Is Christina Gao in the running for US Nationals? | Golden Skate

Is Christina Gao in the running for US Nationals?

Skatetomusic

Skatetomusic

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 5, 2009
I have been watching Christina for a few years now think that she is skating better than ever. She skated well during 2009/2010 with not one but several JGP wins and I think that she may well be headed in that direction again possibly. What are her chances of medaling if she skates well?
 
Oh, I would say she has a good chance at Pewter...of course, if others are injured or have bad skates, she could get higher...
Just tell me how AC is skating and if any others get sick or injured!
 
Ashley and Mirai seem to be the favorites for 1,2. Gao could easily snag that bronze medal...can't think of another U.S lady seriously challenging her right for that spot now.
 
Gao could get second. Mirai has appeared to win or place second and dropped because of urs. There really isn't anyone but Wagner GAO and Nagasu unless czisny comes back strong or Zhang gets it together. But Gracie gold could win it all if she enters. Gold is a major wildcard and could beat Wagner.
 
Christina, Gracie and Mirai all are in the running
and will try to catch up with Ashley at Natls
 
She'll definitely be in the running. It's going to be a great competition, with Gracie, Mirai, Agnes (don't forget Agnes-- she's having a fabulous season!), Alissa (maybe), and Ashley all vying for that medal. As Tinymavy said, Ashley is the favorite for first... though I'm not sure Mirai being a "favorite" for second, I think it's any of the above to take. Agnes, Christina and Gracie have all had successes on the GP circuit.

In any case, I think the US will be a in a great place for Sochi!
 
Christina has a good shot at the podium this year as the second lady to reach the GPF. Her placement at Nationals will depend on whether she can perform well on the 3T+3T element in the short. If she wants to be conservative, she can choose to perform an easier 3+2, but I think she should go for it. Maybe practice the 3F+3T for both the short and long so that she doesn't need worry about a different triple-triple.
 
Wagner is the clear front runner for a repeat National Championship.

Gold, Gao, Zawadski, and Nagasu are in the mix for the second spot. If Gold nails her SP and both 3+3 in the LP, expect her second unless the rest of the program is a complete melt down (like she falls 4 times on absolutely everything else) as the LP as laid out has the highest TES BV and she's not prone to UR on her jumps (and the 3Lz+3T followed by 3F+1Lo+3S is a pretty big WOW factor). I would put Gao next in line for the second spot after Gold as she's had a very solid fall and seems to have the right training plan this year. Nagasu still needs to clean up the jumps as there were a couple at NHK that were borderline that didn't get called and two that did. Expect hard scrutiny to her jump rotations and if the skater right before her kills it, expect errors as this is how she has been historically. Zawadski is the biggest question mark of the four as she typically hits a great (good?) short and then makes enough mistakes in the LP to drop.
 
I may be very wrong but I don't see Gold skating to her potential yet at Nationals. She may medal, but I honestly can't see her winning (and even if she does would the USFSA put her on the team over Ashley?).
 
Tinymavy15 said:
I may be very wrong but I don't see Gold skating to her potential yet at Nationals. She may medal, but I honestly can't see her winning (and even if she does would the USFSA put her on the team over Ashley?).
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They wouldnt have to put her on the team over Ashley. There are 2 spots. If by some miracle Ashley doesnt win Nationals, which would require her falling atleast 3 times IMO, the USFSA will send the NAtionals winner and Wagner, regardless where she finishes, to Worlds.
 
Ashley is the favorite

Gao, Gold, and Nagasu are the next in line, hard to say who has an edge among them so far, Christina's been the most consistent this season and made the GPF, Gold has the big tricks that can boost her score but she's made lots of errors so far this season so they haven't made a huge factor, Mirai has experience on her side and PCS are a bit stronger, but she's also prone to URs which is no exception this season, despite her relative consistency.

Agnes has a good shot but I'd put her below the three girls I just mentioned, though only slightly, as she doesn't tend to score very well in the FS. Her SP will score well if clean, but that's not always a given either. And she doesn't have the edge of hard 3-3s like Gracie, making the GPF like Gao, or PCS-edge and past experience/good results like Mirai.

I doubt Alissa or Caroline will be factors, but they were both on the podium last season so you never know. Angela Wang also has a 3lz-3t in both programs so with clean skates I'd put her into this group, along with maybe Cesario if she goes for 3lo-3lo in SP which she's reportedly been practicing.

So basically I think Christina has a good chance at 2nd-4th, she could even win if Ashley shows a chink in the armor. I don't think Mirai is a favorite for 2nd, at this point I think Christina is probably moreso than Mirai, but I do think Gracie is probably the frontrunner in that group of 3 just because she has the most potential to score well, and a SP lead/margin over the others (likely if she hits her 3f-3t) could enable her some wiggle room to make mistakes in the free and still stay afloat (sort of like how Agnes hung onto bronze last year). So most like, I think Christina will be 3rd or 4th, but falling off the podium or be 1st or 2nd is certainly possible.
 
Gao definitely has a shot at the podium, but I disagree that the greatest likelihood is the silver medal. Gracie Gold and Mirai Nagasu, with clean programs, could easily knock Gao into fourth.
 
ForeverFish said:
Gao definitely has a shot at the podium, but I disagree that the greatest likelihood is the silver medal. Gracie Gold and Mirai Nagasu, with clean programs, could easily knock Gao into fourth.
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I agree. It's pretty clear that the SA result was not what we can expect from Christina on a consistent basis. Obviously she has the talent and the content to win silver but I think she would need a lot of help from the other skaters to earn that spot.
 
drivingmissdaisy said:
I agree. It's pretty clear that the SA result was not what we can expect from Christina on a consistent basis. Obviously she has the talent and the content to win silver but I think she would need a lot of help from the other skaters to earn that spot.
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I think it depends on her SP. Her FS scores after SA I think have been more due to her messing up the SP and skating early, which makes a big difference in PCS, and also GOE to somepoint. If Gao skates a clean SP at nats with 3t-3t, 2a, and 3lo in the 2nd half, I bet she's 60+ and in the final flight. If she does that, she skates a FS like she has been this season, I think there's a good chance she could come out ahead of Nagasu, Gold, and Zawadzki based on how they've been skating their FS so far thus season. However, if she messed up the SP like her last 2 internationals, she'll likely miss the final flight, so even a good skate will just get her a decent score and she could end well out of the medals.

Christina still has been skating better FS than most of the other ladies besides Ashley this season, and at Nats, I think the PCS of the contenders apart from Ashley will be put on a pretty equal level (around 30 for SP and 60 for FS). Gracie may have an edge for SP with her harder content, but a clean SP from Gao should be close to scores for a clean SP from Agnes or Mirai, and then based on this season, Gao probably has better odds to skate a good FS than either of those two, and if Gracie continues her trend for FS, a lead she may have in the SP could easily be eaten up, which means Christina could be 2nd.

A clean SP is really what it comes down to for Gao, as it will make the different btwn PCS in the low 50s vs at or near 60 for the FS.
 
Actually, I was just going to bring up the topic - one wonders if Gao is indeed now suffering from "Wagner-itis" where she continually sabotages her chances by botching the SP, even though her freeskates are OK. Stay tuned for nationals...
 
R.D. said:
Actually, I was just going to bring up the topic - one wonders if Gao is indeed now suffering from "Wagner-itis" where she continually sabotages her chances by botching the SP, even though her freeskates are OK. Stay tuned for nationals...
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This. She's flubbed her opening 3-3 at her last two GP events (TEB and GPF), and as we saw from Wagner at Worlds last year, that's an extremely difficult mistake to bounce back from, even with a near-perfect FS.

EDIT: However, I disagree that this phenomenon should be dubbed "Wagner-itis"--she seems to have corrected the issue (it was most severe, clearly, at 2012 Worlds) and hasn't yet struggled with it this season. In general, Wagner is one of the stronger SP skaters.
 
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