Karen Chen wins novice ladies short

[macy]

Although I feel her score was inflated, her program was beautiful and very mature for a novice. LOVE HER LAYBACK. anyone else watch?

[SLouise]

Although I feel her score was inflated, her program was beautiful and very mature for a novice. LOVE HER LAYBACK. anyone else watch?

Her layback was incredible!

All of the young ladies did a good job. I had fun watching that.

[skfan]

any vids of this incredible layback? what was incredible about it--speed, position? are we talking angela nikodinov 2.0? ^^ otherwise i'll make do with caroline zhang and ashley wagner.

[SLouise]

any vids of this incredible layback? what was incredible about it--speed, position? are we talking angela nikodinov 2.0? ^^ otherwise i'll make do with caroline zhang and ashley wagner.

Position and speed. It started in the classic style, with a nice turned out leg, then was pulled up into a great Bielman without an awkward transition in between. (sorry I'm not very good at giving descriptions)

[skfan]

ah, thank you always good to see young skaters who still pay attention to performing a beautiful layback.

[Jammers]

I just can't get into watching a 4 foot 12 year old skater like Karen chen. Sure she's a fireball but she's got about 3-4 years of growing to do. No use in guessing what kind of skater she will eventually be since puberty could and probably will change everything.

[tulosai]

I just can't get into watching a 4 foot 12 year old skater like Karen chen. Sure she's a fireball but she's got about 3-4 years of growing to do. No use in guessing what kind of skater she will eventually be since puberty could and probably will change everything.

I kind of agree. It is hard for me to ever really root for/consider myself a 'fan' of anyone until Juniors and even then it is really really rare for me.

I CAN still appreciate a great skate though and be impressed by talent/elements (like the fabulous layback people have been talking about). I wish her well as her career progresses and had a lot of fun seeing her program this year.

[Mathman]

I take it for what it is. Sure, she may break her leg and never skate again. But for now, she's on her way to being U.S. novice champion!

[lavender]

Love karen chen. I first caught her skating last year and was loving it. Hope her future is bright. Just going to appreciate her for now.

[macy]

icenetwork just crashed! is anyone else having the same problem?!

[mskater93]

I take it for what it is. Sure, she may break her leg and never skate again. But for now, she's on her way to being U.S. novice champion!

AND she met that goal last night! Congratulations to her!

[Spun Silver]

She had both arms straight up over her head in the layback. I gasped. And her speed, especially in spins, is fantastic. (Was that the fastest Biellmann ever?) Her jumps seem super-solid as far as I can tell. (She had one fall late in the FP but by that time it hardly mattered, she had proven herself so thoroughly.) And then there's her flexibility. If you have IN, her FP is at about 49:00. It's well worth watching.

[lavender]

I've been searching and searching for videos since I took notice of her last year. There's only one from last year (podium) and just her 3lutz/2loop from Nationals.

[alexeifan]

Is she related to Nathan Chen?

[Spun Silver]

Surely not or we would have heard about it!