2014 Olympics Ladies Short Program | Page 113 | Golden Skate

2014 Olympics Ladies Short Program

MaiKatze

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 4, 2012
No that was insulting and the reason skating is going down as a sport. When skating turns into beauty contest, then we are in trouble for people to get it is a very hard sport. I find Akiko adorable and inspiring. But still it doesnt matter. We are dealing with athletes here. I think twitter is an excuse to say the meanest things, it is one thing if I write it and another if a known sports commentator with thousand followers does. His legendary status doesnt excuse it either.

I never understood why people call Akiko ugly. It just doesn't make sense to me, because she is NOT. Beauty is in they eye of the beholder anyway and such superficial comments are just disgusting. Look in the mirror before you start bashing other people. And to equal that out Katarina Witt said she loves Akiko and her smiling face, that she is one of her favourites!
 

pitterpatter

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
My two cents:

Yuna's competitive ability is definitely admirable, and her jumps are as great as always. I was however a bit underwhelmed with the non-jump content in the program. Aside from the spins, I felt there was a noticeable lack of transitions all throughout the program, and she was doing crossovers in between the jump entries more than anything. The performance was mature, but the choreography was decidedly empty until she finally reached the step sequence. I wouldn't have disagreed if the judges placed Carolina in first instead, given higher levels and her quality program.
 

figuristka

Medalist
Joined
Dec 15, 2003
Watched late. Carolina Kostner i enjoyed the most. Like i found V/M, her program was ethereal. Every moment perfect with the music, and such grace. She can bring tears to your eyes. The perfomance of the night for me.

Yuna Kim was also wonderful. So seamless and light. I enjoyed her expression in parts.

to me like Yuzuru and Patrick they were the class of the field and should be further ahead of Adelina. Adelina attacted the program and has lovely spins but thought she was slightly over scored. CBC cut out Gracie Gold, shame they did that as wanted to see her so cannot comment.

Sadness for Mao, beautiful skater. High hopes for her. I wish she saved her 3 axel for the free skate only and played the short more safe.

Hoped for Kaetlyn to be higher but costly mistakes. Hope she skates well in Free and gets back into the top 10. Akiko i was sorry to miss her first jump. She skates with such joy. Not as graceful, or smooth as Carolina or Yuna but she really is such a musical skater and i will miss her.
 

Kinga

Medalist
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
I am so proud of Carolina, she impressed me so much with upgrading her tech content! (And I have never been a fan). Many wrote her off after the short Team Event, and there she comes, one week later with 3F-3T. She did not give up! Now I just hope that she decides to put the 3S at the end of her Bolero LP. Ending that program with a relatively 'weak' combo spin loses its momentum and impact. If she heats the 3S at the end, it might be a crucial factor for the final outcome.

Top three ladies - they delivered. They all have their weaker sides when comapred to each other - Carolina and Yuna do not have the greatest spins, Adelina lacks polish and her step sequences are not that impressive (again, in comparison to Caro). Yuna lacks spark. Her SP was nice, fluid and mature, but it lacked something... I dunno. I would place Caro 1st, Yuna 2nd, Adelina 3rd, about 2 points behind Caro and Yuna.

Julia was overscored to me. There is no way that the SP with DG 3F plus fall should score 4 points higher than Polina's SP. Lets face it - Julia is not superior to Polina, they are more less in the same league. In my eyes, when Julia makes mistakes, her programs does not have that wow factor anymore, she does not have much to offer then. She must be tip top clean to impress. And to be honest - Polina's skating and expression was much more genuine yesterday.

Ashley - dispite the combo mistake, she performed very well. I like her SP a lot!

Please don't misunderstand me, I like the fact that Ashley is different. I'm not asking her to be a nice polite princess. That's not at all what I meant. I just wish her fierceness and sexiness would come out more naturally. At times it seems a bit forced to me.
I do not think Ashley's expression is fake. I think this is her genuine personality

Is Wagner's short program theme supposed to be hooker??? Its so uncomfortable to watch. I cringe
??? It does not have anything to do with hooker theme and this is not what she is trying to convey. She is one of the very few who did not choose a princessy warhorse music. As soon as someone does that, must we label the program as hooker like? She interpreted the hell out of this rock piece! This is what the sport needs - variety of programs, sassy programs, original music. There was nothing inappropriate in that SP, nothing cringe worthy.
 

QuadLutz

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
What exactly has happened to the Finnish ladies team? I see they have no representatives this year. Do they have any promising up and comers for the future?

Yes, after Kiira got injured, Juulia Turkkila hasn't been able to hold the Finnish ladies up since she failed to go on developing her jumps (still not being able to do even the loop, which is a cruel thing to point out but really makes her a lost case to me).

However, there are several promising juniors coming, at least one of which will compete in seniors next season, I think. Jenni Saarinen and Ljubov Efimenko (?) are already getting higher scores than Juulia, and their jump arsenal also looks promising, while, from what little I've seen, they also seem to represent the traditional soft skating skills of the Finns. So I at least am hopeful. :)

Sorry, I'm not commenting ladies Sochi SP. Been done in sufficient measure. :laugh:
 

figuristka

Medalist
Joined
Dec 15, 2003
Got to watch Gracie on YT. I have to say i listed her as one of the skaters "not my cup of tea" but i think she is improving so much. She has alot more presence on the ice and is getting better musically than last season. I know judging is difficult but iam still perplexed to why the russian girls get such high marks.Happend in the team competiton. Adelina skated amazing but not in the league of Kostner or Yuna Kim.
 

shayna_m

Spectator
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
I LOVED Yuna's program!! I liked this much more than her bond SP. She has already stated this is her last competition and I felt her SP was a goodbye, it felt really heartfelt and emotional and showed increased maturity. Her jumps look as big as ever with perfect technique. Her footwork, she did like 75% or more of it on one foot, isn't that hard? Like doing figures? which skaters used to have to do before. Her costume was also gorgeous, loved it! Thought she should have scored 5 pts higher. Judging is so capricious, if she had skated near the end, I am sure she would have gotten 79 or so.

Caro, she isn't as awkward as she was before and her jumps aren't teeny like Julia's, but her spins, she was moving all over the place, what a hot mess. I am happy to see her though, at 27!!! Go "old" girls!

Russians, way overscored, as usual. One thing I guarantee, unless they both seriously implode, the judges will find a way to get one or both on the podium. Adelina, where is she getting the PCS and the GOEs?? c'mon. Julia, again, all she does is remind me of a little girl, yes she is one, but she plays one as well in both her programs!!! How am I supposed to get the impression she is mature when her character in both her programs is a little girl. Not just that but, how can she get the same GOE as Yuna when Julia's jumps look so small???

Glad to see Gracie closer in PCS but still should be higher than Julia. Polina is impressive, jumps are huge.
Overall, thought the women's competition was very easy on the eyes. All the outfits I saw were pretty, nothing horrendous, and is it just me or is this field of skaters very attractive? Yuna, Gracie, Julia, adelina, etc, they're all very pretty.

Mao, Mao, Mao, I feel bad for her, but wow, what a headcase.

agree with u 100%.
I hoped Mao to finish Sochi olympics without any regrets...but o well it turned out to be like this. On the other hand, I am rooting for her to perform nicely on the Free.
It's hard not to compare Mao against Yuna and in my personal opinion Yuna is just beyond anyone now. However when u compare Mao against other skaters, Mao's artistic figures and techniques(except falling down:cry:) are much better than anyone else. Hope she smiles after she gets her free score.

Sochi olympics(figure skating) have become a failure with the russians trying sooo hard to GIVE any russian a medal. I am sorry but Im not sure whether the russian skaters will maintain their REPUTATIONS until the next olympics.
Julia's jumps are immature and incomplete(hight, length, speed before the jump, wrong edge etc) that when she gets taller and with more weight on, she could land on two feet. And as I go through julia's interviews, her words and thoughts are not like the ones of little sweethearts(as her own mother told the press like this; "Im almost afraid she's going to mouth off to someone. She's a girl with character;she's capable of that."), she needs to be more modest to excelerate. She shouldn't be watching movies instead of figure skating with her performance with lack of emotions and small jumps. Adelina surely has a potential but with crooked jumps and hyper soldier-like performance? idk..I don't understand why she's better than Caro.

Caro did amazing job, eventhough she's older than most of them, she proved that she can improve. She is a veteran in this field and I hope she wins her silver medal.
Depending on the last night's sp, Yuna deserves better. She DID get the fair score, it's just that the others didn't. How come adelina gets better score than Yuna on TES? I don't even need to say it more since other people here already said everything right.
But gotta say something to the ppl saying that Yuna hasn't risked to be better. Isn't it so wonderful and great that she never stopped being the best one? Her skills are beyond everyone and she is definitely qualified to be called as a Queen still. She had an injury just this season and look at her! Totally on a different level. She worked so hard to maintain her state eventhough she already achieved her life-goal(the olympic champ). I give a big hand for her.
And also I feel so sad that this is the last time watching Yuna with her beautiful yet so skillful programs. Her free program's making me more overwhelmed since the music is about saying good bye to Piazzolla's father in the heaven. It sounds just like Yuna trying to say good bye to all her figure skating life and move on to her new life.

And others, Gold, Polina, Li - I can't wait to see them on the next olympics. I don't know if its just me, but I think these 3 will be very competitive after finishing this biased olympics.
 

billie

Spectator
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
IMO It shold have been senario [1] or [2].

[1]
-Yuna: fairly scored
-Caro: sligtly overscored but undestadable.
-Adelina: around 69

[2] considering the overall PCS inflation + home advantage
-Yuna: 75+
-Caro: fairly scored
-Adelina: around 71
 

YesWay

四年もかけて&#
Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 28, 2013
What a shocking competition :-/

I'm not talking about ranking positions, the judging, or the Boring Scoring Bun Fights...

What I mean is: how many of the "big names" skated at their best yesterday?
I contend there were hardly any, and indeed there were several full-on disasters.

I'm not a fan of Kostner, but her SP yesterday was DIVINE - and for the first time, I really felt something from her performance. Sotnikova was amazing too - remember, I'm not talking about judging, points or whether you like her style... I'm just saying I don't think she could have skated any better than that.

Everybody else... just didn't bring their A-game in my opinion... and/or gave performances that left me cold or disappointed, no soul, no passion :-/

I hope today's FS will be better... and in a few cases, I really hope... with less pressure and nothing to lose... some will redeem themselves today, and salvage some pride.
 

yuki90

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
YuNa has push the boundary artistically.
Lipnitskaya's choreographer, Averbukh on Yuna after the SP
“She has so much of dignity inside. True champion’s character. Nothing like “Look at me!”. Great role model.”
 

Amer

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
Country
Italy
No that was insulting and the reason skating is going down as a sport. When skating turns into beauty contest, then we are in trouble for people to get it is a very hard sport. I find Akiko adorable and inspiring. But still it doesnt matter. We are dealing with athletes here. I think twitter is an excuse to say the meanest things, it is one thing if I write it and another if a known sports commentator with thousand followers does. His legendary status doesnt excuse it either.

Well put.
I have my own personal issues with Twitter and other social networks in which people use it only to spit venom (or use it as free therapy). Very easy to hide behind a computer like a coward and write mean things.
True - I've recently taken part in posting on this forum but I like to think that I'll as positive about skating as I can :p
 

Olympic

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Finally watched the SP on NBC primetime:

1. Yu Na - toughest, most ambitious jumps along w/ the best skating skills
2. Carolina - ethereal, beautiful; skating skills in league w/ Yu Na but perhaps behind due to slightly easier jump combos
3. Adelina - Fiery, but not deserving of the PCS marks putting her in league w/ the above 2. Easily in 3d, though. But, it's in Russia.
4. Gracie - Easily 4th; not nearly as bad as some make the program out to be. Despite the slightly crooked 3z, jump was still huge. Score could've been a little higher if she had done a clean 2x
5. Ashley - Should be in front of Julia. Only mistake was significant but everything else was sold 110%
6. Julia - 3z-3t GOE too high, but again, scoreflation due to competition in Russia.
 

NYscorp6

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Country
United-States
The judges did a good job, none of the top ladies has a ten point lead going into the free skate. Very exciting
 

ManyCairns

Medalist
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Country
United-States
Finally watched the SP on NBC primetime:

1. Yu Na - toughest, most ambitious jumps along w/ the best skating skills
2. Carolina - ethereal, beautiful; skating skills in league w/ Yu Na but perhaps behind due to slightly easier jump combos
3. Adelina - Fiery, but not deserving of the PCS marks putting her in league w/ the above 2. Easily in 3d, though. But, it's in Russia.
4. Gracie - Easily 4th; not nearly as bad as some make the program out to be. Despite the slightly crooked 3z, jump was still huge. Score could've been a little higher if she had done a clean 2x
5. Ashley - Should be in front of Julia. Only mistake was significant but everything else was sold 110%
6. Julia - 3z-3t GOE too high, but again, scoreflation due to competition in Russia.

:agree: That's pretty much how it broke down to me.

Wish NBC Primetime had showed Polina! (Please don't tell me they did and I missed it amongst the bobsled runs.)


Agree, NYscorp6 -- this will be a nailbiter!
 

aa456

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
:agree: That's pretty much how it broke down to me.

Wish NBC Primetime had showed Polina! (Please don't tell me they did and I missed it amongst the bobsled runs.)


Agree, NYscorp6 -- this will be a nailbiter!


NBC did show Polina, right before Yuna I think.
 

ManyCairns

Medalist
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Country
United-States
Darn, stinks that I missed it. I'll have to YT it later I guess and use my Chromecast so I can see it on the bigger TV screen. Well, I am very glad to know that they did show her; she did herself proud.
 

hurrah

Medalist
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
I just re-watched Carolina's short, and she did something really interesting that I hadn't noticed before. She went into all her jumps with an expression of smile. In fact, she was smiling more before a jump that in other parts of the program. I wonder if it's sports psychology training---like training herself to trigger a happy, relaxed state before a jump a la Anthony Robbins? I think it worked.
 
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