Polina Edmunds shows promise

Selene · Aug 3, 2014

Over the weekend, Polina won the Glacier Falls competition with a huge 200+ score.

Polina has the hardest technical content of any senior lady in the world and remarkable consistency. It is very rare that she has a bad performance.

She has very limited international experience, but if she continues to skate well at that level, her reputation will increase and her PCS will rise. I honestly believe Polina is the skater who can compete with the Russian ladies. I think Polina could be the first US lady to stand on the World podium in a long time.

I do not think Gracie Gold is a contender. By now, it is obvious that she is a poor competitor and does not have the jump consistency in competition, not to mention that her jumps have hugely declined in quality/height since she started training with Frank Carroll.

I think Polina will have no problem defeating Gracie (who will most likely make mistakes) and Ashley (who doesn’t have the technical content) at the next US Nationals.

Ophelia · Aug 3, 2014

What are you basing her consistency on? Her (limited) senior career?

Icey · Aug 3, 2014

Polina certainly shows great promise, but I don't think it will be as easy as you seem to think for her to unseat the ladies you mention in your post. Are there any vids for the glacier falls competition?

Sam-Skwantch · Aug 3, 2014

Icey said:
Polina certainly shows great promise, but I don't think it will be as easy as you seem to think for her to unseat the ladies you mention in your post. Are there any vids for the glacier falls competition?

Yes....go to the Glacier Falls Thread

ETA: http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...-2014-July-30-to-August-3&p=966335#post966335

noskates · Aug 3, 2014

I think Polina has the potential but it's wayyy too early to write Gracie and Ashley off. I think this year was a grace period for Polina. She wasn't expected to do anything, had little or no pressure when she skated, and did well. I personally think she has the skills but needs a lot more polish!!! She's really quite young. It's so nice to see the US have some depth though.

Mrs. P · Aug 4, 2014

I think Polina will provide some good stuff competition. It is too early to deem her the new No. 1 based on beating Gracie at one segment in a summer comp. I'm willing to cut Gracie a break since she just back from Japan a week ago.

As it stands Gracie is 7-2 against Polina. (Individual segments at Nationals 2012, 2014; Olympics; Worlds; Glacier Falls SP)

Selene · Aug 4, 2014

lilahozi said:
What are you basing her consistency on? Her (limited) senior career?

No, she was very consistent at the junior level as well. It was a mistake for USFS not to give her JGP assignments before last season.

Mrs. P said:
I think Polina will provide some good stuff competition. It is too early to deem her the new No. 1 based on beating Gracie at one segment in a summer comp. I'm willing to cut Gracie a break since she just back from Japan a week ago.

As it stands Gracie is 8-1 against Polina. (Individual segments at Nationals 2012, 2014; Olympics; Worlds; Glacier Falls SP)

Polina beat Gracie in the FS at the World Championships as well.

Gracie basically beat Polina based on a reputation (PCS and GOE) advantage at those other events (because she is not the superior artistic performer.) As Polina gets more international exposure, she should get higher PCS if she continues to deliver good performances.

I think Polina will soon surpass Gracie because she is the far more consistent technical performer. Gracie's jumps are declining while Polina continues to be as a solid as a rock. It's a similar situation to Gracie and Ashley (how Gracie was always destined to surpass Ashley based on technical superiority.)

Mrs. P · Aug 4, 2014

Selene said:
No, she was very consistent at the junior level as well. It was a mistake for USFS not to give her JGP assignments before last season.

...

Polina beat Gracie in the FS at the World Championships as well.

Gracie basically beat Polina based on a reputation (PCS and GOE) advantage at those other events (because she is not the superior artistic performer.) As Polina gets more international exposure, she should get higher PCS if she continues to deliver good performances.

I think Polina will soon surpass Gracie because she is the far more consistent technical performer. Gracie's jumps are declining while Polina continues to be as a solid as a rock. It's a similar situation to Gracie and Ashley (how Gracie was always destined to surpass Ashley based on technical superiority.)

Corrected. Last season seems so long ago!

Anyway, I still stand that it's too early to deem Polina to be No. 1. Gracie is No. 1 for the time being. That said, I think Polina is capable of shaking things up!

Imagine · Aug 4, 2014

Oh wow she was flawless. Every time she landed a jump it seemed so easy...

But her music made me want to go to sleep tbh....I wonder if it's just the volume...or the piece itself. Its almost like she was skating to no music at times. Also, I know it's mean, but watching her arm movements...this was the first thing that came to mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v35tIBCw7RI

mirai4life · Aug 4, 2014

Polina is making things more exciting for sure!
can't wait for the season to start.

Figureskaterr · Aug 4, 2014

Polina has enormous potential to become really one of the very best in the world. She's still very young, I'm curious to see how she develops in the coming years. She has very good musicality, especially if I compare her to Gracie. And she'll improve her expression for sure. I really like this girl. Not sure if she'll beat Ash and Gracie at Nats this season, most likely not if the other two girls skate clean.

Globetrotter · Aug 4, 2014

She certainly has the potential and IMO, she will be the US lady with the technical skills to challenge the Russian skating tsarinas. It is still too early though at the moment to conclude as she is still very young and does not have the maturity yet to beat Gracie Gold. She still needs a fair amount of polishing and exposure to senior competitions and to toughen up competitively in the real school of hard knocks. Polina reminds me very much of a very young Carolina Kostner, all limbs and coltishness. It will take time for her to mature and improve and hopefully, survive the puberty thing. If her athletic skills remain, the mental strength improve together with maturing artistry, she will be more than capable of challenging the Russians. Its too early to say at this moment just based on potential. However, I do think she has better potential than Gold. I don't really like how Frank Carroll is turning Gold into a typical vanilla ice princess and Gold losing her big jumps in the process.

treeloving · Aug 4, 2014

If she keep progressing like this she will be the US no.1 very soon! She has really really good hand movement and expression for someone this young.

(I'm so sorry to say this, but I can't believe anyone could think Mirai is better competitor than her)

cooper · Aug 4, 2014

does she have a growth spurt already??

i do like her skating.. she seems more in tune w/ the music.. and better musicality than gold.. but gold is better technically.. though edmunds is getting there..

but who knows?? it's hard to predict with the american ladies.. outside of kwan.. majority of them are inconsistent when the pressure is on especially in the biggest stage..

gravy · Aug 4, 2014

Polina has exceptional technique. I seem to recall that along with Park So-Youn at the 2014WC, they were the only ones that lost a couple of mere 10ths in their technical scores because the technical committee didn't need to review anything as opposed to others that dropped a multitude of points afterward.

She has potential absolutely. But she needs something more. I don't know what it is; better choreography, better music? Her Olympic SP was fun and was definitely one of my top 5 of the last season. But her LP... Peer Gynt and specifically 'Solveig's Song' is one of my favorite pieces of all time, but her program after her 3Z+3T and 3F+1L+3S I hate to say was quite boring.

I won't say anything about her new programs until they debut on television because fan cam videos are quite an odd representation of them.

But I have to say that her twizzle sequence in her new LP was amazing. :eek:

jenaj · Aug 4, 2014

Polina has skated in only 2 international senior competitions and has not been anywhere near the podium or even top five. Gracie skates with more power and should win over Polina if both skate clean or have equal number of mistakes, IMO. I do fear that the crazy USFSA will try to prop up Polina as " the future" just like they did with Kimmie Meissner for a while. The future is now!

gravy · Aug 4, 2014

jenaj said:
Polina has skated in only 2 international senior competitions and has not been anywhere near the podium or even top five. Gracie skates with more power and should win over Polina if both skate clean or have equal number of mistakes, IMO. I do fear that the crazy USFSA will try to prop up Polina as " the future" just like they did with Kimmie Meissner for a while. The future is now!

Or just as they are doing with Gracie currently... at least Kimmie won a world title.
(And seriously, English isn't even my first language, but that 'Gold' pun the US is trying to make happen is so incredibly annoying.)

I think Saitama was Gold's best chance to get on the podium and she blew that opportunity. She's only become worse after Nationals.

Her 2As now are just... :slink:

noskates · Aug 4, 2014

Polina is a hair under 5'5". I guess she could still have a growth spurt but she's already pretty tall. Gracie is 5'5" and Ashley is 5'3".

R.D. · Aug 4, 2014

I knew it. Certainly didn't take long for the Hype Train to get going on Edmunds...

I'd figure we'd know by now not to put much (if any) stock into a preliminary fluff event as far as results or potential goes. (That said, I thought it was pretty impressive that she went clean.)

Gold is still the US #1. I would even have Wagner as US #2 despite her awful Nationals. Edmunds hasn't even overtaken Wagner yet (internationally), let alone Gold. However, I do think passing Wagner is imminent - not sure about Gold though. IF it's going to happen, it will take additional time.

One thing that works in Edmunds' favor is that the pressure will be on Gold at the US Nationals, and Gold does not handle pressure well so the door could be open. I'm not sure Wagner or Nagasu will be pushovers, so Edmunds will also have to deliver.

Careful about the hype though. She still has to grow up...and with rare exceptions, technical brilliance is short-lived...

What happened this weekend means nothing. We shall see mid-way through the season who truly has the edge in this race.

SimplyAFan · Aug 4, 2014

Going back to the title "Polina edmunds has potential" I'd say that's pretty accurate. Is she U.S. #1 right now? Will she be #1 this season? Probably not. But she did perform a clean 7 triple FS in August which is pretty impressive and deserves to be noticed. I want to see how she does now that people know who she is and has some pressure on her. Maybe I'm the odd one here, but 9th at the Olympics and 8th at worlds when you've never competed senior internationally before is better than most expected. Everyone ahead of her had some experience at the senior level and were very established skaters. So I hope she learned from her experiences and uses that to her benefit this season.

Polina Edmunds shows promise

Selene

Ophelia

Icey

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

noskates

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

Selene

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

Imagine

mirai4life

1Lo <

Figureskaterr

Globetrotter

treeloving

cooper

gravy

¿No ven quién soy yo?

jenaj

gravy

¿No ven quién soy yo?

noskates

R.D.

SimplyAFan

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