2010 Olympic Preview to Men's Figure Skating

[Tinymavy15]

I have a question about Lambiel; is there a chance that he will do a triple axel at the Olympics? Or is that jump definitely lost for him?

I think it is deffinetly lost. He did not have it when he was competing a few years ago, and probably dis not even train it in his break from competition. Even if he has been training it, I can't see him landing it clean under pressure. I think he will reley on the quads. If he can do them all clean and not make any other mistakes this should leave him a a good place. I guess his plan is like Mao's. Try the difficult jump that not many of your competition can do three times and hope for the best.

[silverlake22]

I'm thinking the men's event could be wide open. I wouldn't be surprised to see a podium of Plushenko, Joubert, and either Abbott or Verner. Chan, Lysacek, Oda may be at a disadvantage by not attempting quads, and they seem to have triple axel trouble quite frequently. I mean Abbott and especially Verner are big headcases but when they are clean, they are REALLY good, better than Chan, Lysacek, Oda IMHO. Takahashi has a shot, but I'm not a big fan of his programs this year. Lambiel will need the 3a in the short to have a shot. Anyone else see this the same way?

[Mathman]

Let's see if we can keep this men's thread ahead of all the other three combined!

[sigrid]

About Lambiel, he started training the triple axel again some months ago, but in a 3a attempt, he injured himself again, so he needed physiotherapy and rest. Maybe it's too risky for him considering his physical problems.

IMO With a 4-3 in the short (if he lands it as he was landing in Tallinn's trainings) he won't need the 3a for being in the last group. And for him, it's better a 2axel with +GOE than a fall, or a downgraded 3a

[Figure88]

I think Dai and Jeremy do everything better than Lysacek, including jumping. Their Axel technique is WAY BETTER than his! The only advantage Evan has over those two is that he has proven in the past to be a better competitor under pressure, even though Dai and Jeremy both have defeated Evan convincingly on more than one occasion. If all 3 were to go clean in both phases of a competition, you'd be hard pressed to find a majority of skating fans or judges who would go for Lysacek, I think.

Evan is like 6'2". Of course, Dai and Jeremy are going to higher jumps than him. They're like 5'6-8".

[museksk8r]

Evan is like 6'2". Of course, Dai and Jeremy are going to higher jumps than him. They're like 5'6-8".

Jeremy is actually 5'10''.

[seniorita]

Let's see if we can keep this men's thread ahead of all the other three combined!

We are working on that! Havent you said post often post long?

[jennylovskt]

Let's see if we can keep this men's thread ahead of all the other three combined!

We'll do our best.

While Mr. Walker certainly has an opinion written in the article and it's not popular among the skating fans, it does represent the majority of the media bodies' view. Therefore, this view has influenced the American publics. I think it's really a good thing for Jeremy Abbott. And it might released a little on Plushenko, Joubert, Lambiel, Takahashi, and Oda from North Americans which I believe would form the majority of the audiences. I don't know if the media is doing a favor to Lysacek or not. He seems to have been painted like a programmed robot, no nerves or anything. Sounds funny.

[Joesitz]

Let's see if we can keep this men's thread ahead of all the other three combined!

The time has come for the men to take Center Stage. Not that the Ladies will not be interesting. The Ladies are fighting for the bronze medal whereas the men are challenging for all three places.

[janetfan]

We'll do our best.

While Mr. Walker certainly has an opinion written in the article and it's not popular among the skating fans, it does represent the majority of the media bodies' view. Therefore, this view has influenced the American publics. I think it's really a good thing for Jeremy Abbott. And it might released a little on Plushenko, Joubert, Lambiel, Takahashi, and Oda from North Americans which I believe would form the majority of the audiences. I don't know if the media is doing a favor to Lysacek or not. He seems to have been painted like a programmed robot, no nerves or anything. Sounds funny.

I enjoyed the article and mostly it was fans of skaters other than Evan who objected to it.
As to the American public, most don't know who Evan is, they don't care much about skating and they don't read GS.

As to robots I think Evan skates with more passion than most, certainly more than Joubert, who at times appears to be little more than a mannequin on skates. Many of the others just look scared at big events and fail to rise to the occassion.

There is no guarantee than Plushy will win or that Evan will be his primary challenger. But it seems certain Plushy and Evan won't be overcome by nerves when it comes time to skate. They are very strong competitors.

I hope all the guys skate their best and let the chips fall where they will. As far as Joubert is concerned I would be happy to see him have the skate of his life.
.

[museksk8r]

The time has come for the men to take Center Stage. Not that the Ladies will not be interesting. The Ladies are fighting for the bronze medal whereas the men are challenging for all three places.

I wasn't aware there was a perceived lock on the silver medal. News to me!

[julielai]

There is a 16 year old who contributes to this website and frankly I think that young writer is a better analyst than Mr. Walker and more objective.

I think many like her blogs because she follows the conventional approach--pointing out the strengths and weakneses of skaters with some sort of conclusion towards the end. That kind of step-by-step approach appeals to female readers like me. This article is a bit conclusion heavy and as such leaves questions that need to be answered. But then to be fair, blogs have no word limit and I don't know if this site allows the writer to go beyond the usual article length to exlaining his reasonings

[museksk8r]

As to robots I think Evan skates with more passion than most, certainly more than Joubert, who at times appears to be little more than a mannequin on skates.

I actually find Brian more entertaining than Evan. At least when Brian promotes himself as an athlete of the sport, he actually goes for the quad every time unlike Lysacek and his Axel is way better than Evan's. I certainly don't think that Evan feels his music any more than Brian does. As far as Evan's "passion" is concerned, I see nothing more than contrived arm flailing and over the top theatrics that don't interpret the music. JMO.

[jennylovskt]

As to robots I think Evan skates with more passion than most, certainly more than Joubert, who at times appears to be little more than a mannequin on skates. Many of the others just look scared at big events and fail to rise to the occassion.

I, too, feel that Lysacek doesn't understand music that much. He does what he was told to do. And he follows the directions well enough. That's all.

That he can put his nerves under control is the biggest strength for him because without it, he has almost nothing.

[futureidol]

I agree with both jennylovskt and museksk8r about Evan's lack of musicality. I often think he lets his intense music selections build the programs while he flails and twizzles around, moving so chaotically it's hard to isolate choreography and elements of the footwork. The audience is responding more to the music than the skating which they are only swayed by because of the intensity of his face and the quickness of his movement, but none of this is aesthetically pleasing or appealing in any sense. Also I think his programs are often very similar in construction, theme, and type of music. And I always have a serious issue with his costume choices that do not flatter his long-limbed body and his obsession with black. That said his programs are certainly more creative than Plushenko's or Joubert's, but that's not saying much.