- Joined
- Jun 16, 2010
I wouldn't be surprised if Mao's Triple Axel never gets ratified ever again. She spent her entire Olympic season focusing on the Triple Axel and even after that, with all of the emotion of the Olympics pushing her on, her Triple Axels were still not as good as they were 3-4 years ago. Her body is getting more worn out and her focus is also on things other than the Triple Axel these days. That's my predication for now - her 3Axel is always going to be downgraded from now on. If she can still land it cleanly the jump will be worth keeping in her repertoire, but if she continually has problems with the landing we will see her drop it from her programs a couple seasons from now.
I think alot will depend on whether Yu Na Kim continues to 2014. Mao has no hope against a good Kim without the triple axel at this point, heck she cant even beat a clean Kim even with them (even if she also skates cleanly). However if Kim retires at some point she does not need it to beat the others. I also think she could improve her other jumps and the rest of her skating by dropping the triple axel, but I think alot will depend on if Kim is around or not. I think Yu Na Kim was the main reason for the triple axel obsession anyway.