Who among the Ladies has a 3-3 this year?

Nadine said:

My most humblest apologies to Miss Ando, yes, most definitely she should have gotten credit for that 4S! And I am wrong, she definitely has completed a 4S!!!!! *clapping*

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Well, an underrotated one anyway. Still, an underrotated Quad isn't shabby at all for a female skater. I am excited to see what she does this season. I think Miki has mostly been a boring skater up until this point in time, and I actually don't see that changing as long as she stays with Morozov, but at least with the new rules she can attack her jumps again instead of doing lackluster 3Sal/2Axel sequences.

I wish Miki would skate to music that is vulnerable and sensitive for her LP. She would be so good with the correct guidance. Her face portrays those emotion quite well. Unfortunately Nikolai Morozov seems to only be interested in making her appear diva-like on the ice. Look at the potential she showed here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfFIJAEr-Jc

I don't think Miki has ever had a good LP, in fact. Only her Short Programs from 2006 and 2007 have had memorable presentation.

Mathman said:

I don't know if Ashley has a bandwagon yet, but I think I will root for her for the same reason that I rooted for Rachael to win U.S. Nationals last year. Rachael skated great at U.S. Nationals in both 2008 and 2009 and maybe deserved to win both, so I was glad to see her grab the brass ring on her third try.

Ashley skated great all last year, and I wish she could have made the Olympic team (not at the expense of Rachael and Mirai, though.) So I hope she has a stellar year in 2011.

As for Mirai, she is the U.S. skater that has the "it" factor along with the technique. She is sure to be the skater most in the public eye heading into the Grand Prix season. She is both the "future" and the "now" of U.S. ladies.

IMHO, if Yu-na Kim retires, only Mao Asada is at a different level from the U.S. ladies, and I don't see any reason why our girls can't contend for podium spots internationally.

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I agree with you re the American girls and their podium chances. At their best, they can easily compete with everyone out there except for Yuna and Mao. I would only add that I believe a perfect and healthy Mirai is capable of competing against Mao where I don't think Rachael, Ashley or any of the others are - even if they do bring on the triple-triples. I'm not saying Mao isn't the runaway favorite in a one-on-one with Mirai. Of course, she is. I'm just saying that if any American girl can compete for gold, it's Mirai. A solid 3-3, would help of course... It's such a bummer to learn of her injury. But to keep things in perspective, even if this doesn't turn out to be Mirai's year to soar to the top, she STILL has time. I just hope she sticks with Frank Carrol.

Blades of Passion said:

Well, an underrotated one anyway. Still, an underrotated Quad isn't shabby at all for a female skater. I am excited to see what she does this season. I think Miki has mostly been a boring skater up until this point in time, and I actually don't see that changing as long as she stays with Morozov, but at least with the new rules she can attack her jumps again instead of doing lackluster 3Sal/2Axel sequences.

I wish Miki would skate to music that is vulnerable and sensitive for her LP. She would be so good with the correct guidance. Her face portrays those emotion quite well. Unfortunately Nikolai Morozov seems to only be interested in making her appear diva-like on the ice. Look at the potential she showed here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfFIJAEr-Jc

I don't think Miki has ever had a good LP, in fact. Only her Short Programs from 2006 and 2007 have had memorable presentation.

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Oh wow, you are so right. That opening spin was lovely. And Miki's lines and her maturity as a skater have only improved since. I agree she was completely over-packaged this season and her choreo and god-awful costumes were just too much. They drowned her out. She should go with a simpler style on both fronts.

Thanks for posting that. I had no recollection of that performance. All I remembered about her at that Olympics was that she bombed the LP. I don't remember anything about her choreo or what she was wearing but I remember her struggling and sort of looking like she wanted it to end :disapp:

Blades of Passion said:

I wish Miki would skate to music that is vulnerable and sensitive for her LP. She would be so good with the correct guidance. Her face portrays those emotion quite well. Unfortunately Nikolai Morozov seems to only be interested in making her appear diva-like on the ice. Look at the potential she showed here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfFIJAEr-Jc

I don't think Miki has ever had a good LP, in fact. Only her Short Programs from 2006 and 2007 have had memorable presentation.

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I like that program and like that Miki. She seemed to be skating with a little more freedom and when I see her like that she pulls me in and makes me root for her.

Other programs though i wish she would change her costume, ease up on the make-up and lose some of what comes off as a manufactured atitude.

Miki as the Diva?

I prefer her as the adorable and more normal - or as you said more vulnerable - girl you like more than the others.

janetfan said:

I like that program and like that Miki. She seemed to be skating with a little more freedom and when I see her like that she pulls me in and makes me root for her.

Other programs though i wish she would change her costume, ease up on the make-up and lose some of what comes off as a manufactured atitude.

Miki as the Diva?

I prefer her as the adorable and more normal - or as you said more vulnerable - girl you like more than the others.

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Yeah, bring out her personality, which at least least publicly seems humble and sweet with a good deal of strength underneath. (Not exactly how anyone would describe Cleopatra)

David Wilson is the best out there for that kind of thing, IMO.

MikiAndoFan#1 said:

Are you calling Miki lazy?

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At first I'm very glad that you are also a fan of Miki Ando!
After the World Championship 2007, in fact she wasn't so
motivated to skate because she had stood in the center of the
podium, but not only because of that but also because of sadness,
she couldn't concentrate on skating; her beloved grandmother
passed away at that season and she says in an interview; " I was
crying more than 300 days in a year..." People say that Miki is
too sensitive, but I like her to be sensitive and to be human.
As I live in Japan, I watch her in various programs on TV. She is
very natural and a charming young lady.
I hope this season she will show us brilliant performances, of
course with Triple-Triple jumps!(^-^)

mikittyfan said:

At first I'm very glad that you are also a fan of Miki Ando!
After the World Championship 2007, in fact she wasn't so
motivated to skate because she had stood in the center of the
podium, but not only because of that but also because of sadness,
she couldn't concentrate on skating; her beloved grandmother
passed away at that season and she says in an interview; " I was
crying more than 300 days in a year..." People say that Miki is
too sensitive, but I like her to be sensitive and to be human.
As I live in Japan, I watch her in various programs on TV. She is
very natural and a charming young lady.
I hope this season she will show us brilliant performances, of
course with Triple-Triple jumps!(^-^)

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I had no idea Miki's grandmother had died after Worlds 2007.



And yes, lets hope she shows us brilliant programs this season!

I didn't realize Miki had lost her grandmother. That would certainly affect her concentration and commitment. I have to say this for Miki: for all the times people have written her off, she's still here and still a contender. She's made it through more than one Olympic cycle and hit the podium many times. That argues a certain level of excellence and a lot of perseverance. I'm glad she's still a possibility for world medals, including the gold. And I'd love to see her do a quad in competition!

Olympia said:

I didn't realize Miki had lost her grandmother. That would certainly affect her concentration and commitment. I have to say this for Miki: for all the times people have written her off, she's still here and still a contender. She's made it through more than one Olympic cycle and hit the podium many times. That argues a certain level of excellence and a lot of perseverance. I'm glad she's still a possibility for world medals, including the gold. And I'd love to see her do a quad in competition!

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Thank you so much for your warm comment. Yes, she has lost her father when she was a child and after the World 2007, her grandmother passed away. So she performed "Requiem of Mozart" dedicated to them in the Olympic season. I also appreciate her perseverance, knowing that her life was not always so happy.I feel that through the painful moments, Miki has become more matured and actually I find her smile bright and beautiful!

Blades was talking about what comes after Miki's imaginary win in Worlds 2011, but prior to such supposition, whether Miki can contend for the gold depends mostly on her jumps in general, not only the 4S, IMO. (Now that the spiral is gone from SPs and value-fixed in LPs, the jumps have more weight in the TES.)
The other areas she'll show improvement for sure. Miki isn't lazy, we all know.

What prevented her from getting her maximum the last 3 years, as I see it, is that sense of hesitation in her jumps caused by her strategical coach excessively avoiding risks. But now the Olys is over I think Morozov will let things loose this season. Or should I say, I'm hoping so.

When Miki is in good condition, all her jumps are good-looking including those near-clean 4S's in practices, AFAIK. She doesn't have to "concentrate" on her 4S to use it in competition, it's now only a matter of eagerness, as I see it.

And she no longer seems obsessed to make her quad ratified, and the less so, the more she can just jump it whenever she feels fit to go for it; no more of those sense/stress of being obliged or restricted from the outside.
....
I hope she really wins in Tokyo, but I'd be dog-happy as long as she shows something really sparkling in her performance. Like that Carmen at Nats '07, or that free skate at Worlds '09, ...
I'm always waiting for her beaming smile in the K&C.

OT; Glad to see you back, mikittyfan.

What about Cynthia Phaneuf.? I think she is def strong enough to do a 3t-3t...if not more. If she can do that wow....she is def a contender this year if she is solid. No one can match her expression and quality that commands the ice.