Yea, but even then if I remember correctly, the margin of Miki's winning score wasn't too large. And that was with a clean skate from Miki for both her SP and LP, while Mao and Yuna made mistakes. I think that was the year Yuna fell on both lutzes in the LP.Originally Posted by evangeline
Well, I can't wait to see Miki and Joanie this year though. Hopefully they've improved a lot (based on Japan Open and other things this summer though, it seems that they have).
So she did a less than stellar spiral on purpose because she was supposed to be herself and a strong spiral sequence wouldn't reflect that??
I think you are giving her a little too much credit there.
Before any interpretation, shouldn't every element be skated as solidly as they can be?
Really bad music. I cannot imagine what they were thinking especially with Mao's music. Lot's of empty seats. Yu Na Kim jumping passes are wonderful and spot on, but her layback is not good and her skating overall leaves me cold. Her score is too high. Mao having some issues. Totally lackluster competition. Yukari the only one with any personality but the leg wrap is the pits. Haven't seen Caroline yet but I am fairly sure she will be undermarked as usual. Skating continues to have some issues. I was really hoping Sasha would be back to salvage what was left of the artistic component.
herro
Why not? I think Joannie has the greatest chance. About Mao - I really don't think she will be able to do something soon. Not because I think she's not good enough, it's just that she seems to have problems that are not very easy to correct, she will need more time. Actually, I expected her to come after this summer very strong and confident, but it all gone wrong.What do you guys think? Do you think they will be the ones to challenge Yuna? I still think Mao has the greatest chance. She has the jumps and the artistry.
I was assuming that she will have a very stable axel, so she would be really strong and we would see Mao and Yuna in first two places in various competitions. I'm not a fan of Mao, but I didn't want anything like what happens.
R.D.
I knew it, but I wanted to say it for others.I should make it clear that I'm not putting it on Kim.
Now that you talking about retirement. Yuna's dream was always to be the loved skater. Today I have seen clearly that even if she delivers nearly perfect performance people won't love it because of margin in points, of CoP, or I don't know... Well, I'm exaggerating, but I was hoping that one day she'll find a way to most people's heart. I don't know, maybe it's impossible because this is a competition and you can't love someone who's getting higher than your favorite skater. I'm kind of sad today...In fact, if she wins the OGM I don't see her sticking around.
*Sniper*
I was referring to her artistry. That program is not supposed to be a story and she is not any character. That program is supposed to reflect herself and her development as a skater. I don't know if she can "act" that, she just has to be herself. And she did that, she skated lightly, with joy and without struggling, doing all technical elements with an incredible ease.So she did a less than stellar spiral on purpose because she was supposed to be herself and a strong spiral sequence wouldn't reflect that??
I think you are giving her a little too much credit there.
The errors with spiral weren't on purpose, of course. What she did on purpose was no jumping, because she noticed something weird with ice. That wasn't an error.
kyla2
Maybe she will come and make it all more interesting. I would like to see her.I was really hoping Sasha would be back to salvage what was left of the artistic component.
Last edited by Daniel5555; 10-17-2009 at 08:04 PM.
She is clearly loved by a lot of skating fans. Just listening to the reception she got in the arena, and seeing the 500 banners of her up there let me know that.Now that you talking about retirement. Yuna's dream was always to be the loved skater. Today I have seen clearly that even if she delivers nearly perfect performance people won't love it because of margin in points, of CoP, or I don't know... Well, I'm exaggerating, but I was hoping that one day she'll find a way to most people's heart. I don't know, maybe it's impossible because this is a competition and you can't love someone who's getting higher than your favorite skater. I'm kind of sad today...
Personally, can't say I was inspired by any of the skaters that skated today. Although I will say it was interesting choice of Asada to take on such an intense song like that. She should be careful to own the song and not let the song own her, and I think the latter is kind of happening right now.
Yay!!! Yuna proves it once again. What amazes me the most about her is that she delievers the goodies regardless what kind of music it is. beautiful facial expressions and body movements, not mention her jumps and spins. I also noticed that she added very difficult steps and movements going into each jump and coming out of jumps. JUST FANTASTIC!!! BRAVO YUNA!!!
R.D.
When I first heard about "Bells of Moscow" I also thought that this is interesting choice. As much as medley from James Bond movies and then Gershwin's concerto. I was looking forward to see the actual performance and at Japan Open it turned out to be a big disappointment. The music could really be less repetitive and less loud.Although I will say it was interesting choice of Asada to take on such an intense song like that. She should be careful to own the song and not let the song own her, and I think the latter is kind of happening right now.
However today I liked more that program. I just saw it better and it was done better. Overall it's a good program, especially for Olympic season, but it must be skated really well.
Sure. That's the most important thing.She is clearly loved by a lot of skating fans. Just listening to the reception she got in the arena, and seeing the 500 banners of her up there let me know that.
Thanks for everyone's insights! It really helps me to put everything into perspective. Since I'm almost equally fond of YuNa and Mao, I don't get that agonizing "what if" feeling in my stomach when one of them wins over the other. It's clear, though, after watching YuNa's program, that she's skating smoothly and doing some interesting entrances and exits from the jumps. As for the program's being "boring," just hearing Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F automatically sold me on the program. One interesting factor: her footwork wasn't the typical fast-paced pattern, though it was certainly inventive and intricate. AND IT WENT WITH THE MUSIC! (That's not as common as one would hope, I've noticed.) I'm no expert, but that seemed kind of a daring approach to take on Team YuNa's part--what if the judges didn't approve? I hope I get to see Mao's program so I can react to what everyone here is talking about. I deeply wish for her to improve! At her best, she's a musical, appealing skater, and as one of you said earlier, it would be great if the two ladies' Olympic programs were "for the ages," like Michelle and Tara in 1998--or Orser and Boitano in Calgary. As for Caroline Z., drat, how does someone advance that far with questionable jumping technique? A ballet teacher would never allow such a thing in a dancer. Why would a skating coach? There's no time for her to relearn her jumps now. Alas!
I really like Caroline's music and dress this year. Her spin and spiral positions are really beautiful. I know her jumps are not the best in the field right now, but I really think everything else is at the top level. She is also very expressive and I can see that she feels the music really well. I am not so bothered by her speed,but if she skates faster, her jumps might get cleaner, too.
Go Rachael! Go Caroline! Go Alissa! Go Mirai! Go Alexe! AND GO Sasha!!!
I think Yu-Na was amazing! There is still a lot of room for improvement but she is getting there
The great thing about Yu-Na is she is great with everything that she does! The spiral may not be the cup of tea of everyone, and the extension is not the best but she does mightily fine. She gets the levels! She really gets A LOT of bonus points because her execution of the elements are textbook!
I believe what made Yu-Na prone to injury in the past was the biellman spins and spirals. Now she found a way where she gets the levels but does not cause strain and injury to her!
She needs to focus more, sync more with music, love the music and really try to look for the small things to improve on and just love each second!
Her musicality and artistry is simply amazing! Her posture, carriage, speed, height makes her simply a standout
She may have landed only 5 triples but those were all well thought of! The entrances were amazing! Kudos to Team Yu-Na since they really know how to maximize the points. I think a triple lutz-3 toe, triple flip-triple toe may happen by the looks of it heheheeheh!
I agree. People have hoped that she changes her techniques but it's been long, which makes me worry that she might have come her own way too long like Yukari has. Why didn't coaches care when she was doing single jumps?
Does she get penalties for those techniques in her scores?
I watched ladies' programs directly with my bare eyes
This is what i thought about mao vs yuna
mao
- personally i like her LP music (i think it's the same tune for too long, though)
- I prefer the dress she wore at Japan Open
- Except for jump problems, I liked her performance. Her nice 3A combo (3A looked URed, though - changed ISU regulations kind of allow it anyway) and smooth gliding on the ice.
- In fact, it looked much better live since i couldn't see her face very well. I think her body moves nicely to the music, but her facial expressions don't convince me. She looked akward and acting-for-acting when I watched her JO perf. on the internet.
yuna
- seriously, i think her LP music is quite a risky choice for the Olympics season. The melody itself doesn't really excite the audiance and pple have no idea what she wants to convey as the music itself has no theme.
- This slow music even makes her look slower
- My bf who watched figure skating programs for the first time said yuna looked way better than others. For sure, she landed jumps so easily and looked energetic till the end that i even said 'already?' when the program really finished - it's maybe partly b/c I didn't feel the clear climax of the music
my personal conclusion:
It's just a beginning of the season. Yuna could possibly get low scores later as both yuna and judges get tired of the overscore discussions and Mao could nail Yuna landing all her jumps "perfectly" and wonderfully as planned. They can also get beaten by darkhorses like joannie or miki ando. I was just happy to see their new programs performed for the first time live (except for mao's lp)
Some interesting points about this TEB (for fun)
- TEB should be very happy with the huge audience (for ladies' section) - mainly thanks to Mao & Yuna. Another quote form my bf: I've never seen so many asians all together in Paris!
- Certain skaters got a lot of flowers, gifts, etc on the ice. The prob was that there were certain bouquets of flowers and items not well wrapped that there were some substances remaining on the ice. There were even announcements recommending not to throw unwrapped items -> and yuna was apparently influenced by the remaining substance according to an interview. It explains why yuna suddenly freezes when she was just about to jump. it looked really~~ strange.
hmmmm.... i can't think anymore. need to sleep ; )
Thank you for sharing your firsthand observation!I watched ladies' programs directly with my bare eyes
This is what i thought about mao vs yuna
mao
- personally i like her LP music (i think it's the same tune for too long, though)
- I prefer the dress she wore at Japan Open
- Except for jump problems, I liked her performance. Her nice 3A combo (3A looked URed, though - changed ISU regulations kind of allow it anyway) and smooth gliding on the ice.
- In fact, it looked much better live since i couldn't see her face very well. I think her body moves nicely to the music, but her facial expressions don't convince me. She looked akward and acting-for-acting when I watched her JO perf. on the internet.
yuna
- seriously, i think her LP music is quite a risky choice for the Olympics season. The melody itself doesn't really excite the audiance and pple have no idea what she wants to convey as the music itself has no theme.
- This slow music even makes her look slower
- My bf who watched figure skating programs for the first time said yuna looked way better than others. For sure, she landed jumps so easily and looked energetic till the end that i even said 'already?' when the program really finished - it's maybe partly b/c I didn't feel the clear climax of the music
my personal conclusion:
It's just a beginning of the season. Yuna could possibly get low scores later as both yuna and judges get tired of the overscore discussions and Mao could nail Yuna landing all her jumps "perfectly" and wonderfully as planned. They can also get beaten by darkhorses like joannie or miki ando. I was just happy to see their new programs performed for the first time live (except for mao's lp)
Some interesting points about this TEB (for fun)
- TEB should be very happy with the huge audience (for ladies' section) - mainly thanks to Mao & Yuna. Another quote form my bf: I've never seen so many asians all together in Paris!
- Certain skaters got a lot of flowers, gifts, etc on the ice. The prob was that there were certain bouquets of flowers and items not well wrapped that there were some substances remaining on the ice. There were even announcements recommending not to throw unwrapped items -> and yuna was apparently influenced by the remaining substance according to an interview. It explains why yuna suddenly freezes when she was just about to jump. it looked really~~ strange.
hmmmm.... i can't think anymore. need to sleep ; )
That must've been fun.
I'm happy you had a good time.
@ your boyfriend's quote on the audience.
One side of the arena seemed quite empty on the screen though.
But I guess it was a pretty good crowd?
Is this the fatal problem of Mao as well? With the coaching expertise in Japan, the extraordinary natural ability shown by Mao very early in her skating years, an older sister also demonstrating world class skills, how could she have basic jumping issues today forcing her into this 3x dependency as her only hope? It seems to me that her inability today to skate toe to toe with Yu Na on the CoP basics is because she failed to learn them when she was young. The fact that she can succeed frequently with the 3x is an indication of natural ability not great training. I have seen YouTubes of Mao as a junior completing 3x's. Why weren't her coaches teaching her the basics of each jump?
I'm sure I've got this all wrong but I see no difference in Caroline's coaches never correcting a "mule kick" and Mao's coached never teaching her the basic jumps. Mao looks self taught where Yu Na looks properly coached.
Sorry if I offended Mao fans. I don't mean to. Her skating is a joy to watch.
I like this music. It's pleasant, fun, and happy. I understand that some ppl say it boring. Perhaps it may be a kind of generic music that we hear in regional and international skating competitions often. It does not bring the intensity, awe, and drama that she has been known for in the last seasons. I actually feel that this music might have been better for Ex. You can just relax and watch comfortably and she herself looked as if she were doing a practice runthrough. Perhaps I was expecting something really, really unique and appealing from David Wilson. But it is okay because it is happy music and a happy program. You may not feel too crazy about this program, but you cannot hate it, either. I think it better to play safe than do something risky in the Olympic season. Her SP bond girl was really wow! so that that might be just well enough.
Last edited by Bennett; 10-17-2009 at 09:42 PM.
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