Akiko Suzuki

**Becki** · 04-01-2012, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by christinaskater

She should continue. Had she landed that triple lutz she would have been the major contender for gold here. She should give it a year or 2 or go all the way to Sochi! In Sochi she will surely be one of the top japanese. Usually the career of some skaters really soar high once they start getting the bronze and silver and their profile starts getting higher and higher. SHe is a star. A very humble, passionate and wonderful person. I love the Yu-Na-esque dress

That might give her the fire to continue. Wouldn't it be a wonderful story if she continued until the Sochi Olympics, gave the performance of her life there and placed on the podium. We all enjoy heart-felt stories, and this will definitely top it

(not wishful thinking, it might happen!)

**christinaskater** · 04-01-2012, 07:49 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HQ_sGqQs-c

Great copy of her FS!

She is really happy with her bronze medal, she deserved the silver for me though. Akiko and Ashley were both under marked in the PCS at Worlds. Ashley for me deserved 130 and Akiko 126 as well for the PCS.

More than the medal she was looking to deliver the skate of her life and is a tad bit sad that she was not able to skate clean.

**christinaskater** · 04-01-2012, 07:51 PM

Her body in skating years is not like the other skaters.
She has only been competing in top form since 2009 (3-4 years in World level). 1st world championship medal in 2 attempts. Not bad!

**yelyoh** · 04-01-2012, 08:23 PM

I love Akiko. I have not had an emotional investment in any female skater since Kwan (well no I did really like Rochette) but Akiko has really grabbed me the past few years. I really thought she deserved much higher PCS. I would a have given her 8s and given her the silver. Leonova in both the sp and the lp was way overmarked for the PCS. But that's FSing judging.

**skateluvr** · 04-01-2012, 08:42 PM

I agree, silver for Akiko, but I am just happy she made the podium, and I thouhght it was beteen her and ZWagner for bronze, and I guess it was, though Ashley could have been bronze. I don't get the scoring often. This may be her one world medal, and Ashley has next year. I just hope she has ntwo great programs next year like this yr (Ash) Congrats Akiko from your American fans!

**Robeye** · 04-02-2012, 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by skateluvr

I agree, silver for Akiko, but I am just happy she made the podium, and I thouhght it was beteen her and ZWagner for bronze, and I guess it was, though Ashley could have been bronze. I don't get the scoring often.

I still haven't seen, anywhere, any plausible explanation for Akiko's PCS scores (particularly PE, CH and I). Not even getting into whether she deserved the silver over Alena (ahh, the heck with it, I thought she did

, but that's not my primary point), how is it that possible that they got exactly the same scores (and I mean the exactly the same scores: 7.50, 7.25, 7.50) on these components in the Free Skate?

In the Short, Alena hugely outscored Akiko on the "artistic" components, and I suppose a crude argument could be made that Alena skated the cleaner program, with verve and energy. Akiko wasn't technically quite as clean, and I could see that her performance was just a little bit tentative and subdued compared to her usual effervescent self. At least there's an argument, however neolithic. (Then again, this applied to Carolina Kostner as well, but CaroK ended up in a virtual dead-heat with Alena on these three components...)

But even this crude rationale doesn't apply in the LP, inasmuch as Akiko outscored Alena in the technical elements, and it was Akiko who showed the energy and verve, while Alena skated with the methodical momentum of a freight train. Don't get me wrong, I admired and even liked Alena's performance. I've publicly rooted online for her this season, acknowledging both her grit as well as the fact that this LP was a refreshing change of pace for her. But this doesn't blind me to the fact that, at least as far as the artistic aspects are concerned, Akiko's performance in this here World Championships LP was on a completely different level from Alena's.

Are we to understand from this that the scoring of these components should be completely in line with technical scoring? Which is not only obviously absurd (if that were the case, there would be no need for separate component scoring in the first place), but the case of Carolina (see above) shows that it is, thankfully, not the way it's actually applied.

Is it just a bizarre one-off? Intellectually unsatisfying (not to mention a cop-out).

Is it reputation? But Akiko was one of the performance leaders this entire season, and many expected her to be a genuine contender in this Championships (which turned out to be accurate). I find it hard to believe that there wasn't enough time for Akiko to build genuine respect, particularly in those aspects where where her talents, for even the average viewer, are manifest.

Is it Federation support (that Akiko has never been the Japanese #1)? I've always hated this kind of argument. Not least because I don't understand the exact mechanics of how this would work. Also because it assumes that 1) judging is still corrupt, and 2) it requires that judges be automatons, who follow their directives no matter what is happening in front of their eyes and what they personally think. Absent any damning evidence, I will not level such accusations at other human beings.

Which brings me back to my original question: what is the logical way to understand Akiko's LP result? Someone put me out of my misery, because this question has been annoying me no end for the past couple of days.

(BTW, I thought Ashley's PCS in the LP was inexplicably low, too, although she was further behind so it would have required a much larger swing in PCS for bronze).

**mikeko666** · 04-02-2012, 09:18 AM

The comparison of PCS between Leonova, Suzuki and Asada in LP is perhaps one of the best testimonies for PCS being "reputation score". Suzuki had much better skating skills and choreography, and was much more musical and her program had more transitions than Leonova, but the protocol says otherwise. Even worse is that Asada, who botched almost all her jumps received higher PCS than Suzuki, who only missed a 3Lz.

**Robeye** · 04-02-2012, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by mikeko666

The comparison of PCS between Leonova, Suzuki and Asada in LP is perhaps one of the best testimonies for PCS being "reputation score". Suzuki had much better skating skills and choreography, and was much more musical and her program had more transitions than Leonova, but the protocol says otherwise. Even worse is that Asada, who botched almost all her jumps received higher PCS than Suzuki, who only missed a 3Lz.

Hi mikeko, some thoughts:

-Agree with your comments on Akiko.

-Mao might have been a bit overscored, but, in principle, I don't mind the fact that her PCS was fairly high in proportion to her technical score. My own view is that the jump aspects should impact the artistic components of PCS only insofar as they have an effect on the arc, design, or emotive effectiveness of the program. If one under-rotates or two-foots or wrong-edges, etc., but this doesn't noticeably disrupt the flow or rhythm, and if (as nineteenth century novelists might say) this doesn't put the skater 'out of countenance' (like this

, this

, or this

), then the impact on those components should be far less than if one played human zamboni a number of times and was slow to get up. Conversely, if technical elements are undertaken to a rhythmic or melodic design, then they play double duty, and if they further the aesthetic effect, then this ought to be recognized. IMO, Mao's jumps errors didn't completely kill the program as performance art, so the artistic scores were, rightly, not completely negated.

-The difficulty I have in wrapping my head around the "reputation" explanation is that 1) I'm not quite sure why Alena would have built a hugely stronger reputation than Akiko, and 2) how is it then that new skaters can break in and develop reputations in the first place? And some very quickly (e.g. Yuna and Mao)?

You may be right ("I may be crazy..."

), but I haven't given up my struggle for complete internal consistency.

**evangeline** · 04-02-2012, 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by Robeye

(BTW, I thought Ashley's PCS in the LP was inexplicably low, too, although she was further behind so it would have required a much larger swing in PCS for bronze).

Ashley's problem was that she did not skate in the final group. Alena also has more international cred. Sadly, that matters....I think it's a travesty that Ashley placed behind Alena on EVERY SINGLE COMPONENT of PCS, even Transitions and Choreography.

**Spun Silver** · 04-02-2012, 12:36 PM

Because the Russians wanted a medal! A good one! Japanese ladies were doing too well in spite of Mao's stumbling.

**christinaskater** · 04-02-2012, 04:30 PM

From http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...aeaeaf68bf.331

Figure skater Akiko looks to future
(AFP)
NICE, France — Veteran Japanese figure skater Akiko Suzuki has high hopes for the future after making her international breakthrough on the world stage at the age of 27 years with a bronze.
Days after turning 27, Suzuki saved what would have been a disappointing world championship week on the French Riveria for the Japanese women, who had won four of the five titles prior to Nice.
Two-time world champion Mao Asada slumped to sixth and 17-year-old Kanako Murakami dropped from second after the short programme to fifth overall.
But up stepped Suzuki skating to "Die Fledermaus" to surge unexpectly from fifth onto the podium behind winner Carolina Kostner of Italy and Russia's Alena Leonova.
"I want to put this medal on my coach's neck," said Suzuki, whose early career had been blighted with her struggle with anorexia.
Suzuki had been one of the rising stars of Japanese women's figure skating before her battle with the eating disorder almost ended her promising career at the age of just 16. She missed the entire 2003-2004 season.
The skater from Aichi, who trains in Nagoya, finished just 11th in her only previous world appearance in 2010, after making her Olympic debut earlier that year with an eighth place in Vancouver.
She now hopes to focus on next season and her bid to compete in the 2014 Sochi Games.
"I think missing last year's world team gave a lot of motivation to train harder. This is my first world medal and I am 27 years old.
"So after one year I have my first medal. This is the first present I got after turning 27," said Suzuki.
She added: "I am very, very happy to have won a medal. But I wanted to give a clean performance and get a medal with it. So I have a few regrets about that.
"In my free skating the last triple Lutz is something I always work on. I really wanted to nail it, but couldn't. I still need to work on it."
The medal capped a successful season for Suzuki who beat Olympic silver medallist Asada to win the NHK Trophy and finished runner-up to the 2008 and 2010 world champion at nationals and second to Kostner at the Grand Prix final.
Her bronze brought Japan's final tally to four medals with Daisuke Takahashi and Yuzuru Hanyu winning silver and bronze in the men's event and Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran Japan's first pairs medal with bronze.

**christinaskater** · 04-02-2012, 04:32 PM

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/T120402004267.htm
Suzuki comes of age with world bronze
Hiroshi Wakamizu / Yomiuri Shimbun Sportswriter

NICE, France--Akiko Suzuki gave herself the perfect birthday present--her first-ever medal at a world figure skating championships.

Having turned 27 three days earlier, she knows she doesn't have many chances left.

"I believed that you can make progress from any age, and that's what led to this medal," Suzuki said after becoming the oldest world medalist in Japan figure skating history. "And I still believe I can get even better."

Suzuki, who was fifth after the short program, leapfrogged young compatriots Mao Asada and Kanako Murakami to finish third behind Italy's Carolina Kostner and Russian Alena Leonova.

Suzuki, despite a minor muff on a jump in the second half, made up for it with speed and emotion to score the second-highest in the free skate behind Kostner.

While Suzuki would not comment on her prospects for the 2014 Sochi Olympics, it would seem the perfect place to close a career that has had more than its share of ups and downs.

Suzuki struggled with an eating disorder early in her career, missing the entire 2003-04 season. It took several years to get back to a competitive level, but she did made Japan's team for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, where she placed eighth.

The 2010-11 season saw Suzuki struggle again, leading her to take a close look at her program and make sweeping changes on the advice of her coach. Through hard practice, she added a triple-triple to her routine.

This season, the Aichi Prefecture native showed the fruits of her labor by winning the NHK Trophy and finishing second at Skate Canada, the Grand Prix Final and the Japan championships.

**mikeko666** · 04-03-2012, 03:46 AM

Originally Posted by Robeye

-The difficulty I have in wrapping my head around the "reputation" explanation is that 1) I'm not quite sure why Alena would have built a hugely stronger reputation than Akiko, and 2) how is it then that new skaters can break in and develop reputations in the first place? And some very quickly (e.g. Yuna and Mao)?

The federation support you mentioned above would explain it well. Leonova has more support from her federation (at least for now) than Suzuki does. Suzuki was never a favorite of JSF, and is merely a spare for when Asada, Ando or Murakami is absent or unreliable, just like Yukari Nakano was. That is why Murakami won Bronze while she missed the podium with suspiciously low scores at GPF last season.

This blog entry summarizes well.
http://morozombie.blogspot.jp/2010/1...ko-suzuki.html

This year's ladies singles result was the second last thing JSF wanted, only next to the podium with no Japanese lady. In the beginning of this season, Asada, Murakami and Ando (even thought she was not be competing) were chosen as Tokubetsu Kyokasensyu (Special Trainees, the highest rank of the trainees funded by JSF) while Suzuki was chosen as a Kyokasenshu A (the second highest rank) despite of her high ISU rank. Later she was promoted to a Special Trainee after she was assigned to two GPS events because JSF had no choice but to do so if they wanted to promote Imai.