Nicely put. The body type issue could affect Rachael's scores, but I am not sure of that. It seems, nowadays slender Ladies figure skaters are in vogue or is it that slender bodies work best for figure skating. Only a Physics PHD can answer that.Originally Posted by Bijoux
The subtleties of judged sports exist and with the exception of nationality (not in this case) there are many, and certainly body type can be one of them.
Last edited by Joesitz; 03-03-2010 at 09:29 AM.
Oh Gosh, I read your post as I was having breakfast and almost tossed my wheaties!
Poor Miki
There are interesting posts here; thank you. For me, the most important thing regarding this subject, is that both Mirai and Rachael made the top ten. Not only that, they managed to get placements of 4th and 7th. If they can do that under Olympic pressure, it stands to reason that they may well be able to do something like that at Worlds this month, and the sum of their placements at Worlds, if 13 or under, would give the U.S. three entry slots for the following Worlds. That third entry slot means a chance for some other lady skater to compete at Worlds, so that is a good thing for U.S. lady skaters in itself. I love the idea of three U.S. ladies getting to go to Worlds next year.
Regarding URs and edge calls, I think that these things will happen less and less, as skaters see how much it costs them, now that such things are looked at so closely. We have already seen Mirai improve in this area; I am glad that she is with Frank Carroll, because I think he will guide her well in this respect. As for Rachael, I think she was very tired from doing school work right before the competitive event, and I therefore surmise that she may well do better at Worlds. She is obviously a very hard worker. She has said that Dorothy Hamill is helping her with what she called the "finesse" of her skating. Nobody has more finesse than Hamill, so I think that we shall be seeing better and better body line from Rachael as time goes on.
I'm not a big fan of Rachael's skating at all, but I only just saw her Olympic LP, and if it's true that both her flips were downgraded, I sure do smell something fishy going on. The first one might've been questionable (but even then, it looked no worse than the flips of some others that weren't downgraded), but the second one looked completely clean to me. I paid close attention to her landing foot, and I saw no evidence of her making the turn on the ice. Wuzrobbed!
I tend to think Rachael's body type doesn't effect her scores, because her PCS were actually quite high. They gave her some questionable downgrades in the LP, but in the SP she got a fair score and it was high. If Rachael's two flips had not been downgraded in the LP her score would have been higher than Miki's and about even with Laura and Mirai. It would have been different if they gave her 117 and DIDN'T downgrade any of her jumps, because then it would maybe be a little fishy, but 117 with two downgraded triples is a very high score. I also think Rachael's LP dress is just not the most flattering, there is nothing wrong with her build, I saw pictures of her from practice and she is super fit, and according to NBC, she and Mirai are the same weight (110 lb) and Mirai is only 3cm (1 inch) taller, so really Rachael is a petite girl. The blue dress she wore for her LP last year was very flattering and I always thought she looked beautiful in it.
I think Miki & Morozov dating is true. I heard that from someone else too in Japan, though I don't know where he read/heard about it.Oh Gosh, I read your post as I was having breakfast and almost tossed my wheaties!
Poor Miki
Yeah I've heard it from multiple sources. Gosh though, Miki is famous and beautiful, she can do better than Morozov!
I find Rachael to be a boring, solid skater. I don't connect to her at all. I do respect her skating. Mirai, I think is wonderful and I think she is right when she says she's the future. Going to Frank seems to really be working out for her.
The idea of Miki and Morozov dating just makes me sad. They do not seem like a fit. If true, I hope they're happy.
I think Rachael is solid. But there's nothing about her skating that stands out. Her jumps are there, but the technique isn't great and the jumps themselves aren't impressively well done. She's slow, but her skating skills are decent...but not great. Her spins positions are hideous, quite frankly, and the spins themselves are slow. There's no wow factor to her skating. Additionally, her built isn't the one usually associated with a beautiful line - which isn't her fault at all, but she certainly could be packaged a lot better. Her dresses don't often flatter her figure and the bump-it was bad (glad it was toned down for the Olys). In short: she doesn't really call your attention with her skating.
I think her flips looked a little pre-rotated, but it certainly was a harsh call. But her jumps looked very short in the SP and she didn't get hurt for it, so I'd call it a wash.
Nagasu, on the other hand, may under-rotate, but her skating has a lot more pizazz and it factor. Her spins and spirals are among the best in the world. Her jumps may be occasionally questionable on rotation, but when they're done well, they're one of the best among the US ladies. She's got good skating skills and speed and fantastic personality.
Rachael might be more consistent, but Mirai is more impressive. I think Rachael will skate clean more often than Mirai, but a clean Mirai should beat a clean Rachael every time.
Rachael is a very 'solid' skater - consistent.
During some post competition commentary on Olympic late night, Dick Button essentially said that Mirai has a very natural performance style, whereas Rachael tends to seem more 'choreographed'. Mirai's performance is 'unforced'.
Both have good technical skills, but, for many, Rachael lacks an 'it' factor of Mirai - she doesn't 'sparkle' as naturally as Mirai. A Lot of people thought Mirai should have won the US title because of her performance factor. I think under 6.0, Mirai would likely have had her 2nd US title over Rachael.
IMHO, I feel Rachael is like another Sarah Hughes - steady, consistent, not a lot of flare, but wins with performance of 'lifetime' at the world level. IMHO, Mirai has the POTENTIALl to be another Yu-Na. Caroline Zhang may be the next 'Sasha' - beautiful skater with nerve issues, assuming Caroline can also defeat her technique issues. I certainly hope that CZ can defeat both technique and nerve issues.
I'm really hoping that Mirai and Ashley can earn 3 spots for next year's World's. It's a highly likely possibility, but then you never know what the other competitors will do now that they aren't under the Olympic spot light and how all the media attention will impact the top 6 ladies from the Olympics.
I actually enjoyed Rachel's performance at Nationals. It was her best ever for me. She seemed quite free and put a lot of energy into the performance. At Olympics she was quite a bit tighter, perhaps because she knew that even if she skated perfectly she likely wouldn't be on the podium.
Mirai was a little tighter in terms of the performance at Olympics, but she also didn't make a mistake like she did at Nationals so overall I'd rate her LP at the Olympics as better.
I'd like to see Mirai skate to music that is more unique. I don't find her Carmen to be special. Her interpretation is actually kind of confused because, for example, she has a concerned look on her face leading into the 2Axel-3Toe but then right before the jump she suddenly goes "Oh, I have to present this!" and pulls out a big smile that doesn't really have anything to do with the music.
I don't think Mirai's quite polished yet. But I assume that if she stays with Frank and does what she needs to do, she may end up as one of the biggest challengers for Sochi OGM.
Mirai and Ashley? Did I miss something?
What does that mean specifically? I think she is more refined than 98% of the women. I think it was her lack of international exposure/reputation that held her back at the Olympics.
Morozov is also famous and beautiful. Those two will have lovely skating babies that pop out of the womb with a salchow entry, right into riverdancing footwork with a perfectly arched hunchback.
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