think she is quite amazing, but I agree that it probably would not be in her best interest to have the hype go so overboard. There are enough pressures on these young skaters already ... let's just wait and see what happens.

[soogar]

Here's the link to that practice video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmTEBhfE8AA

I do think she is quite amazing, but I agree that it probably would not be in her best interest to have the hype go so overboard. There are enough pressures on these young skaters already ... let's just wait and see what happens.

She really has a long way to go. There isn't a lot of power in her stroking and her jumps are still developing. Her flexibility is great but she's still young and small. I don't see her remaining extremely flexible as she develops more muscle on her body.

[brinababy87]

She really has a long way to go. There isn't a lot of power in her stroking and her jumps are still developing. Her flexibility is great but she's still young and small. I don't see her remaining extremely flexible as she develops more muscle on her body.

Well, it looked a lot worse for Mao, the beanpole jumping underrotated triple axels a few years ago. She seems to have handled growing well, so I guess we'll see how Caroline will do..