^ I agree. Weren't the Olympics originally an effort at world peace? To bring together the world, unite everybody in one place and forget about outside problems in the world for a few weeks? Either way, the Olympics are much more than just to find out who the best athletes in each sport are. There's World championships for that.
Caroline Zhang: How does she feel about missing Worlds?
- Thread starter krenseby
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- Sep 27, 2005
my thoughts exactly:agree:
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
All I can say is that if we don't get the three spots after this worlds, and Caroline is 3rd next year at nationals....now that is something she might have trouble getting over.
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- Mar 12, 2007
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How does Caroline feel about missing Worlds? I don't know for sure, but I'll take a wild shot at it -- she feels crumby about it.
I feel sorry for the other American ladies next year. Caroline is going to come out loaded for bear!
MM, you have this sweet old-fashioned optimism that just makes me want to pat you on the head!
I remember your unique perspective on this season's overloaded Skate America, where our federation stupidly imo invited virtually all our best women skaters. You wrote before the season started how this would make our women jump out of the starting gate and conquer all comers and attract a good audience to SA, which you felt was a prestigious event long before the ISU GP and therefore should continue to act as a single prestigious event. I worried that our women would just be shown up before the home crowd and felt it was insanely poor strategy for SA to be so loaded with our top ladies, virtually guaranteeing at least one of them would be unable to make the GP final.
Caroline, loaded for bear? Cute thing to say and think and maybe it will happen, and I hope it does, but I don't think she's going to suddenly shoot to the very top any more than Wagner or even Flatt. Top of the US Nats podium, maybe (though I want that crown for Rachel pronto, given her last two results), but to me loaded for bear would have to mean ready for gold at the international level. But you did say "other American ladies" so maybe US gold or some such is all you meant. Still, loaded for bear? Hmm. Maybe.
I do agree, though, that Caroline seems to get motivated from setbacks rather than defeated by them, the mark of a great competitor.
Let's see how she rebounds from a relatively bad SP at Jr. Worlds.
You seem DELIGHTED that Caroline just bombed her first sp in ages. However, I would recommend that you watch the 2008 US National Championships before jumping to conclusions.
I have watched those championships and my conclusions were the same, she has a lot of work ahead of her. She can improve but it's going to take time. I am not delighted, I am realistic. You guys are not.
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- Joined
- Mar 25, 2008
I'm not delighted about Zhang's SP, but I do wonder if what we're seeing here is indicative of the difficulty in placing all these expectations for medals and championships on the shoulders of 14 and 15 year old girls. And then when puberty hits, or if they have an injury, or just some bad luck - they're immediately a disappointment in many people's eyes.
I've seen skaters from other countries who started out at a young age - the then 15-year old Carolina Kostner at 2003 Euros comes to mind. But it looks to me as though the pressure on those skaters was nowhere near what the American ladies face.
I realize that in the US, figure skating has, for many years, been about these perfect princesses beatign everyone, and this is what sells to sport to people who tune in for the Olympics (not you, skates). I just don't think it's doing the skaters any favors in the long term.
I totally agree with you. The media (aka Hersh for example) doesn't help either. They are desperately looking for the next BIG ONE, to resume the winning streak for the US in ladies skating, so they can have something to chew on..
These young girls are at the puberty transformation age and they inherited some bad technique in their junior years, which have to be adjusted now under these new rules. This process will take some time (could be years). And god forbid to have some injuries coming along in the mean time.
Caroline was not going to gain anything in these championships, where she won already 2 medals, one of them gold. She should have declined to come as did Nagasu, and stay home to work on her problems.
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Fall on 3flip, UR and no combo. UR 3lutz. Hope she has an amazing LP and podiums. She's sitting 10th, but quite a few ahead of her have LP PB in the 80's. I think she's less than 1 point out of 6th, less than 4 points behind 5th (Katrina, who's PB LP is 104+) and less than 8 points out of 3rd, so she could close the gap IF she skates as well as she is capable of in the LP.
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- Jun 21, 2003
It's funny how opinions bounce up and down on the basis of the latest outing.
Caroline was way behind Alissa after the short program at U.S. nationals. Alissa finally achieved her rightful place; Caroline is awful (Mirai is even worse)!
Caroline did better in the LP. Caroline was robbed; Alissa is a fraud!
Caroline skated well at Four Continents. Caroline is our Olympic hope; USFS should immediately axe Rachael and send Caroline to Worlds!
Caroline falters in the short program at Junior worlds. She needs to go back to novices and start over; go Ashley!
Caroline comes back in the LP at junior wortlds...
Caroline was way behind Alissa after the short program at U.S. nationals. Alissa finally achieved her rightful place; Caroline is awful (Mirai is even worse)!
Caroline did better in the LP. Caroline was robbed; Alissa is a fraud!
Caroline skated well at Four Continents. Caroline is our Olympic hope; USFS should immediately axe Rachael and send Caroline to Worlds!
Caroline falters in the short program at Junior worlds. She needs to go back to novices and start over; go Ashley!
Caroline comes back in the LP at junior wortlds...
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Don't you think you should wait and see how everyone including Caroline looks next year before you say that Zhang is deserving an Olympic spot...
I guess I don't mean that she should be in Vancouver ahead of the other US ladies or that she'll do better than any of them there, just that at her age and level, under different circumstances, she would be going.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
True, but the USFSA CAN'T not send Alissa, whereas it would not specifically violate the by-laws if they decided not to send Rachael.
Actually, It would be fun if they tried to, and then Rachael sued them like Tonya Harding threatened to when they wanted to leave her off the 1994 Olympic team -- which, if they would have, Michelle Kwan would have got to skate and then, with this experience behind her, she probably would have done better in 1998 and 2002! :yes:
Between Flatt and Zhang, I think that choice is fairly obvious.
Between Alyssa and either of them, I think that choice is also fairly obvious.
But as I said earlier, chances are slim that we'd get three spots anyway.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
I don't know about sweet, but I do like my figure skating "in the moment." Whatever event I am in the audience for, that's the one I like the best, not some big championship in the distant future, when I might be dead before it happens.
My all-time faves were when they used to have the annual winter cheesefest practically in my back yard.
OK, loaded for baby bear. Not for Joannie/Carolina grizzlies or Mao/Yu-na giant Kodiacs.
