- Joined
- Nov 12, 2009
So Junior Worlds results are in, and I have to say I'm pretty surprised with a number of the results. I thought Polina Shelepen and Christina Gao were going to be shoo-ins for medals, but they finished 4th and 8th here without having a meltdown in either part of the competition.
Polina Agafonova beat Polina Shelepen again here like she did at Russian Junior Nationals, and Anna Ovcharova beat Shelepen at the Junior Nationals and then again in the SP here, she ended up in 5th place a few points behind Shelepen overall after making a few costly mistakes early in her LP here, likely the nerves of being in 1st after the SP got the best of her. However, I am just surprised because earlier in the season it seemed like Shelepen was so much better than Agafonova and Ovcharova, and now all of a sudden they all seem pretty comparable. I don't know if Shelepen's recent struggles are due to a growth spurt/puberty, injury, or nerves but if anyone has information/insight on her that would be great. I am wondering if her wins on the JGP maybe hyped her up as a better skater than she actually is? She seems to have a lot of potential and some nice jumps, but recently she has seemed a bit sloppy and more mistake-prone and I just wonder why.
Christina Gao finished 8th here and I tend to think that was probably mostly due to nerves, but her PCS scores are always pretty low. She showed so much promise at the JGPF with her great LP and then at nationals with her great 3-3 combo, but here she didn't do the 3t-3t in either program or her usually great 3f-2t-2lo in the LP. I don't know if she is going through a growspurt of sorts or gets nervous easily, but I was surprised that Kiri Baga, Kate Charbonneau, and Anna Ovcharova all beat her here, as earlier in the season I thought she was a stronger skater than all those girls. I still think she has a lot of potential but it appears she really needs to work on her PCS and stamina. Any insight on her is appreciated too.
So what do people think? Do Shelepen and Gao have what it takes to be good skaters at the senior level, or were there successes this season random and not as impressive as they appeared? I think they both have a lot of potential, but it was a little odd to see them faltering here. Hopefully it's just growth related and they'll both get back on track soon.
Polina Agafonova beat Polina Shelepen again here like she did at Russian Junior Nationals, and Anna Ovcharova beat Shelepen at the Junior Nationals and then again in the SP here, she ended up in 5th place a few points behind Shelepen overall after making a few costly mistakes early in her LP here, likely the nerves of being in 1st after the SP got the best of her. However, I am just surprised because earlier in the season it seemed like Shelepen was so much better than Agafonova and Ovcharova, and now all of a sudden they all seem pretty comparable. I don't know if Shelepen's recent struggles are due to a growth spurt/puberty, injury, or nerves but if anyone has information/insight on her that would be great. I am wondering if her wins on the JGP maybe hyped her up as a better skater than she actually is? She seems to have a lot of potential and some nice jumps, but recently she has seemed a bit sloppy and more mistake-prone and I just wonder why.
Christina Gao finished 8th here and I tend to think that was probably mostly due to nerves, but her PCS scores are always pretty low. She showed so much promise at the JGPF with her great LP and then at nationals with her great 3-3 combo, but here she didn't do the 3t-3t in either program or her usually great 3f-2t-2lo in the LP. I don't know if she is going through a growspurt of sorts or gets nervous easily, but I was surprised that Kiri Baga, Kate Charbonneau, and Anna Ovcharova all beat her here, as earlier in the season I thought she was a stronger skater than all those girls. I still think she has a lot of potential but it appears she really needs to work on her PCS and stamina. Any insight on her is appreciated too.
So what do people think? Do Shelepen and Gao have what it takes to be good skaters at the senior level, or were there successes this season random and not as impressive as they appeared? I think they both have a lot of potential, but it was a little odd to see them faltering here. Hopefully it's just growth related and they'll both get back on track soon.