I am a huge fan of Agnes but I was actually hoping she would stay out of the top two at Nationals this year because I wanted her to have another trip to Junior worlds. I don't think there is any reason to rush Agnes and Christina to senior worlds because the skaters who will be their prime competition in Sochi are they young Russian ladies. Obviously nobody knows how long the elite skaters will stay in the game, but let's just say that at this stage, Agnes and Christina don't need to worry much about Miki Ando, they need to focus on Adelina Sotnikova and by taking another shot at junior Worlds this year, they'll get to do just that.
With Nagasu, Gao, Zawadski and perhaps Courtney Hicks coming up it will be brutal competition in the coming years. Someone is bound to break through and become a real contender.
I think Czisny could be the U.S's best hope for a medal in Sochi as funny as that sounds now. Nagasu and Agnes could also have potential to be medal contenders for 2014. While I definitely see Gao on future U.S world teams, especialy once they get back 3 spots, but I am not sure I see her as a future World or Olympic medalist. She looks more like a future Nikidinov type, solid but not truly elite.
It is true though that after Nationals 2008 people would have expected the U.S to atleast be in medal contention (even if probably not favored for gold) at the 2010 Games. Well you could argue Nagasu was in medal contendtion I guess but sort of not really, I mean she skated her best performances ever and was about 3 falls from the bronze.
But it didn't really affect Irina and some other skaters. I agree about Alissa's limited content, her technique is scary, but somehow she is able to land her jumps now and it's not like other US ladies have perfect technique. And she is much better than skaters like Flatt, Gao, Zawadzki in everything else.3 years is a long time away. I mean, look at Fumie Suguri. I think Czisny may continue to do well for another season or maybe two, but the wear and tear on her body will certainly start to affect her soon. Also, right now she is able to win stuff with her limited technical content, but that's because the field is a bit depleted where Miki is all tech and no artistry, as is Rachael, Mao's tech is on a bit of a vacation, Kanako is really young and doesn't get huge PCS yet, Yuna and Laura have yet to compete, and Kiira, Carolina and Mirai are all unpredictable.
This combo not really new for Liza, she already did it last seasonIf Liza can start doing the 3a in competition, who knows. She also debuted a 2a-3t combo at junior nationals last week and it was gorgeous.
When Liza first came to Mishin 3-4 years ago, she couldn't spin and skate, she could only jump high but in such a strange way, so her progress is amazing already and I think it's not an end. Also it's not like Mishin's younger students have bad spins or something, Medvedeva and Ogoreltseva are both very good spinners, have strong basics, not only jumps. They learned it in Mishin's group, so I think Liza will be OK.Liza has HUGE potential, but she needs to work on her lines and spins, which I'm not sure will happen with Mishin. She's definitely got charisma, and can really sell a program - more so than Adelina at this point.
But it didn't really affect Irina and some other skaters. I agree about Alissa's limited content, her technique is scary, but somehow she is able to land her jumps now and it's not like other US ladies have perfect technique. And she is much better than skaters like Flatt, Gao, Zawadzki in everything else.
This combo not really new for Liza, she already did it last season
When Liza first came to Mishin 3-4 years ago, she couldn't spin and skate, she could only jump high but in such a strange way, so her progress is amazing already and I think it's not an end. Also it's not like Mishin's younger students have bad spins or something, Medvedeva and Ogoreltseva are both very good spinners, have strong basics, not only jumps. They learned it in Mishin's group, so I think Liza will be OK.
I don't expect her to win any medal at the Olympics, but I think in the US she will still be more than competitive, because US youngsters all have their weaknesses. Gao and Zawadzki both have weak skating skills and it's the real problem, it's really hard to fix, and they are not near Alissa's level in presentation. I don't really expect them to improve that much for Sochi, especially Zawadzki, not with her current coach.