Ladies Long Program

[feraina]

I think her jump problems stem from her working to get her jumps to not get downgraded... it's her first time at worlds and she was probably thinking too much

You're right, that's very possible. But it was her first senior National's, too, and she skated phenomenally! (I thought she deserved to win the LP there.)

Maybe something was up with the ice, too. The British commentators mentioned that due to the number of people in the building, maybe the ice was softer than usual, which can have an effect (like slowing skaters down and not giving them as much of a spring on jumps -- I did feel like a lot of skaters were skating slower than usual, and the jumps lower too, so maybe that had a real effect).

 

[Wrlmy]

I was thinking the same thing. And a few skaters actually voiced their issues with the ice.

 

[BelleFilleYuna]

Oh I forgot to say that I feel so sorry for Miki.
I got teary with her, I thought she was not in the condition to compete when she fell on her salchow....on her triple Salchow!!

I heard she is going to have a surgery and I hope all the best for her!!!

 

[Mafke]

Other random note, let's look at recent world champions and their placement at the next years world championships

2002 - Slutskaya (did not compete following year)
2003 - Kwan (bronze following year)
2004 - Arakawa (finished off the podium following year)
2005 - Slutskaya (did not compete following year
2006 - Meissner (finished off podium following year
2007 - Ando (withdrew after abortive start of lp following year)

Five of the last six world champions did not make the podium (for different reasons) the following year. What's going on?

 

[feraina]

I felt really bad for Miki, too. She looked very much lacking in conviction even before she started. Her fall didn't look that painful (not as much as Mao's splat for instance!), I kinda felt like she withdrew more from psychological than physical distress. She was already pretty behind in the SP (although 3-8 were bunched so close together, she had a real shot at medals if she could skate the rest as well as she did at National'sl), and after missing her combo and falling on her best and easiest jump (3S), she probably didn't think she could medal even if she skated clean the rest of the program. If she had got .5 more in the SP and skated in the last group and skated late, maybe she would've been stronger mentally, just knowing that everyone made mistakes too and she didn't have to be perfect or land that quad to medal. She probably felt like she would disappoint everyone (and herself), if she couldn't medal... Skating so early, she didn't know that so many coming after her would also splat, pop, and step out.

It's really too bad. I was thinking after Mao won, how they started out their programs similarly (with a splat), and one gave up totally, and the other persisted and came out a champion. What a difference!

 

[BelleFilleYuna]

Other random note, let's look at recent world champions and their placement at the next years world championships

2002 - Slutskaya (did not compete following year)
2003 - Kwan (bronze following year)
2004 - Arakawa (finished off the podium following year)
2005 - Slutskaya (did not compete following year
2006 - Meissner (finished off podium following year
2007 - Ando (withdrew after abortive start of lp following year)

Five of the last six world champions did not make the podium (for different reasons) the following year. What's going on?

Well Mao had broken the 'K'urse and honestly I can't imagine by any stretch Mao not on the podium next year.

 

[rain]

Since she had a good shot at the podium, Rochette's 5th place finish is a bit of a disappointment, but then I have to remember that going in I figured a top 5 finish would be a challenge and a really good result for her. So really — yay Joannie! To be ranked top 5 in the world is a big accomplishment, and she didn't implode on either one of her programs, which has been a huge problem for her in the past.

On another note, it's too bad that the top winning programs were so lacklustre. Not holding my breath to see the TV coverage.

 

[feraina]

Five of the last six world champions did not make the podium (for different reasons) the following year. What's going on?

Wow, those are quite some statistics! Thanks for compiling. What were the stats like before Michelle Kwan's rise, though? Were they more stable?

Maybe the increasingly tougher jump content (and nowadays, hard jumps plus hard spins, spirals, step seq's) just made it so much harder for skaters to stay on top for long? Look at Yu-na, she was touted as unbeatable all season, but she's having repeat injuries with her hip/back, while Carolina was crap all through the GP's, and then improved at GPF, and came out strong at the WC. Even maintaining high performance through ONE season seems really hard. All the more impressive, then, that Michelle reigned for so long (though toward the end she didn't really do full seasons, which doubtlessly lengthened her career), and Mao Asada, who's been pretty strong all season.

 

[Wrlmy]

It's really too bad. I was thinking after Mao won, how they started out their programs similarly (with a splat), and one gave up totally, and the other persisted and came out a champion. What a difference!

What a way to put salt in the wound! She has injured shoulder and leg muscle. And JSF suggested her to withdraw, but she tried to compete at least. But if you didn't know that, I guess vous avez raison.

 

[BelleFilleYuna]

I felt really bad for Miki, too. She looked very much lacking in conviction even before she started. Her fall didn't look that painful (not as much as Mao's splat for instance!), I kinda felt like she withdrew more from psychological than physical distress. She was already pretty behind in the SP (although 3-8 were bunched so close together, she had a real shot at medals if she could skate the rest as well as she did at National'sl), and after missing her combo and falling on her best and easiest jump (3S), she probably didn't think she could medal even if she skated clean the rest of the program. If she had got .5 more in the SP and skated in the last group and skated late, maybe she would've been stronger mentally, just knowing that everyone made mistakes too and she didn't have to be perfect or land that quad to medal. She probably felt like she would disappoint everyone (and herself), if she couldn't medal... Skating so early, she didn't know that so many coming after her would also splat, pop, and step out.

It's really too bad. I was thinking after Mao won, how they started out their programs similarly (with a splat), and one gave up totally, and the other persisted and came out a champion. What a difference!

I heard Miki had a serious injury(on her thigh??) during the practice and Morosov suggested withdrawal, but Miki refused to sign on the paper.

I don't know if I got this information right.
Does anybody know what exactly Miki's condition was??

 

[feraina]

Well Mao had broken the 'K'urse and honestly I can't imagine by any stretch Mao not on the podium next year.

Well, now, don't jinx her!

But I have to say, her future seems bright: at 18 she has mastered two 3-3's, 5 triples including a 3A (which is at least as consistent as anyone else's 3A or the men's quads), and seems to be through her growth spurt -- and she also seems very robustly built and not very prone to injuries. With better choreography, she can hopefully garner higher level spirals, spins, and step sequences, which she's entirely capable of. And with better coaching, hopefully she can fix her flutz as well, and maybe even bring the 3S back. I did feel like her 3F and 3T both really improved throughout this season.

 

[museksk8r]

It amazes and disgusts me how insensitive some people are. Just sad!

 

[demarinis5]

Congrats to Mao, Carolina and YuNa.

 

[feraina]

What a way to put salt in the wound! She has injured shoulder and leg muscle. And JSF suggested her to withdraw, but she tried to compete at least. But if you didn't know that, I guess vous avez raison.

I didn't know about her leg injury. I don't mean to put salt on her wound. I knew she has a recurrent shoulder injury, but she's had that for a while now, and she skated a brilliant LP at her National's. I thought it was mainly a motivational problem, because she said in interviews how she was finding it hard to train, that sometimes she doesn't know why she's even doing it anymore.

I think she was a little unlucky to be ranked so low in the SP. Point-wise, she was tied for 4th, and very little behind 3rd, but maybe psychologically 8th felt like a long, long ways back. If she had gotten just half a point higher, like I said, she might have skated in the last group. And if she had seen how much everyone else had screwed up, maybe she wouldn't have given up after her fall...

Anyway, too bad for Miki. I'm really sad for her. I was so happy to see her skate so well at Japanese National's, and thought she was on her way to a come-back.

 

[lilybear]

Congratulations to Mao and YuNa，They are deserved！And I‘m very proud of Yuna.

I know Kostner is a good and lovely skater,but I don't think her silver is deserved in this compition.

 

[AwesomeIce]

Before I start, let me point out that I am a big fan of both Carolina and Yu Na. That being said...

I really don't get all the people complaining about Carolina beating Yu Na. True, Carolina had some errors on some of her jumps, but she didn't fall and she didn't pop anything. Yu Na popped a lutz, and some of her other landings weren't exactly squeaky clean. I really have no problem with how their LPs were marked. They are both very talented skaters with two very different styles and just because some people don't like Carolina's style doesn't mean she sucks! I will agree with those that say Yu Na has nicer arm movements, but geez Louise, thats just one little part of the bigger picture! Carolina has nicer looking feet, Yu Na appears not to have any idea how to point her toes. Her feet look downright ugly when she is skating. Doesn't make me dislike the overall skating. I'm just saying that if you're going to pick on Caro for wild arms, then you can't ignore Yu Na's sloppy looking feet. I really don't think that Yu Na is so much more musical than Carolina is. She picked a slower, more lyrical piece of music than Caro did, and it was lovely, but Caro did well with the interpretation of her music, too. I really like the faster, more aggressive and powerful style for her. Overall, I think the judges got the order right. If anything, I might have had Yu Na in fourth, and Yukari third, because she was just gorgeous. But really, I enjoyed all three of those ladies, they are all special and talented in their own ways and NONE of them deserve the disrespect that they have been getting from some skating fans.

 

[feraina]

Hmm, I don't disagree with the judging either, just the judging system...

Congrats to the medalists!

 

[mizu_iro]

This wouldn't be enough to change the outcome or anything, but there is one thing that I take real issue with after seeing the protocols: Who the hell would even consider giving Yukari negative GOE on her marvelous, centered, lightning-fast spins?!

With the current ordinals, Yu-Na would have gotten silver. Then again, under 6.0 Yukari would definitely have placed higher.

 

[Wrlmy]

This wouldn't be enough to change the outcome or anything, but there is one thing that I take real issue with after seeing the protocols: Who the hell would even consider giving Yukari negative GOE on her marvelous, centered, lightning-fast spins?!

I seriously hope the judge's finger just slipped.

 

[feraina]

Who the hell would even consider giving Yukari negative GOE on her marvelous, centered, lightning-fast spins?!

That is odd! She wasn't as fast as usual, but she was still the best spinner in this competition. (again, maybe it's the ice.)

I did notice, though, that her free foot brushed the ice from a more upright position (a camel? I can't remember) to a sit, and I was wondering if that's something that can impact the GOE.