Grand Prix Final: Ladies LP | Page 6 | Golden Skate

Grand Prix Final: Ladies LP

S

sleepyjl

Guest
Well, Yu-na won but I wouldn't call it convincing. Chink in the armor--she may indeed be beatable at OG with a monster skate by someone.

Yup, Yuna's skating has grown tentative in the last 2 events. She's simply not attacking her jumps, which actually decrease their success rate. Again, I'm hoping that she's seeing a good sports shrink, but her focus on pre-performance falls seems to indicate she is not. Brian Orser, get thee to a sport shrink's office now!!!
 

623

Rinkside
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
And she landed her flip! That is the most important. Now she knows she can land it at the Olympics too!
 

bigsisjiejie

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 22, 2009
ITA!!!!!! Akiko should have at least been ahead of Miki in the free!! I'm happy with Ashley's 4th place :). I think she and Akiko were the ones that made a statement tonight. Akiko that she has to be on the Oly team and Ashley that she can deal with pressure and be fearless out there.

Yep, Ashley may have just helped her case with the USFS, to be assigned one of the USA's OG spots. And Akiko to get preference over Fumie for a spot...though Akiko vs Yukari might be a tougher call.
 

aurora100

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Russian Costumes are smothering Ando an Asada

Please stop it. Ladies, get Japanese designers to design for you.:biggrin:
 

hikki

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 18, 2007
Country
Japan
Congrats to Yuna for winning back the GPF title!
And Miki for first ever GPF medal!
AND Akiko:rock::rock::rock:

Ohhhhh Yuna and Miki hugging :clap:
 

mishieru07

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 23, 2009
Yup, Yuna's skating has grown tentative in the last 2 events. She's simply not attacking her jumps, which actually decrease their success rate. Again, I'm hoping that she's seeing a good sports shrink, but her focus on pre-performance falls seems to indicate she is not. Brian Orser, get thee to a sport shrink's office now!!!

Well, Yu Na did land the 3F today!! That should hopefully banish her demons a litle.

I'm missing the confident Yu Na too. I hope she returns for the Olympics. :cool:

Very happy for Akiko! Way to make a statement that she's ready (JSF, you listening?)!!

My favourite of the night was Akiko. I think she skated with heart and she looked like she was enjoying herself.
 

camion

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Great competition!! Way to go Yuna! And Miki you should be so proud of yourself!! I wish they would give fair component scores to Akiko! She was phenomenal tonight! Good job Ashley & I hope Joannie & Alena do not dwell on tonights comp. My heart goes out to both of them. I wanted to give Alena a big hug in the K&C.
 

DesertRoad

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2005
Miki got a downgrade on her salchow, of all things, which is what did her in. Not that I disagree with the call yet, I'd have to see a replay. Tech callers really do hold all the power.

Speaking of, Yu Na has gone from doubting her flip to doubting her 3toes. At this point, the doubt may actually do her more harm than potential downgrades and edge calls. If Yu Na would just skate with full confidence, I think she has a very good chance of winning even with an unfriendly TC by the side.
 
S

sleepyjl

Guest
Well, Yu Na did land the 3F today!! That should hopefully banish her demons a litle.

Yeah, I think Brian said the same thing when she was getting off the ice. But she only got lvl 3s on her final two spins. That indicates to me that she was losing concentration as the program wore on, which is a big red flag, especially when the competition is this close.

Skating, like other individual sports such as tennis and gymnastics, is a very lonely sport. You're out there by yourself in front of an enormous audience, and everything comes down to your performance. That's why tennis players and gymnasts all consult sports shrinks. I'm hoping Yuna's management team is smart enough to do the same.
 
Last edited:

Marrymeyunakim

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 4, 2009
Even if Kim didn't skate her best I'm still proud that she went out there and gave a relatively clean program, and got one over her latest mental hurdle: the 3F.

Miki came very close to beating Kim and she should be encouraged that she was able to give first spot such a close call. I think that Miki is definitely the favourite for the Japanese championships, and this is wholly deserved.
 

Marrymeyunakim

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 4, 2009
Yeah, I think Brian said the same thing when she was getting off the ice. But she only got lvl 3s on her final two spins. That indicates to me that she was losing concentration as the program wore on, which is a big red flag, especially when the competition is this close.

Skating, like other individual sports such as tennis and gymnastics, is a very lonely sport. You're out there by yourself in front of a enormous audience, and everything comes down to your performance. That's why tennis players and gymnasts all consult sports shrinks. I'm hoping Yuna's management team is smart enough to do the same.

Kim has actually been having a lot of trouble with her spins this season in her LP. If I remember correctly they were level 2/3 at TEB too.

As for battling Kim's mental barriers, I think that Orser is the right person to speak to about overcoming those hurdles. I think Kim's team is in a good place, and this performance, although a winning one, will demonstrate to Kim that there is still a lot of work to be done heading into Vancouver.
 

hikki

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 18, 2007
Country
Japan
It's so nice to see these skaters looking full of accomplishments, supported by the crowd. Makes the internet wars look so trivial... and irrelevant. Nice.
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Yep, Ashley may have just helped her case with the USFS, to be assigned one of the USA's OG spots. And Akiko to get preference over Fumie for a spot...though Akiko vs Yukari might be a tougher call.

Nah. Akiko is way better than Yukari, I can't enjoy Yuakri's skating fully just because her leg wraps are so ugly. I was noticing how fast Akiko skates tonight, and how her footwork is great. I think Japan is crazy if they pick Fumie or Yukari over her.

As for the costumes, ITA, the fancy Russian costumes have too much fabric and look overpowering on petitie skaters like Mao and Miki. The long skirts I like, but if they could get dresses more like Yuna's and not have all that arm and ruffle business, I think they'd look much better on.

On a different note, Yuna without the 3-3 and a couple minor mistakes is the best, but only by 3 points instead of 30. I wonder if Miki had done the 3lz-3lo and not put her hand down on the 3sal if she would have won here (if that had happened, I still think Yuna should have won but it would a have been a tough call).

Another thing, I don't think people should count on Joannie for medaling at the Olympics, she's inconsistent as too often makes silly mistakes. She's becoming a lot like Alissa in that she can't be counted on to land more than 3-4 clean triples in the long. Also, I like how her LP here was comparable to the one she put down at SC and she got a 95 here and a 112 there :laugh:....hmm Canada:scratch:. Plus if her scores were 2/10 of a point lower she would have been last.

I think Akiko should be looked at as a OM contender now. And way to go Ashley! I wonder what this means for the USFS now
 
Top