"I will work on triple triples and other triples after Worlds" - Mao Asada

[Tinymavy15]

Mao had her lutz almost fixed. She was getting a few ! and sometimes doubled/popped it, but she was getting better and I think if she had stuck to it a fee more months she would have been fine. I don't know if it was her or Tat that had her stop working on it and devote 90% of her time to her triple Axel. Sure she landed her triple axels, but she missed the easiest jump in her program. That shows me she did not train the whole program enough, that she dis not do full runthroughs, and only did her axels. I hope that whoever she gets as a coach has her train these jumps so she can do them no matter what. Mao certainly has thr ability.

[SkateSkates]

Are you sure she had a weight loss, or did she just grow. I have always thought that Yu-na was about a half-inch taller than Mao, but of the podium at vancouver, it seemed as if Mao was about a half inch taller than Yu-na. This could not only contribute to her looking thinner than she was, but problems with her jumps if she had a late growth spurt...

[miki88]

Are you sure she had a weight loss, or did she just grow. I have always thought that Yu-na was about a half-inch taller than Mao, but of the podium at vancouver, it seemed as if Mao was about a half inch taller than Yu-na. This could not only contribute to her looking thinner than she was, but problems with her jumps if she had a late growth spurt...

Yea, I did hear a report that says Mao is still growing apparently. It's just her features stayed the same through the years; it's hard to notice any changes to her.

[DesertRoad]

Sure she landed her triple axels, but she missed the easiest jump in her program. That shows me she did not train the whole program enough, that she dis not do full runthroughs, and only did her axels.

It seemed very clear to me on the broadcast that Mao missed her triple toe because she hit a rut in the ice. You can see her skate go PLOP on the entry into the 3toe and her entire body shudder from the impact of skating into a crevasse. We've seen these kinds of ruts make the best trained skaters abort their jumps (Plushenko from a few years back and Yu Na at TEB come to mind). It's really nothing you can train for, it's just a freak accident. Fortunately, it wouldn't have made a difference in the final ranking anyway (it would've only mattered if Joannie did her planned 2axel~2axel sequence instead of leaving the second 2a out). No one should be blamed for it.

Now I do agree that Mao needs to focus on training her other jumps, and that she should consider switching from Tarasova. But her missed 3t at the Olympics was not symptomatic of that.

[RumbleFish]

Mao had her lutz almost fixed. She was getting a few ! and sometimes doubled/popped it, but she was getting better and I think if she had stuck to it a fee more months she would have been fine.

Did Asada get her so-called fixed Lutz ratified in competition?
I don't remember it, but I could be wrong.
Besides, I thought that her 3F was getting in trouble when she tried to alter her 3Lz, and this was the main reason for ditching the 3Lz altogether.

[silverlake22]

Are you sure she had a weight loss, or did she just grow. I have always thought that Yu-na was about a half-inch taller than Mao, but of the podium at vancouver, it seemed as if Mao was about a half inch taller than Yu-na. This could not only contribute to her looking thinner than she was, but problems with her jumps if she had a late growth spurt...

On multiple sites Mao is listed as 163cm (5'4") and Yuna either 164cm (5'4.5") or 165cm (5'5") so I think those heights are accurate and Mao probably just has taller skates than Yuna. Akiko looked about the same height as Yuna in the GPF pictures and she is only 5'3", every skater has different skates and skates add anywhere from 2-4 inches. I read in an interview though that Mao lost 2 kilograms recently to help with her 3a. I'm not sure that's really healthy but it did help her 3a apparently.

[RumbleFish]

I read in an interview though that Mao lost 2 kilograms recently to help with her 3a. I'm not sure that's really healthy but it did help her 3a apparently.

Mao Asada looked like a famine victim to me.
I saw her during the 4CC and was astonished by how skinny she looked.
She appeared even skinnier during the Olys.
I think loosing too much weight in a such short time period has done damage to her stamina.
Otherwise, I don't think she would have underrotated her 3F or catch back of the blade on ice before taking off for 3T.
I remember Kim Yu Na saying a couple of years ago that stamina was a strength of Mao Asada that she was most fond of.
I hope she gets her issues straightened out soon.

[Bennett]

Yeah, I thought Mao skinny. I also feel that most of the top ladies are skinny (Yuna, Miki, Mirai, Laura, Yukari, Carolina, Sasha, and Akiko).

[Nadia01]

On multiple sites Mao is listed as 163cm (5'4") and Yuna either 164cm (5'4.5") or 165cm (5'5") so I think those heights are accurate and Mao probably just has taller skates than Yuna. Akiko looked about the same height as Yuna in the GPF pictures and she is only 5'3", every skater has different skates and skates add anywhere from 2-4 inches. I read in an interview though that Mao lost 2 kilograms recently to help with her 3a. I'm not sure that's really healthy but it did help her 3a apparently.

Some Mao fans said that Mao mentioned that 500gram weight gain makes a big difference when she does difficult jumps. I'm not sure how accurate that statement is, but it's pretty scary that she has to be that strict about her weight to land 3As.

[silverlake22]

Yeah, I thought Mao skinny. I also feel that most of the top ladies are skinny (Yuna, Miki, Mirai, Laura, Yukari, Carolina, Sasha, and Akiko).

Yeah they are all thin but Mao is the thinnest of all of them. I was watching on tv before the final group went out for the FS they were walking around and Mirai was next to Mao and she has broader shoulders and stronger arms than Mao, standing next to each other Mirai looked really muscly. Most of the top skaters are asian and asians have a very healthy diet and are generally smaller and slimmer than europeans so Miki, Akiko, Mirai, Yuna, etc compared to other asian girls their age would look pretty normal, not too skinny. Joannie and Rachael are about the same height/weight and a bit sturdier than the others but they can still do hard jumps so I don't know how much weight really makes a difference, but Joannie and Rachael are also short and so their weight is still low. Laura Lepisto is skinny but she is also tall so she can be grouped more with Carolina and Kiira.

[rtureck]

I think Mao is losing it. She should stop talking and doing these interviews. She should get some rest and get her body and mind focused in competing at worlds. And after that she should plan for future. If she is going to try different jumps, she should just do them, quietly. Work on her jumps, choreo, costumes, change her coach or whatever. And she should come out when she is ready and shows what she's got. All this talk is only putting a focus on what she has failed to do for this Olympics (hello, shouldn't she have got her triples together for this Olympics) and raising expectations and publicity she does not need.

LOL , Mao has 3/3 that were ratified in competitions before, so what is the big deal if she talks about setting a goal to get the 3/3 again in the future. Mao talking about 3/3 is "losing it". OTOH YuNa team is talking about 3A (which by the way YuNa has never completed a 3A in competition, and somehow that is not "losing it"). WOW, Mao won silver and is described as "failed". Going into the olys, she did not have the triple lutz nor the triple sal. Going into the olys YuNa does not have the triple axel, or the triple loop. So how is Mao "failing"?

[silverlake22]

LOL , Mao has 3/3 that were ratified in competitions before, so what is the big deal if she talks about setting a goal to get the 3/3 again in the future. Mao talking about 3/3 is "losing it". OTOH YuNa team is talking about 3A (which by the way YuNa has never completed a 3A in competition, and somehow that is not "losing it"). WOW, Mao won silver and is described as "failed". Going into the olys, she did not have the triple lutz nor the triple sal. Going into the olys YuNa does not have the triple axel, or the triple loop. So how is Mao "failing"?

Because Yuna even without a 3a or 3lo and with three 2a in her LP beat Mao by a huge margin despite Mao doing three 3a.

[rtureck]

Because Yuna even without a 3a or 3lo and with three 2a in her LP beat Mao by a huge margin despite Mao doing three 3a.

No one is debating YuNa beat Mao. I was answering a poster who said Mao was 'losing it" but talking and setting a goal for 3/3. ??? Since Mao had 3/3 ratified in competitions before, and most ppl are talking about Mao needs to get 3/3 in the future. So how come Mao was called "losing it" when she talks about 3/3?

[miki88]

Mao did her 3A but she also made mistakes on two other jumps. Anyways, I think some of these critcisms of Mao should stop. She's clearly acknowlediging her weaknesses and saying she wants to improve, so isn't that a good thing? I think we should encourage her at the very least.