Let me clarify.
Do I prefer Carolina's flip to Yuna's flip? Yes.
Do I prefer Yuna's lutz to Carolina's lutz? Yes.
Do I wish Carolina doesn't take that long to set up her jumps? Yes.
Do I like the top 3 girls? Way more than the rest, save Akiko.
Do I like one girl in the top 3 more than the others? Yes
Do I think one girl in the top 3 are better than the other 2 in every ways? No
Caro's telegraphed jumps have SO MANY other qualities that she regularly got +2 GOE anyway. That's why I responded to a few people who clearly had no understanding of what GOE is, and kept on saying how terrible her telegraphed jumps are. If they are so bad, why do they get big GOE every time she landed them cleanly?
The problem is that it's a lot easier to get a better jump when you skate across 1/3-1/2 of the rink setting it up. Every step and transition you take into those jumps is something that can lead to an imbalance going into the jump, which can affect the jump itself. You can hit a rut, slip, whatever. Anything can happen. People who skate know the different. It's one thing to skate straight into a jump using 1/3-1/2 the rink the set up. The jump feels completely different when you take footwork into it. It doesn't feel as stable or secure, and it requires a higher level of technical proficiency. That is why skaters are REWARDED for taking transitions in and out of their jumps. It displays a higher level of balance and proficiency. That is factored into the PCS as well as the GOE on those jumps, by the way.
GOE is based on bullets. It's objective. No one would say Asada is as good a jumper as Kim or Kostner yet she gets just as much good GOE on her jumps. The judges will always fudge the numbers, as long as they have room to do so. It's the way it's always been, and it's the way it always will be.
I have a hard time stating (with such authority) that Kostner has better skating skills/transitions than skaters like Kim and even some lesser skaters, when she enters her jumps like a Novice skater.
Slutskaya was lambasted for telegraphing her jumps pre-CoP, yet this is okay?
Generally I think Kostner is a bit overrated, but that's just me. Mao is a bit overrated because of her inability to jump properly, but apparently a [dubious, and fairly inconsistent] 3A is enough to erase all those faults. Kim is a complete wild card as her history is filled with competitions where she could have won by default had she hit her programs, yet she made costly mistakes that left her as far down as 3rd or 4th place. Osmond is bleh - program overloaded like a Junior skater and people think that should equate to auto-8's or higher in PCS. Gold is unproven and we still have no idea how the international judges would score a Nationals-type program from her (cause she's never done it outside of the US as a Senior). Wagner isn't getting on the podium without a 3/3 or at least a 2A/3T unless she has help. I'm still trying to figure out what Suzuki's program is about, and Kanako shouldn't even be beating skaters like Zijun Li at this point given her issues (and she has many - e.g. I'm horrified how people can criticize Gao's posture yet ignore the posture of skaters like Murakami, which is horrible).
I am ready for Sochi to be over, because I'm totally ready for the next quad to begin. The current crop of skaters and their ubers are really turning people off from the sport. Competitions are becoming too predictable (regardless of technical faults of the skaters, this is a sport mind you) due to PCS/GOE fudging and I'm tired explaining the scoring to normal people who had no issues understanding it before this system was introduced. If you look at some of the +2/+3 GOEs being thrown out for jumps and then check the bullets you'd be hard pressed to figure out how the judges arrived at those conclusions.
Also, I HATEHATEHATE the never-ending footwork sequences that travel back and forth 4-5 times down the rink these days. Worst change ever, IMO.
Maybe it is more consistency and I really don't think she feels the m usic or interprets bolero well at all. Just my two bits; she does have nice glide and speed. but for a person known for her jumps she has had huge tendencies to crash and burn or limit the types of triples.
But in her two appearances so far it seemed like she didn't really want to be out there in the first place. Will she bring fire and passion to Worlds?
Maybe no one is her favourite.
