2020 Four Continents: Ladies' Free Skate

[gsk8]

Japan’s Rika Kihira defended her title on Saturday afternoon, while new-comer Young You of South Korea edged out USA’s Bradie Tennell to captured the silver in in her debut on home ice in Seoul, South Korea.

Kihira popped her solo triple Axel, but landed a triple Axel-double toe in her interpretative “International Angel of Peace” routine. In all, the Japanese champion landed a total of eight clean triple jumps while displaying strong level 4 spins and footwork throughout. The skater also earned many positive grades of execution (GOE), scoring 151.16 points in the free skate and 232.34 points overall to win her second consecutive gold in this event.

“My goal was to get first place twice in a row in this Four Continents Championship,” said Kihira. “So, I became a little bit impatient because of my first mistake in the Axel, but I was able to re-calculate and re-assemble the structure of my performance. I tried to switch my mind and focus on the next element right away after I did my first mistake. I think that it was good experience for me to prepare for the next competition.”

“I realized that I did one triple Axel in my performance when I landed the second one,” she explained. “So, I wanted to add a triple toe loop in my program somewhere. And then I switched the combination to triple flip-triple toe-double toe. It needed massive concentration to succeed, because I could not make it successful even in the practice. It was my first time ever to land two combinations with the triple toe loop in a program.”

“After this competition, I’m planning to practice my triple Axel more to make it more consistent,” said the 17-year-old, regarding preparing for Worlds. “I’d also like to practice more on the quad and increase my speed.”

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What another exciting event! So great to see You do so well in her debut! So few points separating the ladies 4th through 8th!

What are your thoughts?

 

[KatGrace1925]

I like You Young but her PCS was confusing to me. She skated with no commitment to her choreography, a level 2 step sequence and didn’t perform. It was 100% focused on jumps. Everything lacked polish, detail and emotion.

 

[Silvia451]

Don't cry for me Argentiiiina...

I'm very happy with the 1 and 2. Stunning performance for Young You, I'm so glad that she delivered at home. It's going to be interesting to follow her evolution towards the next Olympics.

Congrats to the little warrior, after the missed 3A I was afraid this is not going to be a good performance, but in the end I completely forgot about the pop. The program is interesting, I hope for a new dress though.

 

[skatenewbie]

I like You Young but her PCS was confusing to me. She skated with no commitment to her choreography, a level 2 step sequence and didn’t perform. It was 100% focused on jumps. Everything lacked polish, detail and emotion.

She's been getting ~67 PCS, it 3A, clean skate and last group bonus (its also in Korea, but their nats did not have inflation though, in fact its very strict judging). I already thought she would beat Bradie by a hair but because her TES is 81+ when the box disappeared, i assume she would get 68, not closer to 70 points (her TES meanwhile dropped to 79.90

 

[KatGrace1925]

She's been getting ~67 PCS, it 3A, clean skate and last group bonus (its also in Korea, but their nats did not have inflation though, in fact its very strict judging). I already thought she would beat Bradie by a hair but because her TES is 81+ when the box disappeared, i assume she would get 68, not closer to 70 points (her TES meanwhile dropped to 79.90

I just don’t get how she could get 8’s and 9’s in skating skills with a level 2 step sequence that was glaringly slow. She also got high marks for transitions. I don’t think the marks should have been so close in PCS to Bradie and Rika who put out complete programs even with slight errors. You Young’s jumps were great and I’ve always liked her but there was hardly anything else going on in that program and no commitment to it. I think the program was a bad choice for her and the judging just makes me scratch my head.

I don’t see last group bonus and 3A in the PCS criteria.

I used to defend the judging system for mostly getting the result right but lately it seems politicking is becoming more and more overt.

 

[Greengemmonster]

Me at Bradie after the Lutz wobble: Shake it off baby and do not miss anymore jumps

Thank goodness she's not the type to meltdown. The second combo is the one she sometimes URs but she was clean here.

***

Me at Rika after the waxel: OMG what were you thinking???? Do not botch anything else!!!!

So happy both my favorites podiumed!!!!

***

WELL DONE RIKA BABY!!!!!

She really held her nerve and I wonder if that 3F3T2T was an attempt to claw back some points on the fly. She doesn't usually do a another double after a triple.

Finally enough I thought she was as smooth as butter on all her other jumps and her performance. Well done baby girl!!!!!

 

[Ichatdelune]

The Queen gave Young a teddy bear. What else do you need.

 

[YuBluByMe]

She really held her nerve and I wonder if that 3F3T2T was an attempt to claw back some points on the fly. She doesn't usually do a another double after a triple.

Finally enough I thought she was as smooth as butter on all her other jumps and her performance. Well done baby girl!!!!!

The 3F+3T+2T was a very impressive improvisation to make up for the missed 3A. She was doing 2A+2T+2T (ugh!) or a 2A+1Eu+3S before. I didn’t even know she could do 3-3-2s. That’s some nerves of steel. Apparently she was a wreck in her junior days. I’m glad I missed that because I already have a whole patch of gray hair that sprouted when she popped her 3A for the first (and hopefully only) time this season.

I can’t wait to see Higuchi at Worlds live. She’s still not in tip-top form, but she’s getting there.

Sakamoto.... ah. Well, the judges like her as much as I do because they definitely held her up here. I’ve said before that she should go for the 4T and I take it back. That thing isn’t competion ready. I’m sad that she won’t be at Worlds because I really like both of her programs.

You and Kim are setting up nicely to gain a third Worlds spot for Korea.

...But so are the Americans. I find Tennell dull. She skates like it’s 1990 instead of 2020. But I give props when props are due. I do like her SP and she held up extremely well but I knew she would. I’ve noticed that she has very solid nerves. She’s showing that you don’t have to have a 3A or quad to hang with the big dogs. You just need consistency. Also, isn’t this her first major international medal?

 

[randomfan]

One word to describe Rika's skate: impressive. Simply impressive. That was a really uncharacteristic mistake for her at the beginning, but to regain her focus and land not one but two 3F-3Ts in the second half just shows how prepared this girl is. Congrats on back-to-back 4CC titles!

I'm really happy that Young finally managed to skate a clean FS. She was under a lot of pressure and lost some levels, but nevertheless it was a great skate and especially a treat for the home audience . (though I do have to note that Korea finally seems to be getting some PCS inflation now, which is both good and bad...)

Bradie had a shaky start but was able to get her footing for the rest of the program. I really like this FS, and it's great to see her continue to have great performances of it throughout the season (let's forget Nationals shall we :hopelessness. I hope she doesn't get too fazed by the result here because she really was close to silver.

A solid outing for Wakaba. I was honestly really skeptical even after Nationals because I still wanted to see her get through a clean-ish FS internationally. Though this one wasn't clean, it was still pretty good and shows that she's preparing well for Worlds. Also, it's too bad that she did a wonderful 3A in the warm-up but couldn't quite land it when it counted. But the rotation was definitely there so I hope that can be a confidence-booster for her.

I love Kaori, but I really think she was overscored in both segments here. Her presentation was not at her usual standard, and that FS was very messy. To be honest, I would've had her behind Yelim, Karen, and Eunsoo. Still, it wasn't too terrible for her final competition considering she got 200+ - hoping she can rest and recharge well to be more prepared for next season.

Yelim was one of my highlights. Sure the presentation still needs work like always but her technical elements were done very beautifully. If she skates like this at Worlds then she'll definitely be inside the top 10.

I was pleasantly surprised by Karen's skate! To see her skate and score so well after a long time of struggles is truly heartwarming and it gave her a nice finish to the season. Hopefully she can continue to have good skates like here into the next season.

And finally, Eunsoo. The 2A-3T was really unfortunate, but she really fought for everything else here. I'm sad that the only clean-ish performance of this FS was at a challenger where the camerawork was bad, but more than that I'm happy that the skate could've been worse yet she kept going and made the audience proud. Like Kaori and Karen, this is her final competition so I think she should take her mind off of skating for a couple of months. Perhaps we can see a happier Eunsoo next season.

And I have to say, the audience here was a bit disappointing. I understand that it's a home audience and all (and that all countries would be pretty biased for their own skaters of course ), but giving overwhelming screams and cheers for the home skaters compared to a dull, muted applause (and maybe that's an overstatement?) to almost everyone else...:noshake:. This was most evident when Rika received her scores, where even the ISU commentator noted it.

 

[Greengemmonster]

The 3F+3T+2T was a very impressive improvisation to make up for the missed 3A. She was doing 2A+2T+2T (ugh!) or a 2A+1Eu+3S before. I didn’t even know she could do 3-3-2s. That’s some nerves of steel. Apparently she was a wreck in her junior days. I’m glad I missed that because I already have a whole patch of gray hair that sprouted when she popped her 3A for the first (and hopefully only) time this season.

It is a trial to be her fan I swear! I only started watching her programs to convince myself that she was nothing special so I could write her off. Then I fell down this crazy rabbit hole of me freaking the crap out whenever she skates and growing grey hairs over waxels! I do not know how I will cope with her all the way to Beijing!!! :eeking::luv17:

ETA: Oh that's not even taking into account the boot dramas!!!!!

 

[Jaana]

The ladies podium was awesome! After a bit shaky start both Rika Kihira and Bradie Tennel had a really great performance.

Young You was the one I loved most, her elegant and beautiful performance pleased my eye very much and I´m feeling very happy for her silver medal here before the home audience.

 

[vqtanh1403]

Karen Chen and Wakaba Higuchi are highlight IMO. Rika and Young You were ok i guess, their performance didn't do much for me.

 

[lzxnl]

The 3F+3T+2T was a very impressive improvisation to make up for the missed 3A. She was doing 2A+2T+2T (ugh!) or a 2A+1Eu+3S before. I didn’t even know she could do 3-3-2s. That’s some nerves of steel. Apparently she was a wreck in her junior days. I’m glad I missed that because I already have a whole patch of gray hair that sprouted when she popped her 3A for the first (and hopefully only) time this season.

I can’t wait to see Higuchi at Worlds live. She’s still not in tip-top form, but she’s getting there.

Sakamoto.... ah. Well, the judges like her as much as I do because they definitely held her up here. I’ve said before that she should go for the 4T and I take it back. That thing isn’t competion ready. I’m sad that she won’t be at Worlds because I really like both of her programs.

You and Kim are setting up nicely to gain a third Worlds spot for Korea.

...But so are the Americans. I find Tennell dull. She skates like it’s 1990 instead of 2020. But I give props when props are due. I do like her SP and she held up extremely well but I knew she would. I’ve noticed that she has very solid nerves. She’s showing that you don’t have to have a 3A or quad to hang with the big dogs. You just need consistency. Also, isn’t this her first major international medal?

Well, you'll be surprised to know that Rika jumped a 3A-3T-2T at the 2017 Japanese Junior Championships, I think just for lols as there was no real need to do so. It was worth about 16(!) points. Rika has also had a history of adjusting her jump layout on the fly; at IdF 2018, she wasn't feeling so solid after having popped a 3A in the short and underrotating a 3A in the free, so she changed a 3A-3T, 3Lz-2T into a 2A-3T, 3Lz-3T. Sadly, the 3Lz-3T was underrotated too, but it was a good attempt after not feeling confident.

She did the same thing to win 4CC last season too; she only jumped one 3A in the free.

All the tribulations of adjusting jump layouts from last season seem to have paid off! Although I hope we'll get to see a skate from her that doesn't require such mental gymnastics. And less stress, please. Following Rika is never smooth sailing.

 

[Colonel Green]

I like You Young but her PCS was confusing to me. She skated with no commitment to her choreography, a level 2 step sequence and didn’t perform. It was 100% focused on jumps. Everything lacked polish, detail and emotion.

I think she's fine in the "You Must Love Me" and "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" sections, but the "Buenos Aires" part has been a struggle all season. That portion calls for a Kaetlyn Osmond/Ashley Wagner style that she isn't bringing at the moment.

Happy for all the medalists. Looks like Rika is gearing up to bring a real fight for the podium at Worlds, after her technical limitations in the first half of the season, and she becomes 4CC's first ever ladies' champion with consecutive wins.

Amber really not having a good time with the Axels in Seoul, but otherwise that was basically the free skate she needed at nationals to be on the podium.

Further down, looks like Alicia will be going to Worlds. I don't know what Skate Canada is going to do as far as filling the other spot goes; Alison had an okay recovery after such a disaster short program, but skating to this sort of plaintive ballad just accentuates how inexpressive she is.

 

[ladyjane]

Quite an exciting ladies event. Deserved medallists, but I would have switched 2 and 3. Although I am quite a fan of Young You (I loved her at the YOG that she deservedly won), I felt she was a bit overscored here. Not so much on her jumps (I thought they were great except for a small error on the lutz), but indeed with regard to the 'being in the music' (I know, that's not an official term) and the choreography. Still, it was a great skate and her natural elegance came off well. She must have been thrilled to receive the mascot from her great idol. I was glad to see Bradie medalling. After her not so great Nationals Free Skate, she did an excellent job here. And Rika made me gasp in horror during that first axel, but recovered really well to show off what she can do. I really enjoyed seeing a 3-3-2 combination once again. And of course her 3A in combination was really good.

But there was of course more to it than the top 3. Yelim Kim did a great job too (I think she was 4th in the Free) and seeing Karen Chen having a good skate was ever so nice. Pretty encouraging for her after being down last season. Great to see Wakaba back to form as well and also going for the 3A. I really loved her step sequence. Kaori regrettably didn't have the best of skates. A pity Eunsoo had a fall, but otherwise performed really well. I must also mention Alicia. I really enjoyed watching her. It may not be in the top technically and jumpwise, but it was a really nice Skate to look at. I hope we'll see her again at Worlds.

I am actually getting used to the commentary, despite the endless repetition of certain phrases and the stating of the obvious. I don't mind his comments about the outfits - they're usually positive and by the way, this forum also has quite a few people commenting on costumes (including me), so why has that become an issue in some places? Anyway, nice watch. Now just hoping the men's FS can be as good as the SP was!

 

[KatGrace1925]

I feel like If a Russian girl had skated a level 2 step sequence and gotten 9’s in PCS this board would be going crazy.

At this same competition Karen Chen got 7’s.

 

[Colonel Green]

I feel like If a Russian girl had skated a level 2 step sequence and gotten 9’s in PCS this board would be going crazy.

I don't recall people generally attempting to correlate step sequence levels with PCS that much. I don't believe the judges even know what level is assigned when they're handing out PCS.

 

[readernick]

I just don’t get how she could get 8’s and 9’s in skating skills with a level 2 step sequence that was glaringly slow. She also got high marks for transitions. I don’t think the marks should have been so close in PCS to Bradie and Rika who put out complete programs even with slight errors. You Young’s jumps were great and I’ve always liked her but there was hardly anything else going on in that program and no commitment to it. I think the program was a bad choice for her and the judging just makes me scratch my head.

I don’t see last group bonus and 3A in the PCS criteria.

I used to defend the judging system for mostly getting the result right but lately it seems politicking is becoming more and more overt.

PCS was high because she got home scoring. lt happens to most skaters . She is a good jumper but I agree that her SS, transitions, and the overall quality of her skating is below Bradie's and far below Rika's.

I would have put Rika's PCS at 72/73
Bradie at 69/70
and Young at 65/66.

Usually the small at home judging bonus that skaters get doesn't affect the result of the competition, but it did here. However, Bradie has also benefited from favorable home judging in the past. I am sure she will take it in stride.

 

[KatGrace1925]

I think you can correlate the entire skate and looking at the lack of commitment to the program and the very glaring moment when that occurred how slow she was going and barely moment, I don’t know how you can watch that and go oh her’ skating skills are a 9.25. Skating Skills implies full package of jumps, skins, steps, being able to do it all well and if you’re losing levels it’s visually obvious how poor some areas of your skating are.

I dislike this current environment of oh triple axel you get more 9’s now when most else being presented is far below the other girls.

 

[Colonel Green]

PCS was high because she got home scoring. lt happens to most skaters . She is a good jumper but I agree that her SS, transitions, and the overall quality of her skating is below Bradie's and far below Rika's.

I would have put Rika's PCS at 72/73
Bradie at 69/70
and Young at 65/66.

Usually the small at home judging bonus that skaters get doesn't affect the result of the competition, but it did here. However, Bradie has also benefited from favorable home judging in the past. I am sure she will take it in stride.

Home judging + TES=PCS judging, since she landed a triple Axel.