I didn't mention Evan.
I think the quad is over rated, just saying...
Exactly what I thought. Exactly the same that happened to Joubert last season and in 2008. If you have weak points in other areas make up for it with 2 quads! (just like Stephane tried)You know, Plushenko thinks the quad is almighty. Ok, fine. Where were his second and third quads? You want the envelope pushed, push it.
Can modern skaters do figures like Henie and her ilk did? Hell no, that's no longer even in the sport. Does that mean the sport has gone backwards? Only if you think making a perfect figure 8 on the ice is the pinnacle of skating. Modern skating requires excellence and intricacy in every move, every turn of the blade and every position of the body. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to rotate all your jumps, while having most of them be in the second half of the program, while putting in transitions, while doing high level footwork and spins, while performing well and interpreting the nuances of the music and its rhythm?
I'm not fond of many parts of the COP: the massive point penalty for under-rotation, the prioritizing of complexity over beauty and quality, the widening gap in elite skating between TES and PCS... But to say skating has regressed? Please. It's vastly more difficult than it was before the COP. And the difficulty increases as skaters adapt more and more to every part of the COP, forcing each other to be equally well rounded.
What a well written post (all-rounded )! I really enjoyed reading it.As for the "death" of quads, I think the real answer is that there are only a few skaters in history who are true giants and who exemplify the best in the sport, and we may just be in a fallow period. Yes, Plushenko is an amazing jumper--all the Mishin skaters have gorgeous technique, including Kulik and Yagudin. But Plushy is not really strong in other areas. Yagudin had it all, Browning certainly had it all. So did Hamilton and Boitano, and John Curry for his era. These men are all great technicians and also great performers. I think the skater who currently fills that bill is Takahashi when he's healthy. (More about that later.) The fact is, it's hard to find an artist who's also a technician and also (this is very important) mentally tough. Generally you get two out of three at best. (Both Lysacek and Plushy are mentally as tough as they come.) Stojko had jumps and toughness, but judges at the Olympics at least chose not to honor his particular brand of performance skills--not classical enough, I guess.
The problem now, with all the technical advances and especially the quad, is that often the best guys are chewed up quickly by injuries. You know that Daisuke could have done that quad before his knee gave out. Alexei Urmanov and Yagudin both lost years of skating because of serious injuries. So the giants are fewer and farther between.
Don't mourn the death of the quad yet, though. In women's skating, does anyone remember the fuss about triple-triples during the Kwan/Slutskaya era? Slutskaya and others who could do triple-triples consistently were considered pathfinders. Except that in 1992, I believe Yamaguchi had a triple-triple already, and did it at the Olympics. Then it kind of bowed out for awhile. Skating isn't a constant progression. It's made up of the best skills of whoever happens to be skating at the time. Don't sweat it. Nothing's dying. Enjoy the show that's here, not the one you wish was here. We're still luckier than fans of the school figures era. Remember when Trixi Schuba won the Olympics in 1972? She beat out two great skaters, Karen Magnussen and Janet Lynn...because she had such a high score in her school figures that no one else could catch up with her. And though I never saw her free program, I gather it was lackluster at best. Yet there she is in the record books with her gold. At least now, when a good skater without a quad wins, you can see what the judges are making a fuss about, whether footwork or transitions or spins. Agree or disagree, you can still see the reason for the skater's high scores.
Another good post.Just curious, did you hold a service for the ladies triple axel after Harding and Ito left competative skating? Things seemed to be headed in that direction back then, but until recently no one really had one for years. Michelle and Irina were tops for years without it. Different skaters have different strengths in different eras. The only thing that should be dead is thinking there is only one formula that will win. This is a sport for individuals. If you have a quad -good for you but that alone doesn't make you a cinch for gold. Sit down, study the CoP against you own strengths and weaknesses and find what works. Everyone else did. Plushy just thought he was invincible and didn't need to work the system.
Most of my collegues believe it's ridiculous men's figure skating is now back to triple era. No wonder figure skating is becoming more and more only for women spectators.
Most of my collegues believe it's ridiculous men's figure skating is now back to triple era. No wonder figure skating is becoming more and more only for women spectators.
Most of my collegues believe it's ridiculous men's figure skating is now back to triple era. No wonder figure skating is becoming more and more only for women spectators.
Alright, so am I the only one who thought Evan won fairly and that almost every one of Plushenko's jumps looked awkward and labored, with scary air positions and scratchy landings?
Evan won because he had better GOE, spins, footwork, etc. I don't see why him not doing a quad and winning is so controversial.
Mao had a faceplant in her FS the year she was world champion, and Alissa landed three triples in her FS the year she won nationals - those were MUCH more controversial victories than Evan's here IMO and people accepted the results with much less grumbling...clearly it is not all about jumps, example, Lepisto. How many times has Yuna popped her loop or sal and still won? There was some controversial scoring last night, but not for Evan and Plushy. Saying a guy can't win without a quad is like saying a lady can't win without a 3-3....as far as I know, Yuna and Rachael are the only two ladies to consistently land a 3-3 this season, and Rachael didn't even make the GPF.
Thank you for pointing out that women spectators do not like quads and that our standards are so very low.
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It's just a fact that most of the figure skating spectators these days are women. I attended a GP event last year, believe me, while there's a big line out side the ladies' washroom, the men's washroom was nearly empty. I felt a bit embarrassed to be one of the few male spectators by the rink. If women continue to prefer Chan-like skaters to win other more athletic skaters by doing 2A, it's time to move figure skating out of Olympics Games.
It's just a fact that most of the figure skating spectators these days are women. I attended a GP event last year, believe me, while there's a big line out side the ladies' washroom, the men's washroom was nearly empty. I felt a bit embarrassed to be one of the few male spectators by the rink..
I remember the good old days when mostly men attended figure skating competitions. Me and the guys from the factory filled up the arena and enjoyed the loud WWE style atmosphere. Jolly good times, but there was so much drunken fights and hooliganism.
Are we returning the Olympics to its Greek roots of excluding women?
Quads are high risk and the skaters can get almost as many points with combination jumps, or by jumping in the second half of program.
If they fall on a quad, they get hardly any points at all. I agree that quads should be rewarded with higher scores than they are because not many people can do them and because they are so risky. I admire the few guys last night who did try or land the quads, such as Kozuka, Takahashi and Plushenko. However, one quad combination does not win a gold medal. The new COP system takes into account every single little element and Lysaceck and his coach have been very smart to train in this system and maximize his points.
In the early 2000s, Timothy Goebel was the quad king, but his programs lacked artistry so that is why he did not win back then, and that is why Evgeny lost out now. Evgeny should have made his comeback 2 years ago so that he could become familiar with how the COP system has changed.
A similar thing is going on in the ladies program. Mao Asada plans to do triple axels to score higher points to overcome lower scores she receives in other elements. Kim Yu Na has the whole package, and doesn't need to do the triple axel to win. Evan Lysaceck has the whole package under the COP, so he doesn't need the quad to win.
AND.. finally, I think Evan would have been happy with the silver medal. I don't think he really thought he could beat Plushenko.
But one casualty in raising the technical precision of the sport [by CoP] is the spontaneity that makes sports exciting. Athletes at this level live on the edge of control and chaos, and it's the collective wow of moments when they butt themselves up against that line that take our breath away and keep bringing us back to watch. "It's important for any sport to continue to raise the bar and move forward," Paul Wylie, a 1992 silver medalist, told me after the men's short programs. "I have to admit, as a performer who did two triple Axels in my program in Albertville, I am surprised that more guys aren't doing the quad."