2016 Cup of China Ladies FS

[Sweet Dream]

Amano is truly an unbiased professional, so why blame him for the skaters' flawed jumps?

I just want to say that a champion's skate should not have looked like this. So poor jump landings throughout the FS routine!

 

[solani]

Ashley Wagner ‏@AshWagner2010 36m

I work too hard to skate like that. I also will take this for what it is and move on. See you all at Nationals

She's a tough cookie, I like that.

 

[Meoima]

Amano is my hero today lmao

 

[Crossover]

While I'm greatly disappointed in Ashley's outcome, I think it is a wake-up call for her not to dwell on her success at Worlds in Boston and or the mistakes today. She needs to improve her weakness and stamina as the latter was evidently shown. The Olympic will take a place in Asia, so overcoming jet leg should not be her big problem since she is a veteran skater.

While Kaetlyn's performance also let me down, she can have an opportunity to show her assets in the GPF after her dreadful injury. She needs to raise her FS consistency as stable as her SP consistency rate to step up to the plate.

Mai....I thought she can make it to GPF...but she is a senior debutante, so this is a learning experience.

 

[skylark]

Ashley Wagner ‏@AshWagner2010 36m

I work too hard to skate like that. I also will take this for what it is and move on. See you all at Nationals

That's My Girl!!!

 

[applemango]

While I'm greatly disappointed in Ashley's outcome, I think it is a wake-up call for her not to dwell on her success at Worlds in Boston and or the mistakes today. She needs to improve her weakness and stamina as the latter was evidently shown. The Olympic will take a place in Asia, so overcoming jet leg should not be her big problem since she is a veteran skater.

Don't they arrive early at the Olympic village? At least a week before the opening or? That's more than enough to fight jet lag.

 

[Crossover]

Don't they arrive early at the Olympic village? At least a week before the opening or? That's more than enough to fight jet lag.

Yes, but next year's GFP will take a place in Japan and she also bombed at NHK last season. Depending on how she places at Worlds, she could compete in Asia next year. My point is jet lag shouldn't be a big problem for her and she has to deliver her best wherever competition is held.

 

[largeman]

What a wonderful skate by Karen Chen. Speed and jump height are top notch, and spins and spirals are to die for.

 

[thoakun]

Karen is such a musical skater and she obviously works very hard, but 2 years ago, I expected her to be a solid 3rd skater for US at this time.

 

[Tolstoj]

Elena Radionova -> so happy for her, she deserved this gold medal. She could have expected a PB in the short program, that must be tough to see behind Osmond, but what a fighter. Not a clean performance though, but solid enough to win here. The programs i've the same feelings of few weeks ago: when the jumps are landed it is much more effective. (but still too much arms in the steps sequence)

Kaetlyn Osmond -> Where i come from there is a saying "San Giovanni non vuole inganni" and that's sum up perfectly the situation. She could be really the total package: great skater, great performer, her spins are beautiful and the jumps huge even though off-axis. The problem she doesn't have the quality to win these kind of events, in every FS i've seen from her she fall at least 1 time and then she pops some jumps, this is not enough. Good for her she will make the final anyway because i can tell you there are much better trained skaters who won't make the finals.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva -> best performance of the event. I've never seen this program that well (the costume could have been better without that cloak though), the choreography much better than the previous version, jumps and spins were there. Unfortunately there was a huge margin between her and kaetlyn, she needed a clean free skate here and that double lutz has cost the silver medal. But as Chris of B.ESP said she has the best lutz of the ladies and at Skate Canada and even here at Cup of China judges didn't reward that and i don't understand why.

Mai Mihara -> what a senior debut! Even though she didn't medal here, she should be pleased with that, but the program is so junioristic: the opening lyrics, the dress and too many crossovers in my opinion.

Ashley Wagner -> Love the music, the choreography is beautiful, i love this program so much: happy for the score (the PCS didn't go down, as it should be). Unfortunately mistakes everywhere on both the jumps and the spins.

PS: thanks god the good old B.ESP commentators are back.

 

[katymay]

Karen is such a musical skater and she obviously works very hard, but 2 years ago, I expected her to be a solid 3rd skater for US at this time.

Her jumps used to be huge and effortless, now they seem to be a struggle. I'm wondering what might happen if she moved to Orser in the year before the Olympics.

 

[skylark]

Karen is such a musical skater and she obviously works very hard, but 2 years ago, I expected her to be a solid 3rd skater for US at this time.

Me too, but she was 15 then. She doesn't look any bigger, but she may have gone through development that's in the process of stabilizing. Today she looked like the skater I fell in love with at 2015 nationals.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Ladies' victory ceremony coming up, in an empty arena after Pairs' and Men's.

 

[nocturnalis]

Me too, but she was 15 then. She doesn't look any bigger, but she may have gone through development that's in the process of stabilizing. Today she looked like the skater I fell in love with at 2015 nationals.

Apparently she struggled with blades.

 

[skylark]

Apparently she struggled with blades.

True, but girls have changes in bones and shape even if it isn't very visible. Their jumps can't help being affected, balance, weight distribution, etc.

 

[Icey]

What does Amano do with pre-rotations though?

All skaters pre-rotate according to Carroll.

 

[kalee]

Going back a few skaters ... I came in just in time for Princess Monaoke. I was thinking, what better time than for a 16 or 17 year old girl to play the role of a princess? Every girl, who wants to, should have that chance. And then it's out of her system.

Or if you're Zijun, to play an empress :luv17: Love her choice of music for the free.

 

[Meoima]

All skaters pre-rotate according to Carroll.

Slow motions say otherwise. Edge jumps? Yes because edge jumps allow pre-rotation. But some skaters have no pre-rotation in their Flip and Lutz. Look at Carolina Kostner for example. And the Chinese girl today as well. Many skaters have not much pre-rotation.

 

[Layback11]

I just looked at the protocols, and I have thoughts.

1. Elena! I was worried about her jumps after the test skate, but she's really pulled it together.
2. I'm so excited that Kaetlyn is (probably) going to the Final! It looks like she finally has the momentum back that she had back in 2013 before all the injuries started popping up. She's a joy to watch and I can't wait to see her in the Final.
3. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: good for her! sounds like she did really well.
4. Mai Mihara: she kind of bores me, but I like that she's consistent.
5. Rika Hongo: what happened to the super-consistent Rika we had last year? I want that Rika back.
6. Ashley Wagner:...what happened? 6 URs? I kind of thought she was (mostly) over that..:scratch:

 

[slider11]

So here's the standings

Evgenia Medvedeva - 30
Elena Radionova - 28
Kaetlyn Osmond - 26
Ashley Wagner - 20
Mai Mihara - 20
Elizaveta Tuktmysheva -20
Courtney Hicks -14
Zijun Li - 13
Rika Hongo - 12

Still left:
Anna Pogrilaya - 15
Maria Sotskova - 13
Wakaba Higuchi - 11
Satoko Miyahara - 11


Oddly enough Alaine Chartrand if she does what she does occasionaly--which is medal in a GP and surprise everyone, she might enable Ashley to make GPF if she gets silver or bronze, assuming 2 of the top 4 above get the other two spots. If Alaine does the crazy thing and wins, then she would end up nabbing the GPF spot for herself. Crazy RIGHT?

I think more likely that it will be Anna, Wakaba or Satoko, in some order on the podium at NHK and, ironically, at the GPF. But you're right that it's anyone prize and Alaine has a chance. I also think that Mai and/or Eliza may have more combined points than Ashley so her chances are slim. But I'm not sure on the tie-break for those with 20 points.