I can't say how pleased and surprised I am to see the results this morning. I had a little knot in my stomach going to bed last night. I really expected Mirai to end up maybe third or fourth, but this is wonderful. I think Jenny Kirk was right on in her blog when she predicted Mirai could stage an upset. Of course we still have another whole program, but this should give her confidence. I hope she'll keep the "demons" out of her head for the long program so she doesn't succumb to the pressure.
Now, after watching the short on youtube, I'd say all of her jumps looked nice and clean to me, and she has one of the biggest double axels of any of the ladies. I think some observers think clean jumping should always resemble something like what Krisztina Czako used to do. For those who don't remember or don't know her, she had a great season in 1997. Her jumps usually completed rotation several inches off the ice and were very impressive. This is great, but not everyone jumps this way. Reaching the ice with the toe-pick at one-quarter turn shy of the rotation is totally normal and acceptable. Of course the former technique should garner major positive GOEs and that's why we have that built into the system. It seems like Mirai is jumping much cleaner than last season, and while it would be nice if she could recover a little more of the lift she had in '08, I think she'll do fine this year if she can keep this up.
On the other hand, I am surprised to see that her PCS were so low. I agree she has a ways to go in this department, but this program had a lot more enthusiasm than the version she skated a couple months ago at Golden West. I know judging doesn't translate competition to competition, and especially not locally to internationally, but I did think she deserved a bit higher. I also want to throw out that it is good she and her coach and choreographer made some changes to the program. I hope the long program will show as much or more modification from the last time we saw it.
Best of luck in the LP!
Very happy to see her smile in the end. This performance should boost her morale and confidence a lot.
I hope everyone is able to rebound from these frustrating outings. Thankfully, it is the beginning of the season for them!
That's what audiences people want to see when they watch ladies' figure skating: youth, beauty, speed, amazing feats (I too loved her spins and spirals), effervescence, charm -- she has IT. I pray she makes it to the Olympics. I don't know if she's tough enough but as far as her talent and personality go, a lot of people will turn on their TVs to watch her, IMO.
I feel so bad for Joannie and Bebe. Good for Caro and Kiira. Can't wait to watch it later.
