If I were judging-PCS wise, I would say she is not on the same level. Alysa has made huge improvements, but her speed into jumps is not at the same level as Bradie, Karen, Amber or even Gabby Izzo. And when you slow way down before the jump entrance, the jumps end up looking 'junior'ish.
2021-2022 US Women's Figure Skating
- Thread starter Minz
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You must be thinking of the Alysa from a couple of years ago she doesn't slow down going into her jumps like she used to not even with the 3axel and she's doing more difficult transitions going into her jumps compared to some of the top US Ladies right now.
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- Jul 9, 2014
No I don't. Unfortunately, Kostornaia is not skating at the same level she was 2 seasons ago. I don't know the skater but, I just saw one of Eteri's girls land a beautiful quad and this young lady was amazing. I'll have to look for the program. Her name is Alexandra Trusova. She must be a big deal because she's with Eteri and the program I saw, she landed several quad jumps in her LP.
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- Oct 2, 2020
From watching both Amber and Gabby Izzo live recently, I would disagree. They are not as fast as how they look on instagram. Amber is very powerful and that's because of her muscle strength coming from her legs. However being powerful is not the most critical skill that judges reward skaters for (just look at what they give to my girl Wakaba..). I think Gabby has hit her BV ceiling. She performs well when she's not falling on her programs (and I can't recall when was the last time she didn't fall). But her SS are okay/good and not necessarily phenomenal. Same with Amber. Also, being fast is not the same as having great flow. I would say that even half Russian girls don't go fast into a jump (like as in "an actual increase of velocity") they just flow quite nicely with the same or reduced speed from a transition into a jump. And that gets them points. Having watched Alysa recently, I don't think she is far from scoring some really good points on that flow, speed, ss, and on those transitions as well. We will just have to wait and see what the future brings.
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The judges certainly disagree. I don't think Mariah/Amber/even Karen have ever seen PCS like 69 in their entire careers.
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- Oct 14, 2019
Mariah was scoring 69 in PCS in her free skates in the Grand Prixs in the 2019-20 season when she was skating pretty clean. Obviously, she was getting much higher domestic scoring.
Karen scored 68 in PCS at Worlds and WTT when she wasn't fully clean. Probably safe to assume she can get above 69 if she were to skate fully clean (big if).
I think Bradie's highest ever PCS was 70 at 2020 4CC.
Amber's international PCS is not on the same level, mostly because she has the least reputation of all those skaters, has had fewer opportunities to compete internationally, and hasn't been able to skate cleanly internationally.
Regardless, Alysa's debut PCS is still incredibly impressive, especially since it can only go up from here. She has already equalled her US competition in PCS, which is historically where she was lagging the most.
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I'm not sure about Gabby Izzo because I can't recall seeing her live. However, Bradie, Amber, and Karen all have more speed across the ice and into jumps. It was only after seeing them live that I appreciated their skating. Alysa certainly has improved so much, but based on what people said about her speed at Cranberry she still looks slow compared to other competitors. Her flow and edges have improved a lot.
That being said, SS is only one category. Alysa has more transitions than anyone other than, perhaps , Bradie. Plus, judges don't really judge PCS accurately. Half of PCS judging is always reputations and landed jumps. Alysa is a stable competitor who is being pushed by the USFS, her PCS will be ok.
I do think Bradie and Amber can still score higher than Alysa if they are clean. The quality of their elements and jumps are just better. However, will they be clean? Bradie is traditionally a very stable competitor, but injury has taken that away from her. Amber has always had great potential but has rarely reached it in competition.
Mariah and Karen have technical issues ( URs) that will keep their scores lower even if they are"clean".
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The last time I saw Bradie, Karen, and Amber skate was at 2019 SkAm. The only one whose skating I was impressed with was Amber, if you can believe it. Karen wasn't jumping well, but her whole skating was "lesser" than I expected from what she looks on tv. Bradie was Bradie. I thought she also looked better on tv than live. But Amber skated "big" and though she wasn't landing her jumps, I was impressed with her skating live.
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- Mar 14, 2007
I’ve seen Amber skate live before but she blew me away at Cranberry. All that power coming right to me in the Tenley Albright seat. My motto is now “you haven’t seen someone skate live until you’ve seen them skate live at Skating Club of Boston.”
She has some international wins already and is likely to win at Nebelhorn, too. Unfortunately, her GP assignments are in some of the toughest fields, so she may not even medal no matter how well she skates. I predict that if Alysa wins Nationals, she will be on the Olympic team no matter how she places on the GP.
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- Jul 9, 2014
That's the thing I love about Amber's skating. You can tell she has deep edges even on TV. She generates a lot of power through her strokes and now that we have 3 spots. I hope they select her for the Olympic Team if she makes the podium like she did last year.
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- Nov 24, 2006
Unless Alysa is injured, and this is before she will get that third spot, she should definitely be named to the Olympic Team. Even just based on her score at Lombardia. Also, Alysa along with Bradie have been trading National titles for four years. I really hope Bradie heals fast. I think also she should go barring injury.
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Alysa is definitely our best women right now, and it's hard to see three Americans having better seasons than her, but I don't know what naming her to the team that early will accomplish. She hasn't even skated a GP event, so we don't know how she will deal with the pressure of skating against a strong international field.
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- Oct 14, 2018
New article about Alysa Liu: https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/09/22/alysa-liu-figure-skating-olympic-season/
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- Jul 9, 2014
Exactly. This is where Alysa can really cement her case. She has a couple of tough assignments coming up and if she performs well at those, she'll certainly help her case. Unless she's injured, I can't imagine her not making the US Podium but, for a committee spot, she'll need to prove that she can compete with the top ladies from other countries. I believe it was Ambers lack of international experience that lead to her being passed over for the world team. Alysa will be at Skate Canada which has a very deep field. If she can hold her own at that event (Where she will be against Karen Chen) she will solidify her case for making it to the Olympics.
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The thing is Alysa holding her own could mean a 4th to 6th place finish at Skate Canada. She could score higher than she did at Lombardia and still place in the middle given the field. I hope USFS will be looking not just at placements, but at scores as well when considering Olympic selections.
Alysa is an athlete I don’t worry about. She enjoys skating with a huge smile on her face and relishes competitions. She stopped a Russian Sweep at Junior Worlds, last time around. I always worry about the other Americans way more as they are all over the map. Nebelhorn will be tough to get a high score as Shin Amano is reviewing the technical elements. But, she should win there. So, she should aim to be as close to 210, as possible. Hopefully, she tries one 3A in the free skate. As for Senior Grand Prix events, I would rather score 210+ and finish 5th in a highly deeply competitive field, than scoring 180+ and finishing in 4th place in an easier field. As an athlete, it is better to duel against the tough Russians early on in the season when they are more vulnerable. A surprise 3rd place finish over 1-2 tough competitors would only solidify her position to make the team, in my opinion. She needs to beat some of them, if she wants to make it to the Final Six. Good truck to Alysa! I’m looking forward to seeing her skate again.
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- Jan 28, 2013
You know, people are conceding all the medals to the Russian women, but honestly, from what I've seen, they're hardly a model of consistency so far in the young season.
In any event, all skaters (including Alysa and the Russian women and everyone else) can only control their own performances. Let 'em skate, then add up the scores, and only then can you award the medals.
In any event, all skaters (including Alysa and the Russian women and everyone else) can only control their own performances. Let 'em skate, then add up the scores, and only then can you award the medals.
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- Mar 30, 2021
I just wish that the fed gave her a Skate America spot. Alysa could have potentially won Skate America, while she would have to be very good and lucky in order to even podium at Skate Canada.
No, Amano is judging the men at Nebelhorn.
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