Alarming annual PCS inflation

^ great story/post! How amazing it must be for you to have watched them - and up close - all these years!

emma said:

^ great story/post! How amazing it must be for you to have watched them - and up close - all these years!

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It has been one of my greatest joys as a skating fan to have watched these two grow up and win the OGM, although I have to admit that I held my breath through puberty for fear she'd outgrow him. I remember wishing them good luck before they left for Europe on their first JGP assignment. They were wearing their brand new Canadian team jackets and the jackets were so big on them they looked like they were wearing their older siblings' outfits. I find the transformation which Scott undergoes at the gate to be amazing. Off the ice, Scott is just this shambling hockey kid, but when he gets ready to skate, his shoulders square up, his chest comes out and he positively smoulders on the ice.

The other skater I've been watching since she was about 14 is Meagan Duhamel. At that time, she was a jumper but not much else - no spins, not great basics, passable footwork. She decided to spend the spring working on her spins and turned up the next season with hugely improved spins. Everyone I knew at Mariposa said that Meagan was a worker. I was so happy for her when she teamed with Craig Buntin in the hopes of going to the Olympics. Sadly, injuries on both sides held that team back but since Craig retired and Meagan teamed with Eric Radford, she's been healthy and now they're going to the GPF - her first senior GPF although she did make the JGP in Junior Ladies in 2005.

museksk8r said:

Alissa Czisny has said on tv broadcast that Yuka is her favorite skater and she would love to be able to skate like her and that she models the style of her own skating dresses based on dresses she has seen Yuka wear. Takahiko Kozuka took up skating because he first watched Yuka win Worlds in 1994 and admired her so much. Yuka is also in my personal favorite Ladies Top 10 List. :yes:

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Sorry I was imprecise! If you keep reading, you'll see that I think Yuka is a treasure. She's on my top ten list as well. The point I was trying to make (sorry if I missed my mark) is that she might not be on a universally agreed top ten list, but she's still worth seeking out and incredible to behold. And thank you so much for the info about Alissa and Kozuka's opinion of her. I'm so glad there are people out there who cherish Yuka's skating as you and I do.

I'd list Yuka in the top 3 or four of Japanese ladies without question. Her quality exceeds the more difficult jumps and more numerous titles of many of her successors.