Ladies Short Programme

[snowflake]

I didn't see all of them. Actually, the ones I saw were quite good(didn't see Kostner, Leonova, Makarova, Meite ...) I am so happy for Viktoria In my eyes she did pretty much the same as Meier. Oh well, just four points behind, maybe a medal for Viktoria. Her goal was to be among the top 6.

Ira Vannut(BEL)and Juulia Turkkila(FIN) had great skates and look very promising for the future

Swedish skaters are generally underscored. It's fantastic that Viktoria has a good chance to land on the podium here. FS fans in Sweden have been waiting a long time for a major international medal, and she just might be the one to do it. (Does anyone know when was the last time a Swede has finished in the top 3 at Euros or Worlds?)

Must have been some time before the second world war

Article from Swedish TV answers the question regarding swedish womens figure skating; Vivi Hultén bronze 1932, Europeans in Paris.

Viktoria says in the article; I hope I'll do a clean LP tomorrow, I don't want to say more (about medaling).
But the LP has been my strong one for this season, so it feels very good.

ETA Oh, I forgot to say that I loved Kiiras preformance. I am not a fan of Makarovas skating, but I won't say anything until I have seen what she did today

[Orion]

Swedish skaters are generally underscored. It's fantastic that Viktoria has a good chance to land on the podium here. FS fans in Sweden have been waiting a long time for a major international medal, and she just might be the one to do it. (Does anyone know when was the last time a Swede has finished in the top 3 at Euros or Worlds?)

It's been 79 years since we got a bronze medal in the ladies' event, so it is definitely time for us to get another medal! :-)

I can hardly believe a Swedish skater is in 4th place after the short - it's a great accomplishment even if it does not result in a medal this time because it shows the potential is there.

I think Swedish skaters are underscored a lot because judges (maybe subconsciously) aren't used to top skaters from our country and thus mark them down a bit - hopefully this is changing as we speak!

[MikiAndoFan#1]

My thoughts:

Kiira - She skated beautifully and I'm happy she's in 1st place.

Ksenia - Great clean performance. Definitely deserves to be in 2nd.

Sarah - I'm so happy she skated a clean SP and that she's in medal contention!

Carolina - Despite the mistakes, it was a gorgeous performance. She looked a bit nervous.

Good luck to everyone for tomorrow!

[3T3T]

After I seen Kostner and Leonova have disappointing performances I thought the stage was set for a load more dissapointing performances but after that the girls really buckled down. Korpi and Makarova were superb and deserve to be over 60. Delighted for Meier on home soil to perform so well, hopefully she can hang on to her podium spot. Enjoyed the performances from Helgesson, Hecken, Lafeunte, Maxwell. Kostner is very lucky to be in the final flight, I am a fan I don't think she deserves to be that high, she still has a chance of a medal. Hopefully Leonova can throw down a performance like she did at Russian Nationals.

It was nice to see someone Irish in the short but when you don't have the triple jumps it is going to be very difficult to qualify.

[mikiandorocks]

Ksenia Makarova
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eClBF88HmQo

[oleada]

Kiira was stunning and elegant. Gorgeous jumps, and the spins, which used to be a weakness are great now. Everything flowed beautifully and she performed every moment of that program. Very deserving first. She's improved so much over the years!

Makarova was wonderful too. I hope the coaching change works out for her.

Carolina :( Her flow and skating skills are the best bar none, but her jumps were totally off today.

Leonova was extremely disappointing. I hope she can rebound in the free so Russia can have 3 spots next year.

From the younger set, I loved Ira Vannut. Huge jumps! I thought she was a little underscored in PCS compared to those around her.

Juulia Tuurkila also showed a lot of potential. Nice basics and jump technique and no nerves

[Layfan]

Wow Sarah Meier in third! What a surprise. It'd so great for her to medal.

Kiira is really having a good season no?

[brightphoton]

What happened to Laura Lepisto? Is she still injured?

[oleada]

What happened to Laura Lepisto? Is she still injured?

Unfortunately yes :(

[FlattFan]

Ksenia looks so unpolished compare to Kiira.

[siberia82]

Article from Swedish TV answers the question regarding swedish womens figure skating; Vivi Hultén bronze 1932, Europeans in Paris.

Thanks for the link. I took a look at Wikipedia, and Hultén was also the last Swede to medal at Worlds in 1937. That's a horribly long wait for you guys.

I can hardly believe a Swedish skater is in 4th place after the short - it's a great accomplishment even if it does not result in a medal this time because it shows the potential is there.

During the Swedish Nationals, I told one of the photojournalists from AbsoluteSkating.com that I believed we were witnessing the beginning of something great in Swedish figure skating. Maybe it will happen sooner than I expected!

I think Swedish skaters are underscored a lot because judges (maybe subconsciously) aren't used to top skaters from our country and thus mark them down a bit - hopefully this is changing as we speak!

As long as Viktoria continues to perform well, her PCS should improve. Her countrymen are still stuck at the moment, though.

[brightphoton]

Unfortunately yes :(

;_; that's a shame. That hip injury must have been serious.