I will give you that Mao is a beautiful skater with unique ability in artistry and technique ( 3 axels) but overall jumping techniques was or is not her forte. After all she had to go through the wholesale retooling on her jumps after 2010 Olympics, right?
Who is the best female figure skater in the world?
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I will give you that Mao is a beautiful skater with unique ability in artistry and technique ( 3 axels) but overall jumping techniques was or is not her forte. After all she had to go through the wholesale retooling on her jumps after 2010 Olympics, right?
Well it was her forte enough to let her land a total of 8 triples with insane difficulty, it was her forte enough to let her land 3 3A in vancouver, it was her forte enough to let her include both 3A and 3-3, it was her forte enough to let her include all triples ect.............. accomplishment no one before has displayed or even came close too.
No matter how you want to ignore these factors they still prove the opposite, afterall she is the skater who has repeatedly skated some of the technically most outstanding and history making performances.
Also you do realize that by trying to downplay her technique it just makes her accomplishment even more surreal then they already are, think about that the next time you use that argument!
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In the Golden Age of Hollywood, you had great actresses and great stars. Occasionally the two would come together in a single performer, but it is still a useful distinction to keep in mind. Joan Crawford is one of the great Hollywood "stars," but Barbara Stanwyck is one of Hollywood's great actresses (she could do everything--melodrama, drama, comedy, rom coms, westerns).
To me, Katarina Witt is less a great skater than a great star. Charisma to burn. But to suggest that she is one of the great skaters is, for me at least, pushing it.
YMMV of course.
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- Jul 26, 2003
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Well, you could make a case for Tessa Virtue.
Or for Meryl Davis.
The commentators always tell you that the dancers are the best pure skaters, and those are our best current dancers.
Or for Meryl Davis.
The commentators always tell you that the dancers are the best pure skaters, and those are our best current dancers.
I am not downplaying anything. I am just stating the fact as I see it. Great axel jumper (although the success rate is sometimes lacking) and not so great toe jumper. Marvelous jumper at the young age. Not so marvelous jumper as before as an adult skaters. That was the reason why she was hit or miss later in her career.
If Mao's succesrate on the 3A is lacking then all the ladies in the history of the sport have a horrendously lacking record on that matter, let me give you an advise how about putting all 3A's landed by all the other woman who have attempted and landed this jump together and compare it to the number of times Mao alone has landed it, and see who's succesrate is lacking
(to your knowledge there were only two female skaters who have landed this jump at the Olympics and thats Asada and Ito)
Mao an marvelous jumper as at a young age, but not as a adult skater? LOL all these records I mentioned earlier, and Mao's technically most impressive programs and records were all done as as an ADULT skater.
continue living in your own bobble!!!!!
If Mao's succesrate on the 3A is lacking then all the ladies in the history of the sport have a horrendously lacking record on that matter, let me give you an advise how about putting all 3A's landed by all the other woman who have attempted and landed this jump together and compare it to the number of times Mao alone has landed it, and see who's succesrate is lacking
(to your knowledge there were only two female skaters who have landed this jump at the Olympics and thats Asada and Ito)
Mao an marvelous jumper as at a young age, but not as a adult skater? LOL all these records I mentioned earlier, and Mao's technically most impressive programs and records were all done as as an ADULT skater.
continue living in your own bobble!!!!!
Hey! You are the one in the fantasy land, man. 3 axel is one of jumps. It is not the measure of being the best ffigure skater in the whole world. It is pretty pathetic argument that Mao is the best female skater ever because she has 3 axel. 3 axel is not an end-all of the figure skating.
No one is arguing Mao is one of the great skater. But to call her THE best is over the top.
Why don't you go to www.maoasadaforum.com and call her THE best? They will agree with you 100 %.
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- Nov 13, 2012
No surprise for your ITA, simply because you are Mao fan
The best? Yeah, don't care much about what happened in history, Yuna is the best! Mao, Carol and Kwan are also top for me. Later? No, I'm so done with this sport already, just move on in life and keep my hope about "The magical return" for 2018, that's all.
I never said Mao's is the best skater ONLY based on the 3A, but until there is a skater who exceeds her all her technical accomplishments, and until there is a skater who gives performance that exceeds her artistic masterpieces like (Por una Cabeza, Ballade No. 1, Claire de Lune, nocturne etc.) I will never change my mind, and to your knowledge this is not a yuna forum but a general skating forum and you don't own this site to order people around, I have every right to be here, if you have a problem with that, then you are the one who should leave!
Yes, Mao is THE BEST female figure skater in the history. Period. No one can say any other way. You convince me. Good job.
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- Feb 17, 2010
Who is the best skater? I would say Mao Asada or Carolina Kostner.
Who is the best competitor? Yuna Kim.
These are two different questions.
Who is the best competitor? Yuna Kim.
These are two different questions.
hahaha nice sarcasm.
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- Dec 22, 2012
I think a lot of fans (bots or otherwise) tend to forget about the overall body of work and quality of figure skater. You can't just base 'the best' over one aspect because that doesn't make them the best. In fact, it just nullifies the point. They all have their inadequacies and components they excel in. If we look at Mao, Kim, and Carolina (the top three ladies of the last decade, really) one can rationalise so much, we can go on and on forever. I don't add medals into the equation just because hardware does not equal greatness.
Kim: Great competitor, technically sound and superb though a little limited, has great carriage and an artistic flair, she's fast and she skates with power. However, she's not as flexible as the other girls, her spins are on the mediocre side (or they have been since Vancouver I would say), and does not have a lot of transitions in her programs. She dominated in the Vancouver season, and in her entire career she has been consistent and delivered. You can count how many times she's skated clean, but even with mistakes, she's fabulous to watch.
Asada: Great axel jumper, Technically superb too (although her jumps have seen better days, her Sochi FS layout was simply the golden standard), has a balletic carriage and aesthetic, artistic and classically sound, flexible, great lines (fantastic spirals) and a good spinner. Feather-light on the ice. However, she's inconsistent, she does not have a steady and reliable (and on the lutz- a correct) jumping technique, it took a while for her artistry to develop, she doesn't have a lot of transitions. She's as one of a kind as Kim and Carolina are, but if we're to compare her with Kim- she is a little more well rounded, especially if we consider the required elements pre-Sochi quad.
Kostner: Technically not as superior as Asada and Kim but where she lacks in difficulty, she makes up for in execution. Her jumps are all rotated and landed with steadiness and an effortless quality. Her artistry is superior over the other two, and her programs showcase a great range of tone, choreography, and musicality. She has a history of being terribly inconsistent (perhaps in the greater part of the last decade, worse than Asada), but experience and confidence led her into being the most consistent in this last cycle. She's the most mature, most watchable and most accessible of the three and that makes a huge impact on the audiences watching.
HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO'S THE BEST OUT OF THOSE THREE?
Kim: Great competitor, technically sound and superb though a little limited, has great carriage and an artistic flair, she's fast and she skates with power. However, she's not as flexible as the other girls, her spins are on the mediocre side (or they have been since Vancouver I would say), and does not have a lot of transitions in her programs. She dominated in the Vancouver season, and in her entire career she has been consistent and delivered. You can count how many times she's skated clean, but even with mistakes, she's fabulous to watch.
Asada: Great axel jumper, Technically superb too (although her jumps have seen better days, her Sochi FS layout was simply the golden standard), has a balletic carriage and aesthetic, artistic and classically sound, flexible, great lines (fantastic spirals) and a good spinner. Feather-light on the ice. However, she's inconsistent, she does not have a steady and reliable (and on the lutz- a correct) jumping technique, it took a while for her artistry to develop, she doesn't have a lot of transitions. She's as one of a kind as Kim and Carolina are, but if we're to compare her with Kim- she is a little more well rounded, especially if we consider the required elements pre-Sochi quad.
Kostner: Technically not as superior as Asada and Kim but where she lacks in difficulty, she makes up for in execution. Her jumps are all rotated and landed with steadiness and an effortless quality. Her artistry is superior over the other two, and her programs showcase a great range of tone, choreography, and musicality. She has a history of being terribly inconsistent (perhaps in the greater part of the last decade, worse than Asada), but experience and confidence led her into being the most consistent in this last cycle. She's the most mature, most watchable and most accessible of the three and that makes a huge impact on the audiences watching.
HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO'S THE BEST OUT OF THOSE THREE?
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2013
Is it possible to have 1 lady as the best female skater in the world. We know who the dominating skaters have been over time! But to pick just 1 would be unfair, so many skaters in the top ranks over time have good qualities. I for one could not pick just 1, My list could be very long if I broke it down ha ha. But here is my personal list of contenders (all for different reasons probably);
Kristi Yamaguchi
Midori Ito
Tonya Harding
Maria Butryskaya
Surya Bonaly
Michelle Kwan
Shizuka Arakawa
Yuna Kim
Mao Asada
Lu Chen
Miki Ando
Carolina Kostner
Kristi Yamaguchi
Midori Ito
Tonya Harding
Maria Butryskaya
Surya Bonaly
Michelle Kwan
Shizuka Arakawa
Yuna Kim
Mao Asada
Lu Chen
Miki Ando
Carolina Kostner
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- Sep 17, 2011
Why on earth is Surya in there. We are talking about skaters, not tumblers or people who strap on skates and jump.
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- Aug 23, 2013
Ha ha I did say it was personal. I am probably one of the few, but I really liked surya. Her determination inspired me. But I'm not here to defend my choice, just to share it
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2013
Sandy Lenz is a lovely skater (IMO, way overrated by you, for some inexplicable reason -- nobody else here seems to share your fanaticism for her, but that's your opinion) but by no means even CLOSE to being one of the best. Artistic quality is important but technical ability is far more important in the SPORT of figure skating. Jason Brown was more enjoyable to watch than Machida, Reynolds, and Plushenko in the team, but he clearly wasn't the better skater. There were plenty of pairs who were more enjoyable to watch than Totmianina and Marinin, but T/M were better overall. I'd rather watch Suzuki than Lipnitskaia... heck, many of us would rather watch Surya Bonaly more than other skaters who have better basics and overall skating. Klimkin, Tobel, Rosenthal, etc. so many skaters who are more entertaining or interesting to watch, but you wouldn't call them "better skaters" than their less exciting counterparts who had greater difficulty/consistency.
And while I understand achievements aren't the be all and end all, achievements are actually really important as they often allude to consistency and ability to perform when it counts. Doesn't matter how pretty Lenz is if she doesn't perform the difficulty of other skaters or achieve the results. And who you enjoy watching personally doesn't necessarily mean better either. There were TONS of male skaters who were more enjoyable to watch in the 2006 Olympics than Plushenko's jump fest, but he was clearly the best skater (or, rather, jumper) in that competition. A huge reason Plushenko is one of the best skaters of all time is his accolades and results... post-Yagudin and pre-Lysacek he never had any real competition since the guys were consistent, so his jumping often was enough for victories even though he lacked the quality of choreography, spins, transitions, and skating skills of other skaters. I mean, every time people justify Plushenko being in Sochi, they point to his previous results moreso than his actual 2013-2014 season.
Bottom line: yes, there are skaters with accolades who aren't the best of all time, but you need accolades and the hardware to be even remotely considered the best.
That you would consider Lynn over Kim when Lynn rarely got it together at the right time, and Kim was solid the majority of the time (and with much harder difficulty considering CoP and the harder jumps she had to do), not to mention call Kim far behind due to something as stupid as toe point, is simply laughable, and a clear example of who really is "narrow-minded" here.
