Will Irina REALLY make it 4 for 4?

[ilovepaydays]

Before the Games, I thought Irina was the weakest out of the Russian favorites.....now that Russia has won pairs, men, and dance, can she complete the sweep?

I think not, especially with these Japanese ladies. And then there is Sasha.

Tomorrow night will be the most exciting Olympic SP in a while......

 

[Engwaciriel]

Not very realistic, but I would be soooo happy if Fumie won! Can't think of anyone who deserves it more, she's just such a beautiful skater.

 

[IndieBoi]

Not very realistic, but I would be soooo happy if Fumie won! Can't think of anyone who deserves it more, she's just such a beautiful skater.

I second that... she has so much talent and potential. Hopefully she can finally put it all together back to back.

 

[maruru]

Before the Games, I thought Irina was the weakest out of the Russian favorites.....now that Russia has won pairs, men, and dance, can she complete the sweep?

I think not, especially with these Japanese ladies. And then there is Sasha.

Tomorrow night will be the most exciting Olympic SP in a while......

Realistically, I think a clean Irina would be enough to win it (she is the best fave, plus politically, as someone said). Although, 3 for 3 so far may add some pressure on her.

At any rate, I wish all the girls the best of luck.

 

[Mathman]

IMO nothing has changed to make anyone revise their pre-Olys expectations. If Irina skates like she has skated for the last two years I think she will win going away.

We'll know soon enough!

MM

 

[nicole_l]

I agree with MM.

 

[kyla2]

O.k. let's look at this....

I absolutely agree that Irina has a great shot at winning the gold and for good reason. She has worked extremely hard, upped the ante consistently, stayed in shape despite a miserable medical condition that has required her to take steroids continuously, and supported a very sick mother financially and emotionally. I can't really think of anyone skating right now who deserves it more, literally and figuratively. Because Irina isn't a classically beautiful skater, style wise, people often devalue her skating. It's really a shame because she has made improvements in all areas. Her spins used to travel like crazy, now they are pretty well centered. Her spirals were awful, now she does a difficult change of edge Beillman. Her spins are faster than ever. She does jump combinations that until recently, no one was even trying. I have a ton of respect for her and I hope she does well. I also hope the rest of the ladies do well, especially Sasha who has worked very hard herself. But I really hope if Irina wins, no one devalues it with comments along the lines that it was a "done deal." I think she will have to win it and if she does, we should respect the result.

 

[mzheng]

Before she could have one or two jump advantages over other girls. But not now with Russian have 3 out of 3. If she made mistakes similar to the mistake in last worlds's SP, she won't be held up in Turino. But it also depends on if other more artistry skater can deliver.

I hope shizuka on fire.

 

[dancindiva03]

I think she can do it! She's looking fab in practice so far, at least from what I've read. She's obviously fired up and ready to go! I hope she wipes the ice with the rest of the field! Well, not really, but I hope she wins!

 

[Ladskater]

Irina's secret weapon is her speed and her attack. This always puts her in good stead with the judges.

 

[nymkfan51]

This is definately Irina's to lose, IMO. Like mzheng though, I think there is less likely to be any padding of the scores, now that there have already been 3 Russian gold medals here. I happen to think this is a good thing. Irina is a strong enough skater to not need any help with the marks. Although I love her speed and jumps, her overall skating is not my cup of tea. I much prefer Shizuka, who I think has the perfect blend of beauty and power. The only question with Shiz is whether she can deliver the goods under the pressure of the Olympic spotlight.
Sasha has the beauty, but not the stability with the jumps ... so for her, she will have to figure out a way to skate two clean programs.

 

[Sasha_4_The_Win]

As Dick Button pointed out last night on Olympic Ice, Irina is terrible about telegraphing her jumps, and he mentioned she wasn't skating into them as fast as some of the other skaters. She really didn't look like she was having a great practice out there, not that it means anything.

I'd say the ladies event is up in the air at this point. Its not like with the men where we pretty much knew Plushenko was going to win. Irina has some tough competitors to face.

 

[antmanb]

Its the exact same situation as Pluschenko was in and everyone including the skaters know it - its enough to freak the skaters out like it did the mens field.

Irina won the SP in moscow despite a falwed combination jump and mess up in one of her spins. If she skats with flaws the judges will give her the win anyway probably with a coulpe of points lead. If she saktes clean they'll give her high 8s and 9s in teh PCS and she'll walk away with a 10+ point lead in the SP and everyone will be left skating around for silver and messing lup like in the Mens competition.

In the LP i think Slutskaya will be nervous and will skate a clean program with no 3/3s and take the title.

All i hope is that she skates clean so that at least there is no doubtnig that she's the clear winner (like in the Mens comp) but just watch them ry foul if anyone else skates clean/better.

Ant

 

[FreeKatie]

I don't think Irina is the best female skater, she is a good athlete and has the support of the judges. What she lacks is elegance, grace and originality in her programs IMO. I believe the best overall skater is Shizuka but I don't know if she will handle the pressure of the Olympics, which is the difference between Irina and some of the others, Irina is usually able to hold it together under pressure and is fairly consistent. If she skates cleanly in 2 programs she will be hard to beat because the judges probably already have decided who they want to win and will wait to see if the skaters provide them enough clean jumps to put them in the desired order.

 

[Mafke]

I think I liked Slutskaya under 6.0 a _lot_ better than Slutskaya in COP.

 

[flying camel]

You guys, I know a skater can't claim a move to be theres and I know Sasha has used some of Michelle's moves but it seems like every move Sasha does Shizuka has used. She is a Sasha clone. Aren't you suppose to be a little original.

 

[antmanb]

You guys, I know a skater can't claim a move to be theres and I know Sasha has used some of Michelle's moves but it seems like every move Sasha does Shizuka has used. She is a Sasha clone. Aren't you suppose to be a little original.

Well there's nothing in the rules that say you have to be original and with this COP i think we're going to start seeing the same programs over and over anyway.

Perhaps some moves are shared by the two skaters because of the common denominator or Tarasova?

I've not seen either skaters programs this year so don't know which moves you are referring to but are you sure the copying is that way round? Shizuka has been a senior international level skater for longer than Sasha...perhaps its the other way round?

Ant

 

[Sasha_4_The_Win]

Shizuka has been a senior international level skater for longer than Sasha...perhaps its the other way round?

Ant

I don't think so.
Shizuka has not only copied Sasha's moves, but even to some degree her programs in the past. Hello swan program.

Go back and take a look at Shizuka pre-Sasha and you won't see any of the new moves she does now that she has indeed stolen. Who's to blame her? Sasha is a stunning skater who has brought a new look to ladies figure skating. Alot of the younger girls are copying her as well, with good reason.

 

[mike79]

While she very well could make it 4 for 4 we can definitely not rule out Cohen. I think this is going to be the closest competition for gold out of all the skating disciplines.

 

[Kwanford Wife]

While most of the top skaters utilize the same moves, I think that each brings a different element to their programs...

Diva has the Ina Bauer. Michelle the Charlotte. Sasha the slide / fan spiral thing. Irina is just Irina.

Having said that, I do believe that Irina will make it a sweep... as for the point spread... does it matter? Like Vin Diesel said in "Fast & the Furious" by an inch or a mile... a win is a win. I'm more interested in seeing who conquers their nerves... Irina can be tentative when the big one is on the line. Diva hasn't been "right" since '04 Worlds and Sasha has a history of letting the big one get away... Should be an interesting competition. I think the interesting placements will be 4-6... and a good indicator of the next cycle.