2016 World Championships Ladies Free Skate

[mrrice]

Ok people, I'm off to bed. However, I just want to say that this is the WORST I have ever done in predicting the Champions. Thank Gawd for Med as she is the only skater who actually followed my plan.. I predicted Patrick, Gracie on the podium, The Shibs, and Alexa and Chris......Yikes...At least the Shibs had the skate of their lives.

I don't want to see Patrick or Frank retire after an event like this and I hope they don't. I'd like to add that this board, and it fans were by the far the best of any event I've followed on Goldenskate. I absolutely loved it........Thank you all................

 

[bobbob]

I have to wonder why anyone should think that Satoko shoud medal. Her jumps are atrocious. For all the talk that Ashley, Mao, and everyone else gets for their under rotations, most of Satoko's fans are noticeably absent from the conversation. She doesn't deserve any of her success, even when her competitors crash and burn because they are at least attempting triple jumps. I don't even know how she passed her senior test, let alone how she actually wins medals.

Which of her jumps were actually underrotated? Her jumps are tiny and don't deserve GOE but I can't find a jump that is actually UR.

 

[solani]

I continue to be miffed by how bigger jumps aren't rewarded in ladies figure skating. This was certainly true before the COP (Tara Lipinski, anyone?), and it is glaringly true with the itemizing under the COP, where you have tiny but rotated jumps from the likes of Evgenia get HIGHER +GOE than much bigger ones from Anna. It's a problem because higher jumps aren't just better looking and more crowd-pleasing, they're also much more difficult to do, require more energy, and are riskier. Evgenia won fair and square under a system that existed long before she was born, but in my ideal world, there's a good case to be made that Anna deserved gold.

I would have given her that gold. She has the jumps, she's tall, fast, exciting to watch and beautiful, a strange mix between Butyrskaya and Slutskaya, haha. I'm shallow. And she has improved her spins immensely.
My ranking would be:
1. Pogorilaya
2. Medvedeva
3. Wagner
4. Miyahara (although something in me wants to place her below Asada)
5. Radionova (her face looked sallow today. was it because the color of the dress? )
6. Asada
7. Gold (sorry, this wasn't her day)

 

[andromache]

I don't know, man, if Gracie hasn't learned not to fold under pressure by now, I'm not sure she ever will.

Every competition is a learning experience. Plus, I 100% think that initial 3-3 wasn't a mental problem. The lutz was great, but the toe loop was off. Not every jump is perfect all the time, no matter who you are. That messed her up.

I'm not interested in writing off anyone.

 

[luckyguy]

If Satoko can score the second highest TES with no calls then ....

... it is a scandal. She deserves for her tiny jumps at best -2 GOE.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

It is a little funny to think that Ashley's PB came with two UR's and a ! though isn't it. Just a little funny right

Maybe just another argument for ignoring things like WR and event scores and instead the end placements.

That was some performance though.

 

[matcha]

Also want to add:

Everyone needs to stop complaining about how "skater A was rude to skater B for not....blah blah blah" and everything like that. Maybe Anna didn't hug Ashley because she doesn't know her and maybe she thinks Ashley would be uncomfortable??? Anna didn't do it to be rude. This is the best moment of the careers of all the skaters on that podium and I'm sure none of them are trying to ruin it with snideness.

I agree. Y'all are too senstive, damn.

Anna didn't hug Ashley because she was so excited. After the arm thing with Evgenia she got up onto the podium. Evgenia hugged her because they were next to eachother.

But if you wanna see shade, see shade. I love me some

 

[jenaj]

Please, Gracie got that PCS because she flawed her free. Everyone here knows that if she had gone clean, she would've broken the WR. From Evgenia. Who had set it 10 minutes before that! Why do you think there were people who kept saying "lets wait till Gracie."? It's because SHE got the most inflation. When Satoko and Gracie should've had there PCS switched, it instead went the other way around.

She didn't need to break the world record to win because she was around 2 and a half points ahead in the short program. She got a 147 at Nationals with a flawless performance, but never that high internationally. Of course, she has never skated a flawless long program at an international competition. Having said that, why dump on Gracie? She was a disappointing 4th place. Do you think Satoko would be that much happier with 4th place?

 

[Krislite]

It is a little funny to think that Ashley's PB came with two UR's and a ! though isn't it. Just a little funny right

Maybe just another argument for ignoring things like WR and event scores and instead the end placements.

That was some performance though.

Much better than the men's free skate. Many standing ovations this evening.

 

[bobbob]

I feel like us fans would do a better job judging the competition than the actual judges, who all have some sort of agenda and bias.

 

[caelum]

Every competition is a learning experience. Plus, I 100% think that initial 3-3 wasn't a mental problem. The lutz was great, but the toe loop was off. Not every jump is perfect all the time, no matter who you are. That messed her up.

I'm not interested in writing off anyone.

Agreed! It's important to remember that this was actually a fairly decent skate for Gracie. If the Gracie of a year ago had to skate in the position she was in, I think she would have done much worse.

 

[purplecat]

Am very happy for Ashley but gutted for Gracie...gotta be tough to be fourth two years in a row. What an amazing ladies final after an amazing short. These ladies are fierce! Congrats to Medvedeva - well deserved win! Would never have thought Pogo would medal - and though her jumps are big they always feel a little off kilter to me even when she doesn't fall. Anyway I hope Gracie won't be too discouraged and will exorcise her demons next season!

 

[Zhenya is DIVINE]

Just have to mention in case some people don't know this, Zhenya just became the first figure skater EVER (in all disciplines) to win the Junior and Senior World titles in back to back seasons. She is also the youngest Ladies World champion in 19 years since Tara Lipinski. She is a REVELATION!!

 

[taltaltel]

I have to wonder why anyone should think that Satoko shoud medal. Her jumps are atrocious. For all the talk that Ashley, Mao, and everyone else gets for their under rotations, most of Satoko's fans are noticeably absent from the conversation. She doesn't deserve any of her success, even when her competitors crash and burn because they are at least attempting triple jumps. I don't even know how she passed her senior test, let alone how she actually wins medals.

Satoko is the single most refined young skater among the ladies. Possibly equal to Mao. On a night like this when Mao skated nervous, I might even give Satoko the highest PCS. Of course her TES shouldn't be that high. I thought she should have ended on something like 67 TES and 73 PCS for 140.

 

[matcha]

I feel like us fans would do a better job judging the competition than the actual judges, who all have some sort of agenda and bias.

Because we don't?

The perils of a subjective sport.

 

[Wafflecakes]

Satoko has more refinement and polish than all of the top ladies except Asada.

Did the words refinement and polish start becoming synonyms for dry and unimpressive when I wasn't looking?

That is the only way this sentence would make sense.

 

[Ophelia]

Did you actually see her in person? Or maybe you just like Broadway theatrical style skating.

 

[lyndichee]

Because we don't?

The perils of a subjective sport.

Except we wouldn't be anonymous. I bet as soon as we finish scoring we would be shouting at the crowd what numbers we gave out

 

[johnsmith72]

Ecstatic for everyone but feel awful for Gold. She just didn't have that spark tonight like she had in the short. Hope she really does well next season since she is such a great skater and works so hard

 

[WeakAnkles]

It is a little funny to think that Ashley's PB came with two UR's and a ! though isn't it. Just a little funny right

Maybe just another argument for ignoring things like WR and event scores and instead the end placements.

That was some performance though.

Whatever else you say about Ashley, girlfriend can create a character on ice like nobody's bizness.