COC - Ladies Long ponderings (Spoilers)

[R.D.]

Even being mentioned in the same breath as her can be considered unnecessary hype/pressure.

Was Kwan compared to anyone great when she first burst out on the scene?

 

[lilybear]

I hope Carolina ，00 and Yuna will clean their LP！！！

 

[April]

I agree with who ever said Zhang's skates more like Sasha. Being compared to Kwan or Sasha should work for any skater at this level. Personally, I do think Zhang's great without the comparisons. American figure skating is steadily coming out of the Kwan era, and it's so easy to compare newbies to and Michelle, and too Sasha. Michelle is favorably consistent and Sasha's elegance and flexiblity is iconic. Zhang has all of those qualities, and so, the comparison aren't really that big a deal.

 

[feraina]

Even being mentioned in the same breath as her can be considered unnecessary hype/pressure.

Actually I'm sure the Zhang and Kwan families are close friends, and the former gets much advice from the latter. Caroline gets skating tips from Michelle, and according to her mother, they keep in touch by email. She skates at the Kwan family's ice rink. And now she has Michelle's former agent. Plus Karen Kwan choreographed part of Caroline's program (the slss in the SP I think). I bet it happens often in their mutual conversations that Caroline & Michelle get mentioned in the same breadth. Kwan happens to be a family friend, who's also a legendary skater. *shrug* I think a lofty goal can either motivate or intimidate a child, and Caroline seems to be the kind to feel motivated/inspired.

But anyway, a good question:

Was Kwan compared to anyone great when she first burst out on the scene?

I don't know. I would guess that whenever a precocious young skater bursts onto the scene, comparisons are bound to be made. But I can't think just who it might have been. Too bad Google doesn't yet have an archival version that you can search through, based only on the web content of a particular year! But then again, back in 1993 the world wide web was only in its very, very infancy. Nothing like an internet forum to hype up/gush over a skater.

 

[ANW]

WTF is that??? I didn't recall anyone ever brought out Caroline's Chinese heritage into the discussion. You know what I am thinking here. You just revealed your true self. It's so ridiculous you even brought this up in the first place. And the whole point "...I was able to prove I like some Chinese athletes" is soooooo weak. There is nothing to prove if you are not. It's really sad some people still judge others by their race.

Oh, are you are the person who assumes that if people don't like Zhang/ or Michelle they are somehow racists? I guess it was lucky for me that I was able to prove that I liked other Chinese athletes.

 

[ks777]

Her real name is "Yuan-yuan", not like "Lu-lu" for Chen Lu.

sounds like a panda bear

 

[ks777]

I agree with who ever said Zhang's skates more like Sasha. Being compared to Kwan or Sasha should work for any skater at this level. Personally, I do think Zhang's great without the comparisons. American figure skating is steadily coming out of the Kwan era, and it's so easy to compare newbies to and Michelle, and too Sasha. Michelle is favorably consistent and Sasha's elegance and flexiblity is iconic. Zhang has all of those qualities, and so, the comparison aren't really that big a deal.

I think if Zhang looks like someone, it would be Mirai Nagasu to me. Their layback is almost identical.

 

[Tonichelle]

Was Kwan compared to anyone great when she first burst out on the scene?

not that I recall... but then all I remember from that part of skating history is how disappointed I was in one of my skating idols and the whole scandal she was "allegedly" a part of...

 

[kandidy]

sounds like a panda bear

 

[fourclover]

From what I've seen on youtube, Caroline's speed has improved over last year and she continues to keep with the music. Watching that Spanish/like number showed me that she is versatile.

YuNa, as much as I think of her as the best of this season's skaters, she showed me that she has trouble with the tempo of waltz, and that bugs me. Of course, speed without tempo of music will be obvious.

Carolina K, is much slower than previous seasons but that is to her advantage because I think her skating has become more pleasant to watch. But those long entrances without transitions into jumps bug me.

The above nitpicks are just my opinions and I do not predict and outcome of this competition.

Joe

Hi, this is my first post of this forum. I think you watched the clip with the audio that was delayed due to error. Yu-na was right on with the tempo of the waltz for the most part. part of her foot work sequences were a bit sloppy but still she did get most of tempo right. please go watch the new clip with synchronized audio and you will see.

 

[Jasper]

Disregarding results (which I don't care all that much about and sometimes are bullshit anyway), I already think Caroline Zhang is the best female skater I've seen live. And I've seen Kwan, Slutskaya, Sarah Hughes, Meissner, Ando, etc. She's in a class of her own.

 

[bekalc]

WTF is that??? I didn't recall anyone ever brought out Caroline's Chinese heritage into the discussion. You know what I am thinking here. You just revealed your true self. It's so ridiculous you even brought this up in the first place. And the whole point "...I was able to prove I like some Chinese athletes" is soooooo weak. There is nothing to prove if you are not. It's really sad some people still judge others by their race.

Well of course liking other Chinese athletes doesn't prove your racist. But if someone's going to say that the reason you dont like Michelle and Caroline is because their Chinese. If you can prove that well you like other Chinese athletes, it does kind of suggests that's their logic is dumb. I never publically pointed to posts that proved I liked other Chinese athletes because well I wasn't going to dignify that publically. But I pointed this out to the person privately. Publically i pointed out that I guess I must hate Russians/Americans/ Canadians too. I must hate just about everyone because I've probably criticized them all

You reminded me of that person because she was the only one who complained about what I said on other boards.

 

[*Sniper*]

Has the LP begun? Anyone??

 

[museksk8r]

StN. Name Nat. Current Rank Points
Warm-Up Group 1
1 Arina MARTINOVA RUS 12 40.54
2 Fumie SUGURI JPN 11 44.76
3 Yueren WANG CHN 10 45.48
4 Binshu XU CHN 9 45.74
5 Dan FANG CHN 8 45.88
6 Beatrisa LIANG USA 7 46.44
Warm-Up Group 2
7 Susanna POYKIO FIN 6 48.48
8 Alissa CZISNY USA 5 51.08
9 Julia SEBESTYEN HUN 4 55.46
10 Yu-Na KIM KOR 3 58.32
11 Caroline ZHANG USA 2 58.76
12 Carolina KOSTNER ITA 1 60.82

 

[museksk8r]

1 Arina MARTINOVA RUS
76.84 38.36 40.48 5.15 4.85 5.05 5.15 5.10 2.00 #1

 

[yelyoh]

It has begun. Fumie up now,

 

[*Sniper*]

Ah, THANKS!

 

[museksk8r]

1 Fumie SUGURI JPN
92.37 48.49 44.88 5.90 5.25 5.75 5.50 5.65 1.00 #2
2 Arina MARTINOVA RUS
76.84 38.36 40.48 5.15 4.85 5.05 5.15 5.10 2.00 #1

Well, Fumie took a tumble, but she's into the lead. So sad to see her so low in the standings.

 

[museksk8r]

1 Fumie SUGURI JPN
92.37 48.49 44.88 5.90 5.25 5.75 5.50 5.65 1.00 #2
2 Arina MARTINOVA RUS
76.84 38.36 40.48 5.15 4.85 5.05 5.15 5.10 2.00 #1
3 Yueren WANG CHN
64.23 34.27 32.96 4.35 3.85 4.10 4.10 4.20 3.00 #3

 

[museksk8r]

1 Fumie SUGURI JPN
92.37 48.49 44.88 5.90 5.25 5.75 5.50 5.65 1.00 #2
2 Arina MARTINOVA RUS
76.84 38.36 40.48 5.15 4.85 5.05 5.15 5.10 2.00 #1
3 Binshu XU CHN
73.89 38.97 37.92 4.90 4.45 4.75 4.75 4.85 3.00 #4
4 Yueren WANG CHN
64.23 34.27 32.96 4.35 3.85 4.10 4.10 4.20 3.00 #3

Wow, this is turning out to be a splat fest.