Ladies - Long Program

I wonder how Irina gave comment about Miki?

And Could anyone with perfectly trained eyes tell me whether Kanako deserve to get UR for her second triple toe jump? As some judge even gave her +1 GOEs?

Cerulean said:

Yeah, I'm gonna watch it again just for the music, if not her dress. The whole ensemble--Yuna, costume, music--was wonderful and I hope she refines it going forward.

Having said that, I wonder whether the dress would not have been more stunning if it was done either in deep burgundy or sage...but what do I know, everything in my closet is either white or black.

Click to expand...

Mmmm. Yes, fun to imagine that costume in burgundy ... sage... trying remember what color sage is

As for her strategy this season, it probably would have been better to compete at least once before. But clearly, she did what she felt she was up to after her pressure-filled season last year. Her winning silver at her first appearance speaks to her incredible talent - but it also speaks to the fact that she clealy worked her butt off for this competition, even if she did decide to skip all the previous events. She didn't just start practicing two months before and I certainly never got the impression that she expected to runaway with the gold. Yuna's smart. I'm sure she knew full well it was risky but that is how she wanted to spend her year after her Olympic triumph. Sure, as fans it's a little disappointing not to have seen one sensational Yuna program after another but she doesn't really owe anybody anything.

(Also, there isn't really any guarantee that if she had competed all season she wouldn't have had a bad day today and finished second anyway, maybe from burn out....)

I'm just glad I got to see her Airang program. I really, really, really hope she comes back next season but if she doesn't, that is the way it is. Maybe she'll decide to do, say, one GP event and 4CC next year. It would be wonderful if she coud maintain her level until Sochi.

wallylutz said:

Then again, if we were to believe some of the feverish Yu Na fans on internet, Yu Na doesn't mind her placement, she only skates for the enjoyment of her fans. Well, I am still trying to figure out what the tears were for then... But I am sure another very convenient excuse, uh...I mean "explanation" will again be furnished soon.

Click to expand...

This is a part of Yuna's translated interview right after the competition.

What do you feel of not winning the title:

YNK: I am quite satisfied with the competition. I lost by a slim margin but gold medal wasn't necessarily the goal of my participation in this WC. What is important is that I overcame difficult times and got where I am now.

All of this is not unexpected. Many long time observers have cast doubts on Yu-Na's chances before the competition seeing how she practices. Official practices in a competition are meant to present your best skills and arsenals for the viewing of the people who will be judging you in the competition eventually. That is why for example, Joubert would only show off his jumps in those practices with no spins and no transitions. Why should he further show his weaker side to the judging panel who were watching closely even though it's not the actual competition? Yet, when it was pointed out that Yu-Na didn't do very well in those practices, many of the same Yu Na fans just went ballistic towards anyone who dare to say the Queen has regressed and that it's just a "practice". :sheesh:

Click to expand...

This is what I don't understand with your post. When was it posted that Yuna didn't do well during practices? And where are the posts where Yuna fans went ballistic as a reaction against claims that Yuna has regressed? Because I've been following this forum the entire championship and every report out there (mostly tweets from those present in the arena) said that Yuna had solid practices. Jumps were there, skating skill was still there. And Yuka Sato in an interview with the NY Times has acknowledged that Yuna was solid during practice. That she still commands the ice like no other.

So, if unless you have been reading reports that we do not know of, how can there be ballistic reactions from fans?

Can't say this is an outcome that makes me sad however. You get what you deserve and you just can't expect to do no competition at all the whole season in Figure Skating and come to win the World Championship as though you are coming to pick up your Academy award.

Click to expand...

I think no one, and most certainly not Yuna, expected this competition to be a walk in the park. Everybody knew that it would be hard to go back into competition mode after the long hiatus. But from what I've read the past week, almost everyone has acknowledged that it was brave and generous of her to compete once again when she didn't have to. Name an Olympic Champion since Witt who came back to compete again. Hughes does not count because she did compete again but was out of shape.

And it's funny that you completely disregarded Yuna's effort and Silver finish this year because Mao was inconsistent and Rochette was not present. That's the thing. Yuna competed. Joannie didn't. That means Yuna put in the training to step on Worlds ice while Joannie didn't even attempt to do that. And Mao is still a beautiful skater but largely inconsistent. She didn't bring it now when it mattered.

Just give even an ounce of credit when it is due.

I just woke up. Congrats to Miki!! I have only watched Yuna's LP so far and love the korean music. Very beautiful. I think her LP could have been much much better had she skated a few more times in competitions but I feel it wasn't choreographed as well as her past programs. I really would love to see what Lori Nichols can do with Yuna for a change.

wallylutz said:

I can see why you would think I had animosity towards Yu Na. So let me put my remark in context. I don't like it when skaters, which include the Men's, Dance and Pairs when they decide to skip the whole season just to do the WC/Olympics unless it's due to injury. Yu Na is certainly not the 1st person trying to do that, but those who do and are not injured, seem to demonstrate some kind of contempt for this sport - that they are too good for you.

Click to expand...

Spoken like a true ISU lackey who is angry that certain skaters aren't competing in their Grand Prix events.

Blades of Passion said:

It's not someone else's pain, it's wanting fair judging. Miki is massively overscored and her making a mistake is the only way to level the playing field.

Click to expand...

Do I look brand new to you? Just because in your mind someone is "massively" overscored doesn't make it fact, it makes it an opinion. There are several top dawg skaters I find overscored, but I can't pray for them to fail. Prayer doesn't work that way. You can only hope your favorite does better. Further, You know how judging works - you can't "wuz robbed" because you didn't get your way. Be the awesome Blades we know you are, not a spoiled baby - there are enough of those on the boards these days... But I still love you...

There are reports that say that Mao lost a lot of weight after the quake. She also said in an interview that she doesn't know if she wants to compete at the championship now, but she will go since the federation sends her. I am afraid the disaster might have affected her too much Hope she recovers soon.

I am very happy for Miki and Carolina, especially for Carolina. She was beautiful today, I am very glad she decided to stay.

Hope Yuna will come back to grand prix next season with Arirang, this program is gorgeous.

I was wondering if Mao had lost weight because of the quake.

Olympia said:

I missed teh skating and am reading everyone's comments. Thanks for the link to the scores. Rachael is FOURTEENTH? What happened? But good for Alissa. She avoided a meltdown and saved us two spots, and I do hope she stays around and gets one of them next year (with Mirai in the other). And good for Elene, who made the top ten. Big sigh of relief for YuNa, who was taking a huge risk by staying away from competition for the entire season. And congrats to Kostner and Miki, two skaters, whose careers have now flourished for admirably long times. I'll look forward to watching everyone on YouTube.

What a roller coaster ride this has been! But considering the miraculous fact that we had a Worlds at all--and in the Spring, not in September, things went pretty well. I think that the two people I was most anxious for, YuNa and Alissa, can take satisfaction in their labors. The only one I would really shed tears for among the Ladies is poor Asada. I hope she can dust herself off and zoom to the top in the new season. She's too exceptional just to give up now.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your usual lovely and civil post, Olympia. You are totally right - considering we almost didn't have a worlds at all it was a pretty good event and it was great that Yuna and Alissa did relatively well.
Also, thanks for seeing the cup as half full: Alissa saving us two spots

Cerulean said:

Yeah, I'm gonna watch it again just for the music, if not her dress. The whole ensemble--Yuna, costume, music--was wonderful and I hope she refines it going forward.

Having said that, I wonder whether the dress would not have been more stunning if it was done either in deep burgundy or sage...but what do I know, everything in my closet is either white or black.

Click to expand...

Just watched Yuna's program and it is very exquisite indeed. Sorry about the mistakes at the beginning of the program, but they were very miniscule compared to the latter part of the program. I hope that she continues to skate competitively because skating like hers is truly a treasure to watch.

Originally Posted by wallylutz
I can see why you would think I had animosity towards Yu Na. So let me put my remark in context. I don't like it when skaters, which include the Men's, Dance and Pairs when they decide to skip the whole season just to do the WC/Olympics unless it's due to injury. Yu Na is certainly not the 1st person trying to do that, but those who do and are not injured, seem to demonstrate some kind of contempt for this sport - that they are too good for you.

Click to expand...

I mean she was probably a little tired. I think its 100% her choice.

herios said:

The obsession of the US posters for that ephemeric 3 spots for the US ladies is getting ridiculous. You will get it when you have TWO solid skaters who can bring it simultaneously. until then, wishful thinking.

Be happy that Czisny finished 5th, something last year looked an impossible task. And if you miss Mirai, tell her to be more focused when she needs to be and you'll see her a lot more on the big stage .

Click to expand...

I agree and it could be much worse for USA fans. We could be stuck with the Canadian Ladies

As in the SP, Yuna's LP worked the best for me. The music and choreography were very pleasing. However, I don't agree that she should have gotten +3 GOEs for her 3-3; in fact, I don't feel that any of her jumps should have received highly positive GOEs because they were far below her usual standard.

Miki's LP was so underwhelming, but she put out her typically solid performance. The fact that Yuna could so easily have beaten her should make Miki reconsider playing it safe the next time. She seems to be forever executing all kinds of difficult combinations marvellously in practice only to go conservative in competition.

Kwanford Wife said:

Do I look brand new to you? Just because in your mind someone is "massively" overscored doesn't make it fact, it makes it an opinion. There are several top dawg skaters I find overscored, but I can't pray for them to fail. Prayer doesn't work that way. You can only hope your favorite does better. Further, You know how judging works - you can't "wuz robbed" because you didn't get your way. Be the awesome Blades we know you are, not a spoiled baby - there are enough of those on the boards these days... But I still love you...

Click to expand...

I know what you're saying but I believe that, factually, Miki Ando is constantly overscord if you compare the scores she received on her spins to the scores other competitors received and the PCS she received with the program she skated. It's not my opinion but rather a facual analysis of the difficulty and quality of what she executed, just as it is not an opinion that a Triple Axel is factually the hardest Triple a person can execute. Jumps have set base values that differentiate them and thus judges are at least partially objective with regards to their scoring because they are forced to be. Spins, however, have the exact same base value. Every Level 4 spin is the same, according to the rules, even though a certain Level 4 spin might actually be 10x harder than another Level 4 spin (that's where GOE is supposed to come in to differentiate them).

Similarly, it is a fact that Miki Ando's program has a 40 second rest section where she doesn't do anything aside from completely basic movements. CoP is supposed to give the programs credit and evaluate both their choreographic difficulty and effectiveness (that second part is subjective, the first part is relatively not); Miki Ando's program hardly deserves the scores it receives.

wallylutz said:

I understand now. I can see why you would think I had animosity towards Yu Na. So let me put my remark in context. I don't like it when skaters, which include the Men's, Dance and Pairs when they decide to skip the whole season just to do the WC/Olympics unless it's due to injury. Yu Na is certainly not the 1st person trying to do that, but those who do and are not injured, seem to demonstrate some kind of contempt for this sport - that they are too good for you.

Click to expand...

Wow. I don't know what to say, other than to second what BoP said.

I am so glad that you were not a judge at this year's worlds. You would have given Yuna -3 GOEs across the board just to make sure that Yuna doesn't get a medal.

After reading this, I really hope Yuna retires for good. I really do.

treeloving said:

I wonder how Irina gave comment about Miki?

Click to expand...

She was happy for Miki, said that the 1st place is well deserved and agreed with judges when she saw Yuna scores. She gave Miki a lot of compliments.

Czisny deserved 4th place or even a medal, huh? Come on, she was already lucky to get full credit for her second 3Lz. With that jump technique there's no way she can get good GOEs for jumps. Alena is a much better jumper and is one of the very few ladies who showed full set of triples, including 3-3, not to mention she was on today and skated with joy

Man, what a major disappointment this competition was for me.

First, give credit where it's due and congrats to Ando for her 2nd world championship. Great thing for Japan especially given what happened.

Now...I don't know what happened to Flatt. Apparently she was injured or something...what a mess. Not quite as bad as the GPF, but somewhat of an embarrassment. After thinking about it, she probably should have withdrawn- unless it was something that JUST happened in the last couple of days. But I'm hearing that's not the case, and she was having trouble as early as last week. Ugh...so tough to watch.

At least Czisny saved herself from similar disaster by pulling herself together after the initial fall. Actually, I was somewhat impressed by her resilience, given that in the past, starting out with a mistake would have doomed her for sure. Still though, that fall ended up costing her a medal. Considering her history, she did pretty well. But the woulda-shoulda-coulda part of me keeps thinking what if- she was so close to that bronze...still disappointed.

And Kostner did NOT deserve that bronze by a long shot. It should have gone to Leonova, who was head-and-shoulders above Kostner today. Kim was somewhat overscored, again- although 2nd place was probably about right in this case.

Too bad about Asada- I really thought she would fight back, but looks like the extended season took quite a toll on her.

That's all I have to say. Probably need to cool off a bit now

ks777 said:

I just woke up. Congrats to Miki!! I have only watched Yuna's LP so far and love the korean music. Very beautiful. I think her LP could have been much much better had she skated a few more times in competitions but I feel it wasn't choreographed as well as her past programs. I really would love to see what Lori Nichols can do with Yuna for a change.

Click to expand...

Please, no. Sorry, but I think David Wilson is brilliant with Yuna. Lori's programs these days feel musty to me. Always with the warhorses, always with the literal themes and characters. OTH, I'd love to see what David Wilson could do for Mirai but I suppose Frank Caroll will never leave Lori as a choreographer.

Lori did give Rachael her best SP in a long time, though _ the second time around, though. The first was a total miss and the LP continued to be horible.

I thought Airang did bring out something new in Yuna, actually. Her wonderfully artistry in the past has been based on her meticulous musicality and precision skating and her speed. But this time I thought she was more emotional and conected to the audience more than usual. I loved it. Even if she doesn't keep competing maybe she'll do a version of this program for shows.

Lucky Star said:

She was happy for Miki, said that the 1st place is well deserved and agreed with judges when she saw Yuna scores. She gave Miki a lot of compliments.

Czisny deserved 4th place or even a medal, huh? Come on, she was already lucky to get full credit for her second 3Lz. With that jump technique there's no way she can get good GOEs for jumps. Alena is a much better jumper and is one of the very few ladies who showed full set of triples, including 3-3, not to mention she was on today and skated with joy

Click to expand...

Irina is so lovely, so sweet toward Miki!

R.D. said:

Man, what a major disappointment this competition was for me.

First, give credit where it's due and congrats to Ando for her 2nd world championship. Great thing for Japan especially given what happened.

Now...I don't know what happened to Flatt. Apparently she was injured or something...what a mess. Not quite as bad as the GPF, but somewhat of an embarrassment. After thinking about it, she probably should have withdrawn- unless it was something that JUST happened in the last couple of days. But I'm hearing that's not the case, and she was having trouble as early as last week. Ugh...so tough to watch.

At least Czisny saved herself from similar disaster by pulling herself together after the initial fall. Actually, I was somewhat impressed by her resilience, given that in the past, starting out with a mistake would have doomed her for sure. Still though, that fall ended up costing her a medal. Considering her history, she did pretty well. But the woulda-shoulda-coulda part of me keeps thinking what if- she was so close to that bronze...still disappointed.

And Kostner did NOT deserve that bronze by a long shot. It should have gone to Leonova, who was head-and-shoulders above Kostner today. Kim was somewhat overscored, again- although 2nd place was probably about right in this case.

Too bad about Asada- I really thought she would fight back, but looks like the extended season took quite a toll on her.

That's all I have to say. Probably need to cool off a bit now

Click to expand...

I was wondering where you were!!! Yeah, I have the same mixed feelings about Alissa, it can't be helped. Sure she is feeling much the same way. I can't believe Rachael was 14th!!!! How crushing for her... what is there to say. I really can't see her resurecting her career. But what do I know... and Alissa did, so...

Mike's gold really is great for Japan.