Good grief! What happened to Kiri Baga in the free? I notice deductions -3.00--did she have 3 falls? Is she sick or injured or just melted down under pressure?
She did have 3 falls. It was a meltdown.
Good grief! What happened to Kiri Baga in the free? I notice deductions -3.00--did she have 3 falls? Is she sick or injured or just melted down under pressure?
She did have 3 falls. It was a meltdown.
I just saw a picture of the Jr. ladies podium on icenetwork and that Agnes girl is an amazon! How tall is she? She looks a foot taller than everyone else and must be around 5'8", amazing she can land those jumps!
I just saw Nina Jiang's FS at National's. She doubled her 2nd 3S, but otherwise she skated a very good program. She grew a lot artistically/presentation-wise, and a lot less nervous in the FS than in the SP, where she seemed to never settle down. She has a very solid 3T and 3S, and a big 2A. Too bad she singled her 2A in the SP, otherwise she'd be on the podium. She definitely looked more mature than her 12 years there, on center ice in that big stadium.
Nina has long arms and legs, and moves quickly and lightly over the ice -- reminds me of a young Mirai Nagasu. Actually, she also has a lyrical sense of musicality, like a young Caroline Zhang. It's a great combination! She doesn't yet have the harder triples, but at 12 she's doing quite well. I wonder if she will get assigned to a JGP in the fall. She will have turned 13 in time (April). And I guess she will almost surely stay junior next year. She probably won't turn senior until she medals at JGP or JW, so as to be guaranteed of a GP spot. I guess her season is over now. I hope she can work on the harder triples over the summer and make them consistent enough to put into programs. I hear that her 3 loop is getting close.
ETA: oh, my goodness, she gives the cutest interview later on the in IN coverage. She says, "... I wanted to show out there that I have matured, that I have grown up, and I can do what I need to do..." and nods her head authoritatively as she says this. Then she's asked about the Olympics in 4 years, and she says she sees herself there as a competitor...
Shades of how Caroline was promoted when she first came on the junior scene (they're exactly one Olympic cycle apart). Hope it won't end as disappointingly in four years... But I think Nina is better positioned. She has better speed and jump technique than Caroline, and is skating with a more grown-up body at 12 than Caroline was at 12.
ETA2: maybe a cross between a young Caroline and young Mirai is a young Yu-na? Now that I think about it, I think it is a young Yu-na that she reminds me the most of. But Yu-na already had all 5 triples by 12. Yu-na really was a prodigy...
Christina Gao who was 5th in senior ladies is a cross between young Caroline and young Mirai and reminds me a lot of junior grand prix Yuna. She had a great 3t-3t and 3lz-2t-2lo and her overall skating reminds me a lot of Yuna. She trains with Yuna in Toronto and Brian Orser is her coach. She has improved so much since last year.