She (girl Zhang) is not tiny. I believe she is the bigest one amoung the girls in top 3 chinese pair.anniemg said:Well she's so tiny and strong...I'm sure they can do it. Then again, I thought S/Z could have landed it at the Olympics as well but didnt. The nerves will always be a factor.
soogar said:After the crap that happened at Worlds when T&M accused the Zhangs of deliberately crashing into them, I'd like to see the Zhangs kick their a$$es.
mzheng said:Talk about chinese pairs. I still remember couple of season ago, they were widely critisized by fans on internet that their throw and twist like throw a bag of potato....seems judges don't mind give them higher tech marks for these throws and twists. And coaches and athletes from other country don't mind, imited on their throw 'Biger' and twist 'Higher'......Indeed the sports is evolving, new standard kept being setup.
hockeyfan228 said:The criticism on the twist is that the men do them on two feet and the women don't do a big split. Practically no men do the twist on one foot, so they're not the only ones being criticized, and the de-emphasis on the split has been codified into CoP, where anything over 90 degrees can help get a higher GOE, but it isn't expected.
attyfan said:Ditto! However, since Alexei Tikhnov spoke up in defense of the Zhangs, I'd like to see him and his partner do well in Olys, also.
It sounded more like Vasiliev's idea than T&M's. He had already decided that Zhang was too aggressive in the warmup. (Given Vasiliev's own reputation for aggressiveness when he was a skater, is it "takes one to know one" or projection?) The collision happened quickly, and T/M weren't even watching until the last second. To have come all that way only to be potentially wiped out in the warm-up must have been pretty creepy and her pain was real, but how much of the description was theirs and how much was what Vasiliev observed?soogar said:After the crap that happened at Worlds when T&M accused the Zhangs of deliberately crashing into them, I'd like to see the Zhangs kick their a$$es.
Me too, I've been warming up to this team in last couple of seasons, their personality and skating.attyfan said:Ditto! However, since Alexei Tikhnov spoke up in defense of the Zhangs, I'd like to see him and his partner do well in Olys, also.
hockeyfan228 said:I love the Zhangs, but having seen them both live at Worlds over the last couple of years, they aren't comparable to T/M when it comes to edges, flow, and ice coverage. (Although I think she has beautiful arms and hands, and they are my favorite Chinese pair. I was disappointed to read on FSU that Pang/Tong have a beautifully choreographed LP, and the Zhangs' is just okay.)
That is their reputation, but it's mostly because of Tong. Dick Button called him the "Nureyev" of skating. I would love to see him paired with Julia Obertas and have Moskvina retrain him on throw technique and give him that extra ounce of polish.mzheng said:Well, from what I read in chinese (an interview with Bin Yao) and translated Rusian article. most international judges and Rusian experts think Pang/Tong is the most 'artistry' team amoung top chinese pairs. Peggy's opinion as well.
Agreed.Ptichka said:I think Pang & Tong have a potential to be even more loved in the West than S&Z. For a Western eyes, P&T are more beautiful (from a conventional, not skating perspective), and I think it's important for the love of Western audience.
Just read from a chinese board that Sarah Kawahara is Pang/Tong's choreographer this season.hockeyfan228 said:I was disappointed to read on FSU that Pang/Tong have a beautifully choreographed LP, and the Zhangs' is just okay.)