2023 Worlds: Women's FS | Thoughts

[gsk8]

Kaori Sakamoto defends World title

2023 World Figure Skating Championships Women’s Free Skate Kaori Sakamoto of Japan defended her title at the 2023 World Figure Skating Championships on home ice in Saitama. Haein Lee of […]

www.goldenskate.com

Lots of movement in the Women's FS but a huge congrats to Sakamoto!!!

2023 European Champion Anastasiia Gubanova of Georgia and 2023 Four Continents silver medalist Yelim Kim of South Korea both struggled at this event. They finished 14th and 18th, respectively.

"I somehow did not feel well starting this morning," confessed Gubanova. "I don't know why, maybe just the tiredness of the whole season came together. I tried to pull myself together and it worked in the first half of the program, but not in the second half. I'll get a little rest, then we'll start all over again. However, maybe we go to the World Team Trophy and then I'll get ready for that first."

"I don't know what happened," said Kim. "My practice this morning went well. I didn't feel tired ahead of the event, but now I feel very tired. After my skate, I was very disappointed, but when I heard the cheers from the fans, it really cheered me up!"

Kim said the highlight of the season for her were the Challenger and Grand Prix series. The 20-year-old won both of her Challenger events earlier in the season before taking silver at the Grand Prix event in France and gold at NHK Trophy.

"I reached my main goal for the season, reaching the Grand Prix Final," she said. "So, I am overall pleased. I hope to maybe compete at World Team Trophy, but after that, I want to take a break. I will get two new programs next season, but I have no idea yet about choreographers or music."

What are your thoughts? Who impressed you the most?

I have to say that I was mesmerized by Nicole Schott's routine - Kudos to her! Here's wishing her lots of fun and much-deserved rest on her trip to Scandinavia with her boyfriend!

 

[SmileHappy34]

Happy for Loena, Karori, Haein to have skate at worlds. Chaeyong nice comebackin free. Isabeau/Isabella good start to world debut 4th. I am looking forward to improvement next year. Bad U.S lost a spot. Any reasons Bradie while improve isn't back to herself and scores of yesteryears. Amber ( in my opinion) doesn't skate like she believes in herself and will receive high scores. She skaters like the scores she gets. Both Bradie and Amber been skating for a few seasons, so the judges know their skating and expect improvement , like me I suspect they haven't seen it. Others Nina good job top. 6 good . In fact top 10great job.

 

[TT_Fin]

Nicole Shcott was the one who made me most happy this time. Hope she still would be on field for some years.

 

[16Olympics]

Hooray for Kaori! Haein was a dream. Loena is probably the most happiest bronze medal winner ever!

Agree about Nicole S. What a year she's had and hopefully she'll continue. Also agree about Amber. She's got all the pieces. Maybe Damon can lift her spirits and mentality as she moves forward.

Isabeau has the next coming year to solidify her style and strength. 4th place is more than admirable. She's had a great year and she didn't have that shine today but still love her talent.

Mai-

 

[rabidline]

I am so emotional for Kaori, wow- when the single flip happened, I think I flashed back to 4 years ago, at the very same place when 2019 Kaori popped her single flip in the second half of her FS that were supposed to be a combo and it kept her out of the Worlds podium. And then somehow she jumped a 3T off that, one higher than the flip, and the rest is history. I felt her tears... I can feel the fear of losing what is so close to her to win. But that's enough- she won by 4 points, and that -3T combo was her 4 points. Even a movie can't script it

Very happy for Haein too, she's always been a favorite of mine, I remember last year seeing her skate Arirang at Worlds and thinking, she can be something if she kept going at it. Deserved win in the FS and to be the first Korean to win a Worlds medal after Yuna... so happy that it's her.

And Loena- I admire her so much. To come here after dissappointment and more dissappointment, even the error in the SP, and she kept her head up and fought through. I'm so happy she didn't give up after the tough silver at Euros.

Mai... I'm so sad that she couldn't manage to hold on to the podium, but I'm so thankful that she decided to skate again. After so many misses, not just in her first Olympic quad but also her second. It took 6 years for her to come back to Worlds and it's been so incredible to follow her coming back, getting healthier and being able to compete at this level again. Some skaters just mean so much personally to me beyond medals and podiums and Mai is one of them.

 

[noskates]

I thought Haein Lee was the star of the free skate. Her program and her presentation were just lovely. And it was great to see Mai back on the ice and healthy again.

 

[Anni234]

I said it once and I'll say it again, this was one of the most exciting competitions in recent years that I've seen. The women were awesome, to win you needed to BRING it and there was no "I did 3 quads so I can fall several times and still bring it home" situation. As a viewer, an absolute banger of a competition.

Not to even mention Niina Petrõkina's performance, who landed Estonia in top 10 for the first time ever and qualified 2 ladies for next year!

 

[Zora]

For me it was the perfect podium, and seeing everyone being happy with their medals made it even more enjoyable. It was also really cute to see Kaori trying to find a Belgium flag for Loena.

Some random thoughts:
Nicole Schott was amazing! Adult skating can be exciting, even without quads and even without a 3-3 combination.
Isabeau's packaging is perfect, I love how every detail is thought through, and her costumes and styling are fantastic, reminds me a bit of Sasha Cohen. Still I'm kind of glad she didn't win a medal yet, I think she seriously needs to re-work her Flip and Lutz technique before she gets there.
Haein Lee was the star of the competition for me! I almost wanted her to win the gold medal, but I would have felt terribly sorry for Kaori at the same time. I especially loved the step sequence at the end of her free program.
I wished Kaori would have had that perfect skate she was aiming for, but winning the Gold despite the mistake isn't too bad either. While her programs grew on me this season, I don't think this North American style was really for her. I hope she finds something better suited for her next season.

 

[Fluture]

What a competition. It will join last season's Worlds as one of my favorites ever. So exciting to have 5-8 equally competitive skaters who can all make the podium on a given day. Love that level of unpredictability. Also, for me it was so nice to see the amount of joy and genuine respect between the competitors — one example being Loena and Haein showing so much support for Kaori after her skate when she was so disappointed. This season overall helped me find my love for the sport I thought I lost after Beijing and I'm just very thankful for that. For me, it feels like we were being collectively gaslit into thinking drama, toxicity and abuse were necessary evils in the name of "progress" but imo, they're not. As a viewer, this is the kind of experience no quad or 3A will ever bring.

That being said, onto the skaters:

1. Kaori — such a queen. Two time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto has a nice ring to it indeed, doesn't it? After the difficult season she had, with all those expectations, she clawed her way through and won Gold again. Following the trauma of 2019, the 1F struck again, but she overcame it in the best way possible. Adding that 3T (that ensured the Gold!) afterwards was such a boss move and shows just how much she's grown. Also, she seems like such a kind and humble person. Applauding everyone during the introductions, searching for a flag for Loena. You just know that had Haein won, she'd have pulled herself together and sincerely supported her — because that's the kind of person she is. As Mark said — truly a Champion and a role model.

2. I'm still over the moon for Haein, I can't believe it. I never would have dreamed that the tiny girl whose skating I fell in love with at JGP Linz 2018 would become a World Silver medalist!! When I woke up to find out she'd won 4CC, I didn't think any moment would top that this season. And yet here we are. I also hope the person who sent her hate before 4CC is really embarrassed now lmao.

3. Loena. Just like Kaori, she had a really tough season. They supported each other after the disappointment at GPF and now share the Worlds podium again… what a moment. Her programs aren't my favorite but on a human level, I'm very happy for her.

4. Great result for Isabeau, though I'm sure she wanted more. Ultimately, it came down to experience — that missed combo probably cost her the medal. Still, she held it together really well after the mistake and is the highest US finisher, showcasing her grit and mental strength. I'm hoping she can somehow fix the jump technique so she can develop over the years. Everything else she already has.

5. Mai broke my heart. One of the few sad moments of this competition. After winning everything this season, it just hurts. She came so far, though, and I hope she's still proud of herself. And even without the World medal, she'll always be a 2x Four Continents & Universiade, as well as a GPF Champion. And maybe her moment at Worlds will come…

The only other sad moments for me came from Yelim and Katia. Yelim, because she's clearly burnt out from skating at a dozen unnecessary competitions this season (thanks for nothing KSU…) and Katia due to her crestfallen face in the K&C. She's normally such a sunshine that this was striking in a bad way

6. Chaeyeon. What a talent!!! She's so young still, wasn't even a senior at the start of the season and now here she is, skating such a composed FS. Her jumping technique is amazing and she already has such a distinct style. Truly love her unique choreography and I can't wait to see her grow.

There were so many more bright spots in this competition, so I'll just note a few here: Kimmy, the two Ninas (Pinzarrone & Petrokina), Madeline's comeback, Lara Naki Gutmann's unique FS… Olga, though her 19th place finish may be disappointing, had an encouraging FS here. She's had a rough two seasons and this feels like a first step back to her previous form. I‘m also personally happy for Nicole Schott — she and Loena garnered so much unfair hate from a certain cranky corner of the skating world that it feels right for them to have their deserved moment here.

Other than that, I'd like to point out Julia Sauter, just because her story and love for the sport is so inspiring. She works three jobs to finance her skating and had to open a go-fund-me to be able to go to Worlds at all. Here she got two season's best and was straight up beaming throughout her entire program. She also learned and landed her first 3Lz at age 25!! Moments like these really remind me why I love the sport.

 

[purplecat]

I've only seen the last group... looks like there were some strong skates prior to that, but to comment on the last group the thing that comes to mind is: pressure. Everyone felt the pressure of the moment. Even Haein who was the best of the lot - I thought she was better at 4CC. This reminded me a lot of this year's Grand Prix Final where there were many errors. Disappointing, but the women are tough fighters and that's why you never give up cause you never know what the rest will do. Congrats to the podium!! Sad for our American women, but I hope they hold up their heads for fighting as well!

 

[DancingCactus]

I was somehow really cheering for Nicole Schott. She did very well in the SP several times this season and always blew it in the free, so it felt great to see her finally pull through. Her layback spins are really elegant.

I almost was too nervous to watch Kaori's skate but I'm glad I didn't spend it cowering in a corner. The popped jump and then the immediate comeback with the 3T was exciting and watching her skate simply always makes me smile. Her speed and glide are just fantastic.

I have to admit Haein Lee does nothing for me. Very competent, very elegant, very bland.

Isabeau might be growing on me, but maybe it's the music. Her jump landings still worry me, although there were some that seemed to have more flow than usual.

Mai looked a bit shaky especially during the spiral.

Loena kept it mostly together. Kudos, although I don't like that program. It could me MORE dramatic. Embrace your inner Johnny Weir!

 

[yelyoh]

Yes on a lot of this. I forgot to bring up Ekaterina. She kept looking to her coaches in the K&C while waiting for her scores thinking she had done okay. The male coach was dour the entire time and wouldn't look at her. He knew. After the scores were announced EK looked bewildered and crestfallen. She eyes were like ping pong balls back and forth to each coach and getting nothing. The camera cut away just as it looked as though tears were about to flow. Oh well, it's a tough and unforgiving sport.

 

[ladyjane]

Yes on a lot of this. I forgot to bring up Ekaterina. She kept looking to her coaches in the K&C while waiting for her scores thinking she had done okay. The male coach was dour the entire time and wouldn't look at her. He knew. After the scores were announced EK looked bewildered and crestfallen. She eyes were like ping pong balls back and forth to each coach and getting nothing. The camera cut away just as it looked as though tears were about to flow. Oh well, it's a tough and unforgiving sport.

Poor Ekaterina. She's usually such a sunny person.

 

[MiraiFan]

What a competition. It will join last season's Worlds as one of my favorites ever. So exciting to have 5-8 equally competitive skaters who can all make the podium on a given day. Love that level of unpredictability. Also, for me it was so nice to see the amount of joy and genuine respect between the competitors — one example being Loena and Haein showing so much support for Kaori after her skate when she was so disappointed. This season overall helped me find my love for the sport I thought I lost after Beijing and I'm just very thankful for that. For me, it feels like we were being collectively gaslit into thinking drama, toxicity and abuse were necessary evils in the name of "progress" but imo, they're not. As a viewer, this is the kind of experience no quad or 3A will ever bring.



5. Mai broke my heart. One of the few sad moments of this competition. After winning everything this season, it just hurts. She came so far, though, and I hope she's still proud of herself. And even without the World medal, she'll always be a 2x Four Continents & Universiade, as well as a GPF Champion. And maybe her moment at Worlds will come…

I so agree

I‘m also personally happy for Nicole Schott — she and Loena garnered so much unfair hate from a certain cranky corner of the skating world that it feels right for them to have their deserved moment here.

I cried when Nicole finisher her program. What an inspiration. Can you tell me about the hate she and Loena got--I have not kept up with everything lately.

Other than that, I'd like to point out Julia Sauter, just because her story and love for the sport is so inspiring. She works three jobs to finance her skating and had to open a go-fund-me to be able to go to Worlds at all. Here she got two season's best and was straight up beaming throughout her entire program. She also learned and landed her first 3Lz at age 25!! Moments like these really remind me why I love the sport.

WOW--I will have to find the replay that includes the first groups--thank you for sharing this. I really enjoy Julia--she has a wonderful presence on the ice.

 

[Jontor]

I loved it. I agree with @Fluture that the unpredictability of the event made it more exciting.

For me, I have to point out Lara Naki Gutmann's wonderfully scary and unique Hitchcock program. Absolutely loved it.

Superhappy with the podium.

 

[Dawn825]

I'm thrilled for all the medalists. I really wanted Kaori and Loena to defend their podium spots, and Haein was a very nice surprise. Very happy also for Chaeyoung, her free skate was brilliant.
Very sad for Mai, but no one will forget what she accomplished this season. Isabeau did a lot of things right, I hope she gets a new coach. I wish Rinka more success going forward. Im trying not to think about Yelim. Or Amber and Bradie.
I'm very grateful for this blessing of a fair, diverse, and unpredictable season.

 

[Demandred]

I was so nervous for Kaori I couldn't fully appreciate her skate, I need to rewatch it. But I am so happy for her, she did it under so much pressure. That 2A is always a highlight, 21 kmh exit speed...

Haein was fantastic, she looked so confident and calm during her skate, the pressure didn't phase her at all. Well deserved silver.

Loena was really good outside of her fall and performed her program very well.

Shame about Mai's errors which cost her a medal.

Happy to see Niina Petrokina in the Top 10, she has a unique style and her skating has so much power.

Nicole Schott had another beautiful skate, it was great to see her ending 7th.

I was really impressed by the first group (24th to 19th) too, not a single fall and several SBs. Lara Guttman was particularly good and deservedly climbed a lot in the standings.

 

[ladyjane]

I'm not a women's fan, but what a night! Kaori was fantastic, Haein was a joy and Loena was exactly the warrior she said she was - fall and all. I am so happy for all of them!

 

[Anna K.]

I was really impressed by the first group (24th to 19th) too, not a single fall and several SBs. Lara Guttman was particularly good and deservedly climbed a lot in the standings.

And Julia Sauter, her emotions when she landed her first-ever 3Lz aged 25 and made the history becoming the first Romanian skater who finished in WC top 20.

This is knowing that:

Other than that, I'd like to point out Julia Sauter, just because her story and love for the sport is so inspiring. She works three jobs to finance her skating and had to open a go-fund-me to be able to go to Worlds at all. Here she got two season's best and was straight up beaming throughout her entire program. She also learned and landed her first 3Lz at age 25!! Moments like these really remind me why I love the sport.

 

[Demandred]

Oh, yes, thanks for reminding me about Julia Sauter. I loved her performance.