If Yuna wasn't going to be in Japan I would say a win would be POSSIBLE if Czisny had the two skates of her life and other contenders like Asada made major mistakes.
Her GPF score would definitely put her in contention for a medal, though. Unlike Flatt, we have seen that the international judges aren't afraid to give Czisny 60+ for her SP, ~120 for her FS if she does her absolute best. Unlike in 2009, a world medal is actually in REACH for Alyssa if she skates up to her potential.
Okay Joesitz. Whatever u say.
Alissa skated last at the GPF and did brilliantly. And that was after Carolina and Miki Ando also did great.Originally Posted by R.D.
I'm amazed that any fan could possibly have that much confidence in her.
Czisny and confidence never really went together, but I think I actually saw a different skater out there last night. Of course, it helped that she skated first out of the three title contenders (who knows if it would have gone the same had she skated last, for instance), but from the moment they called her name I saw a focused skater, trying to get into her zone. Not scared at all.
Also remember that now she carries the burden of reigning National champ. If there's any time that her newfound "confidence" will be tested...it will be at Worlds...and if she sticks around for next season, at 2012 Nationals.
Not gonna get my hopes up for Czisny at all. It'll be just as tough watching her at Worlds as it was in 2009. At least she actually deserves to go this time, so that's some consolation.
I was nervous for Alissa last night but not as much as usual. I was convinced that she would at least not implode. I thought it was possible she might make mistakes - but in the past she has completely unraveled. Never this year. So I had a good feeling that no matter what she would end the competition respectably and not fall to 10th or something.
There's a difference for example between what Mirai did this year and what Alissa did last year. It's one thing to make a couple of mistakes and slip a couple of places. It's another thing to fall apart completely and bury yourself.
I'd love for the U.S. to get the three spots back but I watch skating even more for beautiful, stirring performances and Alissa more than any other lady can do that for the U.S. at worlds. Thank goodness she's going.
I tried to find out for sure, but was not successful. The United States usually offers to send the winners of the U.S. Collegiate Championship. This year Grant Hochstein won for the men, but he is competing at U.S. Nationals (in about three hours.: )) Second place was Curran Oi (only three men entered the competitio.)Does anyone know if the USFSA will be sending any athletes to the Winter Universiade?
In ladies, the winner ws Karen Zhou.
Also, in previous years the U.S. has sent a collegiate synchro team. I am not sure about this year, but we have some pretty good ones.
Even without "that one" Olympic gold medal, Sarah Hughes would have had a far better international career than Jennifer Kirk.
Jennifer went to world twice. She was 18th and 17th. Sarah went four times and was 7th, 5th, bronze medal, and 6th.
Sarah also has a pile of GP series medals and Jenny has one, although she also has a FC win.
And Sarah was on the national podium four times. Jenny three.
Besides, Sarah was attempting the hardest triple triple combinations of the U.S. ladies.
Of course, I agree with your overall point about the U.S. ladies of today not being as deep and as competitive of the U.S. ladies of past years.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Still though- it's easy when you're trying to fight back. But one you pick up titles...it gets harder.
That's a MAJOR difference I'm seeing between Czisny 2.0 and Czisny 1.0. 2.0 will not let a mistake derail her. 2.0 does not give up after slipping up on the opening jump.I thought it was possible she might make mistakes - but in the past she has completely unraveled. Never this year.
After what I saw at Nats- and this is in stark contrast to 2009- we actually NEED Czisny (2.0) if we want a shot at 3 spots. I think that based on what I've seen this season- the best team would be Czisny/Nagasu, followed by Czisny/Flatt. This is mainly due to the international judges relegating Flatt to second-rate status, meaning that even at her absolute best she's probably not going to be higher than about 6th in the World. Nagasu isn't quite ready, but in the SP she's one of the best...meaning that she can afford a mistake or two in the free and still hang on.I'd love for the U.S. to get the three spots back but I watch skating even more for beautiful, stirring performances and Alissa more than any other lady can do that for the U.S. at worlds. Thank goodness she's going.
And how ironic is this- if Mirai had NOT crumbled in the free skate at Worlds LAST year...she would be going to worlds THIS year as the 3rd pick. Again, just like Wagner did...she sealed her own fate by not stepping up to the plate at worlds.
Birukova, Shelepen and Ovcharova are past their growth spurts from the looks of it (and are already 15, 16 years old) , Tuktamysheva, Radinova, Lipitniskaya most certainly are not, as for Sotnikova, Agafonova, and Sheveleva, it's hard to tell. There are seriously so many talented girls though that you can bet at least a few of them will survive puberty and be forces.
I thought the same thing about Mirai and I'm sure the thought has occurred to her. Poor girl. But hey, you could go on an on about ironies. I mean, you could also say, wow, isn't ironic that Alissa and Rachael got the two spots when they both failed t get the third? After all, the hopes shouldn't have been on Mirai last year in the first place. They should have been on our national champion, Rachael Flatt. And Alissa in 2009.
But that's the past. This is now. No point in reliving it. I sure hope the skaters aren't.
Well, Russian skating sure has a powerful history. Of course it will only be a matter of time before they are relevant again. And I hope the same is true for US skating.
You could, I guess...but it's more relevant for Flatt than it is for Czisny. the latter didn't even matter in the Olympic season.
Personally, my hopes were on Flatt in 2009. Czisny was nothing but a bundle of nerves at the time. And even at her best she probably wouldn't have been higher than 8th. She's come a long way since then.After all, the hopes shouldn't have been on Mirai last year in the first place. They should have been on our national champion, Rachael Flatt. And Alissa in 2009.
In 2010, after finishing 4th at the Olympics, of course Nagasu was going to be the chosen one. Major, major disappointment but that was in the past. In the end, the only person it ended up hurting was...................well, Nagasu.
I don't know if Adelina is done growing but she had a fairly big growth spurt last year. She was falling all over the place but this year her jumps are actually much improved. Its hard to say for sure but that may be telling.
As for Elizaveta, I'm not sure if she's done growing but reports are that neither of her parents are very tall or big, so supposedly she's not expected to grow that much. In Elizaveta's favor as well, is the fact that her jumping technique is seriously incredible. In the end its hard to know but the Russians have enough young talent that a couple will survive. And as for puberty same goes for someone like Hicks.
^ Well, as Korea proved, all you need is one.
The transcendental moment for me in Alissa's nationals was not her phenomenal spins, her perfect short, or even any of the jumps she got right. The moment that really inspired me and made me think she's a radically changed skater is actually her one mistake... when she botched that 3loop landing badly. In the past, I'm sure she'd have just crumpled and fell (as would most skaters). Instead she fought and fought and didn't even put her free leg down (or did she, I may need to rewatch). It takes more strength, guts, courage and determination to save a bad landing than it does to land a jump perfectly. Not that I recommend skaters botch their landings, it's not good for their score or their bodies. But we already know Alissa can land 3loops. What that showed was that Alissa does have steel in her bones. That she will fight gravity and inertia and imperfection to win. We have to remember that under the COP where points are added up from 0, you can win and even win big with flaws, as long as you put down enough other things on the ice, but you can't win if you give up after a mistake. I feel more confident that Alissa will ultimately stand tall at worlds.
It takes the combined efforts of 2 skaters to earn 3 spots for a nation, so the hopes do fall on more than just the National Champ. Bottom line, Kimmie, Bebe, and Ashley failed to get 3 spots, so did Alissa and Rachael, and so did Mirai and Rachael. If anything, I think it hurt Mirai even more because the USFSA saw that she really had the potential to medal at last season's Worlds after winning the SP and she crumbled to 7th place overall. Flatt was never in a position to medal there, so perhaps her failure is not as noticeable? I think it's safe to say that going from 1st to 7th (11th in the LP) is considered a bigger disappointment than going from 6th to 9th. Nagasu and Flatt are still young and I don't think what they have done in their short pasts necessarily defines their careers as skaters on the senior level. How you respond to disappointment and adversity is what defines a champion. Do you give up or do you fight your way back, improve your weaknesses, and prove all your naysayers wrong?
Last edited by museksk8r; 01-30-2011 at 03:30 PM.
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