does anyone think the delightful Kwak Min-jung can finish in the top 10 at worlds after her very good 13th place debut at the olympics?
this article says she is trying for 12th so if yuna wins gold, South Korea will get 3 ladies for worlds next year.
As much as I like Kwak and hope that this happens, I think that's a stretch. IMO the field is too strong for her to break into the top 10, unless a number of other skaters screw up. I was pleased with her performance in the Olympics, but her high placement was partially due to some other, generally stronger skaters messing up.
Not to mention, she has hardly any international recognition, and someone else said that that means her PCS will probably be low, which will work against her.
(Disclaimer: I am by no means a figure skating expert, so this is all coming from a **very** amateur perspective, lol.)
Are these "generally stronger" skaters you speak of Kostner, Gedevanishvilli, and Meier? Because if that is the case, they are all very weak competitors and their results at the Olympics were not really surprising to anyone. When they are on, yes, they are better than Kwak (Gedevanishvilli and Meier hardly though, IMO) but they have been doing poorly all season. With no Joannie I see a 12th place finish as plausible, doesn't mean it will happen but it could. Kwak almost beat Cynthia at the Olympics and she's also unpredictable, and Korpi had the SOHL in the LP and still only beat Kwak by 5 points. I think there is a chance she could make the top 10, as I would say that in addition to the people she placed ahead of at the Olympics, she has a shot at finishing ahead of Phanuef, Korpi, and Makarova as well, depending on how they all skate. If MJ had been clean in the LP in Vancouver her score would have been about 108 so she has a shot, especially if her PCS go up again like they did between 4CC and the Olympics. We'll see though, hopefully she can perform well again and as always, it depends on those Euro ladiesOriginally Posted by sporkwhatspork
LOL, I can't recall! Wasn't paying too much attention to many of the girls before the final flight. Kostner was one of them, though. Although, yeah, the poor woman does seem to be a bit of a headcase so it's entirely possible that she'll implode again at World's.Are these "generally stronger" skaters you speak of Kostner, Gedevanishvilli, and Meier?
I feel bad hoping that some of the other girls perform (somewhat) poorly so that Kwak can sneak in there for the top 10. I don't have anything against them... I just want Kwak to place highly. :D She's just too adorable and I would like South Korea to make a name for themselves in a winter sport that isn't short track, hehe.
(I don't want any implosions on the level of Kostner's Vancouver performance, though! That was heart-breaking to see.)
Kwak has been a pleasant surpise. Yuna is the favorite to win - but there is no guarantee she will skate as well as she did at the Olympics. So if Yuna would finish 2nd - and Kwak 12th - that would not be enough for three.Are these "generally stronger" skaters you speak of Kostner, Gedevanishvilli, and Meier? Because if that is the case, they are all very weak competitors and their results at the Olympics were not really surprising to anyone. When they are on, yes, they are better than Kwak (Gedevanishvilli and Meier hardly though, IMO) but they have been doing poorly all season. With no Joannie I see a 12th place finish as plausible, doesn't mean it will happen but it could. Kwak almost beat Cynthia at the Olympics and she's also unpredictable, and Korpi had the SOHL in the LP and still only beat Kwak by 5 points. I think there is a chance she could make the top 10, as I would say that in addition to the people she placed ahead of at the Olympics, she has a shot at finishing ahead of Phanuef, Korpi, and Makarova as well, depending on how they all skate. If MJ had been clean in the LP in Vancouver her score would have been about 108 so she has a shot, especially if her PCS go up again like they did between 4CC and the Olympics. We'll see though, hopefully she can perform well again and as always, it depends on those Euro ladies
It is possible though and I wouldn't bet against Yuna winning or Kwak moving up a place or two.
I guess it depends on how the Euro Ladies do. That is something I would never bet on as they are so unpredictable.
Yuna will win even if she makes a mistake or two. Her SP is so monsterous, and only Asada has a chance of striking within distance. Miki, Marai, Rachael, Laura, Akiko could round up the top 6, but even if their SP is absolutely clean, it will be in 66-68 range most and will be at least 6-8 deficit. IF any skater can reach the 70s range, it will be Marai and she will probably going to need 3+3.
LP will be diffrent, and maybe Asada can over take Kim, if she land all her jumps clean and if Yuna pop a jump or make a miskate on one of her two big element, either her 3+3 or 2A+3T. Other wise Kim will probably walk a way with another world title, but I don't see her making another world record again.
I agree with this. A clean Mao FS would maybe be 140 points but if Yuna got 150+ for her clean performance, she can probably pop a jump and fall once and still win, because even though Mao was great at the Olympics and her 3a was spot on, I'm still skeptical, she had such a poor season and hadn't even broken 60 points for her SP until the Olympics. So we'll see. I tend to think Yuna will perform well though, maybe not absolutely clean again, but normally she doesn't make more than 1 or 2 mistakes in her FS so I think she has this. I agree that with the exception of Mao the other ladies will likely be below 70 in the SP, with the off chance of Mirai just breaking 70 if she does 3lz-3t and gets credit for it, but we'll have to see, I don't know if she'll get the PCS to be that high, but even if she does do ratified 3-3, I don't think she'll be much above 70 so Yuna should still have a margin going into the FS if she is clean in the SP.
I'm hoping MJ does well and I think for her doing well in the SP is going to be the most important because if she were to make the penultimate group, her PCS would likely be higher in the LP. For the SP that may be a stretch but if she's clean she could probably get 55 ish in the SP and 105-110 in the LP (if the scoring is like the scoring at the Olympics) so that could translate to top 12 or top 10. I think the key for her will be the SP, she seems to be strong in the LP because at 4CC she had the 4th best FS and at the Olympics the 12th best, both of which were higher than her SP rank.
just found this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydHsy...eature=related
0:14-0:34 she is sooo cute
I think Kwak can do it with a clean skate. Although I'm not predicting a splatfest, I find it likely that the level of women's LP is going to drop from the Olympics. All of the top 10 in Vancouver had a strong skate, which was quite exceptional. I'm certain that you don't need 170 points for 10th place in Turin. 160 could be enough.
I'm predicting the same for Korpi. She did not have a SOHL in Vancouver, she missed a 3L which is her strongest jump. Considering her poor SP I think she's one of those who really want to prove their skills in Worlds.
I hope Kwak Min-jung gets a higher PCS than in olys. If she does a clean sp or long, her PCS will probably go up.
What concerns me a little is she says that she is so exhausted now after consecutive competitions. Her aims in the Worlds is 'cut-off.'
Anyway, she has had a contract with Orser as her coach, practicing with Yuna.
MJ told the reporters that Yuna is not 'teachcing' her because Yuna has to practice too but she is learning a lot from Yuna especially about the preparation and attitude before performances.
Her PCS increased significantly from 4CC to the Olympics (2 points in SP, 6 points in LP) so I think it is possible that her PCS will go up. As for Korpi, her SP in Vancouver was a disappointment, but her LP was one of the the best she's done all season, yeah she popped one jump, but normally she pops at least one jump and has other mistakes. She and her coach seemed happy in the Kiss N Cry after her LP.
Like I said before, if by any chance Kwak can make the penultimate group going into the LP, I think she will get better PCS scores. I felt this way about Mirai, if she had skated her SP later I think her score would have been higher and if she had skated her LP earlier I think her FS score would have been lower. I feel the opposite about Rachael, she skated in the last group in the SP so her scores were comparable to the girls in that group even though they could have been a bit lower, and in the FS, she skated before the top guns so I think the judges were just trying to hold her back a bit incase some of the favorites bombed. Don't know if this is actually true but skate order does seem to have some effect.
source:
http://news.nate.com/view/20100324n02693?mid=s0601
MJ looks really tired... her salcow seems to be improved, though.
Because Yuna took a day off to rest (she went to see the ice dance) MJ practiced with Orser in the main rink. She fell few times but Orser stayed close clapping and cheering her on. Love his coaching style. Orser said of MJ "as passionate as Yuna at age 16"
I feel like most skaters look really tired when they don't have all that makeup on that they wear for competitions. Sounds like Orser and Kwak are working together well, best of luck to her in the SP!
go KWAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go MJ! I can't wait to see her reaction in the Kiss N Cry if she scores a new SB. Good luck!
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