Who do you expect to be 1, 2, 3 lady at japan's Nationals next year. best guess?
Miki is a wildcard at this point.
Nobody knows what kind of form she shows up at the Nats; physically and more importantly MENTALLY, you know...
If it's true Miki is now Nikolai-free (on and off ice) and she is fully prepared by the end of December, she of course can win it.
Rumored that Stephane Lambiel did the choreo for her SP and I am really looking forward to it! We may see the improved version of Miki who beautifully skated to Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence and looked so
promising in the 2005-06 season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUuE9rtw0O0&feature=related
Who will be her coach, idk...but I would love that if she could join Team Nagamitsu in Osaka! She can improve skating skills, speed, edge work, and of course artistic side of her skating under Mrs. Nagamitsu. And Takeshi Honda surely will help her to regain jumps.
I saw a lovely SOI skate 2012 on Youtube. Miki has been more than a jumper for a long time. I hope Mao comes back. Her "Jupiter" is just exquisite. It is so easy to love Mao. I think she is loved round the world. Miki looked lovely and very happy in her SOI skate. I think she has washed NM out of her hair. Good. I wonder if you see Akiko as the third lady? I love these 3, and find Haruka Imai lovely with a beautiful way of moving. I am not such a Kanako fan. She is fast but her positions are not lovely. The judges like her well enough. I so hope Mao does well in her GPFs. I hope she finds the motivation to continue having lost her beloved mother.
Miki is your favorite Japanese lady?
Japanese star Ando set to make a reluctant return to competition, Lei Lei writes. Although she is listed as an entry for the 2012-2013 Grand Prix, Japan's two-time world champion skater Miki Ando says she is not ready for the series. The 24-year-old says she would now prefer to be an artist on ice rather than a competitor. "I don't care about what place I get in competitions now. I just care about how I perform in front of an audience," said Ando in Shanghai last weekend for the Art on Ice skating show. "I just want to show how I perform and if somebody can feel something from my skating, that's my goal, that's my best performance and why I dreamt of becoming a skater," she said. "I was quite busy last year, but I didn't train seriously. This year, I don't feel like I am ready for competition, but I signed a paper (with the International Skating Union) in case I want to do the Grand Prix circuit," Ando told China Daily. "I was planning to make a decision in June, but I didn't have the time to think about it. So, (I just signed it) just in case I wanted to compete. If I don't sign the paper, I can't go. I don't feel I want to compete yet, but I signed the contact, so I have no choice I will try my best. Let's see how it works out." She has set herself no targets for the coming season. "I don't have any goal right now. I have done my job and I think skaters don't have to be competitors because we are like artists. I really enjoy being a show skater," she said. "We all have to quit some day and I'm going to be 25 this year. It's a really hard age for a woman. I don't know, maybe my next goal will be to be a great skater in show skating. Of course, it's really good to be a competitor and get good results, medals and everything. But people have to understand we have to quit some day. We have a future and other choices. "I'm just thinking about the Grand Prix now. An Olympic gold medal is great, but it's so difficult. I don't know if I will attempt to go to the Sochi Olympics yet. So, maybe I will think about the Grand Prix final as the place to get another medal."
It doesn't sound very likely she's coming back? I don't know... too many doubts, too much uncertain terms. She skates from 1-3 "in the morning"? Does she really mean 1am?? Sounds like a crazy time to be on the ice and call it a 'morning session'.