Ladies Free Skate

[museksk8r]

And museksk8r putting my faith back into mankind... Have you seen it? Was Leonova really as dreadful as everybody says?

Hey Medusa! Unfortunately, I haven't seen the coverage, but I wanted to show my support for Alena and say congrats to having a Russian lady atop the podium, again. I know it has to be an exciting moment for Leonova and her country! I'm happy for her! Again, I don't understand why posters belittle the skaters when they disagree with the judging. :banging: I hope a youtube video will be available soon. Sorry, I'm not able to provide any details about the skating.

 

[chuckm]

I actually like Alena Leonova and think she is the best Russian lady because she has a winning personality that shines through when she performs. Although her overall performance was pretty good, her jumps were landed heavily and didn't have much flow coming out of them, because she doesn't have good edges. Yet somehow, she got the highest Skating Skills mark in the competition!

She skated the same program with a similar performance at 2008 JW and got 10 points lower in PCS than she got in 2009. Her Euros FS PCS was about 6 points lower than what she got at JW 2009. But her Euros PCS score would place her behind Zhang overall, so the judges hiked her JW PCS score up enough so that she would pass Zhang by 2.5 points.

 

[Wrlmy]

I actually like Alena and happy for her, and I correctly predicted her placement at Euro
Her enthusiasm alone was enchanting, and she landed all her jumps throughout both phases of the competition. That means something.

Caroline is a fighter, and she will go far. She just needs to revamp her technique to go even further.

 

[feraina]

Its sounds like another excuse to me.

What's your problem?

Caroline was visibly coughing when she got off the ice and sitting in K&C. Are you just oblivious or deliberately malicious?

 

[museksk8r]

She skated the same program with a similar performance at 2008 JW and got 10 points lower in PCS than she got in 2009. Her Euros FS PCS was about 6 points lower than what she got at JW 2009. But her Euros PCS score would place her behind Zhang overall, so the judges hiked her JW PCS score up enough so that she would pass Zhang by 2.5 points.

Keep in mind, Zhang was 10TH after the SP! Common knowledge tells you from watching these championships judged under COP that if you blow the SP, your PCS marks will suffer in the LP. Zhang was in the penultimate LP group and, as always, your PCS take a plunge when you take yourself out of the running in the SP. Caroline fell victim to this, just as every skater representing every country falls victim to it. You can't win a championship by only skating one program well. Congrats to Caroline for showing her fighting spirit in the LP, but it is clear that she needs to revamp her technique on the Lutz and flip jumps.

 

[AwesomeIce]

What's your problem?

Caroline was visibly coughing when she got off the ice and sitting in K&C. Are you just oblivious or deliberately malicious?

Yeah, she was deathly ill with the flu for the SP then came back totally fine the next day for the LP. Sorry, you don't recover from the flu that quickly. It just seems that every time she doesn't have a great performance, she has something to blame it on instead of saying, "Maybe I should finally get around to fixing my jump technique."

 

[HCOSurfer]

Are you just oblivious or deliberately malicious?

I vote the second one

 

[feraina]

How come Wagner completely ignored Caroline when she went to the podium?

Maybe she doesn't want catch whatever Caroline has, which is understandable, but she could've at least greeted her and smiled politely. Instead, she hugged Alena and then immediately turned away. Strange, isn't it?

 

[Fashionista]

It's not just American fans ... Generally speaking, Chinese HATE Russian/European judges, especially Russian federation, Korean & Japanese fans have very low opinion of Russian/european judges as well. The truth is European ladies simply can't land jumps, they don't have the flexibility either. Simply put it, they don't have the skill sets but still 'manage' to medal. That really turns off lots of people.

The truth is that chinese, japanese and korean judges are not as powerful as russians so it's a common envy.

COP, really you sound like a very frustrated teenager, I'm really sorry for your undying pain caused by the end of the era of really great american queens like Yamaguchi and Kwan. I'm also sorry that last ten years America gave birth only to one-day butterflies with terrible tech skills like Sarah Hughes and Meissner had.
I would also love to see something like Sasha Cohen but unfortunately crisis in american ladies figure skating seems to be much deeper then we expected.

 

[ManyCairns]

Any comments from those who saw the comp on Ashley Wagner? Was she cleaner than at US Nats, where to me some possible 2-foots, flutz, and wobbly landings were overlooked to give her a great LP score? I know I can check the protocols, but I'm really wondering what general impression she gave -- confident, smooth, good, "on" -- or bobbly and not compelling?

Thanks.

 

[PolymerBob]

Yeah, she was deathly ill with the flu for the SP then came back totally fine the next day for the LP. Sorry, you don't recover from the flu that quickly. It just seems that every time she doesn't have a great performance, she has something to blame it on instead of saying, "Maybe I should finally get around to fixing my jump technique."

Well, Ashley didn't shake hands with nor or hug Caroline, who did not seem offended in the least. It was like they agreed ahead of time there would be no touching.

 

[Fashionista]

I tend to agree. Leonova skated the exact same program at 2008 JW with a slightly cleaner performance, and her PCS scores from 2008 were 10 points lower than her 2009 PCS scores.

Haven't you ever thought that skater can work hard during the year, improving his/her skating skills, spirals, spins?!
God, it seems some people on this board watch figure skating first time in their lives

 

[ManyCairns]

How come Wagner completely ignored Caroline when she went to the podium?

Maybe she doesn't want catch whatever Caroline has, which is understandable, but she could've at least greeted her and smiled politely. Instead, she hugged Alena and then immediately turned away. Strange, isn't it?

Well, Ashley didn't shake hands with nor or hug Caroline, who did not seem offended in the least. It was like they agreed ahead of time there would be no touching.

I didn't see it but it seems rather strange. It gives the appearance of not being very sportsmanlike (on Wagner's part).

The truth is that chinese, japanese and korean judges are not as powerful as russians so it's a common envy.

That's an insightful way of putting it.

 

[Andalusia]

What's your problem?

Caroline was visibly coughing when she got off the ice and sitting in K&C. Are you just oblivious or deliberately malicious?

You really should try not to dignify this cretin with a response. Said cretin loathes Mirai and Caroline beyond all possible reason, and has obviously established itself as a poo-stirrer on many various boards.

And back on topic - Caroline amazes me yet again. To come back from 10th place and her worst SP ever to a silver with 7 ratified triples and the highest-scored LP of the event is...really something. What gladdens me most is that it puts a sock to those jerks who were ready to throw Caroline under a bus after 1 failed SP amongst a whole host of very, very consistent performances.

It remains to be seen if she can keep it up, but I think in terms of competitive fire and spirit, we've found a new MK. I think Rachael might soon establish herself in this category as well.

And a final nod to Elene, who is so frustratingly talented but can't do anything more about it.

 

[GiuliaPlum]

How come Wagner completely ignored Caroline when she went to the podium?

Maybe she doesn't want catch whatever Caroline has, which is understandable, but she could've at least greeted her and smiled politely. Instead, she hugged Alena and then immediately turned away. Strange, isn't it?

Maybe she was afraid to get the flu.

 

[bekalc]

Maybe she was afraid to get the flu.

She could have at least acknowledged Caroline.

 

[Wrlmy]

She could have at least acknowledged Caroline.

Yeah, I didn't want to bring that up, but that was certiainly....ummm....weird.

 

[gold12345]

PCS are going to drop when you are in TENTH after the short program. The judges can't just pretend the short program doesn't matter. While you may not care for Leonova's skating, or think she is sloppy and isn't as good as Zhang (I agree completely), the fact of the matter is that her TWO programs were overall deemed better than Caroline's, which is why she won by a small margin. Caroline won the long program, and rightfully so, but the judges are saying BOTH programs matter, not just one. Or at least that's what I think they are saying.

Look, we all wish PCS would truly be a reflection of a skater's skating skills, choreography, interpretation, etc, and they usually are. BUT, they are also there to give the judges some leeway, so that the skaters who deserve to win actually win! So, I'm sure Leonova's PCS skyrocketed not because she suddenly has amazing choreography or the best skating skills, but because the judges deemed her performances the best this week! And they felt she deserved to place better than someone who only delivered the 10th best short program.

I personally wish they would get rid of all the separate categories for PCS (since we all know the skater with the highest PCS will have had the highest score across all 5 categories whether they deserve it or not) and just call it the "Overall impression" score. That way, the skaters with the best presentation, skating skills, etc, will still be rewarded, but this mark can also fluctuate based on how well everyone skates that day without it seeming strange!

 

[bekalc]

Yeah, I didn't want to bring that up, but that was certiainly....ummm....weird.

I HOPE was the flu thing too. Who knows but she should have acknowledged her. It was really unbecoming though.

I actually agree with the above post. Zhang was luck to get the PCS she got in the short program. Alena had two good performances while Zhang had a great one and a terrible one. I don't disagree with the results.

 

[Penny]

Leonova? Really?

I watched on icenetwork, and was not impressed with Leonova. Sloppy and lumbering. And inappropriately enthusiastic. It distracts from a program when you do hand pumps after a successful element. Isn't she 18? I don't see any maturity developing.

I've never seen Caroline Z skate live, but on screen she is my favorite to watch, followed by Mao, Kim, and Alyssa. Of course, she cannot match Mao/Kim for jumps and speed, but her grace (except for the jumps, yes I know) is unmatched. I am increasingly impressed with the footwork sequence in her short program--well choreographed and a joy to watch. The Pearl is so beautiful--her flexibility is a gift and she uses it for beauty, not contortionism.