State of US Ladies in skating III: 2014-15 Season
- Thread starter R.D.
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So just when is Gracie going to get it together? She needs to make the GPF especially since quite frankly the depth isn't that great beyond a few Russians. Now that Adelina is not going to be at NHK she has no excuse to not win. Not winning anything in over 3 years internationally shows that she has underachieved especially now that the veterans are gone.
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- Jul 31, 2014
I don't know about that Satoko MIYAHARA has a higher combined total than Gracie, and if she beat Gracie she will likely make the GPF over Gracie. And she has home field advantage. I would not say she has "no excuse" she could be beaten fairly by someone doing better. And sadly miss the GPF. At least Ashley stands a chance to make it.
Also, historically NHK has not been a strong competition for US Ladies.
and Miyahara's Underrotations will magically disappear at NHK
Gracie's not gonna win there
What did Phil say? I had high hopes for her this year, but now things seem very uncertain.
Gracie has all kinds of talent...plus she's had every advantage -sponsors, visibility, media hype, USFS help with coach brokering. She STILL hasn't lived up to all the hype and advantage.
Ashley had to scrape and scuffle to get where she is. She's not as talented as Gracie, but she has more spunk, grit and motivation.
Ashley had to scrape and scuffle to get where she is. She's not as talented as Gracie, but she has more spunk, grit and motivation.
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- Dec 21, 2011
Yeah I think someone else said it well- Ashley is our best COMPETITOR, at least overall. Though she has occasionally bit it under pressure too, she does so WAY LESS than ANY other American currently competing (any others that are also okay under pressure are even less talented than Ashley) (which isn't to say Ashley isn't talented, you must be far more talented than average to make it to the Senior level at all, but compared to the 'elites' she is way less talented than many of them, I am sorry).
This is an issue because even Ashley at her best can't hope to medal at worlds without A LOT of help from others.
Anyone, like Gracie, who has the talent and skill to medal at high level competitions doesn't have the stomach for it.
It is a problem.
In a fair competition a clean Gracie should beat a clean Miyahara but NHK always has some dodgy scoring for Japanese skaters.
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- Dec 22, 2012
Plizzzz NHK is the only competition that does that.? How is a clean Gracie that much better than Satoko. Gracie might get some more points on the jumps but if both clean Miyara should win on components.. Of course judges are not rewarding the quality of Satoko's skating.
Although I would make the case that Wagner has plenty of sponsors and visibility as well (and even enjoyed the nice benefit of being given a Sochi spot), there is something in this statement.
I do think Wagner is the better competitor of the two, and I do think that she is probably the best competitor out of the US ladies, which frankly isn't saying much unfortunately. No one else seems to be able to deliver even if their life depended on it. If only Gold could be given Wagner's consistency and determination - then among other (obvious) things, this thread would only be half as long.
But at the same time, I would like to remind people that it IS still November. Very early to be writing certain skaters off. Gold tends to build up as the season progresses; Wagner the opposite (Edmunds is an unknown right now)...Still, there's no hard and fast rule. We just have to hope that they'll figure things out sooner rather than later and get back in the running.
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- Mar 11, 2012
Agreed. It's really unfortunate. I'm still waiting for Gracie to get it together.
The difference is Ashley was not pushed by the USFS and got no special favors until recently.
Gold had looks, the jumps, the Name-she was promoted much earlier in her career than Ashley. USFS didn't snaggle Ashley a top coach.
The question remains- Why is the US continually stuck with skaters in Ladies, Men and Pairs that aren't World Champion material? (Excepting Lysacek, who got very, very lucky)
That is true, I'll give you that. Wagner had to show results first, whereas Gold was an immediate victim of The Hype Machine. If Gold is not careful, it will chew and spit her out just like countless others over the years...one can argue that it's already started happening (just judging by the last few pages of this very thread)!
Still, my previous point stands...Gold is not the only one with sponsors, visibility, etc.
Gracie skates with much more power and speed and her spins are among the best in the world when done right and she doesn't look about 10 years old on the ice.
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Did you see Satokos's spins at skate canada. Sorry but her spins are top notch and better than Gracie 's. Of course Gracie has better jumps but that is her only advantage over Satoko. Satoko might look young but her precision and musicality is ahead of Gracie. Gracie is great but not that far ahead of Miyahara
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Well it's pretty apparent that American ladies can't win at NHK trophy. Wagner is the only hope for GPF. Gold and Edmunds can prepare well for the US nationals. If they lost again at 4CC, that would be a little worrisome (but totally predictacle). At past six 4CC held in Asia, Japanese ladies have won multiple medals including gold.
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