Could a perfect Midori have beaten a perfect Mao? | Golden Skate

Could a perfect Midori have beaten a perfect Mao?

bibi24

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
This one could go either way, as both skaters are capable of 3A and 3/3's.

Where Mao might have an edge in PCS for her artistic presentation, Midori could easily make up in GOE's for her jumps (ie. speed, flow out, height, ice coverage).

Also interesting since they were up against similar elements from their respective rivals at the time in 五輪,
- Yuna Kim (3Lz-3T) - Mao Asada (3A)
- Kristi Yamaguchi (3Lz-3T) - Midori Ito (3A)
 

Mafke

Medalist
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Easily, a perfect Midori Ito could do several different 3-3 combinations (including 3ax-3t). And she had a full set of jumps at the same time and had great speed, height and flow out on her jumps. She also could do great 6.0 footwork and 6.0 spins.

The big question would be how would her relatively lack of flexibility affect her. I think the current 'bendy girl' requirement is a shame. The occasional very flexible skater is a nice change, every single skater trying to be a contortionist is tiresome and painful to watch.
 

bibi24

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
The big question would be how would her relatively lack of flexibility affect her. I think the current 'bendy girl' requirement is a shame. The occasional very flexible skater is a nice change, every single skater trying to be a contortionist is tiresome and painful to watch.

I agree! The stretch is getting more and more ridiculous and always at an increasingly young age. Skaters should have adequate stretching but not to a point when they can outstretch a gymnast, that is not what figure skating should be about. It's has become a common norm today in skating, along with the lanky/skinny body type of girls as what is to be perceived as 'beauty'.
 
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aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
From the "Could a perfect Kwan have beaten a perfect Yu-Na?" Thread
This has to be the stupidest threat in GS history.
Moreover, I can't believe someone would waste their time replying to this garbage.

and yet, you've made a similar thread ...
 

RumbleFish

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 11, 2010
I don't think it's fair for skaters of the past to be compared to current ones on tricks alone.
It's an insult to their lifetime achievements.

They had different rules, scoring system, level of competition, as well as level of expectation.
A Dick Button might have easily done multiple quads if he had been born 50 years later and competing against Plush and Yag.
I feel that comparing across generations should be done for their lifetime achievements like number of world titles or noticeable innovations to the sport.
 

sunrock

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 24, 2009
I don't know what you guys are talking about. Midori had artistry. She may not have been as graceful as others, but she showed pure joy in her skating, something Mao has been missing for the past two years.
 

Iscariot

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
I don't know what you guys are talking about. Midori had artistry. She may not have been as graceful as others, but she showed pure joy in her skating, something Mao has been missing for the past two years.

Agree:thumbsup:
Te joy on her face after each jump and move is soemthing we dont see anymore
 

Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
I don't think that Mao would have beaten Midori. I've never seen anyone having as huge jumps as she did. Perhaps some men might, but her small height may have accentuated the height and ice coverage of her jumps. Or possibly she jumped bigger than most men, who knows? She rotated so slowly and I barely see such slow rotation done by other skaters. And yet she landed without UR.

Midori's artistry ---
As I see her videos, I could see some issues. Her slow parts are really slow and she looks rather bored, and when she sets up a jump, she suddenly starts to skate very fast. These split the program by section rather than creating seamlessly flow.

When I heard that Mao could have skated to a soft, peaceful piano music piece, I thought it would have been a perfect match. But as I think of it, setting up two 3As may have been difficult with such soft music because she cannot do 3As as if they were a part of a step sequence. The music would have needed some strength.

BTW, why are there so many brothers' and sisters' threads? I was confused to see the two Midori threads that looked like identical!
 

katha

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Won't compare, very tricky across eras IMO. But Midori Ito is one of the greatest ladies skaters ever to me. I know she has "only" one World title to show for it, but her technical content is practically unmatched to this day. Frankly, it's mind-boggling. Some of it was sketchy judging, some of it the structure of the judging system (figures etc.) at the time, but she was really, really hard done by throughout her career and her competitive results don't show what a major phenomenon she was. And I don't think that she gets enough credit from the media (NA or otherwise) for her achievements.

Mao's three triple axels are a huge achievement, and it's a shame that she got lost in the (deserved and understandable) enthusiasm about Kim. NBC talking about the "highlights" of the ladies competition and not even mentioning the historic three axels was just shabby IMO, I don't know if it's because she has a Russian coach and they have been on a "Cold War" crusade throughout or what... But she does need to adress her other jumping issues: getting a 3-3 back, clean lutz, salchow etc. Till then she's just too vulnerable and dependent on the triple axel to make up for her other deficits.
 
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hurrah

Medalist
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
I think under 6.0, Mao would have beaten Midori, because that was what usually happened under 6.0. The more feminine-looking skater always won against Midori despite poorer jumps. Midori did not have great position, and positions mattered alot more under 6.0. Mao, with her feminine looks, superior positions, and still having the full set of triples (her flutz would have been a lutz in 6.0) as well as the triple-axel, would have beaten Midori.

However, under CoP, Midori would beat Mao every time.

I wish that all the figureskaters throughout the era were required to do the same routine to the same music which included a demonstration of all the basic jumps, spins, spirals and step sequence. It would make comparing the skaters so much more easier.
 

antmanb

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
I think under 6.0, Mao would have beaten Midori, because that was what usually happened under 6.0. The more feminine-looking skater always won against Midori despite poorer jumps. Midori did not have great position, and positions mattered alot more under 6.0.

Actually what hurt Midori under 6.0 was not more feminine looking skaters or positions or anything like that. It was figures that hurt Midori. Despite sometimes even winning the SP and LP, Midori was often too far behind in the figures portion of the event to win overall.

Ant
 

hurrah

Medalist
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Actually what hurt Midori under 6.0 was not more feminine looking skaters or positions or anything like that. It was figures that hurt Midori. Despite sometimes even winning the SP and LP, Midori was often too far behind in the figures portion of the event to win overall.

Ant

Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten about figures. She did get better though. By the end, she was placing second, wasn't she, to the likes of Katarina Witt or someone like that.
 

Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
I wonder if the quality of jumps mattered on scores at that time, like GOE. Or was it more like which jumps they landed that were important?
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten about figures. She did get better though. By the end, she was placing second, wasn't she, to the likes of Katarina Witt or someone like that.

The last time Midori competed under figures, in 1990 she finished 10th in the figures.
 
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