Who's In the Ladies Final

[R.D.]

:chorus: it's safe to say Asada is out of the GPF.

So probably the only ones who can really knock off Ashely is Alissa and Caroline and they would need to win SC.

Yes, either Czisny or Zhang have to win SC, and I think Suzuki also must place somewhere around 4th or 5th (?)

[chloepoco]

:chorus: it's safe to say Asada is out of the GPF.



Yes, either Czisny or Zhang have to win SC, and I think Suzuki also must place somewhere around 4th or 5th (?)

Just curious, but why do you feel the need to put these particular icons and saying 'it's safe to say Asada is out of the GPF'. She's not the only one out of the GPF.

[silverlake22]

There is a tiny chance that Asada can get it in... for that to happen the results would have to look something like this in SC:

1. Lacoste
2. McCorkell
3. Hecken
4. Helgesson
5. Phaneuf
6. Zhang
7. Cizny
8. Lepisto
9. Nagasu
10. Rochette
11. Suzuki

Which is near impossible!

Yeah, never going to happen. (knock on wood). Asada will do better at Japanese Nats, she always skates well when she needs to, then when she does she'll go the Olympics and probably get silver or bronze. She can probably win Japanese nats without the 3axel even. There's no way Rochette will come in 10th skating in her home country, even if she bombs the judges will hold her up and she'll finish no lower than 3rd I bet. This is another reason why I doubt Caroline or Alissa will win, Alissa maybe if she does 2 great programs, which I can't remember the last time she pulled that off, and Caroline maybe if she's grown 2 inches and now skates a lot faster and abandons the mule kick.

I want to see Joannie go out there and break it down. People on some thread were talking about how they admire Rachael for being an athlete and competitor, I would say Joannie is another example of this. She's 23, she's consistent, and she rarely leaves the audience disappointed. And have you SEEN her muscles? Talk about an athlete, she looks like an olympic gymnast

[Trewyn]

Just curious, but why do you feel the need to put these particular icons and saying 'it's safe to say Asada is out of the GPF'. She's not the only one out of the GPF.

R.D. was using those icons to express his amusement at the suggested rankings that have Jenna, Sarah Hecken and Amelie Lacoste on top; neither of them are serious medal contenders; so hence his amusement. I think no one is laughing at Mao for not skating as well as she could at RC.

[R.D.]

^ Correct.

[Phoenix347]

Yeah, never going to happen. (knock on wood). Asada will do better at Japanese Nats, she always skates well when she needs to, then when she does she'll go the Olympics and probably get silver or bronze. She can probably win Japanese nats without the 3axel even. There's no way Rochette will come in 10th skating in her home country, even if she bombs the judges will hold her up and she'll finish no lower than 3rd I bet. This is another reason why I doubt Caroline or Alissa will win, Alissa maybe if she does 2 great programs, which I can't remember the last time she pulled that off, and Caroline maybe if she's grown 2 inches and now skates a lot faster and abandons the mule kick.

I want to see Joannie go out there and break it down. People on some thread were talking about how they admire Rachael for being an athlete and competitor, I would say Joannie is another example of this. She's 23, she's consistent, and she rarely leaves the audience disappointed. And have you SEEN her muscles? Talk about an athlete, she looks like an olympic gymnast

I don't recall seeing female Olympic gymnasts with quite as big of biceps so I'm assuming that you're referring to male Olympic gymnast!

[museksk8r]

There's no way Rochette will come in 10th skating in her home country, even if she bombs the judges will hold her up and she'll finish no lower than 3rd I bet.

Joannie has never been held up by international judges when she bombs. 2007 Worlds SP, 16th place, and that was a result of falling on a footwork sequence and jumps with full rotations, but shaky landings on the triple jump combo and the solo triple. 2009 COC SP, 7th place. 2005 Worlds, 11th place. She hasn't "bombed" at Skate Canada since 2003 when she finished 10th, so it's difficult to say what would happen now at that event if she didn't skate well. I do know that in 2006 during the SP at Skate Canada, she popped her Lutz jump into a double, her only mistake, and she was placed 5th in the SP in her home country. She went on to deservedly win the event after her 6 triple LP skate though. How she has the reputation of supposedly being a skater who is held up by judges is lost on me.

[silverlake22]

Joannie has never been held up by international judges when she bombs. 2007 Worlds SP, 16th place. 2009 COC SP, 7th place. She hasn't "bombed" at Skate Canada since 2002, so there's no way of knowing what would happen at that event if she didn't skate well. I do know that in 2006 during the SP at Skate Canada, she popped her Lutz jump into a double, her only mistake, and she was placed 5th in the SP in her home country. She went on to deservedly win the event after her 6 triple LP skate though. How she has the reputation of supposedly being a skater who is held up by judges is lost on me.

Yeah, I don't think she is held up by judges, I just more meant that she's never bombed at SC before so I doubt she will now. She keeps getting better every season, and apart from Akiko I think she has a leg up on the other competitors, if not just because she more consistently performs well than most of the other ladies attending. I bet her steel body helps her land her jumps , and for whoever said she looked like a male gymnast, I don't know if I would go that far (never heard of a 5'2 110 lb male gymanst) but I do wonder what her strength training workouts are like. I think she rocks the ripped body look well though. This blog: http://auntiefashion.wordpress.com/2...tions-joannie/ compares her to Serena Williams, love it

[wonderlen3000]

I want to see Joannie go out there and break it down. People on some thread were talking about how they admire Rachael for being an athlete and competitor, I would say Joannie is another example of this. She's 23, she's consistent, and she rarely leaves the audience disappointed. And have you SEEN her muscles? Talk about an athlete, she looks like an olympic gymnast

Joannie will win SA, and she is allows to make at least one mistake (fall or pop jump) as the judges will hold her up with PCS mark. Akiko can win, but she has to skate as clean as her previous event, and if and hopefully her PCS mark goes up by 3-4 points.

Joannie rarely fall down on a jump, but she does tend to pop or double a jump from time to time. And YES she is muscular. She looks more like a male gymnast than female, in term of packing all those muscles. It will be a horror to see her doing the balance beam.

[cuttingedge]

Joannie has never been held up by international judges when she bombs. 2007 Worlds SP, 16th place, and that was a result of falling on a footwork sequence and jumps with full rotations, but shaky landings on the triple jump combo and the solo triple. 2009 COC SP, 7th place. 2005 Worlds, 11th place. She hasn't "bombed" at Skate Canada since 2003 when she finished 10th, so it's difficult to say what would happen now at that event if she didn't skate well. I do know that in 2006 during the SP at Skate Canada, she popped her Lutz jump into a double, her only mistake, and she was placed 5th in the SP in her home country. She went on to deservedly win the event after her 6 triple LP skate though. How she has the reputation of supposedly being a skater who is held up by judges is lost on me.

I see your point, but I think we have to recognize that there is a big difference between Joannie, pre-2008 and post-2008, at least in the eyes of the judges. Her PCS has increased since the 2008/09 season, which was a specific goal of hers. I agree that during her SP disappointment at the Worlds in 2007, she wasn't held up by her PCS. BUT...her PCS are holding her up now. Her PCS marks were the second highest in the short program at COC this year, despite having the second lowest TES. She would've been worse than seventh had she not been "held up". I think now that Joannie is a higher-ranked skater that has broken through to be among top contenders in the world, she will continue to be held up with her higher PCS, just as she was at COC. No repuation now, true, but it's possible she could have one in the future.

[silverlake22]

I think now that Joannie is a higher-ranked skater that has broken through to be among top contenders in the world, she will continue to be held up with her higher PCS, just as she was at COC. No repuation now, true, but it's possible she could have one in the future.

I agree, I think a lot of the high PCS marks have to do with the longevity of a skater's career. The longer they have been around, the more polished a skater they will be. Some young skaters have high PCS marks if they are really flexible or good spinners, but the older skaters can still have high PCS even if they aren't super flexible or artistic just because they have gained performance quality through competing so much. I think Joannie would be an example of this

[dorispulaski]

Here's the list, with the alternates
http://www.isuresults.com/events/gp2009/gpsladies.htm

1 Yu-Na KIM KOR 15 15 30 1 398.01 2 245.65 133.95 152.36 22
2 Miki ANDO JPN 15 15 30 1 334.48 2 221.08 114.75 113.40 23
3 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN 11 15 26 1 346.08 2 223.96 112.90 122.12 22
4 Alena LEONOVA RUS 11 13 24 2 320.91 2 211.79 108.51 109.12 23
5 Ashley WAGNER USA 13 11 24 2 319.96 2 208.26 108.81 111.70 23
6 Akiko SUZUKI JPN 15 7 22 1 324.38 2 211.76 117.14 112.62 22

PLACE 7 - 9: SUBSTITUTE FOR THE ISU GRAND PRIX OF FIGURE SKATING FINAL

7 Rachael FLATT USA 9 13 22 2 332.62 2 215.02 116.11 117.60 23
8 Alissa CZISNY USA 9 13 22 2 321.83 2 200.67 100.66 121.16 23
9 Mao ASADA JPN 13 7 20 2 324.27 2 213.37 115.03 110.90 22

[Trewyn]

Weren't Rachael and Alissa substitutes for the final last year as well? Or maybe just Rachael?

Anyway; congrats Ashley for being the only American Lady in the GPF!!!!!!!

[Bennett]

Is Sasha allowed to not show up at nationals but ask to go to the Olympics anyways?

Sounds like a very unrealistic scenario. I trust that she'd know better if she couldn't recover well enough from the injury by Nationals. The only convincing scenario is that Sasha shows up and wins Nationals. Even if she comes in 2nd, it would seem pretty questionable unless there is a great margin from the 3rd.

Japan definitely has to send Asada to Vancouver. There would be riots in the streets if they didn't (okay, that's a bit of exaggeration). Of all the Japanese skaters, Mao has the potential to score the most. Ando may be underwhelming so far but I would never count her out. She might just be working to peak during the Olympics.

I think that Miki has a better chance this season. Mao's programs, jump contents, coaching situation, and mental state all seem to be going against her. If Mao does badly at Nationals, I hope that they won't send her so that they won't repeat what happened four years ago with Miki. I think it better for her to be treated fairly based on what she accomplishes this season rather than the last three years.

I see your point, but I think we have to recognize that there is a big difference between Joannie, pre-2008 and post-2008, at least in the eyes of the judges.

ITA.

[Layfan]

Weren't Rachael and Alissa substitutes for the final last year as well? Or maybe just Rachael?

Anyway; congrats Ashley for being the only American Lady in the GPF!!!!!!!

Indeed. Maybe one of the most pleasant surprises of the season. Bummer that Alissa or Rachel didn't also make it. They are just as good as Alena and Akiko, that's for sure.
But hey, that's competition.