Czisny preparing for one last run at Olympic glory | Golden Skate

Czisny preparing for one last run at Olympic glory

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Czisny preparing for one last run at Olympic glory
Two-time U.S. champion gradually getting back to full strength
By Vladislav Luchianov, special to icenetwork.com
(07/01/2013)
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130701&content_id=52358894&vkey=ice_news

Excerpt:

Icenetwork.com: As I understand, in preparation for the coming Olympic season, you're skating two sessions per day, gradually increasing the difficulty of your spins and jumps and planning to add a triple-triple jump combination to your program elements. Could you tell us more about that?

Czisny: The training will gradually increase as my hip heals and becomes better able to handle the increased stress and harder skills, so we have been taking it day by day and week by week. The most important thing is that we don't push the hip beyond what it is able to do each day, because we do not want to risk further injuries to the area. Once I have fully regained the strength and control in the hip, we will be able to add the new elements as well.
 

ForeverFish

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Best of luck to Alissa, but I think that, after two big hip injuries, a consistent triple-triple in BOTH segments of the competition is a pie-in-the-sky goal.

Since she doesn't have any GP assignments, she'll have to compete at Regionals and Sectionals to qualify for Nationals, won't she? If so, we won't have to wait until next January to see her progress.
 

drivingmissdaisy

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It's going to be fun this season watching to see who earns that 3rd spot. There are at least four legitimate contenders (Christina, Agnes, Mirai, and Alissa) and even more dark horses.
 

chuckm

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Best of luck to Alissa, but I think that, after two big hip injuries, a consistent triple-triple in BOTH segments of the competition is a pie-in-the-sky goal.

Since she doesn't have any GP assignments, she'll have to compete at Regionals and Sectionals to qualify for Nationals, won't she? If so, we won't have to wait until next January to see her progress.

Yes, she'd have to do Regionals for sure. But USFS could send her to a November "B" so she wouldn't have to do Sectionals. I think she'd have to do a "B" anyway to establish the base TES in order to qualify for Sochi/Worlds, since she didn't compete last season.
 

kwanatic

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She's definitely got a tough road ahead of her and I'm not so sure she's going to make it. I'd like to see her earn that trip just b/c this is her last go at it. Agnes, Christina and Mirai could hang around until 2018 but it's obvious this is Alissa's last hurrah.

I wish her the best. :)
 

Jammers

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I can't see Mirai going all the way to 2018. The competition nationally is just going to keep getting better and she's already falling behind skaters like Agnes and Christina.
 

ForeverFish

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I can't see Mirai going all the way to 2018. The competition nationally is just going to keep getting better and she's already falling behind skaters like Agnes and Christina.

Realistically, it's not likely, but I think kwanatic's point was that -- physically -- Mirai could stay for another Olympic cycle. She'll only be 23 during the 2018 Games, the same age that Yuna and Mao will be in Sochi. Alissa, meanwhile, will be 30 in 2018, so next year really is her last shot at qualifying.
 

drivingmissdaisy

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Realistically, it's not likely, but I think kwanatic's point was that -- physically -- Mirai could stay for another Olympic cycle. She'll only be 23 during the 2018 Games, the same age that Yuna and Mao will be in Sochi. Alissa, meanwhile, will be 30 in 2018, so next year really is her last shot at qualifying.

Mirai will be 24 years and 10 months in 2018. She would have no chance.
 

ForeverFish

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Mirai will be 24 years and 10 months in 2018. She would have no chance.

Sorry, bad math (forgot it's still 2013). But Carolina will be 27 in Sochi, and many people are projecting her as a very likely medalist...

ETA: I'm not suggesting that age is the ONLY factor involved in a skater's longevity, just that using a skater's age (as long as she is 29 or under) is an incomplete way of evaluating the possibility of extending her career.
 

deedee1

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I am very happy that US has 3 spots for the upcoming Games. :)
:party: Best of luck to Alissa! Go and get your dream!!! :party:
 
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I hope Alissa really feels better.

It was hard to me see video of her practice, where she again and again made entries to jumps without jumps.

Hope it is in past and now she has no serious problems.
 

chuckm

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Alissa has to compete at US Regionals and Sectionals in order to qualify for US Nationals. Regionals are in October, around the same time as Skate America; Sectionals are in mid-November. That means Alissa has to be landing all her jumps three months from now. If she hasn't started jumping yet, that doesn't bode well for her return.

USFS could send Alissa to international competitions (Skate America and an international B event) to get her a bye from Regionals/Sectionals, but that would be even more pressure to get ready than the local competitions, and the timetable doesn't change.
 

mskater93

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EGLs doesn't have extreme amounts of talent in Senior ladies where Alissa with a 2A and a couple easier triples and some doubles could realistically qualify for Mids (even if she gets 4th, she moves on to Mids, so a lot less pressure there). Mids will be a lot more difficult and she'd need more technical skills there for sure as there are quite a few talented ladies trying to claw there way through.
 

ForeverFish

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Alissa has to compete at US Regionals and Sectionals in order to qualify for US Nationals. Regionals are in October, around the same time as Skate America; Sectionals are in mid-November. That means Alissa has to be landing all her jumps three months from now. If she hasn't started jumping yet, that doesn't bode well for her return.

USFS could send Alissa to international competitions (Skate America and an international B event) to get her a bye from Regionals/Sectionals, but that would be even more pressure to get ready than the local competitions, and the timetable doesn't change.

She's landing triples, according to TSL, but not the harder ones like flip and (I assumed) Lutz.

Alissa NEEDS at least one international event before Nationals. She needs to know how she stacks up against the rest of the top ladies now (things have changed since 2011/2012), lest she qualify for the Olympics and be in for an ugly shock when she actually gets there. This early-season exposure would serve as a reality check -- she'll see where she is now, and what improvements are in store before Nationals.

I would like to see her receive the SA spot -- I don't know if any other American lady who doesn't already have two assignments has a better chance of getting the third Olympic spot -- but, at the very least, a November senior B should be on her schedule. Ideally, both.
 

R.D.

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Best of luck to Alissa, but I think that, after two big hip injuries, a consistent triple-triple in BOTH segments of the competition is a pie-in-the-sky goal.

This...

Czisny doesn't want to give up and that's cool, I can understand that...

Nothing wrong with trying but it's all easier said than done. Even at her best she'd be fighting for it, battling her own nerves too but as is, she has a tough road ahead. It's easier with a 3rd spot but there are at least 4 other girls in better shape than she is who want one of those spots. We shall see...
 

b-man

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I can't see Mirai going all the way to 2018. The competition nationally is just going to keep getting better and she's already falling behind skaters like Agnes and Christina.

Mirai and Agnes met twice last season, Mirai won once, Agnes once. Agnes's SB at Nationals at 179 was higher, but her lifetime PB internationally is 166, not competitive with Mirai or Christina. Mirai and Christina both had a SB last season of 176. Mirai is fully competitive with Agnes and Christina.
 

LRK

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This...

Czisny doesn't want to give up and that's cool, I can understand that...

Nothing wrong with trying but it's all easier said than done. Even at her best she'd be fighting for it, battling her own nerves too but as is, she has a tough road ahead. It's easier with a 3rd spot but there are at least 4 other girls in better shape than she is who want one of those spots. We shall see...

I think that it is better to give it a shot, than sit around afterwards wondering what might have been. Anyway, I wish her the best of luck, and whatever does happen, she is a delight to watch.
 

mskater93

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Mirai and Agnes met twice last season, Mirai won once, Agnes once. Agnes's SB at Nationals at 179 was higher, but her lifetime PB internationally is 166, not competitive with Mirai or Christina. Mirai and Christina both had a SB last season of 176. Mirai is fully competitive with Agnes and Christina.

USFS has a bit of a luxury this season with that third spot for the Olympics and Worlds (assuming Wagner and Gold are healthy and skate well enough to make the team) because, especially assuming Kim, Asada and/or Kostner decide to take a pass on Worlds, Wagner and Gold should be able to hold 3 spots without help for 2015 which means that third spot could go to someone that USFS thinks could be the other one of the US 1-2 punch with Gold in the next quadrenium (which, frankly, if it were MY decision, I would do to get them "less pressure" exposure on that grand stage).

Beyond Agnes and Christina, look at the skaters who have recently joined the Senior ranks or are coming up into the Senior ranks (or hopefully gaining stability) over the next couple years, though, to understand why some are saying Mirai's chances decrease after 2014 unless she shows a huge TES improvement:
Gracie Gold (S2, 3+3 in both programs, already top 6 in the World)
Courtney Hicks (S4, 3+3 in both programs, needs to fix her rushing issues, has good speed just looked sloppy and unfinished)
Angela Wang (S10 last season, when she's on, she has 3+3 in both programs - clean)
Hannah Miller (S9 last season, no 3+3 yet, but excellent skating skills and interpretive ability, JGPF2 is proof of that)
Mariah Bell (J2 last season and J4 the season before, excellent skating skills, recently landed her first 2A+3 at Broadmoor in Seniors, can 3+3 be far behind? I found her programs to be the most interesting of the last couple seasons and she has that inate "look at me" factor like many of the great skaters of the past)
Polina Edmunds (J1, perfectly capable of 3+3 already, needs to ensure she has fixed her UR problems that she had in the last season)
Barbie Long (J3 for last 2 seasons, perfectly capable of 3+3s, needs to work on her SS some more)
Karen Chen (J4 last season, N1 the season before, UR on her 3+3 and a few other tech issues she needs to get sorted as she grows, but young and a very promising skater)

There is also Vanessa Lam (who's jumps, to me, are borderline, but that doesn't mean she can't catch lightening in a bottle at a Nationals at some point with a good skate), Carley Gold (who has been making steady improvements in her TES and has recently started landing some harder content), Yasmine Siraj (who skated well enough at Nationals to pass by Miller and Wang for a JW spot), and Samantha Cesario (who needs to up her technical content).
There were also several very promising Novices who could be making their Senior Nationals debut in 2015 or 2016.
Of these listed by name, only Chen hasn't reached puberty yet. The others have all survived and most actually improved after the initial growth spurt.
 

b-man

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USFS has a bit of a luxury this season with that third spot for the Olympics and Worlds (assuming Wagner and Gold are healthy and skate well enough to make the team) because, especially assuming Kim, Asada and/or Kostner decide to take a pass on Worlds, Wagner and Gold should be able to hold 3 spots without help for 2015 which means that third spot could go to someone that USFS thinks could be the other one of the US 1-2 punch with Gold in the next quadrenium (which, frankly, if it were MY decision, I would do to get them "less pressure" exposure on that grand stage).

The US federation almost always takes the thrid place finisher at Nationals, if 3 spots are available, to Olympics and Worlds.

Are you assuming Wagner will retire after this coming Worlds? She may continue 2 or even four years after Sochi.

I would never send anyone less than the best available to an Olympics or worlds. Suppose you believe all of Christina, Mirai and Agnes are better than Hicks, but you somehow manipuate the selection to send Hicks to Worlds so she will have experience over the next quad. 1. You may have squandered a chance for higher placemnts at words if you don't send your best. There is never a guarantee that Wagner or Gold won't falter. 2. A hypothetical Hicks missing out of world's next year would have multiple chances in GP's and Nationals to gain experience over the next quad. The pressure at Nationals is currently every bit as much as at Worlds, and higher than at a competition such as four continents. 3. Suppose the Federation "selects" someone such as Hicks to be the third at Worlds, as a partner to Gold for the next quad. As you have correctly demonstrated, there is a wealth of other competitors such as Miller, Wang, Edmunds coming for the next quad. You may give Hicks a head start and experience, at the detriment of your world team, yet she maybe bypassed regardless by Miller, Wang, Edmunds or others. You are giving up an advantage for an unknown. I don't think the Yankees would bench a top player in the world series so a bench player could have more experience for next year. When you have only three entrants, it is critical to send nothing less than the best.
 
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