Which THREE U.S. Ladies do you want to see at the Olympics next year? | Page 5 | Golden Skate

Which THREE U.S. Ladies do you want to see at the Olympics next year?

uncchristine99

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Wagner, Gold and either Gao or Zawadski. It would be a dream to see Zhang in there but she's so hot and cold (mostly cold). And Nagasu (in the entire time since Vancouver) has all the goods but just can't stop getting in her own way. I think the American judges always want to give it to her but she'll implode on her own and leave the door open for everyone else. I think Czisny could be a wildcard--it's too hard to say with her injury status.

To me, Wagner and Czisny are the only ones who have generated some international clout in this cycle and if I was the USFSA, I would want to send both. Gold has more recently turned a few heads so I would keep an eye on her too. Gao is my darkhorse--I think she's going to challenge for the 3rd spot.
 

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be
Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Country
France
I'm still not seeing how Ashley's gonna score 140+ on an LP without a 2A+3T or a 3x3, unless she gets real close to Yuna's PCS and GOE's. Can you provide a hypothetical breakdown of the BV, GOE and PCS that would do it?

3Sal ... 4.2 ... +1.2 point from GOE = 5.4
FCCoSp4 ... 3.5 .... +1 point from GOE = 4.5
3Flip+2Loop+2Loop ... 8.9 ... +1 point from GOE = 9.9
StSq4 ... 3.9 ... +1.2 point from GOE = 5.1
-----
3Lo ... 5.61 ... +1.2 point from GOE = 6.81
3Lz .... 6.6 ... -.3 point from GOE = 6.3
LSp4 ... 2.7 ... +1 point from GOE = 3.7
3Lo + 2A ... 7.39 ... +1 point from GOE = 8.39
3T + 2A ... 5.51 ... +1 point from GOE = 6.51
3F ... 5.83 ... +.7 point from GOE = 6.53
ChSq ... 2.0 ... +1.4 point from GOE = 3.4
CCoSp4 ... 3.5 ... +1 point from GOE = 4.5

Technical = 71.04
PCS = 69.0
TOTAL = 140.04
 

FlattFan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
3Sal ... 4.2 ... +1.2 point from GOE = 5.4
FCCoSp4 ... 3.5 .... +1 point from GOE = 4.5
3Flip+2Loop+2Loop ... 8.9 ... +1 point from GOE = 9.9
StSq4 ... 3.9 ... +1.2 point from GOE = 5.1
-----
3Lo ... 5.61 ... +1.2 point from GOE = 6.81
3Lz .... 6.6 ... -.3 point from GOE = 6.3
LSp4 ... 2.7 ... +1 point from GOE = 3.7
3Lo + 2A ... 7.39 ... +1 point from GOE = 8.39
3T + 2A ... 5.51 ... +1 point from GOE = 6.51
3F ... 5.83 ... +.7 point from GOE = 6.53
ChSq ... 2.0 ... +1.4 point from GOE = 3.4
CCoSp4 ... 3.5 ... +1 point from GOE = 4.5

Technical = 71.04
PCS = 69.0
TOTAL = 140.04

Basically the highest GOE, higher than anything she's ever gotten. Coupled with doing every single elements better than she's ever done.
Coupled with PCS higher than Mao Asada's

LOL. LOL. and LOL.

Her Salchow never get anywhere close to 1.0, let along 1.2.
Her steps, level 4, and then 1.2 GOE? LOL.

Why don't you buy lottery ticket? I hear 1 2 3 4 5 6 are very likely.
 

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be
Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Country
France
Basically the highest GOE, higher than anything she's ever gotten. Doing every single elements better than she's ever done.

She has received those GOE scores or HIGHER on almost all of those elements. These are the only two exceptions:

Her Salchow never get anywhere close to 1.0, let along 1.2.
Her steps, level 4, and then 1.2 GOE? LOL.

That's exactly why she should do the Salchow off the top of the program (yes it has gotten close to 1.0 btw), with transitions before and after. She COULD get that much +GOE for the jump if she put the focus on it. She usually never focuses on this jump, though, it's just an element somewhere later in the program that she has to do.

As for the steps, she has received Level 4 with 0.9 GOE before. By putting the step sequence earlier in the program when she can focus on it better, I'm quite sure she could achieve 1.2

This is why taking out the 2Axel+3Toe combo is such a benefit for her. Instead of worrying about that risky combo, she can just work on executing reliable elements as well as possible and put more detail in the performance.

Coupled with PCS higher than Mao Asada's.

By a few tenths of a point...and the PCS you're talked about for Mao is what she received for a flawed performance. This number I propose is still lower than Kostner and Kim. Ashley could most definitely receive 69 in PCS for a great performance, with the right program. She received over 63 at this Worlds with a lackluster program that had a stepout, a very distracting fall, and another balance check. If Ashley had skated her performance from 2012 Worlds this year, after actually making the final flight of skaters going into the LP and having more clout than the year prior, she would have pretty much reached those numbers already.

Ashley needs great programs next season and she needs a better gameplan. The potential is all there. She knows how to perform, she is able to hit good positions, and she has the strength and technical ability to deliver what CoP loves.
 

MarkusNJ

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 13, 2011
I just don't see Mirai happening, no offense, but I think her time has passed, and the USFSA has let her know that at the last 2 nationals....
Gracie and Ashley....then Agnes or Christina.
 

MarkusNJ

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 13, 2011
I also have a pretty deep seeded feeling that there will be a North American on the podium at the Olympics, and it wont be a Canadian.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
There will be four North Americans: Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Basically the highest GOE, higher than anything she's ever gotten. Coupled with doing every single elements better than she's ever done.
Coupled with PCS higher than Mao Asada's

LOL. LOL. and LOL.

Her Salchow never get anywhere close to 1.0, let along 1.2.
Her steps, level 4, and then 1.2 GOE? LOL.

Why don't you buy lottery ticket? I hear 1 2 3 4 5 6 are very likely.

Hahaha pretty much. I am sure at Nationals skating cleanly with a 2 axel-3 toe she can get something like that, but that is it.
 

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
I just don't see Mirai happening, no offense, but I think her time has passed, and the USFSA has let her know that at the last 2 nationals....
Gracie and Ashley....then Agnes or Christina.

Poor Mirai. She was so promising in Vancouver. And then it was all downhill from there...
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
Time to turn the page for skaters like Alissa and Mirai. Unless Mirai suddenly starts to rotate her jumps maybe she has a chance but she's not the same skater as in 2010. She's lost speed and the joy of skating. Sometimes she has looked like a zombie when she's skating. As for Alissa the world is a different place then 2011. Now most all the top skaters are doing 3-3 combo's. Amazing how just two years ago people were saying how bad the Ladies field was and now it's loaded again perhaps even more then heading into the last Olympics.
 

evangeline

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Time to turn the page for skaters like Alissa and Mirai. Unless Mirai suddenly starts to rotate her jumps maybe she has a chance but she's not the same skater as in 2010. She's lost speed and the joy of skating. Sometimes she has looked like a zombie when she's skating. As for Alissa the world is a different place then 2011. Now most all the top skaters are doing 3-3 combo's. Amazing how just two years ago people were saying how bad the Ladies field was and now it's loaded again perhaps even more then heading into the last Olympics.

Mirai is--or was--still skating well enough to win medals on the GP circuit (e.g. bronze at NHK this year). If she can hold it together at Nationals, I think she still has a fighting chance.

Alissa is a lovely skater but I think the injuries are a sign of her body sending her a message.
 

b-man

Final Flight
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
I just don't see Mirai happening, no offense, but I think her time has passed, and the USFSA has let her know that at the last 2 nationals....
Gracie and Ashley....then Agnes or Christina.
I just checked the international records over the last 3 years (after Mirai's best year). Agnes has been in 6 GP's, yet in five of the six she has finished fifth or worse, and has only a bronze to show for the six appearances. She has been named to the 4CC team twice, yet only managed finishes of 6th and 8th.

Christina has been in 4 GP's, and was able to get a silver at SA this year which had the weakest ladies field of the six GP's. With an injury withdrawal, she was a sub in the GP final where she finished last, a distant 19 points behind 5th. To her credit, she did beat Gold and Agnes at this years 4CC, but still only 4th behind the 3 Japanese skaters.

Mirai has been in 6 GP's the last 3 years, but has not one medal like Agnes and Christina, but 3 medals. Mirai was only sent to 4CC once, but managed a medal, unlike Agnes and Christina. She got a bronze behind Miki and Mao who both scored over 190. So she has an international record far better than Agnes and equal or better than Gao. So those who say Mirai is done should also be saying Agnes and Gao are done.
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
I just checked the international records over the last 3 years (after Mirai's best year). Agnes has been in 6 GP's, yet in five of the six she has finished fifth or worse, and has only a bronze to show for the six appearances. She has been named to the 4CC team twice, yet only managed finishes of 6th and 8th.

Christina has been in 4 GP's, and was able to get a silver at SA this year which had the weakest ladies field of the six GP's. With an injury withdrawal, she was a sub in the GP final where she finished last, a distant 19 points behind 5th. To her credit, she did beat Gold and Agnes at this years 4CC, but still only 4th behind the 3 Japanese skaters.

Mirai has been in 6 GP's the last 3 years, but has not one medal like Agnes and Christina, but 3 medals. Mirai was only sent to 4CC once, but managed a medal, unlike Agnes and Christina. She got a bronze behind Miki and Mao who both scored over 190. So she has an international record far better than Agnes and equal or better than Gao. So those who say Mirai is done should also be saying Agnes and Gao are done.
The problem is Mirai seems to have peaked in 2010 and hasn't gotten better . Gao on the other hand is on the upswing and had a breakout year. Agnes seems to be stagnating at the moment. She needs to break through next season.
 

b-man

Final Flight
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Agree that Mirai peaked in 2010, she now has regressed, down to, but not below, the level of Christina and Agnes. If Gao is on the upswing, it is at a rate so imperceptable that many don't see it. She is skating well internationally, but not well enough to medal. Agnes is only a year younger than Mirai, has been given as many or more chances than Mirai in the last 3 years and has nothing to show for it. If Mirai is done, I would still argue Gao and Agnes are also done, and we don't have a third skater for the third spot in Sochi. But I don't think Mirai or the other two are done, all should be given a shot. And in post 92 you indicated the top skaters should be doing 3-3 combos. Mirai did a triple toe- triple toe in her SP at Omaha that was ratified, which as you know all the US ladies team is not currently doing.
 

KwanIsALegend

Fly On
Medalist
Joined
Feb 2, 2011
Ashley, Mirai and Caroline.
I don't think that is very likely, but I would love to see the 3 of them go.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
Mirai has grown physically since the 2010 Olympics, and with the growth her jump technique has failed her. She has a big UR problem. In the Cup of China FS this past year, she URd all the triples and a few doubles, too. She medaled at NHK, but still URd four jumps. She isn't going to do well in a major competition if she can't rotate her jumps. Yes, she does medal from time to time, but in the past two years, she hasn't had two good competitions in a row.

Alissa Czisny is turning 26 soon, and she's had two major surgeries in the past year. Even when she was younger and healthy, she was an inconsistent jumper.

Like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, with Mirai and Alissa, when it comes to competition, you never know what you're going to get.

I think Ashley and Gracie should go to Sochi, but I would be dismayed if Mirai or Alissa was the third lady. As for sending Mirai and Alissa, as some posters are suggesting, leaving Gracie and Ashley at home, I would be horrified. I wouldn't even want to watch the competition.
 

b-man

Final Flight
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Mirai has grown physically since the 2010 Olympics, and with the growth her jump technique has failed her. She has a big UR problem. In the Cup of China FS this past year, she URd all the triples and a few doubles, too. She medaled at NHK, but still URd four jumps. She isn't going to do well in a major competition if she can't rotate her jumps. Yes, she does medal from time to time, but in the past two years, she hasn't had two good competitions in a row.

Alissa Czisny is turning 26 soon, and she's had two major surgeries in the past year. Even when she was younger and healthy, she was an inconsistent jumper.

Like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, with Mirai and Alissa, when it comes to competition, you never know what you're going to get.

I think Ashley and Gracie should go to Sochi, but I would be dismayed if Mirai or Alissa was the third lady. As for sending Mirai and Alissa, as some posters are suggesting, leaving Gracie and Ashley at home, I would be horrified. I wouldn't even want to watch the competition.
Agreed Mirai is a little heavier at 19 than at 16. And, like a box of chocolates, you don't know what performance you are going to get. But you pretty much know what you are going to get with Agnes, and the record isn't good. Gao has been better this year, but she still only medaled with a very watered down field at SA. With Mirai, at least there is a potential upside. She still has a better percentage of medaling than either Agnes or Christina. I still am of the opinion that her problems are more with skating under pressure rather than weight. She tends to do worse in the Nationals FS where the pressure is higher than in other competitions. If she went to Sochi or worlds as the third US skater, with lower expectations, she could very well thrive in that environmenwt.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
Mirai HAS to skate well at Nationals if she wants to go to Worlds/Sochi. If she can't handle the Nationals pressure, how the heck can she handle Olympic pressure? And why should she be given such a huge gift as a berth for Sochi if she finishes 7th at Nationals for the third time in a row?

To become Olympians, skaters have to EARN the privilege by finishing in the top 3 at Nationals. And that applies to Mirai and Alissa. I just hope USFS doesn't give either one a PCS gift to ratchet up their placements.
 
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