Hersh believes that Mirai is the future

Mirai is probably the safest bet for US now. Rachael, as we've already seen, and as expected, is not international judges' favor. But Mirai is still so naive in her skating, and needs years experience to reach other big names' level.

Mirai used to do a 3 sal in her LP. I don't know why she doesn't do it anymore. I don't think she can't do it. She used to do it from Ina Bauer.. that's a very difficult entrance.. We'll probably see it soon again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEPMEIvN_gw

Mirai

In my opinion, Mirai Nagasu is simply the best skater out there and with the most natural ability. Her spins, spirals, laybacks are without peer. Her jumps very good and they will only get better. Her posture, line, postions and foot work exceptional. Joesitz, I don't know what you were looking at, but I see a a skater that has matured tremendously. Flattfan, I only feel sorry for you because unless Mirai has a meltdown or Rachael has a rebirth, Mirai is the future of US Figure Skating and everyone else (Rachael included) is in second place. Rachael can jump and that is absolutely it. There is nothing else there. Could that change? Yes, if she takes her issues seriously and works to change them. I hope she can do that. She is a nice person. If Mirai starts landing her triple-triple in competition it's going to be tough sledding for the other skaters.

kyla2 said:

In my opinion, Mirai Nagasu is simply the best skater out there and with the most natural ability. Her spins, spirals, laybacks are without peer. Her jumps very good and they will only get better. Her posture, line, postions and foot work exceptional. Joesitz, I don't know what you were looking at, but I see a a skater that has matured tremendously. Flattfan, I only feel sorry for you because unless Mirai has a meltdown or Rachael has a rebirth, Mirai is the future of US Figure Skating and everyone else (Rachael included) is in second place. Rachael can jump and that is absolutely it. There is nothing else there. Could that change? Yes, if she takes her issues seriously and works to change them. I hope she can do that. She is a nice person. If Mirai starts landing her triple-triple in competition it's going to be tough sledding for the other skaters.

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Urgh, no. Flatt needs to pick the right program that brings out the bubbly persona. She has the technical goods, it's easier to work on the other stuffs. She's more musical than Mirai. Her footwork is more complex.
Mirai skates really fast, but do you even notice her footwork? Aside from speed, it has nothing, basic turns here and there and then it was at the end of the rink. That's why she always got level 2 or whatever. Her interpretation score is also low because she's not interpreting the music she's skating to at all. Mirai can't compete with Flatt technically and when the judges catch on and ding her flutzes, she's toast. Pretty spins, pretty spiral, but bad jump techniques and flutzes. Who knows what new rules are coming out? Maybe the flutzes will be dinged even harder than now. All flutzes carry a -3 GOE. Actually I hope that's the case. =).

FlattFan said:

Urgh, no. Flatt needs to pick the right program that brings out the bubbly persona. She has the technical goods, it's easier to work on the other stuffs. She's more musical than Mirai. Her footwork is more complex.
Mirai skates really fast, but do you even notice her footwork? Aside from speed, it has nothing, basic turns here and there and then it was at the end of the rink. That's why she always got level 2 or whatever. Her interpretation score is also low because she's not interpreting the music she's skating to at all. Mirai can't compete with Flatt technically and when the judges catch on and ding her flutzes, she's toast. Pretty spins, pretty spiral, but bad jump techniques and flutzes. Who knows what new rules are coming out? Maybe the flutzes will be dinged even harder than now. All flutzes carry a -3 GOE. Actually I hope that's the case. =).

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To say she has a flutz is one thing, to hope that Mirai never improves on it and starts getting dinged by the judges is another thing. We get the point that Rachael Flatt can do no wrong in your eyes. But it's clear that other people on this board do not share your opinion and I think you need to stop going ad nausium about everything you dislike or hate about any skater that isn't named Rachael Flatt. I get the point that you think Mirai has a flutz. I get the point that you think Joannie Rochette doesn't interpert the music as well as Rachael.

Look, I like Rachael Flatt and admire her consistancy, her willingness to try harder jump combinations and her ability to balance like a million different things. But I also respect that people on this board have preferences on who they believe is better.

And really can't we have more than one great skater from the U.S? Wouldn't it be cool to see a reprise of the 1991 Worlds when we saw a USA sweep? I think it would be awesome. And believe Rachael and Mirai both have potential to really propell the U.S. program in the next four years.

Mrs. P said:

To say she has a flutz is one thing, to hope that Mirai never improves on it and starts getting dinged by the judges is another thing. We get the point that Rachael Flatt can do no wrong in your eyes. But it's clear that other people on this board do not share your opinion and I think you need to stop going ad nausium about everything you dislike or hate about any skater that isn't named Rachael Flatt. I get the point that you think Mirai has a flutz. I get the point that you think Joannie Rochette doesn't interpert the music as well as Rachael.

Look, I like Rachael Flatt and admire her consistancy, her willingness to try harder jump combinations and her ability to balance like a million different things. But I also respect that people on this board have preferences on who they believe is better.

And really can't we have more than one great skater from the U.S? Wouldn't it be cool to see a reprise of the 1991 Worlds when we saw a USA sweep? I think it would be awesome. And believe Rachael and Mirai both have potential to really propell the U.S. program in the next four years.

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Do you not read the posts in this thread, all of which are ad nauseum. I'm just doing what everyone else is doing. I wish Mirai get dinged because she did not and it's not fair for those who executed the jumps correctly or took time to fix problematic jumps. Sorry if you feel that way. Suddenly Mirai got better marks than Rachael for doing the exact same things she got dinged for and then you have all these posters (Hersh included) chanting Mirai the great. Well, she's not that great and was gifted in the LP.
Do you really get it? I doubt you get my intention (a taste of your own medicine, so to speak).

You think I think Mirai flutz and she does not, did not flutz. It's a well known fact. It's not what I think. It's what she did: flutzing.
You should start first by respecting people who have preferences and believe who is better and is vocal about it.

Anyway, I wished for fairness, which is deduction on wrong edge take off. It's not like I wished Mirai fell on her flutz. And where did I wish Mirai never improve?

I think Mirai has the ability to get much much better than she is now. On the other hand, I think Flatt has just about maxed out her abilities, and particularly so if she plans to enter a high-powered college academic program AND try to stick with elite skating simultaneously. (BTW, I happen to like and respect the skating of both of these young women.)

Mirai was rightfully called in her SP for an edge call on the Lutz. Compare the Lutz she did in the SP to the ones in the LP and she put the ones in the LP in a place where from a real time ONE CAMERA angle that the tech panel has, she received the benefit of the doubt (no edge call) and those actually did look much better (more flatzes than flutzes this time) than the SP Lutz. In addition, her jumps were more rotated at the Olympics than they were at Nationals (borderline on the 2A+3T, 3Lz, definite under rotation on the 3T at Nationals, all definitely rotated at the Olympics) and in the GP and Flatt regressed into some poor technique she had before that she sometimes does when she's nervous. This resulted in her under rotations. Nagasu's COE was too long (over a meter) in her spiral sequence and she shorted her 6 second spiral which resulted in a L2 and her step sequence didn't have enough upper body movement to garner a L3. She did have a variety of turns and steps, contrary to one poster's opinion on why the L2 for the steps sequence.

An edge call is NOT an automatic -3, it is gradiated based on how bad the judges think it is and whether there are other positives to offset the negative (interesting entry, etc).

FWIW, I appreciate the consistency Flatt brings and her understanding of what it takes to get her points. She hits some less than attractive positions in her spins which don't help her GOEs. Her spins aren't particularly fast and she doesn't blaze across the ice like Yuna Kim and she looked tense and noticeably slower at the Olympics in her long program.

Boy, Mirai's 2A-3T during the LP was an absolute cracker!
She has improved her jumps in such a short period.
I tip my hat to Frank Carrol.
I remember several months ago during Cup of China Mirai had really wonky landings on her jumps.

I am excited by how she has established herself as an 190 points scoring lady during these Olympics.
If she should be successful in fixing her flutz, we will witness her contending for Worlds next year.

FlattFan you are in for some tough times ahead so I will let you vent all you want. I feel sorry for you because you cannot understand what is happening here and it is that the ISU judges prefer Mirai's skating to Rachael's. There is a reason for that and I think it will only get worse for Rachel unless she retools her artistry. It is my hope she can. I would love for there to be two US women competitive with the best in the world. But I think she may have maxxed out too.

FlattFan said:

Not to mention no Salchow, no 3-3. They should call on her flutzes until she fixes them or drops them all together.

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She did get called on her flutz at the olympics. She got marked down 1.2 goe on her opening combination of 3lutz-2toe for the edge change in her short program..... she has a salchow... it was in her program last year..

Of course she is trying to fix them. And she is aware that she flutzes. It's pretty hard to fix an edge problem if you have been having that problem all her life. Give her some time. She just got her jumps back together.