What will the 2011/2012 season bring us in ladies?

[Tinymavy15]

Mao is going to skate to "Liebestraum" next season

This is an article in “Sankei sports” in Japan.
Translated from Japanese.
As for the free skating, Mao is going to skate to "Liebestraum" next season, too.
June 21st, 2011 JST

By Kydo Press
In Jun 21st, former Worlds Champion Mao Asada revealed that, as for the free skating of next season, she skates to "Liebestraum" composed by Liszt as same as last season.
She explained the reason, saying 'I am not satisfied because I made "Liebestraum" finish while not doing my best performance, so I would like to perform the perfect one', because, in the worlds of April where she had aimed at the championship for two seasons running, she finished at the 6th place.
In Tokyo Metropolitan area, Asada attended the publicity meeting of the mattress which she is using.
She did not reveal the name of music of the new short program which uses a classic music, but she said "I would like to perform the leading character perfectly because it is the story of a queen".
In this day, I heard that she was coached by Nobuo Sato coach in early morning.
She fixed the eyes on next season, while saying, “I am reconsidering a skating and a jump. I would like to do the practice which I can feel to have become good every day even if it was only one thing per day”.

Glad she is keeping Libenstruam. It was a beautiful program.
My guess is she is skating to Turandot for the short.

 

[pangtongfan]

This is true, and for me I wouldn't have as much of an issue with Laura winning bronze if she had had a stellar SP at Worlds last year. The thing is, she didn't, her 2a was a mess and I think her SP score should have been lower because of that even though she did do a nice 3t-3t and 3lo. Miki DID beat Laura handily in the FS skating in the penultimate group, so my issue was more that Miki got nailed super hard in the SP (not that i liked the program or thought it suited her well), while Laura earned a terrific score even though she botched one of her major elements pretty seriously. In all honesty I thought Phanuef maybe deserved bronze that year over either Laura or Miki, because she skated really well in BOTH programs.

I agree that Miki last season was not comparable to Miki this season, though. For one thing, her programs last season weren't great while this season, once she changed her SP, I felt both programs were really well suited to her and brought out the best in her skating. Also, last season she wasn't dominating, she was in the mix for sure, but kept being overshadowed by Yuna and then Mao and Joannie too later in the season. This season, she was the one to beat, as evidenced by her two wins over Mao at the two competitions where Mao actually did have her sh*t together, and then at Worlds when she beat Yuna, who gave flawed performances but certainly didn't bomb. I know she was 5th at the GPF but she was injured and the results among the top 5 were really close and she DID win the FS there, so apart from that competition, it was Miki domination all season. Last season was not like that, and tbh she seemed to lose steam as the season progressed, esp after the disappointing 5th at the Olympics, so by the time Worlds rolled around, she wasn't going to get preferential treatment from the judges, hence her 11th place SP.

You are obviously a huge Miki Ando fan. Yu Na Kim from the Olympics would have beaten Ando by over 30 points at Worlds. Ando's success is much more related to the field than her. Herself is only 8% of at it at most. With the same skating she did this season her results would be basically the same last season including her 5th place in Vancouver.

Do you seriously think if you put Ando at her best up against Kim at her best that Ando would even be remotedly competitive. If so then a huge LOL to that. Kim at her best thrashes her in every area, ever her jumps get more GOE. Ando is lucky Kim skipped all the events until Worlds since it allowed her to build more reputation points and score alot higher than she normally would be allowed to for the same skating. Otherwise Kim would have won Worlds easily EVEN with how poorly she skated in both programs at Worlds.

 

[jaylee]

Miki has the dubious distinction of having won the LP in every single ISU competition she was in last season, without having once gotten the highest PCS in the field.

Cup of China and Cup of Russia ==> Lower PCS than Akiko Suzuki
Grand Prix Final ==> Lower PCS than Alissa Czisny and Carolina Kostner
Four Continents ==> Lower PCS than Mao Asada
Worlds ==> Lower PCS than Carolina Kostner and Yu-Na Kim

What does that tell me? That Miki did not dominate last season, and is certainly not unbeatable next season (if she does return, which is not confirmed).

I thought Mirai should've gotten higher PCS than Miki at 4CCs, and hopefully, if reports about Mirai upping her game technically are true, then she'll get it next season. Both Denis Ten and Daisuke Murakami have tweeted about Mirai doing triple axels. I hope she's also devoting time to getting her 3/3 consistent. Maybe Mirai is taking her skating to another level--if so, should be very exciting, especially in comparison to the bore that the ladies were last season.

 

[Krislite]

Miki has the dubious distinction of having won the LP in every single ISU competition she was in last season, without having once gotten the highest PCS in the field.

Cup of China and Cup of Russia ==> Lower PCS than Akiko Suzuki
Grand Prix Final ==> Lower PCS than Alissa Czisny and Carolina Kostner
Four Continents ==> Lower PCS than Mao Asada
Worlds ==> Lower PCS than Carolina Kostner and Yu-Na Kim

What does that tell me? That Miki did not dominate last season, and is certainly not unbeatable next season (if she does return, which is not confirmed).

I thought Mirai should've gotten higher PCS than Miki at 4CCs, and hopefully, if reports about Mirai upping her game technically are true, then she'll get it next season. Both Denis Ten and Daisuke Murakami have tweeted about Mirai doing triple axels. I hope she's also devoting time to getting her 3/3 consistent. Maybe Mirai is taking her skating to another level--if so, should be very exciting, especially in comparison to the bore that the ladies were last season.

Interesting observation--I never noticed that. It's still pretty obvious, though, that her PCS has increased a bit over last season. Surely if she continues to compete for a full season next year, she'll get even higher PCS now that she's a two-time world champion? Or will the judges forget about her if someone else takes the lead? :think:

 

[pangtongfan]

How can Miki be unbeatable. Being unbeatable means you would win even if everyone did their best, which is clearly not the case with Miki. Yu Na Kim at her best would blow Miki away. Mao at her best would beat Miki too. And depending on the judging Mirai Nagasu at her best could and probably should beat Miki as well.

 

[silverlake22]

You are obviously a huge Miki Ando fan. Yu Na Kim from the Olympics would have beaten Ando by over 30 points at Worlds. Ando's success is much more related to the field than her. Herself is only 8% of at it at most. With the same skating she did this season her results would be basically the same last season including her 5th place in Vancouver.

Do you seriously think if you put Ando at her best up against Kim at her best that Ando would even be remotedly competitive. If so then a huge LOL to that. Kim at her best thrashes her in every area, ever her jumps get more GOE. Ando is lucky Kim skipped all the events until Worlds since it allowed her to build more reputation points and score alot higher than she normally would be allowed to for the same skating. Otherwise Kim would have won Worlds easily EVEN with how poorly she skated in both programs at Worlds.

I'm actually not. I am a fan of Miki, but also a fan of Yuna, and probably a bigger fan of Yuna. When Yuna skates her best, she is undoubtedly better than Miki (and pretty much everyone - as evidenced by her massive Olympic victory), but she rarely skates her best, and in 2007 and 2011 Yuna making characteristic errors was enough for Miki to beat her at Worlds. That is all I am saying, that Miki is competition to Yuna and capable of beating her as evidenced by results. I'm not saying Miki is a better skater than Yuna, I'm just saying her results are impressive given that both her world titles were won when two of the biggest phenoms in skating were competing at the same event. Of course, she won because she made fewer errors at both those competitions than either Mao or Yuna, but at the same time, I think it would be too harsh to say that Mao or Yuna bombed at either the 2007 or 2011 Worlds, which just proves my point that Miki is competition for skaters like Mao and Yuna. She can beat them even when they don't bomb, all that needs to happen is that she makes fewer mistakes than either of them do, and not even necessarily a lot fewer mistakes.

Also, Miki having lower PCS than other skaters doesn't change the fact that she won all but one competition she participated in this season, which I would consider domination. I mean, people consider Alissa Czisny's 10-11 season a "dream season" and her results were not nearly as good as Miki's, so idk. The facts are on the table..

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

silverlake, when Miki beat Kim in 2007, Kim had two falls and a combo discounted. Making 15 points worth of errors isn't bombing? She didn't bomb in 2011, but she wasn't on at all. So Miki beat Kim when Kim was error-ridden (how often does she get a combo discounted) or completely undertrained. golf claps.

Czisny had a great season, not for her results, but for what it showed about her skating. She demonstrated improvement in every area. It wasn't the placements (which were obviously quite strong for her) but the step forward.

The thing is, I don't see how she was THE ONE to beat. She had a huge victory (in terms of point spread) at CoC, but won worlds by just over a point. How is that dominating? I'm not sure about you, but the mess that was ladies skating had most of us thinking Kim would win if she showed up, that's how little an impact Miki seemed to have.

 

[pangtongfan]

Yu Na doesnt always skate clean but her performances at Worlds combined were her worst performances in a competition since 2006 Skate Canada. I would call that bombing. At the 2007 Worlds Yu Na fell on both her triple lutz attempts and had a combination of jumps discounted since she did misinterpreted the rules. I would call that bombing. As for Mao at the 2007 Worlds she lost atleast 8 points under the rules at the time for her popped combo in the short, then lost about another 7 points with a two footed landing and downgrade, and another two foot in the long. About 15 points worth of mistakes and still nearly beat Ando who skated IMO her real best performanes ever at the 2007 Worlds (definitely not at Worlds this year).

One thing I will say is medal count as determining greatness is overrated. The following post World War 11 skaters are proof of this:

Trixi Schuba- 2 Worlds titles, 2 World silvers, and Olympic Gold
Annett Poetzsch- 2 World titles, 2 World silvers, and Olympic Gold
Sjouke Dijkstra- 3 World titles, Olympic Gold, Olympic Silver
Jeanette Altwegg- World and Olympic Champion
Jill Trenary- 3 U.S titles, World Champion
Oksana Baiul- World and Olympic Champion
Dianne DeLeuww- World Champion, Olympic Silver medalist, 3 time World medalist, 2 time European Champion

Yet NONE of these skaters are considered great skaters by most people, even while they were competing. In fact people mostly laugh or roll their eyes when their names are brought up today. By contrast the following group has far less valuable medal hauls and are considered hands down greater skaters than the above group:

Janet Lynn- Olympic bronze, 2 non gold World medals
Midori Ito- Olympic silver, 1 World gold, 1 World silver
Lu Chen- 2 Olympic bronzes, 1 World title (5 overall world medals)
Debi Thomas- Olympic bronze, 1 World title (3 overall world medals)
Denise Biellmann- 1 World title, no other World or Olympic medals

and to a lesser degree:

Rosalyn Sumners- 1 Olympic silver, 1 World title (no other World or Olympic medals), 3 time U.S Champion
Caryn Kadavy- 1 World bronze
Yuka Sato- 1 World gold
Sasha Cohen- Olympic silver, 2 non gold world medals
Elaine Zayak- 1 World titles, 2 other world medals


Most consider Ito the greatest skater of her generation by a bit despite that the also highly respected and liked Yamaguchi's title haul easily trumps hers. Hardly anyone considers Henjie or Witt the best ever despite that they have the most medals or titles. Fratianne is considered the greatest skater of her generation despite Poetzsch's superior title haul. Hamill is a legend with only 1 World title to go with her Olympic Gold, while Lipinski and Bauil are much less so. Heck most people will tell you they consider Angela Nikidinov a superior skater to Sarah Hughes inspite of the gulf in their medal hauls.

Ando goes into the long list of skaters who wont ever be considered as great as their medal haul, even if she never wins another major medal this will be true. There are still a number of people with more medals than Ando who are considered even less great, and an even higher number of skaters with fewer medals who most would consider better skaters. Even if by some miracle she wins 9 World titles and 2 Olympic Golds she will never be greater than Kim or even Asada though unless she shows caliber of skating a good 40% or more better than she has ever so far.

 

[Spun Silver]

^ All this dumping on Miki is making me mad. Sure, best Mao and best Yu Na trump best Miki but when did we see best Mao and best Yu Na this season? PTfan seems to want to chop Miki down to nothing in a rather oddly obsessive way. Who is claiming Miki is as great as Midori, Janet Lynn, or Sasha Cohen? (A: Nobody.) But she had a great season and also, at her best, is a beautiful skater.

What I'd like to hear is whether Yu Na should really have beaten Miki on PCS in the SP at worlds. Yu Na was far from her best. Her flex-foot layback was painful to watch. Her jumps weren't on. But even so there was that magical fluidity in her movement and her line - I loved her towering Biellmann. Is that enough to outweigh Miki's perfect, expressive SP - one of the best performances she's ever given, IMO? It's hard for me to call. I would have given it to Miki.

 

[kwanatic]

Who is claiming Miki is as great as Midori, Janet Lynn, or Sasha Cohen?

By definition of titles, she's got Sasha beat...(2 world titles and 1 bronze to Sasha's 2 silvers and 1 bronze)...but that's neither here nor there...

I'd agree that Miki was the one to beat last season and she did dominate the competition, winning all but one. She dominated in the sense of winning; not dominated in the sense of blowing everyone out of the water. Either way, she only lost once last season. Her consistency was ridiculous, going clean at almost every event. Granted, she was against a somewhat depleted field with Yu-Na out all season and Mao going through her problems, but she went out and did her job, did it well and was rewarded for it.

Point is, Miki is always in the mix because she has big jumps and a lot of stamina which means she can do a lot of jumps. Her spins are decent, her footwork and edges are good. She lacks in areas in terms of aesthetics (though she made improvements this year), but she's a powerful skater which makes her stand out when she skates well. Miki's a decent skater, but she's a killer competitor and that's where she's able to gain the edge. When others make mistakes, she's able to cash in on them. I think both Yu-Na and Mao are better overall skaters than Miki, but Miki is a tough competitor...you can't count her out b/c she never counts herself out.

 

[janetfan]

By definition of titles, she's got Sasha beat...(2 world titles and 1 bronze to Sasha's 2 silvers and 1 bronze)...but that's neither here nor there...

:

Miki and Sasha are an interesting comparison because they have such contrasting styles and both of these ladies skated a good part of their career in the shadow of another skater from their own federation

At the Olympics Sasha finished 2 and 4th. Miki finished what, 5th and 16th?

If Miki has an edge over Sasha at Worlds she does not have it on the biggest stage which is the Olympics.

Both were good GP skaters. Miki has been a much more consistent jumper than Sasha but stylistically I would rather watch Sasha, if nothing else for the suspense she brought to her LP's.

I am sure Miki fans see it differently and that's

 

[jaylee]

What I'd like to hear is whether Yu Na should really have beaten Miki on PCS in the SP at worlds. Yu Na was far from her best. Her flex-foot layback was painful to watch. Her jumps weren't on. But even so there was that magical fluidity in her movement and her line - I loved her towering Biellmann. Is that enough to outweigh Miki's perfect, expressive SP - one of the best performances she's ever given, IMO? It's hard for me to call. I would have given it to Miki.

I think the way Miki's SP was structured--all 3 jumps done back to back--hurt her PCS all around. The music is gorgeous, but the way she ticks off each jump immediately means the choreography is not balanced throughout, and that affects transitions/choreography/interpretation.

I'd agree that Miki was the one to beat last season and she did dominate the competition, winning all but one. She dominated in the sense of winning; not dominated in the sense of blowing everyone out of the water. Either way, she only lost once last season. Her consistency was ridiculous, going clean at almost every event. Granted, she was against a somewhat depleted field with Yu-Na out all season and Mao going through her problems, but she went out and did her job, did it well and was rewarded for it.

I can't wrap my head around this idea of Miki "dominating" via wins this season when it is obvious that her wins depended on a higher amount of luck and more of her competitors making unexpected mistakes than other "dominant" skaters in the past. Miki didn't up her game technically; she never attempted a 3/3 in the LP, and didn't attempt a 2A/3T until the GPF (then she opted out of it at Worlds). It is easier to be consistent when you're not attempting any difficult jumping elements, and her layout was designed to get her extra points without extra risk, and at the expense of having a choreographically balanced program.

I remember that the media put Michelle Kwan through heck for not attempting a 3F in the SP at 2000 Nationals, so she put it in at 2000 Worlds. Michelle was also continually asked about whether or not she'd do a 3/3 and whether or not she'd have a 2nd 3/3. Apparently standards are no longer the same, and we don't expect the leaders in ladies FS to be attempting the most difficult triples they can in the SP, or attempt a difficult combination at all in the FS, as long as they get the win.

I don't equate Miki's win at Worlds this year with any of the ones from the 2007-2010 quad, including her own in 2007. I don't see Miki as ever having really been dominant, but I think she comes closer to that definition in 2006-2007 when she won only one GP and Worlds than this year because her 3/3 made her a more formidable challenger and she didn't have to require on competitor's mistakes as much to win (she still needed some, though). She was also pushing the envelope technically. Not so this year even if she ended up winning more. Interesting that Miki was less consistent in 2006-2007 (bombing at the GPF, some problems at 2006 TEB) with a much harder jumping layout. This year she was more consistent with an easier jumping layout. Personally, I prefer Miki in 2006-2007.

Miki's a decent skater, but she's a killer competitor and that's where she's able to gain the edge. When others make mistakes, she's able to cash in on them. I think both Yu-Na and Mao are better overall skaters than Miki, but Miki is a tough competitor...you can't count her out b/c she never counts herself out.

I didn't see "killer" competitiveness throughout this season--she was nervous and very iffy during her Worlds 2011 LP, hence her bailing out on her one difficult combination. It was significantly inferior to her 4CCs LP. Miki went into the 2010 GPF as the top qualifier, and then immediately blew her chance at a medal (the GPF has never been good to Miki; even her 2009 silver medal there could've been better had she pushed it in the LP instead of skating tentatively). I think her results became better this season because she watered down her LP layout to maximize the points with minimal effort this season, and lucked out that skaters who had more challenging layouts made large enough errors for her to get the win. But that doesn't make her a better mental competitor...in my eyes.

Miki tends to skate better when the pressure is not on her. She wasn't the favorite at 2007 Worlds, 2009, or 2010. I give her credit for 2011 4CCs where she did skate well, but at the same time, she had momentum from having defeated Mao at Japan Nationals. But then at Worlds, that confidence wasn't there in the LP.

She definitely has come a long way from the skater who just gave up at the 2006 Olympics. Actually, I was angry on Miki's behalf with Dick Button for his scathing remarks during her 2006 Olympics LP, and I applauded her comeback the next season in which she upped her game technically and made improvements artistically. I respected her win at 2007 Worlds even though I don't rewatch her performances. I just don't feel that way about her win at Worlds this season. Frontloaded SP, backloaded LP, no 3/3--is this really the direction that ladies figure skating should be headed? Oof. :think:

Miki's had a great career and she should be proud of her accomplishments, but the standard she set this season can certainly be surpassed and going back to the topic, I hope some of the other ladies do next season. Like Mirai, Adelina, and Elizaveta. I eagerly look forward to how Adelina and Elizaveta will do and if they'll take their skating to another level when they debut on the senior GP.

 

[Nitsbrins]

Burtu

***? I do not believe

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

It really does seem to boil down to semantics (silverlake used dream season with Czisny as if it meant the same thing as dominant).

Back to the future!

Doesnt it seem like next season is truly wide open? In all other events, it seems like the battle for top spot will focus on two or three individuals/teams, but not in ladies. I can think of a half dozen ladies (Ando, Czisny, Kostner, Asada, Kim, Nagasu) I expect to battle for the podium, and that's not forgetting Leonova/Marakova/Murakami/Lepisto who can compete with two clean programs.

 

[janetfan]

It really does seem to boil down to semantics (silverlake used dream season with Czisny as if it meant the same thing as dominant).

Back to the future!

Doesnt it seem like next season is truly wide open? In all other events, it seems like the battle for top spot will focus on two or three individuals/teams, but not in ladies. I can think of a half dozen ladies (Ando, Czisny, Kostner, Asada, Kim, Nagasu) I expect to battle for the podium, and that's not forgetting Leonova/Marakova/Murakami/Lepisto who can compete with two clean programs.

I agree and as far as the GP events go let's not forget Adelina and Liza or Kiira, Rachael and others.

 

[emma]

... Doesnt it seem like next season is truly wide open? In all other events, it seems like the battle for top spot will focus on two or three individuals/teams, but not in ladies. I can think of a half dozen ladies (Ando, Czisny, Kostner, Asada, Kim, Nagasu) I expect to battle for the podium, and that's not forgetting Leonova/Marakova/Murakami/Lepisto who can compete with two clean programs.

For the first time in a few years, I'm truly excited about the ladies discipline (always love to watch them, but haven't been "into them" much lately with like 2-3 exceptions); but your are right, it does seem so wide open next year, and i can't wait to see who steps up, what they skate to, how well, and so forth.

 

[kwanatic]

I think Miki has improved a lot but, like I said, she's doesn't beat the top skaters if they skate their best. Still, she beat everyone...margin doesn't matter. When you look at it, Miki was tough to beat last season; regardless of how everyone else skated, she held it together and won. Give credit where credit is due...she had a good year. That doesn't mean she's the superior skater, that just means she was in a groove competitively last year and was able to replicate her clean performances multiple times in a row and that led to wins.

Taking an easier route was the smarter thing to do last season where no one tried a 3-3 harder than a toe-toe. Miki played the system and won...just as Carolina did. Simple as that. I don't necessarily agree with it, but I get it. An easier layout executed cleanly is better than a harder layout with mistakes...sometimes (see P. Chiddy's splatacular GP win for the exception). Miki and Carolina took advantage of Yu-Na's absence and Mao's slump by going the easy route and it paid off. Now, had Yu-Na been competing and if Mao was back in form, chances are that number of wins would be significantly reduced...BUT they weren't there and not in form, and Miki capitalized on that, skated cleanly and walked away with five of six gold medals last season.

Of course, none of that will matter next season b/c the Russian Babies are coming in, armed with an array of 3-3s and 2-3s. Playing the easy route won't be an option next season b/c these girls are tough. Reputation can carry skaters a bit of the way, but they will need the tech content to back it up. So Miki, Mirai, Rachael and all of these others who are rumored to have a 3-3 better work hard this summer...

In October, the new generation arrives to shake things up... I can't wait!

 

[fanniewaters]

If history is telling in any way, it is clear that every cycle (Olympic) there are skaters who were so-called Babies (regardless of nationality) who emerge to become top contenders at the senior level "just-in-time" for the Olympics. Will be exciting to watch the progress of the many Russian ladies. Will also be oddly thrilling to hear about all the inevitable back (stabbing) stories as the struggle for those top positions unfolds in the coming 2-3 years. There's obviously a lot of incentive money being thrown around, but they all won't make it, and inequities in the distribution of money are inevitable.

 

[silverlake22]

^ All this dumping on Miki is making me mad. Sure, best Mao and best Yu Na trump best Miki but when did we see best Mao and best Yu Na this season? PTfan seems to want to chop Miki down to nothing in a rather oddly obsessive way. Who is claiming Miki is as great as Midori, Janet Lynn, or Sasha Cohen? (A: Nobody.) But she had a great season and also, at her best, is a beautiful skater.

What I'd like to hear is whether Yu Na should really have beaten Miki on PCS in the SP at worlds. Yu Na was far from her best. Her flex-foot layback was painful to watch. Her jumps weren't on. But even so there was that magical fluidity in her movement and her line - I loved her towering Biellmann. Is that enough to outweigh Miki's perfect, expressive SP - one of the best performances she's ever given, IMO? It's hard for me to call. I would have given it to Miki.

ITA. And when I say dominating, I mean in the sense of WINNING, she won all but one competition in which she was entered in last season, and still won the FS at the one competition she didn't win. It doesn't matter that she wasn't pushing the envelope technically or winning by huge margins, she was a roll, and was the one to beat, and I consider that domination. I could see how some might not see it that way.

Also, I see a double standard here, because I don't see people saying Alissa's good results this season were just due to the field being depleted, but everyone seems to think that was the case for Miki. I actually think having the majority of ladies attempting fairly simple content this past season allowed them to focus more on the artistic side of their skating, and I for one will personally say I saw great development in these areas for Alissa, Carolina, and Miki. I mean, Miki's SP brought out a whole new, really expressive, side of her, Carolina's FS was exquisite, and Alissa's FS brought her elegance to the new level. Further, skaters like Alissa, Carolina, Mao, etc are beautiful and incredibly talented, so I don't get how people consider Miki "mediocre" or whatever considering she beat all of them at least once this season. You have to give credit where credit is due.

Also, regarding Yuna "bombing" at the 07 Worlds, her SP was fantastic and makes up a little for her FS, which though error-ridden still scored a respectable 114, just about 5 points lower than what she scored for her FS at TEB and the GPF earlier that season where she managed to win gold. For these reasons, I don't consider Yuna's performance at Worlds that year "bombing".

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

1. All results last season were due to the depleted field, make no mistake.

2. If you're gonna say even when she lost, she on the LP, than you might as well point out that even when she won, she lost the SP (CoR, Worlds). You might as well point out that she not only lost the one event, she came in fifth (of a field of 6th, and the only one she beat was Flatt at her worst). I really don't see how narrowly winning implies domination. Honestly.

3. But even if we believe otherwise (re: the depleted field), it's because of the following: Alissa improved technically. She improved artistically. So while her good results were the consequence of a lesser field, I feel entirely confident that the Alissa of 2010/11 would do better than the Alissa of 2008/09, 09/10. Miki lessened the technical content. While I was hugely impressed with her SP (I really do think it was beautiful), I (when I eventually saw it) was largely nonplussed by her LP, artistically or athletically.

4. It does seem we really differ on the semantics of the whole thing, though.