2015 Worlds Ladies Short Program March 26

[Meoima]

I still think Gracie would win bronze here.

with 7 points behind Satoko? Not a chance.

 

[Crossover]

Since many are talking about Russian, American and Japanese girls along with my dear Chinese girl, Zijun's performances and scores, what about the only French girl's performance today?
I know her strength is her jumps not SS, but I expected she could've earned her score around 60-ish, but well only 57. I don't get it. She performed clean!!!

 

[JJS5056]

Can someone explain why Gracie received 3Z+COMBO and credit for her solo 3L? She performed two solo triple jumps, meaning she was missing the jump combination requirement which should have resulted in a score of 0 for the 3Loop.

So upset with Ashley. The 3F looked UR in real-time, IMO. She totally gave up after the fall, which threw away all chances at a medal. Had she kept her head in it, landed the rest of her jumps and actually performed the routine, she would've easily surpassed Li and made the final group. I hope she has a great free skate, but I don't think it's going to happen this time. At this point in her career, the difference between 5th and 8th is likely a non-factor. I can see her being totally unmotivated in the LP knowing that a medal is gone. I'm also just preparing for the worst...

 

[auser]

Well much as one may bow to her out of this world jumps, choreography has never really been Liza's strong suit, has it? It's almost like she learned how to use her arms and hands from Laetitia Hubert at her most "signaling to the UFO Mother Ship." It's fascinating to watch, and one can use many words and phrases to describe it, but I'm not sure "choreography" is one of them.

YMMV of course.

 

[chairmanmao]

Really nasty of you; I feel like based on your username you'll never like a triple axel from anyone other than Mao lol

I also like Han Yan, Joshua Farris, Hanyu, Fernandez, Yagudin and Ito. Mao's 3A get endlessly lambasted in this forum but IMHO she has the most elegant and feminine 3A I have ever seen. At least Mao is underrated not unlike the overrated 3Lz of Kim that gets so much praise here and everywhere else. Ten plus crossovers with zero transitions into that jump BTW. Whether Liza's 3A is as overrated as Kim's Lz time will tell. Liza fans please stop putting her on a pedestal, she is not beyond reproach. Your starting act like those crazy minions of that retired Queen.

 

[ozmodiar]

Liza was great. The choreography arguably isn't the best of quality, but I did not see any program that much better today. The telegraphing really wasn't that bad. This Bolero program wasn't a piece of art to begin with, so I don't mind it being experimented with.

I only got to the arena after Edmunds had finished. Of the last ten ladies, I was the most impressed with Gracie and Kanako. Both have great skating skills and probably deserved a bit higher PCS. Meite, Zijun and Wagner are the weakest in SS, and after Wagner botched her jumps she didn't really "perform" much either. She was more than a bit gifted.

I still think Gracie would win bronze here.

Thanks for the in person report. You are the only one here who's suggested that Gracie might have been underscored. It just shows that there's a big difference between watching on tv and what actually happens on the ice.

 

[sabinfire]

Thanks for the in person report. You are the only one here who's suggested that Gracie might have been underscored. It just shows that there's a big difference between watching on tv and what actually happens on the ice.

Unfortunately, the camera doesn't lie.

 

[apple123]

The scoring has been a mess. The most disgusting part is Gracie Gold's score. It's beyond ridiculous! How could the judges give 60 for that train-wreck skate? It should be 55 at the best.

 

[sabinfire]

Eurosport ladies coverage is on!

 

[lyndichee]

I also like Han Yan, Joshua Farris, Hanyu, Fernandez, Yagudin and Ito. Mao's 3A get endlessly lambasted in this forum but IMHO she has the most elegant and feminine 3A I have ever seen. At least Mao is underrated not unlike the overrated 3Lz of Kim that gets so much praise here and everywhere else. Ten plus crossovers with zero transitions into that jump BTW. Whether Liza's 3A is as overrated as Kim's Lz time will tell. Liza fans please stop putting her on a pedestal, she is not beyond reproach. Your starting act like those crazy minions of that retired Queen.

And you seem to be acting like a minion to Mao. Your opinion on the 3A somehow seems like a fact to yourself. Keep your honest/humble opinion but it is clear your opinion of Liza's achievement is clouded with bias. I don't think Mao is underrated at all and yes it does get picked a part more just because they are so many attempts and not all successful. Liza has more consistent jump technique than everyone right now with less attempts so of course she gets a lot of praise. Like you said, first attempt at her biggest competition and we are fresh from her success. I think your bad mood is being affected by your sample bias.

We are happy for Liza just like how everyone was happy for Mao's senior GPF win and boasted her as the gold medal favourite despite being too young to participate in 2006.

DID YOU KNOW?!

You can be happy for people's success stories without putting down other people's achievements? WOW! You can love Mao for her "elegant and feminine" 3A achievements throughout the years without being bitter about Yuna or Liza! Who would've known?

 

[chairmanmao]

Seriously GOD when will you stop... you keep bringing up Kim when she's not even in discussion and call her supporters minions but you act like the biggest minion here! You do what every ******* do when they tried to discredit Mao's 3A... compare them to men's 3A

I'm just gonna say it out loud!

Liza's 3A is much better than Mao - why? Cause you don't have to 3x if its cheated and Mao gets the benefit of the doubt countless times (and I'm a huge Asada fan!!)

It's just gut reaction when I think of Mao I inevitably think of the Queen. When someone gets so dominant it also become harder to fault them. I know that coz criticizing the Queen once upon a time was considered heretical. I was merely pointing out the fact that Liza's fans are starting to act the same way. Proof is the the griping my post lead to.

 

[Mirunna]

It's just gut reaction when I think of Mao I inevitably think of the Queen. When someone gets so dominant it also become harder to fault them. I know that coz criticizing the Queen once upon a time was considered heretical. I was merely pointing out the fact that Liza's fans are starting to act the same way. Proof is the the griping my post lead to.

Liza's fans (including myself) are over the moon that she landed her first 3A in an international competition (the first one she tried it - which makes it even more impressive). It's unfair to compare Mao's best 3A (there is a large pool of selection as she landed it for many years) to Liza's ONLY 3A. Let's see how Liza's 3A will look in the following years. So far, even though Mao's 3A was aesthetically more pleasant watching to me also - from a techincal perspective Liza's attempt is more strong technically because she does not pre-rotate at all. And this is coming from someone who loves Mao to death and she is my favorite figure skater ever.
And Liza's fans also realize that with her perfect technique on jumps, her adjustment to her post body puberty and new found confidence, the sky is the limit for her at this point. I see no one touching her in the near future if she masters the 3A and continues to skate as consistent as she does now.

 

[rollerblade]

Unfortunately, the camera doesn't lie.

But but... the camera is notorious for adding 10 pounds!

 

[Globetrotter]

Lets hope that the FS will continue with the excitement. I suspect that Shin Amano will have a field day with the edge issues and < calls in FS. In today's SP, most of the ladies manage to hide their suspect jumps and only 4 ladies actually attempted both a flip and a lutz (Wagner, Miyahara, Edmunds and HJ Kim) with Edmunds being the only one who got a ! call. Kudos to Wagner and Miyahara not getting dinged on their lutz and flip edges respectively. In the FS, it will be much harder to avoid the problem jumps, so lets see how things stand. Lena Radio will have to skate her best but it will be a long shot to gold (will near a major meltdown from Tuks) as Tuks just needs to skate her usual LP clean and the medal is hers. The battle for bronze will be hard. The three japanese ladies are definitely in the fight although Kanako tends to not do as well in the LP. Edmunds and Gold are within striking distance in the penultimate group but I think Pogo is done. Wagner will have to skate lights out for pride but I think her chances of medalling will be remote. Basically, the 3 US ladies will require the Japanese and Li Zijun to basically meltdown and botch up big time but considering that Miyahara and Hongo are both so consistent, it is truly a long shot. Gold is getting to be a head case and lets hope Wagner gets some of her competitive fire back or else the US may lose a spot next year.

 

[sabinfire]

But but... the camera is notorious for adding 10 pounds!

Well, that is true. I always look fatter in pictures, even in my face. Maybe the camera is a liar. :scratch:

 

[Meoima]

But but... the camera is notorious for adding 10 pounds!

well but you can still UR with or without 10 pounds.

 

[Warwick360]

Eurosport ladies coverage is on!

Only managed to catch after Li finished.

But my god how smooth flowing is/was Murakami. I think I might just have become a fan. But I just noticed now or maybe remembered that she's got two phantom.

 

[Globetrotter]

It's just gut reaction when I think of Mao I inevitably think of the Queen. When someone gets so dominant it also become harder to fault them. I know that coz criticizing the Queen once upon a time was considered heretical. I was merely pointing out the fact that Liza's fans are starting to act the same way. Proof is the the griping my post lead to.

Lets just say that Mao and Tuks go about the 3A differently. I mean even Midori Ito and Harding launched their 3A very differently. Ito and Harding are crazily powerful considering how small (albeit muscular and strong) they are. They get tremendous height but certainly are not as aesthetically pleasing as Mao's. Tuks is somewhat in between, she has wonderfully solid technique, little pre rotation, it doesn't look like those crazy high kangaroo jumps of Ito and Harding but she has a smooth running edge and extension on the flow out and you do not worry about UR.

I initially thought that with Mao sitting out the season, we will not see another 3A lady for the next 10 years, but it looks like Tuks has proven us wrong. Kudos to Papa Mishin for another big step forward.

 

[Warwick360]

I don't understand why Yuna, Mao and Liza debate is shaking here. For a first time attempt Liza's was so secure. Secure than I've felt when Mao does it even though when rotated I find Mao's more impressive (because it actually looks like a triple, Liza just does it so effortlessly).

Both Mao and Yuna have been quite the vanguard in this sport so let's not drag their names in the mud shall we? Same goes for Liza. The girl is just awesome.

 

[sabinfire]

Simon (from Eurosport) on Joshi's 'spirit fingers': "I wasn't sure about that bit there. That grated with me. That gesture had nothing to do with the music."