The Final Battle for the GPF | Page 2 | Golden Skate

The Final Battle for the GPF

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
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.
 

NMURA

Medalist
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
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.

I disagree. Mao's rival is not a skater Kim anymore. Beating the number "228.5" is her goal and motivation until Sochi. Her obsession on big jumps will not cease. In due course, she will face the Russian prodigies who are absolutely superior to Kim.
 

miki88

Medalist
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Lol. Mao is not pushed by any skater to do the triple axel. It's a jump she has being doing since she was like 12, so of course it's a special jump for her. But I disagree that she's obsessed with it or else she would not have started revamping her other jumps. She could have saved the risks by just continuing with her previous layouts.
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
Mao should be able to fall three times and still win. IMO she is every bit the skater Chan is - and for me a better artist.
So I will be watching to see if the CoP rewards Mao for the same overall skating abilty they have been showering Chan with this season.

If not - then the ISU/CoP loses credibilty in my eyes. Let;s hope for some consisitent judging - even if it is wrong. Atleast we will get a feeling back as fans for how to rate the skaters.

Mao is such a beautiful skater and so much better than the others she should be able to fall on her 3A in the SP and fall 2-3 more times in her LP and still win.

Just the way Chan does.......
 

miki88

Medalist
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Mao should be able to fall three times and still win. IMO she is every bit the skater Chan is - and for me a better artist.
So I will be watching to see if the CoP rewards Mao for the same overall skating abilty they have been showering Chan with this season.

If not - then the ISU/CoP loses credibilty in my eyes. Let;s hope for some consisitent judging - even if it is wrong. Atleast we will get a feeling back as fans for how to rate the skaters.

Mao is such a beautiful skater and so much better than the others she should be able to fall on her 3A in the SP and fall 2-3 more times in her LP and still win.

Just the way Chan does.......

Mao has never gotten the same treatment as Chan does from the judges. I recently saw an interview with Chan where he compared himself with Mao as a skater who can win from coming from behind. :rolleye: Seriously, Mao has never won a event by falling so much as Chan did at Canada.
 

FlattFan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Lol. Mao is not pushed by any skater to do the triple axel. It's a jump she has being doing since she was like 12, so of course it's a special jump for her. But I disagree that she's obsessed with it or else she would not have started revamping her other jumps. She could have saved the risks by just continuing with her previous layouts.

She's obsessed with the score Kim got at the Olympics and so she's reworking her jumps to get +GOE. I think Mao should just flutz her way to another few titles. I don't know why she bothered to change the flip, reworked the flutz, etc... Flutz aren't as penalized as it was when she started fixing them. It used to be -2 to -3 GOE across the board for her at one point that a flutz was worth less than a toe. Now, -0 or -1.

The ISU is really screwing her. They changed the flutz rule when she was at her best, then changed it again after she reworked them.
 

ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Mao should be able to fall three times and still win. IMO she is every bit the skater Chan is - and for me a better artist.
So I will be watching to see if the CoP rewards Mao for the same overall skating abilty they have been showering Chan with this season.

If not - then the ISU/CoP loses credibilty in my eyes. Let;s hope for some consisitent judging - even if it is wrong. Atleast we will get a feeling back as fans for how to rate the skaters.

Mao is such a beautiful skater and so much better than the others she should be able to fall on her 3A in the SP and fall 2-3 more times in her LP and still win.

Just the way Chan does.......

Well, lets hope she doesn't UR, pop or skips jumps/combos, because that's what did her in at NHK, and what saves Chan is that he largely doesn't do all those things.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
I disagree. Mao's rival is not a skater Kim anymore. Beating the number "228.5" is her goal and motivation until Sochi. Her obsession on big jumps will not cease. In due course, she will face the Russian prodigies who are absolutely superior to Kim.

I would wait until these Russian prodigies actually turn senior before declaring them "absolutely superior" to Yu Na Kim. That is mighty big proclamations to already make for girls who have not even competed as seniors yet.

As for Mao ever beating 228.5 all I have to say is good luck. :laugh:
 

ayayukiituka

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
It's funny to read some posts. Hey you have other ideas that can describe how much Yuna is/was a very talented skater.
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
I dunno, reading this thread reminds me how meaningless it is for Mirai to win TEB and advance to the final.
It simply pales in comparison to skating well at Natls and earning a second shot at Worlds.

I feel the same way about Mao who most likely could care less about missing the GPF.
Her hopes, unlike a few fans here is to peak at Worlds and for better or worse try and show her best skating of the year there.

Soon the GP season will be over - and the real season will start.
I like the GP - and it is entertaining to see the skaters working their way into shape for the important events that follow.

What I look forward to is Worlds. Can Mao win a third WC? Can she get a step closer to Michelle and the other legends who won five WCs?

Or will Yuna show up and show she is still the best?

The GPF will be a battle bewtween second tier skaters. I will watch, will enjoy it - but won't make it more than what it is - a luck of the draw type of pre-$eason tournament.

Natls sets the stage for the most important event of the year - the WC.
The Euros have a nice tournament with a long traditon leading into Worlds.

IMO 4CC should be abandoned and the Asians and N.Americans can choose to have their own Worlds tune-up = Asian Championship and N. American Championship.
 
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dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
The person on the bubble is Ashley Wagner with 18 points, next lowest is Rachael, with 26 points and tiebreakers of 2nd and 323.90. There is no mathematical way for the 26 pointers, including Rachael, to be bumped off the list, so the TEB girls will be an exercise in weird tie breakers, if Alissa does not win.

At TEB:
Alissa 15 is in if she is 1st, 30pts, 2nd,28 pts, or 3rd, 26pts
If she's 4th, she has 24 points.
Cynthia, Mirai, Kiira with 9. If any of these girls is first, they have 24 points.
Haruka with 7. If she wins, she has 22.
Mao with 3. If Mao wins, she would bump Ashley with 18 pts and the 1st place tie breaker, but it's impossible for the other 4 girls to all score lower without all eating bad sushi or having back problems.

So if Alissa wins, it's Alissa and the 5 already in. If Alissa is 2nd, she's in.
If one of the 9 pointers wins, that's 24 points, and she's out.
Same if Alissa is 3rd with 26 points.

It gets interesting if Alissa is 4th. She has then, 24 points.
If one of the 4th place girls wins, she has 24 point. The one with the highest total score, Alissa, or the 1st place finisher, is in.


If Alissa is 5th or lower, the 1st place nine pointer is in.

If Haruka is 1st (22pts), and Alissa is 5th, and one of the 9pointers is 2nd, all have 22 points. However, it is Haruka vs Alissa for highest total points in the tie breaker.

If Mao is first, and Alissa 5th or less, then it's really interesting.
I
 

museksk8r

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
Alissa just needs a solid outing. She can fall on a jump or 2 throughout the competition and likely still maintain her GP standing to advance to the GP Final and be on the medal podium at TEB. The important thing for her to do is rotate her jumps. If she suffers downgrades, she is in danger. Her competition in France is far from consistent. Luckily for her, Ando and Suzuki are not here.
 

colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
But , if the moon should happen to be full on the third friday in November in an odd year, then...

:laugh: OMG.. doris' rundown has my head spinning. Figuring this out is like trying to total up some long sum in your head and some joker comes up behind you saying, " 62...10 ..47..323..."

Hope I can follow what happened when it's all over. ( Mao could make this all so easy for us. )
 
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wonderlen3000

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 8, 2008
I would wait until these Russian prodigies actually turn senior before declaring them "absolutely superior" to Yu Na Kim. That is mighty big proclamations to already make for girls who have not even competed as seniors yet.

As for Mao ever beating 228.5 all I have to say is good luck. :laugh:

I don't think even Kim her self will ever crack that 228.5 or go near within 20 points again. The whole figure skating event at Vancouver was a joke, and mark are so inflated all across the ladies, pair and dance. I feel only men event was judged slight more reasonable, and the least inflated. At least no one was cracking 170 mark even with super clean performance.
 

MissIzzy

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 26, 2006
Breaking out the calculator for Mroz, Amodio, and Abbott's battle for the last spot, assuming Kozuka is in and Joubert is out, which is now extremely likely:

Obviously if either of the first two overtake Kozuka in the free to win, they're in, as is Mroz if he overtakes Amodio for silver, and if Joubert or anyone else knocks anyone down even a spot, they're out. But if the standings stay as they are, then, magic numbers in the free skate to overtake Abbott:

Amodio: 146.02
Mroz: 146.15

If they both get clear their numbers, but stay where they are, it's whoever clears it by more. (And with only three points separating them, that will probably be the silver medalist, but doesn't have to be).
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
So it looks like the men are:

Takahiko Kozuka, JPN (30 + 481.58)
Daisuke Takahasi, JPN (30 + 461.86)
Patrick Chan, CAN (28)
Tomas Verner, CZE (26 +1st at Skate America)
Nobunari Oda, JPN (26 + 2nd at SC and SA)
Florent Amodio, FRA (24+ 443.15)

Alternates
Jeremy Abbott, USA (24+ 435.40)
Brandon Mroz, USA (24 + 431.11)
Adam Rippon, USA (20)

Sad to see no American in the final, but it was close. Well I hope they do better at Worlds!

ETA: Tomas' name + country id.
 
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Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Well I definitely won't be watching. None of them is great, nor are the Americans. After the Olympics this is what's left over.
 

wallylutz

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
So it looks like the men are:

Takahiko Kozuka, JPN (30 + 481.58)
Daisuke Takahasi, JPN (30 + 461.86)
Patrick Chan, CAN (28)
Thomas Verner (26 +1st at Skate America)
Nobunari Oda, JPN (26 + 2nd at SC and SA)
Florent Amodio, FRA (24+ 443.15)

Alternates
Jeremy Abbott, USA (24+ 435.40)
Brandon Mroz, USA (24 + 431.11)
Adam Rippon, USA (20)

Sad to see no American in the final, but it was close. Well I hope they do better at Worlds!

3 very strong Japanese men who can possibly sweep the podium in Beijing, can anyone stop them?
 
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