What is the best strategy for amazing Asada to challenge incredible Kim at the Games? | Golden Skate

What is the best strategy for amazing Asada to challenge incredible Kim at the Games?

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
What is the best strategy for amazing Asada to challenge incredible Kim at the Games?

Obviously her skate in the long program will say alot (not so much her score as the scores in Japan should be taken with a grain of salt as already noted by others with Hanyu and some others). She will likely win this event even with an imperfect performance, regardless what her competitors do. However looking ahead, it looks like Kim is the only one who can seriously challenge Mao for this years Olympic Gold medal, and there is obviously a question mark around Kim at this moment. That said, whether or not Kim returns at her absolute best, I do not think Maos skating this season thus far, as strong as it is, is likely to beat her. The short program at the Grand Prix final was more of the same, great skating and standing up very difficult jumps, but always a costly technical error of sorts. It is clear she has a hard time consistently rotating the triple axel (her short program here had another downgrade), yet she continues to go for it, even with a high likelihood of < and even if it is not < likely not cleanly done, and in the long program especialy it also can be a challenge to receover from if it doesnt go perectly. She can get away with those vs anyone else, but not likely vs Kim.

So what should her best strategy be when facing Kim in Sochi. To try and scale back on the difficulty some and go clean, similar to the strategy that S&S are now at last trying to employ to challenge and put more pressure on V&T, and atleast secure the silver in Sochi. Or to go for broke in both programs, complete with all 3 axels and 3-3 combos, as her best shot of somehow beating a perfect Kim.
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
If Mao is clean she should win the SP against Yuna. The LP will be a problem because Yuna has a much easier time delivering a clean long than does Mao. Mao did an absolutely stunning 3F in the SP that had great height and flow out, and that is exactly how she needs to land her 7 planned triples in her LPs. I am mixed on whether she should do 1 3A and the 3F/3R or just 2 3A's. I'd say probably the 2 3A's just because she can stop training the 3/3. I don't see her scaling back her programs at all because that isn't her style.
 

Barb

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
what other option Mao has? if she does a 3-3 and 2a in her sp the 3f-3loop will be ur or dg anyway, and if she does 3-2 and 2a Yuna will beat her.
In the LP the same of course she can go for the easy way but if both of them go clean we all know who will win. Mao needs the 3a or 3-3 for to get the gold if Yuna doesn´t do mistakes, I don´t think Mao want less than the gold medal.

and the ur 3a in this competition was totally unfair, I don`t think in the OG it would be called ur.
 

Barb

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
I thought the 3 axel was a borderline call. It didnt look clean, but as far as rotation it was right on the edge, about a quarter. I am very surprised in Japan she wouldnt get the benefit of the caller though. A troubling sign for her as if she didnt get it here, she definitely wont in Sochi (for a similar attempt that is of course).
Amano won´t be in the OG , so she has more posibilities that her 3a get ratified
 

penguin

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 31, 2012
For Mao to medal, her best best is to go clean. Maybe ditch the 3-3 (which is going to get dinged as < or worse, <<) and keep going for her 3A's, which she can sometimes get full credit on. The way this season is going she's way ahead of Carolina and can beat everyone minus Yuna with the slightly easier layout.

For Mao to win gold, she has to go for everything and land everything. One of the reasons I admire Mao so much is that she isn't the kind to shy away from something hard just because it's unlikely, but she's probably left a number of medals on the table because of that. I have a feeling she'll go for the most ambitious option but I still expect that Yuna will take gold.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
The wonderful Mao just needs to be her wonderful self, and hope for the best. :yes:
 

Becki

Medalist
Joined
Nov 28, 2011
For Mao to medal, her best best is to go clean. Maybe ditch the 3-3 (which is going to get dinged as < or worse, <<) and keep going for her 3A's, which she can sometimes get full credit on. The way this season is going she's way ahead of Carolina and can beat everyone minus Yuna with the slightly easier layout.

For Mao to win gold, she has to go for everything and land everything. One of the reasons I admire Mao so much is that she isn't the kind to shy away from something hard just because it's unlikely, but she's probably left a number of medals on the table because of that. I have a feeling she'll go for the most ambitious option but I still expect that Yuna will take gold.

I admire Mao for that. Some people call it stubborn, but to mean it's a testimony to her strength and courage. She has already achieved all she could in the sport (sans the elusive OGM), so an extra medal or two means very little to Mao.

Between her and Yuna, I hope the best skater of the night wins! I am rooting for Mao tho! :D
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I admire Mao for that. Some people call it stubborn, but to mean it's a testimony to her strength and courage. She has already achieved all she could in the sport (sans the elusive OGM), so an extra medal or two means very little to Mao.

Between her and Yuna, I hope the best skater of the night wins! I am rooting for Mao tho! :D

Mao's drive also proves that she has the temperament for competition, which is a hugely valuable asset. Would that some of our American hopefuls had this trait! So I never give up on her. Besides, I just love her skating. She's a joy to watch wherever she ends up.
 

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
Keep doing what she's doing and hope for the best. What else could she do at this point? Changing up her strategy 2-3 months before Sochi is an even riskier gamble, I think. Barring another injury setback, she'll have to assume Kim will be in top form.
 

CarneAsada

Medalist
Joined
Sep 17, 2011
Keep doing what she's doing and hope for the best. What else could she do at this point? Changing up her strategy 2-3 months before Sochi is an even riskier gamble, I think. Barring another injury setback, she'll have to assume Kim will be in top form.
There's no real need to change her strategy. A sloppy skate with monstrous difficulty can get her a silver. A clean skate with monstrous difficulty can get her the gold. A clean skate without monstrous difficulty looks better than the first possibility and can also get her the silver but it's not like she always skates clean with watered down content, and if she does it then she'd be handing the gold to Yuna on a platter. Unless she starts bombing, I don't see how changing her strategy will help. She's done all the reworking she could fit in 4 years and restored all the jumps she can reasonably attempt. Now she needs to work with what she has.
 

wonderlen3000

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 8, 2008
Well the only obvious strategy for any skaters since COP was created was to rack up as many points as you can. Doesn't matter if you can land 1 triple or 7 triples. you get points for doing it period. a 3A< worth 6.0 point and that's the same base value as 3Lz. Since Mao can't do 3Lz cleanly without getting < or e call, 3 A is better strategy. Mao is attempting 7 triples (maybe 8) to get maximum base value and that's the only way she can match Kim's TES score.
 

jenaj

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Country
United-States
For Mao to medal, her best best is to go clean. Maybe ditch the 3-3 (which is going to get dinged as < or worse, <<) and keep going for her 3A's, which she can sometimes get full credit on. The way this season is going she's way ahead of Carolina and can beat everyone minus Yuna with the slightly easier layout.

For Mao to win gold, she has to go for everything and land everything. One of the reasons I admire Mao so much is that she isn't the kind to shy away from something hard just because it's unlikely, but she's probably left a number of medals on the table because of that. I have a feeling she'll go for the most ambitious option but I still expect that Yuna will take gold.

I think Mao should consider doing the 3axel in the short and ditching it in the long. If she can do 3-3, do it in the long along with a 2A-3T. Doing programs with a level of difficulty that she can skate clean is the key to her winning.
 

Srin Odessa

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Securing the Gold against a clean Yuna who might go 233.00+ after Olympic inflation? Go YOLO with two rotated triple axles that maximize GOE scaling in the FS and a hail mary triple-triple in both programs. Mao already has a slight edge on Kim when comes to levels. A lot of it comes down to how much their PCS trend up to the Olympics.

If Yuna is flawed, then Mao gets a lot of wiggle room. I think her 3F-3Lo is too much of risk and a second 3A is too much to ask. With how well her PCS are for the season, I think she should be able to hit 140+ with her current jump layout with two relatively clean skates. Mao is probably guaranteed a medal but an ambitious program has a risk of costing her the podium.
 

bebevia

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
...With all said, I really hoped that she "had" left Tarasova's choreography. They love each other, but their visions just don't work well together, as both actually admitted hitting walls with interpretations in 2009-10.
 

Barb

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
I think Mao should consider doing the 3axel in the short and ditching it in the long. If she can do 3-3, do it in the long along with a 2A-3T. Doing programs with a level of difficulty that she can skate clean is the key to her winning.
She has 3f-3loop, she as almost everyone trying this combo always get dg.
 

CarneAsada

Medalist
Joined
Sep 17, 2011
Thanks for all your thoughts. Much appreciated. It seems the consensus is her current strategy is the right way to keep going, even if she isnt even able to do a clean short program as of yet. CarneAsada though you did mention I think you thought one jump was too much to go for her as a backup plan. I forget exactly what that was though. Could you refresh my memory on that.

I am a huge fan of both Kim and Mao so I will be crushed for whichever doesnt win. A win for Kim would cement her status as possibly the best ever, while a loss and she might not even be the best skater of her own era anymore. For Mao a win would really complete her already amazing career, and a loss would be dissapointing as this season has probably given her strong belief in winning the Olympic Gold, even with the caveat of Kim being out thus far. Plus that she didnt get the chance in 2006 when she probably would have done it.

I also want Wagner, Kostner, and a Russian to all medal, but that wont happen. Someone will be dissapointed either way.
It was the 3F-3Lo. In an interview I believe she said if she popped a 3A, she'd go for that as her third pass. Her new layout apparently removes the Lutz; it makes sense as she hasn't come close to landing a correct edge Lutz since 2011 4CC, but still, it was getting pretty consistent and could net her maybe 5 points.

That's definitely true. I feel there is so much more riding on Sochi as it's the last time we will probably see both of them in the same competition. Although Yuna is coming in as the heavy favorite once again, Mao has been steadily improving this quad while in the leadup to Vancouver, she peaked 2 seasons too early and went downhill from there. At least this time she could conceivably put up a fight to keep it even going into the LP, while 4 years ago she went all out in the SP and Yuna still squashed her by 5 points. Either way, if they once again finish 1-2 their legacies will certainly be assured (as if they weren't already) no matter what order.
 

Ambivalent

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 29, 2011
Blades, I know this is Yu-Na's just done her debut but I am curious to know what your thoughts are with regard to her short program?
 
Top