If we're talking podiums for 2006, I wouldn't rule Victoria Pavuk out of anything, if she improves her presentation.
Shame Hungary only had 1 spot at Worlds - you shoulda seen her at Euros!
k
If we're talking podiums for 2006, I wouldn't rule Victoria Pavuk out of anything, if she improves her presentation.
Shame Hungary only had 1 spot at Worlds - you shoulda seen her at Euros!
k
I like Shizuka and Fumie. I was disappointed with Miki. She looks like a power horse, but I was bored to tears. I wanted to see her quad and I wonder if that's all she has right now. Her LP was not up to par with the other ladies, even with the 3/3. I really wanted to be impressed with her, but I wasn't.
I love Ota to pieces, but it woduln't surprise me if she doesn't even make the world team till like 2014,with all the JPN girls landing 3/3s and quads and axels and she can't even land her individual triples consistently. To think that such amazing artistry and quality skating might be buried in her own nationals is just heartbreaking. :(
Last edited by shine; 04-04-2004 at 02:06 PM.
You never know. Miki landed the quad at World Juniors and Yukina still beat her.
You never know how much progress Yukina can make each time she competes. I feel she made a huge progress every time I saw her on TV. Besides this world championship, how many times Arakawa has landed 3/3s successfully? Not many. Some skaters can improve a lot in a year, while some skaters stay the same every year, and there are some get worse and get tired of the sport after a few years competing.
Someone needs to get with the federation to work on the japanese ladies costumes!!! Ghastly!!! Pants, Fumie what are you thinking? Arikawa's tush was out all over the place in both her short and long programs... and miki's skirt length is always slightly off of a flattering design. Just my opinion... I dont mean to negate their fierce power as performers.
I have wondered about it too. The only explanation I can think of is that those with the elegant lines opt for pairs and ice dance. Maria had sophisticated lines, although her jumps were not soft. Is it possible that even now pairs and ice dance command more respect in Russia? The jumping beans have to skate in singles...?Originally posted by shine
This is OT, but I've always wondered why, with all the beautiful, ballet-trained skaters in dance, pairs, and even men, Russia has not been producing ladies with the same kind of classic elegance/lines? I think Markova and Butyrskaya have come the closest but still not exactly what I'd call classically elegant. Such a myth :\
Vash
I really feel that Miki is being judged too harshly, too soon. She is young and has not developed all aspects of her skating. Remember what Kristi Yamaguchi looked like in 1989, or Michelle in 1994. Miki needs time to develop her presentation.Originally posted by Fossi
I like Shizuka and Fumie. I was disappointed with Miki. She looks like a power horse, but I was bored to tears. I wanted to see her quad and I wonder if that's all she has right now. Her LP was not up to par with the other ladies, even with the 3/3. I really wanted to be impressed with her, but I wasn't.
I am less optimistic about Yoshie's presentation. It will improve, but will that be enough? I have never seen her land a 3-3 combination, or a triple axel.
Vash
Home town adavantage is a biggie, but I disagree that the homecrowd overly favored Lindemann and W&L in getting their medals.
For ice dance, W&L skate with lots of crossovers which is a pet peeve of mine, however all G&G did were spins and lifts with hardly any dance holds or footwork. Having seen their program, I am not surprised the W&L were on the podium over G&G because spins and lifts are pairs, not ice dance.
Lindemann: Having finally seen Lambiel's LP, I agreed with the judges that Lindemann was better. Lambiel had one pretty empty section (just crossovers) of his LP which I thought really hurt him, especially since Lindemann was moving throughout his program and Lindemann's artistry was very good, esp with the home crowd behind him.
MK's win in DC: I thought Elena deserved to win , however I think that MK would have won anywhere given the consideration the judges give to her longevity and artistry.
I'm not sure about Irina being on the podiium, but perhaps the home crowd will rouse her up.
I will predict that Plushy will have his best skate ever at worlds. Nothing puts more fire under than Plushy than skating before a home crowd, as evidenced by his performances at Russian Nats and Cup of Russia. I don't think that anyone will topple Plushy in Moscow unless he's severely injured, and even then I think the adrenaline will take over.
I see Sasha winning Worlds next year. She feels kinship with the Russian audience and they love her as well. There will be a lot of audience support for her, much more than will be for the Japanese ladies.
it is true the Russians love Sasha. Isn't she of Russian ancestry? I remember everyone saying she was. It will depend on how she skates, and how Irina skates.
I also agree that maybe I judged Ando too harshly on her first outting. She will improve. It was just the hype. I expected more.
Sasha's mother is from Ukraine.
Next year is too far away to say any skater will do well or poorly at the Worlds. I don't think that Arakawa was expected to be the next world champion after last year's Worlds in DC, and I wouldn't give Sasha the edge because her mother is of Ukrainian ancestry. If any of us were that good with a crystal ball, well, I know what I'd be doing at the moment. :-)
Sasha gets the edge not only b/c her mother is of Ukrainian ancestry, but also b/c she speaks Russian, conducted her interviews when she did Cup of Russia in Russian (shaky but she's probably better now), plus she takes the time out in her schedule to compete in Cup of Russia when she doesn't really need the event to make the Grand Prix final, and last but not least, all audiences appreciate Sasha's extension and line and a Russian audience would be ESPECIALLY appreciative of her style. When she competed Cup of Russia, the home crowd went just as nuts for Sasha as they did their hometown girl.
Talking about Japaness ladies' dresses and programs, I feel Fumie's short program really hurt her placement. The idea may be new, and the black pants and outfit may be cute, but that's not something the international judges like. They want to see ballarina on ice in skates. Her short program and the outfit exposed more of her weakness, such as lack of extention, fully stretched inbetweens, and traditional spins that lady skaters should have.
Oh, Liz, I thought she was cute as the dickens in pants. Sort of went with the Rolling Stones theme, IMHO. (I agree about Shizuka's costumes, however, LOL.)Originally posted by Longhornliz
Pants, Fumie what are you thinking?
About Irena, it would be so great to see her come back healthy and wow the home crowd. But the more I read about her medical condition, the more it seems like this vasculitis thing might be cronic, or at least something that can flare up even after you think it's under control. I also read that the steroid treatment that she must undergo makes it difficult to keep from gaining weight.
Back on topic, I think Shizuka is the real thing. I don't see anything fluky about her performance at Worlds. She has been steadilty building to this peak for two years.
I think Mao Asada will be 16 in 2006. The next Tara/Sarah?
Mathman
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