What would have happened...Asada in 2006 Oly? | Golden Skate

What would have happened...Asada in 2006 Oly?

KellyWil70

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Nov 10, 2004
OK, so I am thinking?? Was 2006 a "what would have happened for Mao" had she been 2-3 months older? Anyone have COP comparison for this? Are her best days behind her? FLAME AWAY!!!
 

Blades of Passion

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There's no way of knowing what she would have done at 2006 Olympics. She may have skated like she did at the GPF or she may have skated like she did at Junior Worlds.

I don't think she would have won either way. Her presentation ability lacked depth. Arakawa is still the most likely winner, when you look at how well she was skating. Arakawa with 5 Triples in the LP at the Olympics (and no 3-3 in the SP) scored higher than what Mao got at the GPF.
 
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Kwanford Wife

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There's no way of knowing what she would have done at 2006 Olympics. She may have skated like she did at the GPF or she may have skated like she did at Junior Worlds.

I don't think she would have won either way. Her presentation ability lacked depth. Arakawa is still the most likely winner, when you look at how well she was skating. Arakawa with 5 Triples in the LP at the Olympics (and no 3-3 in the SP) scored higher than what Mao got at the GPF.

Did she??? Wow... never knew that... What I did know was that her Ina Bauer took my breath away...
 

janetfan

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There's no way of knowing what she would have done at 2006 Olympics. She may have skated like she did at the GPF or she may have skated like she did at Junior Worlds.

I don't think she would have won either way. Her presentation ability lacked depth. Arakawa is still the most likely winner, when you look at how well she was skating. Arakawa with 5 Triples in the LP at the Olympics (and no 3-3 in the SP) scored higher than what Mao got at the GPF.

I agree and seem to remember Mao made several big mistakes when she finaly did get to Worlds in '07. So did Yuna.
I don't think Mao or Yuna could have beat Shiz in 06, or that their '07 skating would have beat '06 Shiz either.

It never happened so we will never know.
 

prettykeys

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Oct 19, 2009
Ability-wise, I think Mao very well could have won the gold at 2006 Oly's, but even back then she was widely considered the best Japanese ladies skater, so I think she would have had a lot of pressure. It's hard to say how a 15 year old Mao would have handled it, but I think she would have handled it fine. She was fearless and very confident at the time.

Mao's best SP + LP that year beats Shizuka's 2006 total score. Yes, Shizuka downgraded some elements she may have risked were she more threatened, but in every event that Mao and Shizuka were both attending, Mao came out on top, and Mao was more consistent that year (nothing lower than 2nd place finishes everywhere she went.)

In the following season, Mao was breaking and setting records. :p

So my guess would have to go to Mao winning.
 

janetfan

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Ability-wise, I think Mao very well could have won the gold at 2006 Oly's, but even back then she was widely considered the best Japanese ladies skater, so I think she would have had a lot of pressure. It's hard to say how a 15 year old Mao would have handled it, but I think she would have handled it fine. She was fearless and very confident at the time.

Mao's best SP + LP that year beats Shizuka's 2006 total score. Yes, Shizuka downgraded some elements she may have risked were she more threatened, but in every event that Mao and Shizuka were both attending, Mao came out on top, and Mao was more consistent that year (nothing lower than 2nd place finishes everywhere she went.)

In the following season, Mao was breaking and setting records. :p

So my guess would have to go to Mao winning.

I could go with that. I used Mao's first big event - '07 Worlds where she made major mistakes in both programs. I wonder if Mao could not handle pressure of Worlds at 16 if she could have handled it at Olympics at 15.
That's why I said we will never know. She might have skated great and won.
 

Blades of Passion

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Mao scored more at 2007 Worlds than Arakawa at the Olympics.

Still, I think Arakawa would have performed the 3Sal-3Toe at the Olympics if there had been the threat of people skating so well technically.
 
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Aug 16, 2009
What a great thread! I suppose Mao could have won, but even if she hadn't seized up with nerves, a lot would have depended on whether the judges wanted to reward yet another young skater with a triple-triple and a rather juvenile artistic style. As Kwanford Wife says, Shizuka's Ina Bauer was pretty breathtaking, and her jumps were just fine. Who knows; she might have pulled it off even faced with Asada's triple Axel.

I'd like to submit that things may end up working out better for Mao this way. Bear with me on this! I know it doesn't look great for her right now, but if you compare the skating contributions of meteors like Lipinski with those of long-burning suns like Kwan, I think Mao could end up having a more meaningful career this way. (Assuming she wouldn't have stayed on the eligible track if she'd won in '06--we could argue it the other way too, of course. That's the fun of "what if"!) I still maintain that she is a rare talent, not just a jumping wunderkind, and her musicality can make her stand out in skating history as well as just at the moment. Shizuka's long career span is reassuring here: look at how her experience added to her finesse at Torino.

I hate to think of eighteen-year-olds as has-beens, which may be why I'm putting this spin on things. But when I look at Mao's skating, I see something very few of her contemporaries have. (Except for YuNa, of course.) She has a way of interpreting music that rivets my attention. It's the same thing I saw in Paul Wylie during those years when he came in fourth, and sixth, and worse. So I live in hope and look toward 2010 and even 2014, not back to 2006.
 
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Nothing wrong with Mao. She is a beautiful skater and was acknowledged for it in 2007 Worlds. Her trespacing around the globe looking for some other coach did not turn out for her. It's mostly that horrendous (imo) music she is using which is a downer. Only a Russian can understand that C#Minor Concerto. The opening bells to me forbear doom ahead. and I immediately think of John Dunne and his poetry which reads in part: For Whom the Bells Toll; They Toll for thee. Scary! Too late now to change but in future something more lively, please. She is too talented to be stuck with that kind of music. She is not a dramatic actress.
 

janetfan

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Mao scored more at 2007 Worlds than Arakawa at the Olympics.

Still, I think Arakawa would have performed the 3Sal-3Toe at the Olympics if there had been the threat of people skating so well technically.

Points, schmoints - CoP voodoo :laugh:
I have seen both programs and if Mao skated at Torino the way she did at '07 Worlds that would not have beaten Shiz.
Mao had a fall in each program, and if it had been Olympic pressure of '06 as opposed to Worlds pressure of '07 it is not too hard to consider Mao would have been even worse.
 
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janetfan

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Nothing wrong with Mao. She is a beautiful skater and was acknowledged for it in 2007 Worlds. Her trespacing around the globe looking for some other coach did not turn out for her. It's mostly that horrendous (imo) music she is using which is a downer. Only a Russian can understand that C#Minor Concerto. The opening bells to me forbear doom ahead. and I immediately think of John Dunne and his poetry which reads in part: For Whom the Bells Toll; They Toll for thee. Scary! Too late now to change but in future something more lively, please. She is too talented to be stuck with that kind of music. She is not a dramatic actress.

Tat likes to go with what she knows and what has worked for her in the past.

But I think she took it a step too far with Mao.

Maybe Yagudin could pull of Bells but it is quite a stretch for Mao. There are only a few moments in the entire program that work for me. A couple of spots , some of the steps do look brilliant. But overall I think Tat shows that she is not a master of Cop choreo.
Poor Tat, she is an artist - and not a schlocky "pointmeister."
 

prettykeys

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I hate to think of eighteen-year-olds as has-beens, which may be why I'm putting this spin on things. But when I look at Mao's skating, I see something very few of her contemporaries have. (Except for YuNa, of course.) She has a way of interpreting music that rivets my attention. It's the same thing I saw in Paul Wylie during those years when he came in fourth, and sixth, and worse. So I live in hope and look toward 2010 and even 2014, not back to 2006.
Yeah, I definitely don't want to take away from Shizuka's accomplishment. She was and still is a lovely, talented skater.

However, well, the other thread mentions Mao's "floating style" which TBH I have never seen such light fluidity in any other skater--without need for excepting YuNa, who is exceptional for different reasons.

Going on the same vein as your "What If", I wonder if Mao's theoretical winning Gold would have made it harder for YuNa to rise over the years. I hate to think of it that way, but it could have. How much would it suck to compete against a same-aged rival introduced as "Olympic Gold Medalist Maooo!!"?

But you are right, if Mao becomes a phoenix this way, there may be a more compelling story to tell. :)
 

Blades of Passion

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Points, schmoints - CoP voodoo :laugh:
I have seen both programs and if Mao skated at Torino the way she did at '07 Worlds that would not have beaten Shiz.
Mao had a fall in each program, and if it had been Olympic pressure of '06 as opposed to Worlds pressure of '07 it is not too hard to consider Mao would have been even worse.

Mao didn't fall at 2007 Worlds?

She popped the second part of her combination in the SP and she double-footed her 3Toe in combination in the LP. Those were her only mistakes. Her LP was incredibly difficult technically.

Shiz definitely would have deserved to win the second mark, though.
 

ManyCairns

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Poor Tat, she is an artist - and not a schlocky "pointmeister."

OMG that has GOT to be the most succinct yet telling way of expressing one of the things I hate most about programs designed for COP! What a great analogy, artist v. schlocky pointmeister. Ouch! for COP.
 

janetfan

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OMG that has GOT to be the most succinct yet telling way of expressing one of the things I hate most about programs designed for COP! What a great analogy, artist v. schlocky pointmeister. Ouch! for COP.

Once in a while I have great moments of inspiration,
I was going to say on the previous post "schlocky Cop pointmeister" but wasn't in the mood for any rants from the young'uns so I tried to tone it down. But you saw right through it. :p

Please feel free to use it as your own.
"Use it long and use it often" :laugh:
 

janetfan

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Mao didn't fall at 2007 Worlds?

She popped the second part of her combination in the SP and she double-footed her 3Toe in combination in the LP. Those were her only mistakes. Her LP was incredibly difficult technically.

Shiz definitely would have deserved to win the second mark, though.

Thanks for pointing that out. I will give it a look - haven't seen it for a while. Maybe it wasYuna who sat down in her LP at 07 Worlds.
 

evangeline

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Nov 7, 2007
OMG that has GOT to be the most succinct yet telling way of expressing one of the things I hate most about programs designed for COP! What a great analogy, artist v. schlocky pointmeister. Ouch! for COP.

I disagree with the statement that there is such a strict dichotomy between "artist" and "pointmeister" in CoP. Tatiana Tarasova may not have found a way of balancing between the two, but choreographers such as Salome Brunner and Tom Dickson, IMO, have designed programs for CoP that are artistic and rack up the points.
 

janetfan

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I disagree with the statement that there is such a strict dichotomy between "artist" and "pointmeister" in CoP. Tatiana Tarasova may not have found a way of balancing between the two, but choreographers such as Salome Brunner and Tom Dickson, IMO, have designed programs for CoP that are artistic and rack up the points.

Hi E,
I like Dickson but haven't seen very much of his work lately. Has he done programs for this season, if so which skaters?
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
OK, but what about this? If Mao Asada had been age eligible in 2006, the Japanese federation might not have sent Arakawa to the Olympic at all. They might have sent Suguri, Asada and Ando.

Fumie Suguri won Japanese nationals in December, 2005, with Asada second. Arakawa was third, but she was coming off a so-so 2005 fall; season following an atrocious 2004-05 season in which she finished 9th at worlds, did not make the Grand Prix final, and did not compete at Nationals.

Miki Ando had a down year in 2005-06 (sixth at Nationals), but was coming off a great year in which she won both the junior and the senior Japanese national championships, the junior grand prix final, and junior worlds. She was the future along with Mao, plus there were a lot of rumors about how Miki's many commercial sponsors kept the pressure on the Japanese federation to send her to the Olympics no matter what.

The Japanese federation might have decided that Ando was still on her way up, while Arakawa was on the way down (she had wanted to retire after 2004, but let the federation talk her out of it.)
 
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bekalc

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Nov 1, 2006
Originally Posted by Blades of Passion
Mao didn't fall at 2007 Worlds?

She popped the second part of her combination in the SP and she double-footed her 3Toe in combination in the LP. Those were her only mistakes. Her LP was incredibly difficult technically.

Shiz definitely would have deserved to win the second mark, though.

Mao's 3axel was SLIGHLTLY doublefooted. And her 3toe in her double axel/3toe was called underrotated. although she did have a 3flip/3loop in there...

As for Shiz it's hard to know if she was actually more challenged technically I think that Shiz might have done more. Although she could have faltered too.

Plus, I don't think we can say that Mao would have done everything cleanly at the Olympics, either. She would have had huge amounts of pressure on her and she wasn't that experienced either. I mean look at how Mao bombed (2006 Junior Worlds)

Kim too would have been pretty competitive in Torino as well if she was there.

Math, Fumie might not have won Japanese Nationals if Arakawa was in danger. The positions of the Japanese nationals, magically ensured that the team memembers Japan wanted to send to the Olympics automatically got to go to the Olympics.

I.e Fumie needed to win Japanese Nationals in order to have the right amount of points.
 
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