I'm sure you are also implying Asadakova would have delivered a quality SP too
I was pulling for Yunia Kimnitskaia in Sochi TBH
Well Asadakova can do whatever she wants and still win gold. Unless Kimnitskaia was Russian also.
I'm sure you are also implying Asadakova would have delivered a quality SP too
I was pulling for Yunia Kimnitskaia in Sochi TBH
In my world nationalities are irrelevant. I love AsadakovaWell Asadakova can do whatever she wants and still win gold. Unless Kimnitskaia was Russian also.
I'm sure you are also implying Asadakova would have delivered a quality SP too
I was pulling for Yunia Kimnitskaia in Sochi TBH
I am not sure this is a guarantee she is sticking around. Maybe she like Gold and so many other skaters are looking and hoping for some magical ending - culminating at the olympcs but sadly only one lady will have that moment. I truly wonder what goes on in a skater's mind. I mean there is what they say to the media but what REALLY is in their mind. Do they truly skate for themselves and or their fans? Is it really about self satisfaction regardless of medals or... I know it sounds cynical. We all know it they want the OGM. Which is why I am so happy that Adelina got 2014 OGM as much as I love Yuna's skating. Everyone deserves their moment under the sun. I honestly was disappointed in Mao this year. I know many love her and there was a great rivalry with Yuna but really in the end the last 4 or 5 years of their competing there was no rivalry - kind of like historic or vintage tennis - I am a sports buff - there was an American Princess - Chris Everet against the Czech player Martina Navritilova but in the last few years Martina dominated. Maybe 2015-16 was an off year for Mao.
I would assume Mao skates for herself, her fans and also to challenge herself and get good competitive results, as she obviously knew that her only chance for OGM was in 2010..
I would assume Mao skates for herself, her fans and also to challenge herself and get good competitive results, as she obviously knew that her only chance for OGM was in 2010. At this point she just wants to try one more olympic cycle, not for the shiny gold medal but because when she sat out for last year after nearly 20 years of training and 10 years of competing, she said that she missed skating and competing a lot that she couldn't release her retirement announcement. It just shows how much she loves skating and how competitive person she is despite knowing her limitations and being fully aware that she's the judges' least favorite, she doesn't want to stay home when she's still capable of a near perfect 7 triple program and 4 triple sp, and when she's still only in her 20s (so many male skaters go to olympics at age of 25+). Most skaters want to finish their career right after their golden years but for Mao, she probably just wants to give her all until she loses her athletic abilities as she ages, kind of like Plushy, they are fighters that never stop giving.
I personally think she had a greater chance in 2014, based on potential scoring of her layouts. Her clean SP was able to get a world record, and it wasn't really due to PCS boosting. She didn't have the highest PCS (even on home ground) and her PCS was just about a point or so higher than what she was getting in GP. On the other hand, her 2010 programs were not well received at all and she had less momentum after difficult worlds and GP season prior to Olympics.
I agree with most of what you said. But if you consider the really big view counts that Mao's performances on youtube have compared to her competitors, like her Japan Open LP, her Cup of China SP and her Worlds LP, she hasn't lost any of her ability to move people and in many ways people find her even more compelling now that she had in her golden years.
In my world nationalities are irrelevant. I love Asadakova
A skater's ability to move people has nothing to do with the number of YouTube views. Of course Mao has a big number of view counts, she's a household name in Japan, a brand. A lot of people click to see her performances because she's had a long and decorated career. Publicity is important in this kind of instances. Marin Honda's most viewed program has +400.000 clicks while Wakaba Higuchi only has +70.000. Does this mean Higuchi isn't as good a skater as Honda is? I don't think so.
Well, Marin Honda is better. Clicks aside...
Well, Marin Honda is better. Clicks aside...
no no no and no. she doesn't have pains and bad choregraphy like wakaba this season. it is not because she have win words that she is better than wakaba. she's more popular because she's little more pretty, win worlds and have good communication.
A skater's ability to move people has nothing to do with the number of YouTube views. Of course Mao has a big number of view counts, she's a household name in Japan, a brand. A lot of people click to see her performances because she's had a long and decorated career. Publicity is important in this kind of instances. Marin Honda's most viewed program has +400.000 clicks while Wakaba Higuchi only has +70.000. Does this mean Higuchi isn't as good a skater as Honda is? I don't think so.
I won't give the exact number of view counts, but my point is this: if the judges are going to give empirical, numerically based scores that very many look to be biased and unjust for a skater like Mao in her LP at Worlds, then why not look at another numerically based total that has a far, far greater sampling size where in addition to numbers people state their opinions openly . The opinions of people who watch performances is one of the main foundations for what keeps figure skating going.
But, Mao did not have anywhere near the most number of views in the SP.
And what great publicity is she receiving now anyway? Many announcers routinely give more praise to her competitors even when Mao skates extremely well as in the Worlds freeskate
Mao is scored with a lot less generosity. Yet, Mao's freeskate has by far the most views of any performance at Worlds anyway. This shows that many people were deeply moved and impressed by the performance, which is backed up by the fact that it also had the highest likes to dislikes ratio
Marin Honda's most viewed program has +400.000 clicks while Wakaba Higuchi only has +70.000. Does this mean Higuchi isn't as good a skater as Honda is? I don't think so.
Well I don't know much about those two, however last time when I watched their junior worlds LPs, I immedietly realized that Honda has better flow, effortless and secure jumps while Wakaba barely hung on several of her jumps and seemed to a bit mechanical and stiff compared to the other. Wakaba's jumps were explosive and had great height in 2015 tho, she needs to work on her skating to get higher pcs than Marin, let alone her unstable jumps aren't helping her technical score.