Has Mirai Nagasu had a growth spurt?

fiercemao · Sep 21, 2008

Just found two recent clips of Mirai Nagasu .

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uQI9RVWa-xA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTUPQIcDN50&NR=1

She seems to have had a big growth spurt and gained some weight.

libby · Sep 21, 2008

It would be perfectly normal for a 15-year-old girl's body to be changing, but it is impossible to tell if she just looks a bit taller because she has her hair piled up high on top of her head in both of those clips.

As for weight - she looks as thin as ever to me, but I kind of think that these teenage girls who compete in skating and gymnastics have enough pressure on them without people on message boards speculating about their weight and whether or not they have gained a couple of pounds all the time.

Mafke · Sep 21, 2008

libby said:
I kind of think that these teenage girls who compete in skating and gymnastics have enough pressure on them without people on message boards speculating about their weight and whether or not they have gained a couple of pounds all the time.

No one's forcing them to compete and weight gain or loss (esp as it affects jumping ability) is a perfectly appropriate topic for male and female skaters.

libby · Sep 21, 2008

Mafke said:
No one's forcing them to compete and weight gain or loss (esp as it affects jumping ability) is a perfectly appropriate topic for male and female skaters.

You try being a 14 or 15-year-old (with all the inherent insecurities that go with being that age, along with the vulnerability to eating disorders of both teenage girls and figure skaters to battle with) going through puberty in the public eye because you are competing in a sport, and having a bunch of judgmental people blogging about every photo and video taken of you and whether or not you look like you have gained a pound, then sniffing "well, no one is forcing her to compete, so we have a right to pick on her weight if we want to."

And don't forget that some of these skaters actually read these boards.

Mathman · Sep 21, 2008

Michelle Kwan famously said, when she went through that kind of embarrassing scrutiny about growing out of her boyish jumping bean body, "What did they think I was going to do, topple over?" :laugh:

Tinymavy15 · Sep 21, 2008

Well the hair-do makes her look older and taller, but I agree that she certainly looks like she has filled out a little. Unfortunately, she seems to have lost a little flexibility...i did not remember seeing a belliman in either program and her I spin was not perfect. Also her jumps looked under-rotated a few times and she barely hung onto that toe in the second program.

I hope that she will get everything under control by her first real event. I really do not want to see this very talented girl fall victim to the puberty monster.

Fossi · Sep 21, 2008

Her skating usually reminds me of Kwan, but watching those clips her skating was more like Sasha Cohen. She had some 2 foot landings and falls. The I-spin also reminded me of Sasha. She does seem to have filled out more. Nationals will be interesting.

carriecmu0503 · Sep 21, 2008

"And don't forget that some of these skaters actually read these boards. "

SO TRUE!!! I think sometimes people forget skaters are real true people, just like any normal person off the street, not robots. Please don't say rude things about their weight. It is one think to say so-and-so seems to be struggling with her jumps, but it is another to make rude comments about something they can't control. The bottom line is they are people with feelings just like anyone, and we want them to know the fans support them. Even the skaters you may personally not enjoy are dedicating their life to this sport and deserve respect as human beings.

Ginask8s · Sep 21, 2008

She does look different,but still looks really tiny. I'm guessing those were show programs and should not have been too stressful. Sorry to say, she did not look like a Senior National champ. Lots of problems with easy jumps. On the other hand Flatt looked really weak at Liberty. I guess the Grand Prix events will be very important for all these young and very talented girls.

chuckm · Sep 21, 2008

Flatt looked weak at Liberty in mid-July because (a) her FS had just been choreographed and (b) she had been away from Colorado at a seminar for two weeks before Liberty and hadn't had much time to practice it. She performed 3 weeks later at the Colorado Championships and scored 60.46 in her SP and 105.55 in her FS, so she made lots of progress in a very short time.

chuckm · Sep 21, 2008

Tinymavy15 said:
Well the hair-do makes her look older and taller, but I agree that she certainly looks like she has filled out a little. Unfortunately, she seems to have lost a little flexibility...i did not remember seeing a belliman in either program and her I spin was not perfect. Also her jumps looked under-rotated a few times and she barely hung onto that toe in the second program.

There were Biellmann spins in BOTH programs. She also did a pretty darn good Ina Bauer and a close approximation of Caroline's 'pearl' spin. There's nothing wrong with her flexibility. Mirai was underrotating her jumps towards the end of last season, when her growth spurt started. And yes, she HAS had a growth spurt, and has alluded to it in interviews.

I hope that she will get everything under control by her first real event. I really do not want to see this very talented girl fall victim to the puberty monster.

Growth is something all young skaters have to deal with. The truly talented ones work through it. She may not have 'everything under control' by her first real event, though. It does takes time to adjust.

fiercemao · Sep 21, 2008

I agree , she's still very flexible, and the spins were still mind boggling. It's her jumps that were iffy. She also does not seem to have her usual lightness on ice.

Mafke · Sep 22, 2008

libby said:
You
sniffing "well, no one is forcing her to compete, so we have a right to pick on her weight if we want to."

Who's picking on her weight?

I agree that obsessing about an athlete's weight is not good for anyone, but I don't think there's been any of that here.

And the fact is that when a female elite athlete starts competing at the highest levels before puberty, she's going to go through puberty in the public eye and that will be part of the normal discussion of weight (that goes on for male and female athletes in almost very sport). If this is a terrible thing then maybe it's more justification for age limits?

Blades of Passion · Sep 22, 2008

She's quite beautiful and I think the most talented of the current crop. Best wishes to Mirai.

feraina · Sep 22, 2008

I liked the first program better, especially the beginning part. I thought she interpreted the music better and looked more mature than in the past. Not sure that hairdo does much for her though, even in an exhibition...

The audience screamed for every one of her elements. Heart-warming. But must be a distracting too.

Her jumps did look noticeably weaker than in the past, though. She may have had under-rotation problems before, but she always had impressive height, and this time the height was gone. She doesn't have especially fast in-air rotations, so she'll have to work on tighter positions (as Mao has managed with some loss of height over the years), or work on getting her jumps higher again.

Good luck to a very talented young lady in the new season!

silverfox · Sep 22, 2008

fiercemao said:
Just found two recent clips of Mirai Nagasu .

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uQI9RVWa-xA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTUPQIcDN50&NR=1

She seems to have had a big growth spurt and gained some weight.

There's an interview with Charlene Wong, Mirai's coach on icenetwork.com. If you subscribe you can get it. In the interview the coach says that Mirai has grown quite a bit since last season, and that her body has also undergone change.

So I guess that answers the question about Mirai's changes in appearance.

http://web.icenetwork.com/media/pla...ng_400.wmv&type=v_sub&cid=2008070949210&_mp=1

demarinis5 · Sep 22, 2008

Thanks for the link to the article and the links to Mirai's skating.
She looks beautiful and fit to me and from what I observed she won't have any problems adjusting her skating to her growth spurt.

chuckm · Sep 22, 2008

feraina said:
Her jumps did look noticeably weaker than in the past, though. She may have had under-rotation problems before, but she always had impressive height, and this time the height was gone. She doesn't have especially fast in-air rotations, so she'll have to work on tighter positions (as Mao has managed with some loss of height over the years), or work on getting her jumps higher again.

That's one of the adjustment areas. Her body weighs more as she grows taller, her center of gravity lowers as she fills out, and the proportion of the length of her legs to the length of her body changes. All of those changes affect her jumps, and she will have to adjust her technique as she continues to grow.

ChrisH · Sep 22, 2008

fiercemao said:
She seems to have had a big growth spurt and gained some weight.

Not much weight. There are black bands at the top and bottom of the picture (letterbox) so I think that the video is stretched wide.

Both programs look much better if you click on the watch in high quality link. I like this more graceful decaffeinated Mirai. Excellent donut spin. It's impossible that Mirai has lost her speed. As for her jumps, I doubt we'll be hearing "I would also love to get a quad" from her anytime soon.

It might be my imagination, but I'm seeing similarities between Mao, Mirai, Angela, and Yukiko.

SeaniBu · Sep 22, 2008

Blades of Passion said:
She's quite beautiful and I think the most talented of the current crop. Best wishes to Mirai.

I really agree!:agree:

As far as not talking about weight and such, I come from that same school of thought. But as I start looking at life REALISTICALLY I understand there is some responsibility of youth or anyone for that matter to have their own self worth. Not reliant on what others think. Also not blaming a "individually namable society." Take what people say with "a grain of salt" so to speak. But no sense in being a "Varuca" either. (did I spell her name right?)

IOW, you wont stop people from having opinions "right or wrong," and yes a forum like this is going to deem such a conversation as inappropriate, but it does not mean it is not said to any degree. Skaters and people alike should have their own self-worth and not be reliant on others opinions - just as much as people should keep such opinions to themselves / people should have their own opinions of themselves.

JMO

Has Mirai Nagasu had a growth spurt?

fiercemao

Match Penalty

libby

Match Penalty

Mafke

libby

Match Penalty

Mathman

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win

Fossi

carriecmu0503

Ginask8s

chuckm

chuckm

fiercemao

Match Penalty

Mafke

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be

feraina

silverfox

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!

chuckm

ChrisH

SeaniBu

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