Mirai posts her thoughts on Nationals

sweetskates1 · Jan 30, 2014

As am I.... GO MIRAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

seniorita said:
She is my fav USA lady since I saw her in Vancouver and I m looking forward to seeing her back on top!

sweetskates1 · Jan 30, 2014

GO MIRAI!!!!!!!!!!! And yes - AMAZING relevant story.

blue dog said:
People forget that Shizuka Arakawa was left off the 2002 Olympic team for Yoshie Onda, after having gone in 1998. She was 21 years old. She returned to the Olympics at 25, and won. Amazing what "a little bit of failure" can do.

Binthere · Jan 30, 2014

Good for Mirai for taking the high road. She was under no obligation to say anything to anyone. I'm sure there were plenty of media sources which were looking to potentially exploit the range of emotions she must have been experiencing in the immediate aftermath of Nationals and the Olympic team decision. Choosing her own time to express her thoughts, including her thanks for support, takes grace and courage.

CanadianSkaterGuy · Jan 30, 2014

pangtongfan said:
Agreed. It would have made perfect sense to send Polina to the Games but to Junior Worlds instead of Senior Worlds , and atleast give Mirai Worlds when she was going to be bumped off the Olympic Team.

Agreed. This would have made the most sense. Although it's a bit weird sending Polina to Junior Worlds after competing at the Olympics. Like, would she get the same PCS or would it drop back down to "junior level" PCS?

ice coverage · Jan 30, 2014

CanadianSkaterGuy said:
Such a lovely, classy statement. Still expressing her disappointment, but with a positive attitude. I hope she does continue on, considering her GP medal and US Nationals performances.

:agree: I'm a softie, and Mirai's combination of honesty and class made me cry. Glad that she is controlling her own message.

gottadance said:
... . It seems Mirai wasn't aware of that and I do feel that it is the responsibility of any athlete to be current on this sort of thing for their own good.
I also agree that while classy in content, the post is poorly timed .

flutzy13 said:
I think the actual content is fine but the timing (i.e. approximatly less than 2 days before most of the team departs for Sochi) will not make USFSA happy. I'm sure they want all the coverage to be Go Team USA, which is understandable. Mirai putting out a longer statement throws them right back into the post-Boston controversy.

noskates said:
It was clearly a prepared statement. But I remember clearly reading in the Boston newspaper after the ladies skated Mirai making a statement about hoping she would get the assignment and that it wasn't a sure thing. .... So I think Mirai knew.

I do think it was nice (not sure classy is the word) that Mirai released this statement. However, as seen in this thread, she's just started the fires up again by expressing her disappointment and acting like it was a surprirse.

She said, "I remain confused" (not "surprised") by the USFS decision. Nothing wrong with that. Plenty of GS members also remain confused. She did not say that she had been unaware of the rules.

Re the timing of Mirai's statement:
Give her a break, for heaven's sake. She clearly affirms her support for the U.S. ladies and the other Team USA skaters going to Sochi. And better to make her statement now than even closer to February 6.
Expecting her to gather her thoughts earlier than today is not fair, IMO. Boston obviously was very emotional for her. Then Four Continents was immediately upon her, with the ensuing travel to/from Taiwan. My understanding is that she was battling illness during this period. And she said she still is processing the USFS decision.

Of course it was a prepared statement. As opposed to what? A live interview? :confused2:
Nothing wrong with a prepared statement. "Prepared" does not equal insincere.

drivingmissdaisy said:
... somewhat boilerplate.

Huh? Boilerplate? Maybe a word or two, here and there. But overall? No way, esp. given that her situation was/is unique.

mskater93 · Jan 30, 2014

drivingmissdaisy said:
The men's and pairs assignments made it seem like even more of a snub to Mirai.

I suspect that men's and pairs were driven by the fact that there's no appreciable difference in scoring potential (or possibly a little higher if they skate their best) between team/skater #2 and team/skater #3 for those two groups while there seems to be a belief that Nagasu is too risky to send to Worlds.

drivingmissdaisy · Jan 30, 2014

mskater93 said:
I suspect that men's and pairs were driven by the fact that there's no appreciable difference in scoring potential (or possibly a little higher if they skate their best) between team/skater #2 and team/skater #3 for those two groups while there seems to be a belief that Nagasu is too risky to send to Worlds.

You're right, not only risk though but I am sure that, as others have pointed out, they want to put their support behind a young skater to position her to compete with the young Russians.

mskater93 · Jan 30, 2014

Even if that is NOT the case, Polina has a better opportunity than Mirai to capitalize on others' mistakes (read higher finish) based upon a strong TES foundation. While she may end up the third placing American, it will not be for lack of technical effort, but more likely due to lower PCS. If Mirai (granted she was supposedly sick) can't even finish in the top 5 and barely makes the top 10 at 4CC with many of the best skaters in the World (top 10 finishers from last couple seasons) from those continents declining to skate there (Asada, Kim, Suzuki, Gold, Wagner, Osmond...) what does that say if those skaters + the ones from Europe are at Worlds? I could see a case where Mirai with < and << calls at Worlds finishes behind all of: Kim, Asada, Gold, Kostner, Suzuki, Wagner, Osmond, Lipnitskaia, Murakami, Li, at the very least (assuming Edmunds was bumped for her) and possibly Meite, Kexin Zhang, Marchei, Daleman, Korpii (if she's back), Helgesson and possibly even more!

SoundtracksOnIce · Jan 30, 2014

flutzy13 said:
I think the actual content is fine but the timing (i.e. approximatly less than 2 days before most of the team departs for Sochi) will not make USFSA happy. I'm sure they want all the coverage to be Go Team USA, which is understandable. Mirai putting out a longer statement throws them right back into the post-Boston controversy.

Well, they asked for it. If they didn't want to have this issue to deal with maybe they should have thought through their selection a little more thoroughly. I'm sorry, but if I was bumped from an Olympic Team under circumstances like this, I wouldn't lie and say I was happy about it either.

noskates · Jan 30, 2014

I bet Mark Mitchell is wondering why all the controversy over Mirai and Ashley when Todd Eldredge was chosen over him to go to the Olympics! Just saying............

Mrs. P · Jan 30, 2014

noskates said:
I bet Mark Mitchell is wondering why all the controversy over Mirai and Ashley when Todd Eldredge was chosen over him to go to the Olympics! Just saying............

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2014/01/12/66519260/nagasus-plight-all-too-familiar-to-mitchell

pangtongfan · Jan 30, 2014

mskater93 said:
Even if that is NOT the case, Polina has a better opportunity than Mirai to capitalize on others' mistakes (read higher finish) based upon a strong TES foundation. While she may end up the third placing American, it will not be for lack of technical effort, but more likely due to lower PCS. If Mirai (granted she was supposedly sick) can't even finish in the top 5 and barely makes the top 10 at 4CC with many of the best skaters in the World (top 10 finishers from last couple seasons) from those continents declining to skate there (Asada, Kim, Suzuki, Gold, Wagner, Osmond...) what does that say if those skaters + the ones from Europe are at Worlds? I could see a case where Mirai with < and << calls at Worlds finishes behind all of: Kim, Asada, Gold, Kostner, Suzuki, Wagner, Osmond, Lipnitskaia, Murakami, Li, at the very least (assuming Edmunds was bumped for her) and possibly Meite, Kexin Zhang, Marchei, Daleman, Korpii (if she's back), Helgesson and possibly even more!

The scary thing is Mirai could have no < and << calls, skate cleanly, and still finish behind all those first 10 you said. It is if she doesnt skate cleanly without any < and << she actually has a good shot at losing to all of that 2nd group as well. She just doesnt have high scoring potential internationaly anymore, and the womens field is one of the deepest I have ever seen. The heavy discussions over who will medal (a conversation which barely includes Gold and omits Wagner altogether now, skaters with way higher international rep than Mirai) are proof to that.

Figure 8's · Jan 30, 2014

Mrs. P said:
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2014/01/12/66519260/nagasus-plight-all-too-familiar-to-mitchell

Yes, it has happened several times before. The most notable I recall was Michelle Kwan in 1994. Does any one doubt she would have done better than Tanya or Nancy? Certainly better than Tanya. Surely Mirai is not that clueless that she does not know exactly why she was not selected.

Sasha'sSpins · Jan 30, 2014

blue dog said:
People forget that Shizuka Arakawa was left off the 2002 Olympic team for Yoshie Onda, after having gone in 1998. She was 21 years old. She returned to the Olympics at 25, and won. Amazing what "a little bit of failure" can do.

I never knew this - thanks for the info!

noskates · Jan 30, 2014

Thank for that link MrsP I like what Mark said about moving on!

"Life goes on," he said. "It all happens for a reason. And in the end, it's all OK. Sometimes it takes years to understand why things happen, but you can make the best of the situation and move on. It would've great to have happen, I'm sure, but I'm OK."

Sam-Skwantch · Jan 30, 2014

Marai is pure class and an example to follow. I wish her nothing but the best and hope this lights a fire in her that keeps her going strong into and beyond next season. :love:

I still think she earned a spot at Worlds. Just saying

stevlin · Jan 30, 2014

She was 4th at the 2010 games. 4th is not bad.

drivingmissdaisy · Jan 30, 2014

Figure 8's said:
Yes, it has happened several times before. The most notable I recall was Michelle Kwan in 1994. Does any one doubt she would have done better than Tanya or Nancy? Certainly better than Tanya. Surely Mirai is not that clueless that she does not know exactly why she was not selected.

Kwan likely would have been out of the top 10 based on her skates at worlds that year in which none of the Olympic medalists attended.

Sasha'sSpins · Jan 30, 2014

stevlin said:
She was 4th at the 2010 games. 4th is not bad.

And she had never been to a Worlds before Vancouver either.

Orange Cat · Jan 30, 2014

Mrs. P said:
Wanted to note one person who commented on the status:

Rohene Ward: spoken like a true champion!!!! such grace you have!!! wishing you the best of luck in the years to come!! i am a huge fan!!!!

Totally shipping for Mirai to go Kori and be Jason Brown's training mate and to get Rohene Ward choreography.

Oh my goodness, that would be incredible.

Mirai posts her thoughts on Nationals

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