don't retire now

I thought Michelle's 2004 LP was great. About the energy level, I think that missing the last Lutz brought down the audience a little, compared to the triumphant climax that element was, just before the footwork, for the same program performed at U. S. Nationals. Also, Michelle gets such a lift from the enthusiasm of the "home crowd" that her LP from 2003 Worlds and from both 2003 Nationals and 2004 Nationals really stand out as stirring performances.

Without taking anything away from Shizuka's blockbusting performance, I have no quarrel with Michelle's 6.0s in the second mark, or even with the 4 judges who placed her first in the LP.

Mathman

Mathman said:

I thought Michelle's 2004 LP was great. About the energy level, I think that missing the last Lutz brought down the audience a little, compared to the triumphant climax that element was, just before the footwork, for the same program performed at U. S. Nationals. Also, Michelle gets such a lift from the enthusiasm of the "home crowd" that her LP from 2003 Worlds and from both 2003 Nationals and 2004 Nationals really stand out as stirring performances.

Without taking anything away from Shizuka's blockbusting performance, I have no quarrel with Michelle's 6.0s in the second mark, or even with the 4 judges who placed her first in the LP.

Mathman

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Tosca was more telegenic than it appeared in the rink. Kwan lost speed at various places during the program and had to regenerate it, whereas with Arunjuez, she maintained a fairly constant speed throughout. Also, she tended to cut the rink short a bit and the corners a bit on the shallow side, while skaters like Sebestyen and Arakawa filled every inch of the ice and they projected an amplitude that neither Kwan nor Cohen could match.

I had always known that speed isn't something that easily judged from TV without context, but I hadn't realized until this year how TV friendly some programs are, and how others don't come across as strongly, because ice coverage and amplitude aren't as easily conveyed.

I think if Arakawa skated after Sasha, she would receive a couple of 6.0s for presentation, assuming Sasha received the same 5.8 - 5.9 marks. Overall I think the judges called it right.

Arakawa deserved the huge standing ovation. I don't think Kwan was intimidated by SA's standing ovation though. I think the idiot streaker might have influenced the subsequent skaters a bit. Kwan said in an interview later that her heart was racing, thoughts of what if he had a gun ran through her mind. I don't blame her, considering she actually had a death threat in 1996 championship series final in France. From reading skatefans, some people who were there and are not known to be Kwan fans compliment that only a true champion could rise to the occasion like this. If I were there I would give Michelle an ovation.

I wonder if the streaker influenced Ando's quad attempt also.

Hockeyfan: "Tosca was more telegenic than it appeared in the rink. Kwan lost speed at various places during the program and had to regenerate it, whereas with Arunjuez, she maintained a fairly constant speed throughout. Also, she tended to cut the rink short a bit and the corners a bit on the shallow side, while skaters like Sebestyen and Arakawa filled every inch of the ice and they projected an amplitude that neither Kwan nor Cohen could match."

A FS is never going to be uniformly fast the way a SP is. There have to be variations in speed, or the skater wouldn't make it past the 4 minute mark.

hockeyfan228 said:

Tosca was more telegenic than it appeared in the rink.

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Well, I can't disagree because I didn't see Worlds live. I saw Tosca live at the Winter Skating Challenge, but it was hard to judge because of a couple of technical flaws (including a fall) and the generally conservative skating by all of the contestants because of less that perfect ice conditions.

But about the telegenic part, WOW, was it ever! ESPN showed Michelle's short and long programs again last night. Every movement looked exquisite beyond belief in both performances. I guess the camera is Michelle's friend!

Mathman

quote:
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95 - On the strength of Kwan's sole achivement in 94, there are two spots again. The results?

Bobek - 3rd
Kwan - 4th

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With no Kwan, it is possible there would still have been 3 skaters for the next year. But it is unclear how the 3rd place US lady, whom I don't remember at this point would have done.

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Tonia Kwiatkowski was 3rd at 1995 Nationals (after winning the SP). I think she could have finished as high as 8th at that year's Worlds (or 7th with no Kwan), but no guarantees she'd have made top 10.

She had won silver to Kwan's bronze at 1994 Lalique, or rather Trophee de France as it was called that year.

chuckm said:

A FS is never going to be uniformly fast the way a SP is. There have to be variations in speed, or the skater wouldn't make it past the 4 minute mark.

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Last year Kwan's Arunjuez gave the impression of a relatively constant speed, or at least speed entirely under Kwan's control. There were times in Tosca where Kwan clearly lost speed and worked to regain it, where it did not look like a response to the music. Although not used for this event, CoP clearly states that variations in speed should be in response to the music and choreography and not to the skater's fitness or inability to retain speed at that point in the program.

hockeyfan228: "CoP clearly states that variations in speed should be in response to the music and choreography and not to the skater's fitness or inability to retain speed at that point in the program."

Then CoP is going to cream Ando. In her FS, just past the halfway point, she started getting slower and slower although the music was never really slow. Her speed picked up only when she went into her spin at the end of the program. This happened at Jr. Worlds, too, where the FS was only 3.5 minutes.

chuckm said:

Then CoP is going to cream Ando. In her FS, just past the halfway point, she started getting slower and slower although the music was never really slow. Her speed picked up only when she went into her spin at the end of the program. This happened at Jr. Worlds, too, where the FS was only 3.5 minutes.

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If properly applied, yes, at least for her FS. In qualies, she performed the program much better. She was lighter and more at ease, but there wasn't as much at stake. (Still, I wouldn't have had her higher than 5th in her round.) In the FS her skating was heavy and labored, and she really did peter out at the end.

Strangely, even so, she had more presence than Suguri.