What to expect from Caroline?

Kypma · Jun 12, 2007

Wow - I wasn't expecting to spark a whole discussion here, sorry about that. I just meant that girls of Asian descent, or just plain Asians as I usually say (I'm not purposely being what some would call politically incorrect, I just use both expressions interchangeably), tend to be smaller, even after puberty. Sure, living in America can make them resemble Americans a little more than Asians still living in Asia, but, in general, Asian girls ARE smaller. Their genes aren't changed by the change of country.
I wasn't being racist or anything... just using terms I feel are correct and acceptable. I don't make a difference between 'Asian' and 'of Asian descent'. I wasn't referring to nationality, but to physical traits: Caroline, to me, is Asian (physically), and American (nationality). Sorry if I offended anyone, I didn't mean to. Either way, I'm Asian, or of Asian descent, whichever you prefer, and I still use these terms, so...
Once again, sorry for any misunderstandings or anything.

Kypma

PolymerBob · Jun 12, 2007

I told this story before, though I can’t remember which message board, but I think it’s relevant here.

The junior world championships finished up on a Saturday with the ladies’ results coming out in the morning, which was afternoon in Germany. I had to go into work that morning, and I saw one of my coworkers over at his desk checking hockey scores. I got to my desk and checked the ladies’ results.

So I said to my coworker, “Hey Dave, the junior world figure skating championship just finished up in Germany, and the American girls swept the podium.”

He replied, “Really? Who were they?”

“Caroline Zhang, Mirai Nagasu and Ashley Wagner”, I answered.

Then he responded, “Well, except for that last one, the first two don’t sound very American.”

Mathman · Jun 12, 2007

Actually, "Wagner" sounds German. So do Meissner, Oster, and Kahle.

Hughes, Taylor and Hyatt sound British.

Go Melissa Bulanhagui (from Philadelphia, Pa.) and Kristine Musademba (from Washington, D.C.)!

SeaniBu · Jun 13, 2007

Kypma said:
Wow - I wasn't expecting to spark a whole discussion here, sorry about that.

I was personally joking around, I knew what you meant, no need to apologize IMO. I also understand the "PC" notion. It brings up the principle of Diversity with athletes and countries, but we here on the GS forum fully understand Caroline skates for the "Good ol' USA."
:clap:

PolymerBob · Jun 13, 2007

And besides, Mirai is Asian, but Caroline is Oriental. :biggrin:

clara · Jun 13, 2007

Both caroline and mirai are of asian decent, just like me.

feraina · Jun 13, 2007

Has anyone else noticed how many Asians (I'm Asian American myself, I don't see what's wrong to say "Asian" in this context) there are in figure skating? Both at the elite levels, and at the many local ice rinks I've been to. Partly maybe it has to do with culture (e.g. hard-working) and family wealth (Chinese & Japanese Americans have incomes higher than national average, and skating is one very expensive sport!), but I think part of it is also physique/body-type. I know quite a few girls who after puberty grew too tall/big to skate competitively, but this happens relatively infrequently with Asian girls. Puberty seems to treat them more gently than others, with the growth spurt spread out over the years and eventually they stay pretty petite as adults. Just from my personal exposures to teenage Asian girls, I don't see either Caroline or Mirai hitting too huge a puberty monster in the near future. I predict them following the steps of Michelle, Yu-na, and Mao in their physical development, and not really encounter ingserious difficulties until their 20's. Personally, my weight has not fluctuated far from what I was at 14.

flying camel · Jun 13, 2007

Hey, has anyone seen Caroline's sister? She looks quite tall & a lot bigger then I was expecting. I know she is older then Caroline. She was standing next to Caroline, so she could have been around 5 '2 or 5'3.

feraina · Jun 13, 2007

Caroline & her sister:
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/3646/outbi2.jpg

I suppose anyone would look tall and big next to Caroline, but I wouldn't worry too much about Caroline's physique for skating if she grew to be her sister's size.

Her sister is a graduate student at MIT and so is probably in her mid-20's.

feraina · Jun 13, 2007

A couple more photos:
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/8479/sisterbw7.jpg
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/1240/zhangsisterdocsrc2.jpg

flying camel · Jun 13, 2007

Funny her sister looks more like her mother.

Nigel · Jun 13, 2007

flying camel said:
Funny her sister looks more like her mother.

What is her sister's role in Caroline's skating? She seems to be at all most of her events, quite often at the boards. Was she a skater at some point?

netnuts · Jun 13, 2007

Nigel said:
What is her sister's role in Caroline's skating? She seems to be at all most of her events, quite often at the boards. Was she a skater at some point?

Don't think so. From an interview, her sister is just taking some time off from her graduate school in MIT to accompany and take care off Caroline.

feraina · Jun 13, 2007

flying camel said:
Funny her sister looks more like her mother.

Well, there is probably 15-20 years of difference between them.

Tinymavy15 · Jun 13, 2007

feraina said:
Caroline & her sister:
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/3646/outbi2.jpg

I suppose anyone would look tall and big next to Caroline, but I wouldn't worry too much about Caroline's physique for skating if she grew to be her sister's size.

Her sister is a graduate student at MIT and so is probably in her mid-20's.

awwww... they are so cute togther. caroline has the prettiest smile... :love:

montclair411 · Jun 14, 2007

From what I've seen and heard, Caroline is a notoriously hard worker. Kind of the perfectionist type who will repeat jumps over and over again. It reminds me of what was commented on about Tara Lipinski.

Tara ended up having overuse injuries and hip surgery before she turned 20. Caroline's flip and lutz technique (high kick before pick) make me concerned for her body.

What can we expect? Certainly a star a 14, but hopefully not a chronically injured young lady by 18

feraina · Jun 15, 2007

montclair411 said:
Caroline's flip and lutz technique (high kick before pick) make me concerned for her body.

Although injuries dog most figure skaters, I definitely hope that the injury monsters will be relatively kind to Caroline.

I think part of the reason that she has a high kick before toe jumps is that she's so flexible. When she reaches back, maybe she over-reaches a bit and her leg happens to reach up as well as back. It doesn't look to me that she's jamming her toe pick particularly hard into the ice despite the high kick, nor does it look like she's straining her hip with the high kick, so I'm not particularly worried about this picking technique to bring on nasty injuries. Her rotations in the air as well as the landings look pretty smooth and unstrained to me.

The thing I worry the most about, injury wise wrt the jumps, is that because she doesn't normally fall on jumps, when she does fall, like that nasty one at National's LP, she's shocked by it. It is the falls that you don't expect that hurt the most, and are most at risk for serious injuries.

R.D. · Jun 15, 2007

I don't figure-skate, and never will, but I thought that one would know if they are going to fall either when they're in the air or when they attempt to come down so they can brace themselves. Do some falls truly "come out of the blue"?

feraina · Jun 15, 2007

In my own experience, sometimes the falls really out of the blue, and other times by the time you realize it, it's already too late to "brace yourself", so to speak. The reason skaters are often able to brace themselves is that they tend to make the same mistakes and fall the same way in practice over and over, and so when they fall in competition, their body already has the reflex to compensate in the right way. But according to Caroline, both her falls at Nationals took her by surprise, because she almost never falls on these jumps in practice or competition. You could see the shock on her face when she fell on the 3-flip in the LP.

BTW, I thought it was impressive of her to immediately get into a spin after the fall, and then execute all the remaining elements, including the 3-flip/2-toe, afterwards. It shows her mental strength and determination. Mental toughness/consistency is more important than anything else for winning gold metals, as we have seen over and over. Caro is one tough little cookie!

carolinefan177 · Jun 15, 2007

feraina said:
... Caro is one tough little cookie!

Tis true.

What to expect from Caroline?

Kypma

PolymerBob

Mathman

SeaniBu

PolymerBob

clara

feraina

flying camel

feraina

feraina

flying camel

Nigel

netnuts

Match Penalty

feraina

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win

montclair411

feraina

R.D.

feraina

carolinefan177

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