Ladies SP

[bmelanie]

It's not about a GPF or a podium finish.

It's all about the skate. It's about how she skates. Not a medal.

And I'm personally tired of hearing about UR calls, wrong edge calls, et al.

Mao had her two best FS ever at 2007 Worlds & 2008 4CC with UR 3/3 combos. & a wrong edge lutz. Now is not the time to be fiddling around changing her technique which she has always had.

I agree in that it's not the time to change her technique - it's too late for that. If only Mao had spent the last couple of seasons correcting her edges and honing her best skills, a la Miki, albeit we may not have had a 2008 Worlds champ or a 2008 GPF champ but right now we would have seen a much more confident skater not obsessing over whether or not she can land her jumps (which even if they were successful would still not necessarily land her in first place). I feel like avoiding the lutz and going all in for the 3As may also have been the reason for her split with Arutunian (he tried to fix her flutz) - just not the right choice, as we can clearly see right now. I would much rather see Mao skate clean, well-choreographed, solid programs than see her skate 3A after 3A.
I'm also afriad that it may be too late for her even to return to her 3/3 - she hasn't been doing her triple combo in a while, just her axel combos, and I expect the axel is what she's been focusing on all summer :(

[R.D.]

So true. This FS competition will be much more exciting for me. No clear winner for sure after what unfolded today in the SP competition.

Same here!

[gourry]

Maybe the only way to get Mao to abandon the crazy plan with 3As is to unfortunately lose the competition badly.

When Mao finished off podium last Worlds, THAT was her chance. But what happened? Alas! They held WTT and reinforced her obsession about 3A with 200 points!

Indeed, she got highes PCS here. It's not gonna happen.

[sillylionlove]

Just came back from lunch and looked at the women....Julia in first! I have to say I was not really expecting that. And she got a 1 point deduction to boot! The top three are pretty close...actually the top 5 are relatively close.

Mao...what the heck is going on???? Seriously.....it's almost like a Kostner meltdown.

It's going to be an interesting final!!

[raress]

Mao had bad luck like Carolina k, she was last in the last group and both have 51 point score this is strange....:frown2:

[jovani2293]

This is now Miki's to win. Just consider that this short is 4 days old. Her long program is probably much better trained.

i agree. her triple-triple was going to happen but she had too much of a lean on the triple loop. If she would have not had that terrible lean, she would have had at least a 65.

[Tinymavy15]

Mao cannot find a way to do a good short. Don't blame everything on the triple axel attempt, even when she did not try it last year and the year before she almost always made a mistake in the short.
I am worried that she is putting a ton of pressure on herself with the triple axles because she knows that the only way she can win is by hitting all three of them. Honestly, I would not worry about messing up in the GP as long as she can do it by February, but the quetsion is can she? She herself is asking that question. A short program like that will prevent her from getting any medal at the Games.

[bekalc]

According to some of her fans, the reason there is so much emphasis on the 3A is because it's her signature jump against Yuna's 3-3s. Seriously, delivering clean performances should be her focus not the 3A.

Yes but the difference here is that Yu-na is rock solid with her 3/3s, and Mao doesn't have anywhere near the same consistency with her 3axels. I think that Kim gets a raw deal when it comes to her technical merit a lot. People talk about how she doesn't take risks. And well I guess her layout isn't as "sexy" as 3axels. But seriously, the fact that Kim can hit 3/3s so consistently is frankly amazing, and probably scares the crap out of her competitors.

[jovani2293]

Miki will be fine. There are not many skaters that can crack 110+ FS score. Only Ashley, Alizza and Aleona. For Mao, even if she take out her 3A, she can still climb to the podium. All she need is a silver to get in GPF.

Cant Mao Asada get a bronze and still get in.

[janetfan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8KbOXVA7RQ

51 is too high for her performance...

I hope I never have to watch that program again. There is something so wrong about it, from the ugly layback position, to the lack of tempo change in the music and the generally coarse and primitive feeling that seems so out of character with Mao's personality.

For the moment the great rivalry is no more but I hope it will return or the Ladies Olympic event this year will be an even bigger snoozefest than what we saw at the Torino men's competition.

[Nadine]

I saw Tonya Harding throw her life away, now I'm seeing Mao do it in glorious fashion, both hard-headed (if I'm to believe what I read) & stubborn.

What a shame, a total waste, just like Tonya, just like Tonya.

Lol, but Nadine's still a fan of both, till the bitter end.

All my favs came in fourth at the Olympics because of these very qualites:

Steve Prefontaine
Tonya Harding


Deja vue, deja vue *sigh*

[Kwanford Wife]

Hmmm... I started reading this thread backwards and was sitting in my office with my mouth on the floor with Julia in first, Alissa in second, Miki in third and Mao in sixth... and then I stumbled across the actual scores. Fear not Mao fans - she could still win... the spread is less than ten points. Granted, I'm rooting for Miki (which in my opinion is the greatest shock...) but both ladies are behind a skater who lacks in the new age tech requirements and another who is known to fall apart in the short.

Now, if Mao needs a major overhaul and if she even has time for one is a totally different and sad conversation...

Julia SEBESTYEN HUN 57.94
2 Alissa CZISNY USA 57.64
3 Miki ANDO JPN 57.18
4 Alena LEONOVA RUS 56.78
5 Ashley WAGNER USA 55.16
6 Mao ASADA JPN 51.94

[bekalc]

saw Tonya Harding throw her life away, now I'm seeing Mao do it in glorious fashion, both hard-headed (if I'm to believe what I read) & stubborn.

Mao is very young even if she doesn't medal at this Olympics her career will not be over.. If Yu-na retires, she can go to Orser, or she can go to Morozov (if Miki retires) sort out her jumps and I think she can be a force again.

Hopefully this season will be a wake up call to her. Frankly I think Mao's issues are similar to Kwans in the 2002 season. I remember being what the heck with Kwan's coachless decision. I feel that in someways Mao is basically coachless. Tarasova is really only a part time coach and Folle doesn't have a great track record. You would have thought last season would have been the wakeup call but I guess it was.

I thought the split with Auturian was because he was not happy about Mao training in Japan, not where he was, and so said he wouldn't sit in the Kiss in Cry with her at Four Continents because he didn't want to take responsibility for how she looked.

[macemace1980]

I am sort of happy about the result!!
Tatiana and Mao should know that they are getting worse and worse.
Look at Yuna!!! She does not make any mistakes!
Yuna knows better the rule and she is practicing better.

I love all figure skaters and love also Mao, but compare to Yuna, Miki, Joannie and Carolina, she doesn't seems to be able to think anything by herself. I mean to show herself better. She seems to be following what Tatiana says.

I am female and I am sort of in Fashion industry, so I do not understand the choice for dresses, music, make up etc.
Even old ladies here wouldn't chose these dresses!!!
Make up, uffa please go to Sephora or some shops which sells cosmetics and ask someone there how to put make up.
Eveything of Mao this season so far is disappointing.

[axalteke]

OMG!!! at the end of Ladies SP, the Russian woman announcer(I don’t know her name!) surely confirmed that Mao cried awfully going out. And more, Tatiana had not come back to give her a scheduled interview.