the new michelle kwan?

Taan · Oct 18, 2008

http://stll-fi.directo.fi/finlandia_trophy/video/karen_zhou/
:biggrin:

a lovely USA skater, soft, lyrical, expressive, well rounded with formidable triple jumps!

Tinymavy15 · Oct 18, 2008

Wow? where has this girl been? She really has been under the radar, but I hope to see her at nats. was that a 3/3 she did? This is getting interesting.....

ks777 · Oct 18, 2008

She is from the US. She got most of her triples downgraded at the Finlandia trophy. She doesn't reminds me of Michelle Kwan at all. Her hair reminds me of Caroline though.

Mathman · Oct 18, 2008

Accoding to her bio at USFS, she is 17 and graduated from high school last year (a year early, having skpped the eighth grade). She was selected the Most Outstanding Student in her school in Advance Placement Calculus, Algebra 3 and French. :yes: :clap:

Michelle Kwan? Last year (age 16) Zhou got 16th place at US. Senior Nationals.

By the way, one of her coaches is Michelle's sister.

efreedman · Oct 18, 2008

Heiress-Apparent?

Taan said:
http://stll-fi.directo.fi/finlandia_trophy/video/karen_zhou/

a lovely USA skater, soft, lyrical, expressive, well rounded with formidable triple jumps!

Nice skate, but I don't see Michelle in her at all nor do I think that she is the heiress-apparent

AdamFan · Oct 18, 2008

Karen has really improve since Nationals! Perhaps she will be a late bloomer like Kerrigan? There is some real potential there if she can rotate her jumps. She really seems to hesitate and take a long time setting up her jumps.

What is going on with her tights? I can't believe Karen Kwan let her go out there with them 1/2 way over her skates. It was very distracting and did NOT help her line.

BravesSkateFan · Oct 19, 2008

If I'm not confusing her with someone else, I believe she is coached by Karen Kwan.

Tenorguy · Oct 19, 2008

Sorry but I don't see any Michelle in this girl whatsoever....

The entrances into her jumps seem especially delayed, and there is hardly any line in her leg line and her interpretation of the music is pretty nil. A proficient jumper, that is who I see now.

Could she develop into a Michelle style? Sure, anything is possible but for now, no - not for me.

Tinymavy15 · Oct 19, 2008

Tenorguy said:
Sorry but I don't see any Michelle in this girl whatsoever....

The entrances into her jumps seem especially delayed, and there is hardly any line in her leg line and her interpretation of the music is pretty nil. A proficient jumper, that is who I see now.

Could she develop into a Michelle style? Sure, anything is possible but for now, no - not for me.

Actually she has more star quality than Marai or Caroline. She may not be as flexible, but has beautiful lines. Look out... if she can repeat we will have another contender come Nationals

vlaurend · Oct 20, 2008

Tinymavy15 said:
Actually she has more star quality than Marai or Caroline. She may not be as flexible, but has beautiful lines. Look out... if she can repeat we will have another contender come Nationals

Having seen them perform in person many times, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Karen is a lovely skater (she actually reminds me most of Karen Kwan in her competitive days), but does not have Caroline's star quality or Mirai's charisma or power. She also has no triple-triples and is unlikely to get them at this point. However, she is remarkably consistent and the downgrades she got at Finlandia were not typical for her.

chuckm · Oct 20, 2008

vlaurend said:
Having seen them perform in person many times, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Karen is a lovely skater (she actually reminds me most of Karen Kwan in her competitive days), but does not have Caroline's star quality or Mirai's charisma or power. She also has no triple-triples and is unlikely to get them at this point. However, she is remarkably consistent and the downgrades she got at Finlandia were not typical for her.

However, Karen has been skating pretty much domestically, and I don't think the USFS techs are as vigilant as the ISU techs. Remember how Ashley Wagner won bronze at US Nationals and then got creamed at 4CC and Worlds for URs?

Binthere · Oct 20, 2008

Not sure I see it in the skating... but how nice there is a Kwan Konnection. KK looks very happy.

iceminx · Oct 20, 2008

Tinymavy15 said:
Wow? where has this girl been? She really has been under the radar, but I hope to see her at nats. was that a 3/3 she did? This is getting interesting.....

She was at the last nationals. She placed 16th.
(I agree that her style is more similar to Karen than Michelle, maybe the closest current comparison I'd make is Yebin Mok.)

feraina · Oct 20, 2008

I saw Karen Zhou at Golden West. She had good skates and reliable jumps, but she didn't remind me of either Michelle Kwan or Caroline Zhang. Aside from her also being Asian American.

ks777 · Oct 21, 2008

iceminx said:
She was at the last nationals. She placed 16th.
(I agree that her style is more similar to Karen than Michelle, maybe the closest current comparison I'd make is Yebin Mok.)

no way, she doesn't remind me of Yebin Mok at all. Yebin had one of the most beautiful triple lutz!! Yebin reminded me of Yuka Sato. Yebin was a very smooth, beautiful skater.

Tonichelle · Oct 21, 2008

I really feel sorry for skaters who get hyped as the next "so and so" - that's a lot of pressure for no reason other than some fans want to cling to the past.

Jeff Buttle got it with the whole "Next Kurt Browning" (which I never saw in him) and now a host of little girls are being touted as the next MK.

Why can't they just be the "next big thing" and then let them keep their own names?

AwesomeIce · Oct 21, 2008

There will never be a "new Michelle Kwan." She was a once in a lifetime skater, and I don't expect to see anyone like her for as long as I live.

the new michelle kwan?

Taan

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win

ks777

Mathman

efreedman

AdamFan

BravesSkateFan

Tenorguy

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win

vlaurend

chuckm

Binthere

iceminx

feraina

ks777

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

AwesomeIce

Match Penalty

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