??? :think:???
I feel the exact same way about your posts on Julia as well.
I think it is a mistake to make assumptions based on how things WERE circa 2012/2013 season. There is a sea-change happening between the old guard and new guard and don't think the judges and other officials aren't aware of this and prepared to help it along. To this point YuNa seems to have stayed above it all, but if you think the judges aren't going to hammer YuNa if she gives them the opportunity then you are just whistling past the graveyard. If she gives them an excuse, they'll pounce like a cat on a mouse. Conversely, if the youngsters like Julia give similar performances like they recently did they are sure to be well rewarded. Be prepared to see similar scores in Sochi.
I agree with this. Also, due to injury, Yuna did not skate in the GPs. She did manage to skate in one Senior B event and win impressively - but she still had some mistakes and quite frankly she didn't seem as 'crisp' as she did last year. But who knows? This Olympics is going to be very interesting especially in the ladie's events. All kinds of questions are going to be answered on the night of the ladie's SP.
I don't have an issue with wonderkids winning. However, I have to admit that I was glad Yuna missed the Turin cut by months and did not have to compete against Michelle. I'm sure Tara's glad too.
Why would Tara be glad the Yuna didn't compete in Torino? Her Olympics were in Nagano 1998.
But there's not guarantee that Mao and Yuna will be at their best and if they leave the door open Julia more than has the chops to blow right in.
Friendly suggestion that you check your skating history.
But I get what you mean, as I too can't help but root for the veterans. It always takes me a while to warm up to most skaters. I'm sure Tara, however, has zero problems with wonderkids winning the Olympics.
Tara said flat out during Europeans coverage that she 'just loves her' when referring to Julia. I think she'd be pleased as punch if Lipnitskaya won the Games.
Why is "looking like a little girl" considered a flaw? Last I checked, figure skating is a sport, not a beauty pageant. Why does Julia need a womanly figure (a "mature" body) to be worthy of certain marks? If a skater's appearance is being taken into account when scoring, should the judges start giving bonuses to skaters with pretty faces too? Or take off marks to girls with less attractive facial features?
I'm NOT saying clean Julia should beat clean Yuna or even slightly flawed Yuna. I just find the logic of "Julia still looks like a kid so she doesn't deserve high marks" totally absurd.
So do I. Quality of movement should be judged not age. Look at the young Gordeeva. Just the way that she held her arms was a study in natural grace. The same could be argued about a skater's build. Should a long, lithe skater score higher than one with a shorter, stockier build? Hopefully we've moved past that. Julia doesn't skate like a junior out there and I very much disagree with those who say that she does. Now someone like Polina Edmunds or Elena Radionova? That's another story, especially Edmunds. Both still look unfinished and need some polishing up.