Elite athletes from sports other than figure skating have had trouble at altitude. Not everyone has the means to train in such conditions in order to prepare for it. It's not necessarily a reflection on their 'fitness' level. They simply are not acclimated to thin air.Originally Posted by Wafflecakes
I must again state how horrible the tech panel(s) have been at this event. No edge call on the Lutz and no underrotation call on the toeloop? Those were obvious (the same with Caroline Zhang's Lutz).
Mao is extremely lucky that a stricter caller wasn't at this event because both of her Triple Flips could have gotten a <. I would probably give the benefit of the doubt, but they were both absolutely at least 1/4 turn short. Ditto for her Triple Loop (with which she was gifted by the judges to not receive -GOE for that landing).
This new jump technique is not working for Mao. She is needlessly focusing too hard on the Flip entry when it never received edge calls and rarely received < anyway. As a result of trying to take the entry on a cleaner edge, she is losing height and just making it MORE prone to < calls. That problem seems to have carried over to her Loop, where she is focusing too much on the takeoff rather than just exploding off the ice. In general she also seems to be waiting too long to start rotating.
I'm also highly confused by the changes that have been made to her spins. She is not doing her solo sit spin with the difficult flying entry, dropping the base value by .6, and she changed her final FCCoSp4 to a FCoSp4, which is worth .5 less. I realize she may not be able to do a FCCopSp4 anymore because of the changes to the new rules, although I actually don't think that's true with all of the different variations she is capable of, but there's no reason why she should be throwing those points away on the sit spin. I mean, she's clearly removing the flying entry from the sit spin so that it can be used as a level feature for the FCoSp4, but she could just do a regular CoSp4 with backward entry instead of a flying entry to achieve the level; they're worth the same base value.
And I'm STILL infuriated by the overall choreographic changes that were made to this program towards the end of last season.
This is the worst Mao has ever been at the peak of a season. Not at all what I expected.
Last edited by Blades of Passion; 02-12-2012 at 04:48 AM.
The tech panel was indeed really weird at this event. I found it interesting that they caught Kanako's flutz, but managed not to notice Caroline's, Mao's, or Ashley's.
Ya and whose fault is that? Theirs.....
I have no sympathy for people who do not prepare for competitions.
The fact is that everyone is dealing with the same conditions. If you know you have problems with high elevations its YOUR responsibility to prepare for it. Not to blame it for your performance afterwords.
Last edited by Wafflecakes; 02-12-2012 at 05:09 AM.
Have any of the athletes actually blamed the high elevation for their performances (honest question)? All I've been reading is that posters are understanding that high elevation is difficult to handle and could potentially affect their performances.
Your callousness is impressive. Not everyone--especially the lower-ranked skaters, many of whom do not receive much funding and were suffering the most at this event--lives in high altitude locations, or can afford to have access to equipment like hypoxic tents. And for quite a few skaters--like Daisuke Takahashi for instance--it was their first time ever competing in such a high altitude location. Moreover, it's not like competing in higher elevations is a commonplace scenario for figure skaters to prepare for. IIRC, the last time an event was held in Colorado Springs was five years ago.
Last edited by evangeline; 02-12-2012 at 05:17 AM.
Thank you evangeline. It seems Wafflecakes missed the part I wrote about not every one having the means to train in such conditions, etc.
Wafflecakes' ignorance is impressive, too. Fitness does not equal acclimatization. There is only one way to acclimatize, and that is to be at altitude and preferably, train and practice there for at least a short while. There is absolutely nothing you can do at lower levels to circumvent this process. Lowland-based skaters (or any other athlete) who don't normally train at altitude but who must compete at an altitude venue, probably best should arrive a couple of weeks early in order to allow their bodies to do this, and to make the breathing adjustments necessary to take in enough oxygen. Obviously, the vast majority of competititors do not have the time or money to be able to park themselves early at Colorado Springs to do this.
5 loop jumps in a row? I'm not a skater. I wonder if that would bring a high risk of hip injury?
Last edited by skatinginbc; 02-12-2012 at 05:34 AM.
a little analysis of the podium positions and video of wagner's free http://thewrongedgefigureskatingblog...dies-free.html
it seems to me that mao's pcs are so low, she is just beautiful and light
Agree. Mao lacks her former strength, her muscle mass has been eaten away. There is a problem there.
Caroline-what can you say? I never thought she would get much better, but now she has filled out, much better muscle tone and strength, and she is a whole new skater. What fun it has been to watch her emerge this year. I hope Mirai makes a coaching change and comes back next year with the joy and energy I used to love. Caroline is certainly an inspiration, and to be honest, I wish she were going to Worlds instead of Alyssa. Alyssa can be wonderful or...a train wreck.
indeed Caroline's remarkable comeback from nationals all the way to 4CC was the highlight for me
Ashley is the biggest surprise for 2012 so far.
I dont think we need to discuss Mao's weight as she has went through a lot lately
and didn't she just recover from an eating disorder before
Weeee ashleyI m really rooting for her at worlds, and I m happy for you Trewn, how amazing is for you to see her on the top of podium!!!
Caroline has such an inspiring come back after her problems of growing up, that was a great skate!!!
Mao is not about where she places anymore for me, she is magic, reminds me all the good reasons I became an fs fan))
Mao never had an eating disorder.
She didn't look as skinny as the last time.
I thought she looked healthier.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks