2014 Olympics Ladies Free Skate

[Sam-Skwantch]

Valentina left that sultry fire in Budapest.

She just seems off

 

[mary01]

OMG Mao, I just had to grasp my breath after her skate, SENSATIONAL

I could really not stop my tears, already looking forward to rewatch it 100000000 times

 

[jkun]

Yeah.. If Akiko's skate got 125, Mao's not making the podium. T_T

 

[amateur]

I wasn't going to say anything about this, but Tara is a know-nothing who really needs to be quiet.

She just said that Aikiko was close the edges of the rink because it's a security blanket thing. NO, it's because rinks in Japan are larger than everywhere else which is one of the reasons why Midori Ito fell out of the rink back in the day.

And she said that ALL Canadian girls want to figure skate while the boys want to play hockey. Well...my daughter goes to school in Canada and tells me that ALL of HER Canadian friends (male AND female) scoff at figure skating and even figure skates for casual skating - and are only interested in hockey. Maybe the truth is somewhere in between, but Tara basically is just full of it, man!

Yeah, it might have a moderate level of interest (no idea if that's even shrinking), but certainly not all girls want to figure skate more than they'd want to play hockey here!

 

[ARipp42014]

I really love Valentina's skating and music.

 

[Blades of Passion]

I take my food breaks when Marchei skates, how did she do?

 

[sequinsgalore]

MARCHEI Valentina (ITA)

Music: Nyah (from "Mission Impossible" soundtrack) by Hans Zimmer

Black halter dress, sheer top over sparkles. Red hair ornaments

2A+3T - okay, bit scratchy
3Lz - maybe twofooted
3F - e
2A
FSSp
LSp
StSq
3S
3Lz+2T - diff spiral entry
ChSq - steps, spiral
2S+1T+2T
CCoSp

Very solid skate except the last jumping pass; maybe some iffy landings.

FS: 55.56+60.75 = 116.31 (PB), 173.33 (PB), in 4th (out of 16)

 

[CarneAsada]

Actually, we don't know that. I think it's possible she would have. I think it's amazing that she managed to recover from the utter disasterous performance yesterday and then do so well today. Shows true, true grit.

At the Olympics, she has promised us something twice: 3 3As in Vancouver, an 8-triple LP here. Twice she has delivered, even if the rest of her performance didn't hold up. There's that, at least.

 

[Eevun]

We were jokingly counting the number of "Warhorse" skating routines (AKA overused music pieces). Warponies are not quite warhorses yet.

Warhorse: overplayed music especially during the Olympics (ex. Carmen)
Warpony: borderline warhorse level

Ah, clever thanks!

 

[WeakAnkles]

How long does a skater have to stop after the music does in order to get a music penalty?

 

[Afroskater]

Mao has no chance at Bronze so dont hold your breath. No way the other will get below 120 for their free skates. I mean look at what Meite and Suzuki got after falling and still close to Mao overall

 

[gds102]

Valentina's music is somewhat frightening, but quite like it.

 

[skatedreamer]

Wanted to share this item from Joanne Gerstner of the NY Times -- a very nice post in what has otherwise been a rather snarky live blog:

"My heart breaks for Mao Asada. She had such high hopes coming into Sochi, wanting to contend for gold. Asada, who was 16th after the short, will not win another Olympic medal — but she won back some measure of self-respect. Her free was what Asada’s fans have come to know: fluid, graceful, soulful, and yes, she killed every jump, including the triple axel. She looked like a two-time world champion. So good, leaving everybody, including Asada, to wonder what might of been if that short program had not been so bad. Happy she is ending her Olympic career on a high note.

Asada is crying as she waves to the crowd. She is clearly emotional. And the tears have melted into a smile.

She moves into first place, with a 142.71 free score, overall 198.22. She looks happy."

 

[blue_ice]

Valentina sold her program. What a beauty, what an artist.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I'll laugh if Mao manages to medal.

It's impressive she almost cleared 200, but a medal is unlikely still.

Akiko just got 125 points with a fall and likely some UR jumps. Sotnikova/Kim/Kostner all need 125 to surpass Mao.

Gracie's PB would essentially tie her with Mao. She will likely lose to a clean Lipnitskaia given Lip's 140+ Euro score (with a major error, she'd beat Julia). She also has a shot at surpassing Wagner, who hasn't cracked 130 points this year and needs 134 to surpass her.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

I take my food breaks when Marchei skates, how did she do?

:think: I don't believe you.

 

[ARipp42014]

3rd in the FS, 4th overall
Mao Slayer Count: 7

 

[Mrs. P]

How long does a skater have to stop after the music does in order to get a music penalty?

It's about when they stop. It's supposed to be 4:00 -/+ so basically if they stop under 3:50 or over 4:10, they get -1.

 

[Ambivalent]

Gosh Mao, you break my heart. You have no business being outside the podium.

 

[Rikku]

Valentina Marchei (ITA)....FS = 116.31
Total = 173.33 (into 4th)