Asada, Kim begin road to second Olympic showdown | Page 7 | Golden Skate

Asada, Kim begin road to second Olympic showdown

Joined
Aug 16, 2009
That's a great distinction, Toni. I do love that they are almost the tent poles of excellence in ladies' skating, even now, but certainly in 2006 through 2010. The sniping of some fans is not worthy of these two excellent skaters, both of whom will live on in the annals of skating long after their careers end.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
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Jun 27, 2003
That's a great distinction, Toni. I do love that they are almost the tent poles of excellence in ladies' skating, even now, but certainly in 2006 through 2010. The sniping of some fans is not worthy of these two excellent skaters, both of whom will live on in the annals of skating long after their careers end.

I felt the same way with the Evan - Johnny wars. If you could ignore their bickering in the media, as well as the stuff on message boards you could enjoy the qualities of both :yes: made being a skating fan easier!

That being said, I'm not sure either lady will make it to the showdown and go one and two again...:no:
 

herios

Medalist
Joined
Jan 25, 2004
Japanese media is living in la-la land. I know Mao won the GPF, but that was only because her compeition went on a splat fest, That won't happen in Sochi, therefore Mao who became a UR and popping machine lately, ain't medaling at the next Olympics.
 

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
I felt the same way with the Evan - Johnny wars. If you could ignore their bickering in the media, as well as the stuff on message boards you could enjoy the qualities of both :yes: made being a skating fan easier!

That being said, I'm not sure either lady will make it to the showdown and go one and two again...:no:

How come? They're both pretty much committed to it. Yuna said she'll compete up to Sochi and then retire, and she's pretty good at keeping her publicized word. As for Mao, there's no doubt she's aiming for Sochi. The only thing that could stand in their way is injury. I'm sure we'll see both of them at Sochi, barring some catastrophe.
 

Tonichelle

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Jun 27, 2003
How come? They're both pretty much committed to it. Yuna said she'll compete up to Sochi and then retire, and she's pretty good at keeping her publicized word. As for Mao, there's no doubt she's aiming for Sochi. The only thing that could stand in their way is injury. I'm sure we'll see both of them at Sochi, barring some catastrophe.

I don't mean that they won't be in Sochi - I just don't think it'll be the showdown for the top again.
 

aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Japanese media is living in la-la land. I know Mao won the GPF, but that was only because her compeition went on a splat fest, That won't happen in Sochi, therefore Mao who became a UR and popping machine lately, ain't medaling at the next Olympics.

Surely, you can't know that for sure. For all we know, it could be another 2006 Olympics ladies' LP.

Personally, I like the Yuna/Mao rivalry. They seem to push each other, which it great, but like Tonichelle, I don't like the media/fanwars that inevitably come with it.

Also-- Am I the only one bothered by the lack of "continuity" in the title? "Mao, Kim" sounds so strange. "Mao, Yuna" or "Asada, Kim" sounds better.
 

minze

Medalist
Joined
Dec 22, 2012
With all due respect. How do you what is going 2 happen a year from now. One thing Asada has shown is that she should never be understimated.
 

wallylutz

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
How come? They're both pretty much committed to it. Yuna said she'll compete up to Sochi and then retire, and she's pretty good at keeping her publicized word. As for Mao, there's no doubt she's aiming for Sochi. The only thing that could stand in their way is injury. I'm sure we'll see both of them at Sochi, barring some catastrophe.

She also once said publicly she will have Orser as her coach always until she retires. So no, nothing can be taken as a guarantee. Maybe that's a good thing because I am sure many of her fans will be delighted if she competes at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
 

wallylutz

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
I don't mean that they won't be in Sochi - I just don't think it'll be the showdown for the top again.

Sadly yes, you are right. With Mao's continuous struggle and seeing how she won the Japanese Nationals with a total of 5 clean triples using her SP and LP combined, that showdown is not promising at all.
 

aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Sadly yes, you are right. With Mao's continuous struggle and seeing how she won the Japanese Nationals with a total of 5 clean triples using her SP and LP combined, that showdown is not promising at all.

It shows that other elements besides jumps are being taken into account.

ETA:
(Thanks, Tonichelle!)
 
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mary01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Sadly yes, you are right. With Mao's continuous struggle and seeing how she won the Japanese Nationals with a total of 5 clean triples using her SP and LP combined, that showdown is not promising at all.

Mao had 6 triples in the free skate alone (through one was slightly two footed), with level 4 on all her spins and steps, i would say if that wasn't impressive i don't know what would be!
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Mao had 6 triples in the free skate alone (through one was slightly two footed), with level 4 on all her spins and steps, i would say if that wasn't impressive i don't know what would be!

Mao has occasionally had very good skates in the past few years, but she just has not been able to produce the quality as consistently as she used to. What gives me hope for Mao is (a) at least one of her 3A's in practice looked strong and fully rotated and (b) the 3T on her 2A-3T is HUGE and I see no reason why she can't do a 3F-3T if she commits to training it. I think the 3S and 3Z are always going to be shaky jumps for her, but she landed both this weekend so it is possible for her to hit these under pressure.
 

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
She also once said publicly she will have Orser as her coach always until she retires. So no, nothing can be taken as a guarantee. Maybe that's a good thing because I am sure many of her fans will be delighted if she competes at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Well, that was before whatever broke them up, and at the time I'm sure she thought she would retire after Vancouver. But as far as statements of competition, I don't doubt her word. She said she'd go to Worlds 2010 after the Olympics, when she basically no reason to, and she did. She said she'd go to Worlds 2011, when everyone expected her not to, and she did. She said she'd return to competition this season, when everyone doubted her words and the current state of her skills, and she showed up in Germany with her jumps still intact, with a 3Lz+3T in both the SP and LP. She was a little rusty, but clearly nothing a few more months of training can't refine.

Nothing is guaranteed in figured skating, and I meant no such thing if you read my post carefully. I said we can expect them (Mao and Yuna) to be Sochi, barring injury or catastrophe.
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
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Nov 3, 2012
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I felt the same way with the Evan - Johnny wars. If you could ignore their bickering in the media, as well as the stuff on message boards you could enjoy the qualities of both :yes: made being a skating fan easier!
Sometimes I feel as though fans feel the need to "take sides" rather than enjoy the positive qualities of all skaters. A situation that can be similar is Patrick Chan vs. anyone. Patrick Chan is my favorite male skater right now, but that doesn't mean I go around bashing Hanyu, Takahashi, Fernandez, etc. I express a brief opinion when it's relevant, but I choose not to get involved in outright arguments with other fans. I love to simply sit back and marvel at this wonderfully amazing sport that we all love.
 

Riemann

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 3, 2012
Sometimes I feel as though fans feel the need to "take sides" rather than enjoy the positive qualities of all skaters. A situation that can be similar is Patrick Chan vs. anyone. Patrick Chan is my favorite male skater right now, but that doesn't mean I go around bashing Hanyu, Takahashi, Fernandez, etc. I express a brief opinion when it's relevant, but I choose not to get involved in outright arguments with other fans. I love to simply sit back and marvel at this wonderfully amazing sport that we all love.

I think a lot of that fighting between fan groups just goes with the territory when it comes to sports, but there is a line, and I think the Lysacek/Weir rivalry crossed it. In a way, it was even worse than the Asada/Kim rivalry, because unlike there where the nastiness came almost exclusively from the fans, both Weir and Lysacek made horrible comments involving gender and/or sexuality, (which was really pretty pathetic coming from two grown men). Their fans took their lead and turned it into a huge battle over things that had little to do with their achievements on the ice.
 
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pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
I am a fan of neither Evan or Johnny but I have a feeling in time Johnny will be more remembered than Evan, even with Evans Olympic and World titles. I also think Johnnys future as a show skater is brighter, once Stars on Ice goes under (and it will soon) Evan wont be in demand anywhere. Europe, Asia, and even Canada, dont give a toot about seeing him skate, and he is no draw there.
 
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