Form the Olympic National Teams - Ladies

[Sam L]

Russia: Alina, Evgenia, Maria (but hoping Polina, I really like Maria also and will be thrilled to see either at the Olympics). I wish Russia had 4 spots.
USA: Mirai, Ashley, Bradie
Japan: Satoko, Wakaba (but hoping Marin or Mai). I wish Japan had 3 spots.[SUP][/SUP]

 

[yoloaxel]

The thing that makes me the most curious is whether the US will send Bradie considering her scores at SA - if she skates well at US Nats too.

 

[kresslia]

Japan:
Satoko Miyahara
Wakaba Higuchi

Russia:
Evgenia Medvedeva
Alina Zagitova
Maria Sotskova

USA:
Karen Chen
Ashley Wagner
Bradie Tennell (i expect a big push for her as the "next big thing", wouldn't be surprised to see her cross 70/140 at the Olympics)

 

[blue_idealist]

What about the third Canadian spot. I think the first 2 are a lock but who gets the third?

Osmond, Daleman, Chartrand.

 

[Violetti]

Japan:
Higuchi
Miyahara

... (Russia)
Medvedeva
Zagitova
Sotskova
I would have liked to have Tuktamysheva but that is not possible

USA
Tennell
Nagasu
Wagner
This is the most difficult to say. Nationals means so much. Bell or Chen might shine there and get the spot

 

[kalee]

We're already seeing some front runners after the GP, so to make things a little more interesting, here's a few "devil's advocate" speculations about scenarios that could make the process tricky:

Japan:
If Mai or Kaori wins, Wakaba 2nd and Satoko 3rd -- will they bump one of the top 2 for Satoko? N.B. It is more straightforward if Satoko is 2nd and Wakaba 3rd, as Wakaba would (unfortunately) be likely to be bumped in favour of Satoko.

Russia:
Med and Zagi are pretty much certain to be 1-2 in whichever order. Suppose Kostornaia is 3rd, followed by Tsurskaya, then Sotskova. Masha would still have the slight edge based on body of work, but optically it doesn't look good to send 5th place to Olys... one other variation on this scenario is Medvedeva - Zagitova - Kostornaia - Radionova - Tsurskaya - Sotskova which would further upset the apple cart...

USA:
If Bradie were to win (a possibility given her form and consistency through GP/CS), followed by Mirai / Karen / Mariah in 2nd, followed by Courtney or Angela in 3rd, and Ashley in 4th -- this would be tough as the top 3 finishers are relatively high risk but Ashley also has not got a sufficiently high SB in GP's to justify being bumped ahead of any of the others.

 

[macy]

Japan:

Wakaba
Satoko

Russia:

Evgenia
Alina
Maria

USA:

This is such a toss up...

Ashley
Bradie
Mirai or Karen, whoever does better at nationals

 

[invisiblespiral]

Hmm...

Russia: Medvedeva, Zagitova, Sotskova (alt: Tsurskaya, Radionova)

Japan: Miyahara, Higuchi (alt: Mihara, Sakamoto, Honda)

America: Tennell, Wagner, Nagasu (alt: Chen)

 

[millie]

Isn't this counting your chickens before they are hatched....Russia will not have a team at the Olympics. The ISU stated that if the atheletes want to compete, under a neutral banner, if someone decides not to and if there is not enough for the team, the spot will go to another country. Canada is in the top position with the most points 6084 points, why did you leave this country out....go figure
...

 

[TerpsichoreFS]

Japan

Satoko, now that she is healthy. Japan will want her there
The 2nd spot seems like it will go to wakaba but... neither the fed or the judges seem to favor her, and she's shown nerves. It's possible Sakamoto, maybe even Honda who's skating is closer to what Japan likes could go.

Russia seems pretty set.

USA
Ashley. She's been such a fixture it seems impossible for her not to go. She will lead the ladies to the Olympics and take the media hit.
Karen. The only woman who could land on the podium and the US fed knows it. Will be protected by Wagner.
The third spot is a contention between Tennell, Nagasu and Hicks. I don't think they'll trust Bell.

I'm going on a tangent here but do we know if the french fed gas chosen its lady? Lecavelier is the better slater but she did not help her case at Idf 2017.

Edit: are people really doubting Karen's spot? She was fourth at her first worlds and her quality is miles ahead the other US ladies. She's going

 

[Spirals for Miles]

Isn't this counting your chickens before they are hatched....Russia will not have a team at the Olympics. The ISU stated that if the atheletes want to compete, under a neutral banner, if someone decides not to and if there is not enough for the team, the spot will go to another country. Canada is not the top position with the most points 6084 points, why did you leave this country out....go figure
...

Lol not everything is about Canada. We already know who their ladies will be. It's not hard to figure that out.

Also, the Russian athletes WILL go. They have all stated that they wish to go even as neutral athletes. They will be there. I think you're a bit overexaggerating the situation with Russia.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

Japan

Satoko, now that she is healthy. Japan will want her there
The 2nd spot seems like it will go to wakaba but... neither the fed or the judges seem to favor her, and she's shown nerves. It's possible Sakamoto, maybe even Honda who's skating is closer to what Japan likes could go.

Russia seems pretty set.

USA
Ashley. She's been such a fixture it seems impossible for her not to go. She will lead the ladies to the Olympics and take the media hit.
Karen. The only woman who could land on the podium and the US fed knows it. Will be protected by Wagner.
The third spot is a contention between Tennell, Nagasu and Hicks. I don't think they'll trust Bell.

I'm going on a tangent here but do we know if the french fed gas chosen its lady? Lecavelier is the better slater but she did not help her case at Idf 2017.

Edit: are people really doubting Karen's spot? She was fourth at her first worlds and her quality is miles ahead the other US ladies. She's going

Yeah I don't think that Karen's made a good choice for selection. She was fourth at worlds once and hasn't shown much difference from her usual skating since then. And her quality isn't miles above the other ladies; if it were, wouldn't she be landing on GP podiums? She can't "land on the podium" at the Olympics (or Worlds) if she can't at a GP... (unless her name is Gabby Daleman, which it's not)
Ashley also does not seem like she will "lead the ladies". She's been dealing with her ankle and she has not really proven herself this season. Bronze at a GP? Sounds good, until you see that her score was 183...

Nagasu and Tennell are the only ones who have shown improvements this season, Tennell more so than Nagasu. They both have the goods to go over others and they should both go in my opinion. One of Karen/Ashley/Mariah/Angela will probably be the third spot. That's right, the THIRD spot.

 

[tars]

Edit: are people really doubting Karen's spot? She was fourth at her first worlds and her quality is miles ahead the other US ladies. She's going

Totally agreed.
Every country need their best talent on the team. Consistency is very important factor, but so is potential. And Karen Chen is potential Olympic medalist, if she delivers. She's pure fs talent, artistically better than most of Russian and Japanese ladies, jumping wise (if stars align) not far below as well.

Still, I think top 3 should go and Karen needs to finally deliver this year(!).

 

[millie]

Lol not everything is about Canada. We already know who their ladies will be. It's not hard to figure that out.

Also, the Russian athletes WILL go. They have all stated that they wish to go even as neutral athletes. They will be there. I think you're a bit overexaggerating the situation with Russia.

Unless you know more than the ISU, as of this morning, the ISU said that nothing is definite with regards to the Russian skaters. The athletes may go but not as a Russian team...,whatever medals they get....Russian will go down in the records as Russia----0 medals. My point is that Canada is going for sure, why leave them out of this post and topic.

 

[Shayuki]

Isn't this counting your chickens before they are hatched....Russia will not have a team at the Olympics. The ISU stated that if the atheletes want to compete, under a neutral banner, if someone decides not to and if there is not enough for the team, the spot will go to another country. Canada is in the top position with the most points 6084 points, why did you leave this country out....go figure
...

So who do you have in mind? Larkyn Austman? Chartrand would probably outscore her even with like 6 falls.

 

[TerpsichoreFS]

Yeah I don't think that Karen's made a good choice for selection. She was fourth at worlds once and hasn't shown much difference from her usual skating since then. And her quality isn't miles above the other ladies; if it were, wouldn't she be landing on GP podiums? She can't "land on the podium" at the Olympics (or Worlds) if she can't at a GP... (unless her name is Gabby Daleman, which it's not)
Ashley also does not seem like she will "lead the ladies". She's been dealing with her ankle and she has not really proven herself this season. Bronze at a GP? Sounds good, until you see that her score was 183...

Nagasu and Tennell are the only ones who have shown improvements this season, Tennell more so than Nagasu. They both have the goods to go over others and they should both go in my opinion. One of Karen/Ashley/Mariah/Angela will probably be the third spot. That's right, the THIRD spot.

Only if her name is Gabby Daleman... you realized that what you were saying did not make sense so you pretend only gabby Daleman can do it but we both know it is not true. I agree Karen does seem to struggle with growth, but her skating does not need improvement to be great. And yes, she's not miles ahead of the others, she is only much better than them. As for Ashley, it's the media thing. Without her it would seem so empty.

Only time will tell who is right, you or me. But I honestly cannot believe Karen will be fighting for a spot.

Totally agreed.
Every country need their best talent on the team. Consistency is very important factor, but so is potential. And Karen Chen is potential Olympic medalist, if she delivers. She's pure fs talent, artistically better than most of Russian and Japanese ladies, jumping wise (if stars align) not far below as well.

Still, I think top 3 should go and Karen needs to finally deliver this year(!).

She has so much potential. I don't necessarily think top 3 should go. It's just the one competition, although I understand the need for people to have a clear cut selection criteria, it is not that simple.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

Only if her name is Gabby Daleman... you realized that what you were saying did not make sense so you pretend only gabby Daleman can do it but we both know it is not true. I agree Karen does seem to struggle with growth, but her skating does not need improvement to be great. And yes, she's not miles ahead of the others, she is only much better than them. As for Ashley, it's the media thing. Without her it would seem so empty.

Only time will tell who is right, you or me. But I honestly cannot believe Karen will be fighting for a spot.



She has so much potential. I don't necessarily think top 3 should go. It's just the one competition, although I understand the need for people to have a clear cut selection criteria, it is not that simple.

Number one, what part didn't make sense?
Number two, why on earth shouldn't the top 3, supposedly the best ladies in the US, go the the biggest sporting competition of their lives? Because they're not media darlings? That doesn't make any sense.

 

[Maribelle]

USA, skaters who can handle pressure, are reliable and score the best in short and long for the team competition. Not sure who that would be right now.

 

[millie]

So who do you have in mind? Larkyn Austman? Chartrand would probably outscore her even with like 6 falls.

You are missing my point, which is " why leave Canada out of the post when Russia is not included in the Olympics. Why not say "which Russian ladies do you think will compete under the Neutral flag...Which is reality.. IMO..

 

[Spirals for Miles]

Yoloaxel did say Olympic Athletes of Russia in the OP.
What's also reality is that they are still Russians no matter what flag.
And if there's no need to discuss Canada, why would it be put into the OP??