^ True. Hope springs eternal. (Although, yes, Sarah not only beat both Michelle and Irina on the Grand Prix, she was also the defending world bronze medalist.)
Maybe Michelle, Tara, and Nicole Bobek would be a good example. Conceivably Bobek could have jumped up and had the skate of her life.
That would probably be a better example, definitely, I just think the Sarah story is what the USFS keep going back to in the back of their minds. If the US get three spots, I think they'll amp up the wild card factor in the third skater, plus two strong contenders, whatever that means.Originally Posted by Mathman
Gold has improved a lot from last year to this year. Who is to say she won't improve enough by Sochi to be in competition for the podeium. I wouldn't be surprised to she her exceed Wagner in this years worlds. I just checked the season's best list which now includes European's results. The US still has 7 in the top 25, more than anyone else, as Russia has six. But only Wagner (4th) and Nagasu (10th) are in the top 10. Gold is in 12th.
The Russian team will not include Radionova; she's too young.1 196.80 Mao ASADA JPN ISU Grand Prix Final 2012/13 08.12.2012
2 194.71 Carolina KOSTNER ITA European Championships 2013 26.01.2013
3 193.99 Adelina SOTNIKOVA RUS European Championships 2013 26.01.2013
4 190.63 Ashley WAGNER USA ISU GP Trophee Bompard 2012 17.11.2012
5 188.85 Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA RUS European Championships 2013 26.01.2013
6 185.22 Akiko SUZUKI JPN ISU GP NHK Trophy 2012 24.11.2012
7 182.86 Elena RADIONOVA RUS ISU JGP Austria 2012 15.09.2012
8 179.31 Julia LIPNITSKAIA RUS ISU GP Trophee Bompard 2012 17.11.2012
9 177.19 Kiira KORPI FIN ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2012 10.11.2012
10 176.68 Mirai NAGASU USA ISU GP NHK Trophy 2012 24.11.2012
11 176.45 Kaetlyn OSMOND CAN ISU GP Skate Canada International 2012 27.10.2012
12 175.03 Gracie GOLD USA ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2012 10.11.2012
The Russian team will not include Lipnitskaia; she was replaced by Gosvianni.
The US team will not include Nagasu. She's not on it.
So that puts Gracie up a little higher; maybe ninth.
Lipnitskia is too young and did not compete at Senior Nationals due to an injury. It is Leonova who was replaced by Gosvianni. If Lipnitskia were age eligible I'd bet my bottom dollar she'd be going to Worlds.
Now that US Nationals is completed, the status of the Ladies can be re-evaluated. I have some thoughts....
Wagner: She is the one with the most maturity and elegance and packaging of her programs. She is the best choice to be the Ladies' team leader. I believe a medal at Worlds is not a crazy idea for her.
Gold: She is the one with the most demonstrable talent in the areas of jumping, as well as having CoP friendly spinning and footwork. Given her youth and need to become an artist on the ice to be a world-class skater, she is a great choice for US #2. A top 10 finish at Worlds is not a crazy idea for her.
Given this, it could be very close for the US to earn the three spots. Think Ashley #4 or #5 and Gracie as # 8 or #9 would do it. It will be close if these two skate well.
As for Agnes... the girl can not seem to complete many elements in the LP that do not also happen to be in her SP. In this week's competition LP, she completed her 3-3, her 3lutz and 2axel, as well as her combination and layback spins from the SP. Other than that, did she not miss every other jump except for 3 salcow? The girl is a SP skater, and she repeats her elements in the LP, but can't seem to do more than the SP elements. Agnes is a great choice for 4CC.... she needs more competitions to try and break her mental block for LPs. Worlds with spots on the line is no place for her to "gain experience." USFS can't afford it.
Gao: She is just stuck in one place by USFS. She needs better performance and execution and she really needs a ballet class. I think USFS will "use" her as a stop-gap... someone good to call when you need them, but they never get chosen first. It is a thankless position.
Hicks, Cesario, Siraj are all wonderful as juniors now and it looks good for the US in the future.
Mirai and Caroline are seemingly done, especially Caroline. I agree completely with USFS' assessment of them via the marks this weekend. They should put any serious thoughts of being National Champions or Olympians out of their minds, because it is not going to happen without a major change in technique and ability, which is never going to happen.
The USA is making a BIG comeback in Ladies singles. So much depth and the young CoP skaters are solid.
Don't forget Angela Wang who i think has more potential then the other Junior skaters you just mentioned. She has a bad habit of making mistakes in the SP but she has speed can jump and presents herself elegantly. At only 16 she will only get better. Plus the younger girls can actually jump which is becoming more and more important.
Cesario is older than Hicks, Gold, Siraj, Wang, Cain, and Miller and the same age as Zhang and Nagasu
To that, I would Hannah Miller who I think, with Wang, will surpass Hicks, Siraj and Cesario in the next year of two. I know her jumps are small but she reminded me of Lipinski in that her presentation was not sophisticated but she skated with joy to her music and was just a delight to watch.
I think the future looks bright. There is a lot of talent coming up in US ladies. The USFSA needs to nurture this group of girls. They needs to make sure these girls get plenty of competition experience. They need exposure to the international judges. We need to do everything possible to get these girls competition ready.
Last edited by flying camel; 01-29-2013 at 09:32 PM.
Yes, exactly the point. Sarah, the US bronze medalist, was a bonafide medal contender at the Olympics. Everyone knew that. It's been years since the USA gold medalist was considered a favorite for a world or Olympic medal, never mind the bronze medalist. That's why we deserve two spots.
I'm with Jammers. I hope Gracie doesn't get slammed if the US doesn't get a third spots. That shouldn't be her focus. She should focus on a good skate. she shouldn't even focus on being perfect or having the SOHL although there's no reason to think she can't have it. It's her first worlds and she can't know where even a clean skate will place her so it's pointless to worrry about the rankings. Just on herself.
If only Hicks could smooth over her basic skating she could be a force in the future. She's certainly athletic enough with those explosive jumps but i haven't seen much improvement with her posture or bladework and she always seems like she's in a hurry and everything is rushed. It's good to see her overcome that bad injury though.
Yes, Mirai and Caroline didn't receive very good marks, and all their errors were punished, and maybe a few phantom deductions as well. Unlike the National champion, who was overscored by around 8 points according to some estimates by Flattfan and others. With a skate like that in March, Wagner will be closer to 10th place than to the podium. I wouldn't base my assessment of US ladies by the marks given at Nationals.
I don't understand why so many people seem to be blaming Ashley for her overscored FS. Sure, she could've done better, but she had food poisoning and (I'd be willing to bet) remnants of the hip pointer she sustained at GPF. The amount of hate/accusations she's getting, not only on GS but through Twitter and other social networking sites, really is ridiculous--to the point where she can no longer ignore it and has to publicly defend herself. It's one thing to fault the judges for reputation scoring or bias, but putting the blame on the skater is a bit much, IMO.
Yes, being angry/frustrated with the judging, or USFS, or IJS, whatever is one thing...but when you take it all out on the skater(s), that's when things get out of control. I'm willing to bet some folks tweeted their frustrations to Wagner directly and that's how she got wind of it- not necessarily because of forum discussions (although eventually, things do seem to make it full-circle)
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