Mirai Nagasu's future prospects

[tulosai]

I don't see that as a "nod!" It's just where she landed in the final standings. It also bears up the fact that if you aren't of the age to go to Worlds than you shouldn't be skating seniors. Nice for Chen that she medaled but she should have stayed in juniors and could possibly have won junior worlds. Dont' get the point of her moving up to seniors.

No, it isn't. Mariah Bell, Hannah Miller, and Tyler Pierce all finished higher are age eligible could have been named instead. Mariah is names as 4CC alternate so it isn't like they ruled her out as a senior alternate. Naming them as alternates would NOT have precluded them from going to JW, so it is not that. It is a small nod to Mirai, and not going to matter because it's not like a 3rd alternate is going to get to go compete, but it is something.

 

[Figure 8's]

After Mirai hit the boards last night, Terry mentioned that she was making eye contact with Tom Z and I had a flashback to Josh Farris in 2011. I thought, "Oh my heck, I hope Tom Z is kinder to Mirai than he was to Josh."

Anyway, props to Mirai for finishing the program. I really wondered if she was going to stop, but she pushed through. Wow. Wishing her all the best and a speedy recovery.

Hmm, maybe making that eye contact distracted her and she was not watching where she was skating.

 

[ice coverage]

Hmm, maybe making that eye contact distracted her and she was not watching where she was skating.

No, after Mirai hit the boards and fell, she was making eye contact with Tom Z and mouthing, "My knee, my knee."
That is what Gannon was referring to.

 

[MK's Winter]

Mirai just posted on Twitter that she is off the ice for three weeks.

 

[tulosai]

Mirai just posted on Twitter that she is off the ice for three weeks.

I am glad she is taking some time to heal.

 

[chuckm]

Finally watched Mirai's LP. I've learned not to expect too much about Mirai, but her accident broke my heart, especially at the second half of the program when Mirai's physical and emotional pain interwove with Madam Butterfly's devastation as both of them felt their hopes crumbling away.

The aria Mirai was skating to is a very HOPEFUL one. At the beginning of Act 2, Cio-Cio San sings that she knows her lover is coming back to her, she can see it in her mind! She is so sure and so she is happy, and definitely not devastated.

Apparently no one told Mirai the story of the opera and the meaning of the aria she is skating to. If she had chosen the music from the last act, then yes, it would have matched her devastation.

 

[chuckm]

I think it is funny that people are complaining that Karen Chen is competing as a senior when she isn't eligible to go to Worlds. I guess they are forgetting that Mirai won the 2008 National Championship when SHE was only 14 and ineligible to go to Worlds.

 

[Amei]

The aria Mirai was skating to is a very HOPEFUL one. At the beginning of Act 2, Cio-Cio San sings that she knows her lover is coming back to her, she can see it in her mind! She is so sure and so she is happy, and definitely not devastated.

Apparently no one told Mirai the story of the opera and the meaning of the aria she is skating to. If she had chosen the music from the last act, then yes, it would have matched her devastation.

Well I don't think she planned her FS at Nationals to go the way it did.

 

[skateluvr]

I like Mirai and her skating. I think she is wounded frightened and wasting her time. She should move on to coaching. So she got third last year. Her resume was bad enough to not get the spot. I think she has no real confidence and is too emotionally fragile to fight off the crap like Ashley does. I think there is some other career she would be happy with. And I was shocked to seeCaroline Zheng still trying. It is great to skate for fun and love the exercise but Caroline I guess has parents with money. If Mirai is focused to 2018 well good luck. She was so awesome when young but puberty was not kind. Changed her jumps. But why is Caroline still competing? These girls should be learning a skill or in college. Skating is a short life even for the very best in this country.

I really wonder who benefits from the money Caroline's family shells out? While I lovethe pearl this sport is brutal to girls after puberty. It has largely become a contest of short skinny girls with triple triples and gumby like spines. Fortunately there are woman exceptions like Kostner, gold and Wagner to name the very top talent. I think Agnes despite her talent was wise to step back and I hope channel the money toward education. People must be practical unless they have money and no other interests. Poor Fumie comes to mind.

It is frustrating to see people underscored who should be appreciated like Cesario. Well I think the U.S. ladies have 4 major talents. Karen Chen is the perfect challenger to the Russian and Japanese girls. But thank goodness for the womanly beauty plus great skating skills of Ashley and Grace. Wonderful rivalry.

 

[blue_idealist]

I like Mirai and her skating. I think she is wounded frightened and wasting her time. She should move on to coaching. So she got third last year. Her resume was bad enough to not get the spot. I think she has no real confidence and is too emotionally fragile to fight off the crap like Ashley does. I think there is some other career she would be happy with. And I was shocked to seeCaroline Zheng still trying. It is great to skate for fun and love the exercise but Caroline I guess has parents with money. If Mirai is focused to 2018 well good luck. She was so awesome when young but puberty was not kind. Changed her jumps. But why is Caroline still competing? These girls should be learning a skill or in college. Skating is a short life even for the very best in this country.

I really wonder who benefits from the money Caroline's family shells out? While I lovethe pearl this sport is brutal to girls after puberty. It has largely become a contest of short skinny girls with triple triples and gumby like spines. Fortunately there are woman exceptions like Kostner, gold and Wagner to name the very top talent. I think Agnes despite her talent was wise to step back and I hope channel the money toward education. People must be practical unless they have money and no other interests. Poor Fumie comes to mind.

It is frustrating to see people underscored who should be appreciated like Cesario. Well I think the U.S. ladies have 4 major talents. Karen Chen is the perfect challenger to the Russian and Japanese girls. But thank goodness for the womanly beauty plus great skating skills of Ashley and Grace. Wonderful rivalry.

I don't know about Caroline, but I thought Mirai had attended a community college, or is attending it still. For Caroline, it could very well be the same.

 

[tulosai]

I don't know about Caroline, but I thought Mirai had attended a community college, or is attending it still. For Caroline, it could very well be the same.

I actually though Mirai was enrolled at UC Irvine for a time, which while it isn't the best school in the world for undergrads is not a community college. Obviously now that she lives n Colorado she is not still attending there though...

Either way, on the other hand, these girls do have the rest of their lives to finish/go to college if they choose. If they really wanted, they could do it when they were 30, 40, even 60. Good luck being even as competitive as Caroline currently is at the age of 30. So the window for figure skating is very short, and it isn't like if they 'change their minds' they can go back and do it later. So from that perspective, I can understand them continuing to plug away if they are not ready to step back forever, since once they step back, there is just no coming back.

While I do on a 'practical' level understand the argument that some of these skaters should give it up, really if they are able to fund it and to qualify for events, that is their prerogative and none of our business. We are not them/their parents and it's not our money, time, energy, etc that is being spent.

 

[creaturelover]

I actually though Mirai was enrolled at UC Irvine for a time, which while it isn't the best school in the world for undergrads is not a community college. Obviously now that she lives n Colorado she is not still attending there though...

Either way, on the other hand, these girls do have the rest of their lives to finish/go to college if they choose. If they really wanted, they could do it when they were 30, 40, even 60. Good luck being even as competitive as Caroline currently is at the age of 30. So the window for figure skating is very short, and it isn't like if they 'change their minds' they can go back and do it later. So from that perspective, I can understand them continuing to plug away if they are not ready to step back forever, since once they step back, there is just no coming back.

While I do on a 'practical' level understand the argument that some of these skaters should give it up, really if they are able to fund it and to qualify for events, that is their prerogative and none of our business. We are not them/their parents and it's not our money, time, energy, etc that is being spent.

Caroline currently is at the age of 30- as in Caroline Zhang?

 

[tulosai]

Caroline currently is at the age of 30- as in Caroline Zhang?

What I mean is, when Caroline IS 30, she will no longer be able to qualify for Nationals. I am actually trying to think of ANY ladies single skater who was still competitive at the age of 30 and cannot. Even the 'late bloomers' were all in their late 20's I believe. Caroline is only maybe 20 or 22 currently. My point was just, the window for being a professional figure skater is SHORT.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

While I do on a 'practical' level understand the argument that some of these skaters should give it up, really if they are able to fund it and to qualify for events, that is their prerogative and none of our business. We are not them/their parents and it's not our money, time, energy, etc that is being spent.

I agree. However, it makes me sad to see Mirai skate because it's very obvious she doesn't enjoy competition. Her first fall was more nerves than anything else.

 

[Mrs. P]

What I mean is, when Caroline IS 30, she will no longer be able to qualify for Nationals. I am actually trying to think of ANY ladies single skater who was still competitive at the age of 30 and cannot. Even the 'late bloomers' were all in their late 20's I believe. Caroline is only maybe 20 or 22 currently. My point was just, the window for being a professional figure skater is SHORT.

You mean a competitive elite amuetur figure skater right? Cause certainly you could still compete well into your 30s,40s and 50s and do adult skating, like Midori Ito did.

And as for "professional" you can do what Rohene Ward did before he started doing more choreography work -- do Holiday on Ice in Europe, do the cruise boat circuit, Disney on Ice (like Alexe Gilles/Becky Bereswell) and so on.

 

[creaturelover]

What I mean is, when Caroline IS 30, she will no longer be able to qualify for Nationals. I am actually trying to think of ANY ladies single skater who was still competitive at the age of 30 and cannot. Even the 'late bloomers' were all in their late 20's I believe. Caroline is only maybe 20 or 22 currently. My point was just, the window for being a professional figure skater is SHORT.

ok thanks, I was confused since Caroline is a year younger than me hahaa and I'm definitely not 31 XD

 

[tulosai]

You mean a competitive elite amuetur figure skater right? Cause certainly you could still compete well into your 30s,40s and 50s and do adult skating, like Midori Ito did.

And as for "professional" you can do what Rohene Ward did before he started doing more choreography work -- do Holiday on Ice in Europe, do the cruise boat circuit, Disney on Ice (like Alexe Gilles/Becky Bereswell) and so on.

yes, amateur on an elite or even semi-elite level Thanks for the clarification.

 

[ice coverage]

I agree. However, it makes me sad to see Mirai skate because it's very obvious she doesn't enjoy competition. Her first fall was more nerves than anything else.

And it is very obvious to me that it is only your opinion that Mirai does not enjoy competition.
You and I and anyone else who is not a confidante of Mirai's are entitled to our opinions and feelings, but they are nothing more than opinions and feelings, not truths.

 

[blue_idealist]

What I mean is, when Caroline IS 30, she will no longer be able to qualify for Nationals. I am actually trying to think of ANY ladies single skater who was still competitive at the age of 30 and cannot. Even the 'late bloomers' were all in their late 20's I believe. Caroline is only maybe 20 or 22 currently. My point was just, the window for being a professional figure skater is SHORT.

I've been trying to think of one but I haven't been able to, either. The oldest I can think of is Anastasia Gimazetdinova who skated at the Vancouver Olympics at age 29. Oh, and Maria Butyrskaya, who was a few months away from 30 at the 2002 Olympics.

 

[chuckm]

I doubt very much that Caroline Zhang has rich parents, and I know for a fact that Agnes Zawadzki's widowed mother had a hard time supporting her skating. Mirai's parents own and operate a Japanese restaurant and do not have unlimited funds either.

As for Mirai enjoying skating, my personal opinion is that she doesn't look as if she enjoys competing, but then there aren't many skaters who actually do admit they relish competition. Maybe Ashley at this Nationals (only), and Michelle Kwan, who always preferred competition to show skating, and of course, Tara Lipinski. You can probably add Elana Radionova to that list---she always looks as if she loves to compete.