Mao Asada fights back
- Thread starter gsk8
- Start date
- Joined
- May 15, 2009
Thanks for the article. Despite it's title it does not really sound all that positive for Mao mentioning she can't do this jump and has lost that jump. And still level 3's on her spirals at 4CC? Mao is capable of hitting beautiful Sasha-like positions and it feels like stronger coaching would be taking care of details like this.
Good luck in Vancouver Mao
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- Jun 21, 2003
All of the articles posted here by gsk8 (owner and administrator of the Golden Skate site) are exclusive to Golden Skate. They are commissioned by GS and written by regular Golden Skate correspondents. This article is by GS contributor Tatiana Flade, with exclusive photograph by Anna Kondakova (specialising in European and international competitions.)
Another regular contributor is Elvin Walker (aka JR
, based in the U.S). Rosaleen Kaye wrote many insightful articles for GS, notably about Canadian figure skating, and we hope to see her back one day after she recovers from a recent devastating health crisis.Here are some recent Golden Skate articles.
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I think the GS articles about Mao are written quite fairly, detailing both positives and negatives of her performance at 4CC.
On the other hand, Hersh's newest article (http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/sports_globetrotting/), I feel, was written with the purpose of bashing Mao. His bias in his writings come through too strongly.
On the other hand, Hersh's newest article (http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/sports_globetrotting/), I feel, was written with the purpose of bashing Mao. His bias in his writings come through too strongly.
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- Joined
- Oct 31, 2005
That's not bashing, not when it comes to Phil Hersh. A mild bit of tickling, maybe. All the things he said in there are facts (though he omits some context and other salient facts). He said nothing about her as a person, or an athlete, or her work ethic, just pointed out some numbers. When Hersh is actually bashing a skater, he's a lot more vindictive than that.
What Phil left out is that the PCS scoring at 4cc ladies was abnormally low. If you look at the TES alone, at least, Mao's scores there are competitive, even if they aren't optimal. He also left out that she did have one successful SP this season, at the Japanese Nationals (he weaseled out by restricting his selection to only international competition). Of course, even there, Mao's 3a got downgraded.
Mao is facing more odds than other top skaters at the Olympics. She will need to get a good SP down. And even if she does, she will be at the mercy of the tech specialist.
Even if he wasn't bashing, I think Hersh is still too harsh. Whereas other reporters at least try to be objective, he doesn't even care that much. For skaters he favor, he will praise them even when they do not succeed (case in point, his articles on Sasha's comeback). His writing is just too subjective for a reporter. (He should be a blogger instead).
I don't agree with Hersh all the time, but to be fair, Globetrotting (which this particular piece came from) IS a blog. I think if you just read the articles he wrote for the print version of the Tribune (or Chicago Breaking News online) you would find that his writing style is different.
So yeah, he wears multiple hats.
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2005
I don't think he was too harsh in this case, just pointing out that, based on the facts, Mao is still the underdog going into Vancouver. And seeing as the last 3 Olympic ladies skating champions were underdogs going in, that is not a bad place to be. Hyping her up unrealstically, on the other hand, is actually cruel in my opinion. That just sets her up to disappoint her fans and her country.
All of the articles posted here by gsk8 (owner and administrator of the Golden Skate site) are exclusive to Golden Skate. They are commissioned by GS and written by regular Golden Skate correspondents. This article is by GS contributor Tatiana Flade, with exclusive photograph by Anna Kondakova (specialising in European and international competitions.)
Another regular contributor is Elvin Walker (aka JR
Here are some recent Golden Skate articles.
http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/articles.shtml
Hey, thanks!
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2008
The difference between a level 3 spiral sequence and a level 4 spiral sequence is 0.3 points. That's pretty insignificant, especially once the GOE are added in (bringing Mao's spiral sequence score well above the 3.4 base value for a level 4). Incidentally, the same SpSq was called as level 4 in the long program.
She also has not really "lost" her triple lutz. She was actually starting to take off from a clean outside edge in the past season, but she knew she had to think about it too much and decided that made it too risky.
True,these things may not sound positive when taken out of context, so here's the context: Even with the expensive mistakes in her short program, Mao's total score at 4CC was still the third highest ladies' score at any international competition this season! It may have been quite a bit lower than high scorer YuNa Kim's, but it was just two points below Miki Ando's, and would probably have beaten Miki's score if the PCS marks had been in the same range at their respective competitions. If Mao stays on this trajectory for the next few weeks, she could win Silver at the Olympics with nobody else messing up and she could win Gold if YuNa messes up (Don't forget, Rachael Flatt beat YuNa when YuNa messed up, and did it with a score that is 10 points lower than Mao's!).
Apparently, the AP people agree with you. http://theolympianblog.com/2010/02/2010-medal-projections-vancouver-games-individual-winners.html
Their prediction is 1. Kim 2. Mao. 3. Miki (Asian sweep
) I wouldn't mind that podium. Rochette may sneak in though.
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2008
Apparently, the AP people agree with you. http://theolympianblog.com/2010/02/2010-medal-projections-vancouver-games-individual-winners.html
Their prediction is 1. Kim 2. Mao. 3. Miki (Asian sweep
Oh yeah, Joannie could DEFINITELY sneak in there! If she skates like she did at Worlds last year--or even better, at this year's Canadians--it will be hard to keep her OFF the podium!
