Sochi 2014:Athletes to Watch(NBC) | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Sochi 2014:Athletes to Watch(NBC)

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
How is Gracie the "golden girl" besides her last name? Puh-lease. Ashley's got more gold than she does! The last time Gracie won something was probably 2012 U.S. Junior Nationals.

Apparently winning GP events and being the highest placing American in every competition makes you "consistent" while having your biggest title be JGP Estonia makes you "golden". :rolleye:
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
Apparently winning GP events and being the highest placing American in every competition makes you "consistent" while having your biggest title be JGP Estonia makes you "golden". :rolleye:

Let's analyse this a little.

Last two seasons.

Gracie Gold

2011-2012

JGP Estonia 1st
US Nationals 1st (Junior)
JWC 2nd

2012-2013

Skate Canada 7th
COR 2nd
US Nationals 2nd
SWC 6th


Joshua Farris

2011-2012

JGP Estonia 1st
JGP Poland 1st
JGPF 3rd
Nationals 16th
JWC 2nd

2012-2013

JGP USA 1st
JGP Slovenia 1st
JGPF 2nd
Nationals 2nd
JWC 1st

Sorry, why is he not given at least as much billing as her? What makes her more of a superstar than him? Oh right, gender. Only ladies can be superstars in the US. :rolleye:
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Apparently winning GP events and being the highest placing American in every competition makes you "consistent" while having your biggest title be JGP Estonia makes you "golden". :rolleye:

excuse me ? Wagner is an old and worn out skater who already peaked her technical aspects, they are simply looking at the future
Gracie will be token US lady and will be the No.1 American heading to Sochi
by this season Gracie will have a higher PCS than Wagner already

deal with it, Gracie is the No.1 US Lady
 

SkateFan66

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Let's analyse this a little.

Last two seasons.

Gracie Gold

2011-2012

JGP Estonia 1st
US Nationals 1st (Junior)
JWC 2nd

2012-2013

Skate Canada 7th
COR 2nd
US Nationals 2nd
SWC 6th

Joshua Farris

2011-2012

JGP Estonia 1st
JGP Poland 1st
JGPF 3rd
Nationals 16th
JWC 2nd

2012-2013

JGP USA 1st
JGP Slovenia 1st
JGPF 2nd
Nationals 2nd
JWC 1st

Sorry, why is he not given at least as much billing as her? What makes her more of a superstar than him? Oh right, gender. Only ladies can be superstars in the US. :rolleye:

Maybe the reason Farris is not given as much billing as Gold is because Farris has never competed in an international SENIOR event. Gold has competed at the senior level internationally and done well. (FYI: Farris did not place 2nd at 2013 Nationals...Ross Miner did)
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
Exactly how many Senior titles did Ashley have before 2012 when she almost 21? None. It took 5 years as a Senior skater for Ashley to even become relevant in US skating.
 

lcd

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
The Shibutani's have a really FUN video feature posted to the NBC Olympic site as well.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/shibutani-siblings-open-ballroom-bootcamp-and-more

Adorable clip of them as little kids, their work with Corky Ballas, and of course their YouTube channel.
Their break dancing at the end gets them applause from the NBC studio

I'm sure there will be more features coming in the weeks ahead involving the athletes who participated in the same media event last spring that generated a lot of the promotional portrait pictures which were posted. Looking forward to seeing more of these in the weeks ahead.
 

ForeverFish

Medalist
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
excuse me ? Wagner is an old and worn out skater who already peaked her technical aspects, they are simply looking at the future
Gracie will be token US lady and will be the No.1 American heading to Sochi
by this season Gracie will have a higher PCS than Wagner already

deal with it, Gracie is the No.1 US Lady

To be the best, you have to beat the best.

Gracie's great (one of my favorites, actually), but she needs to beat Ashley in a competition before she can be considered US number one. Her first chance to do so next season is, appropriately, at Nationals. Will she step up? We won't know until she takes the ice.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
because Gracie is the marketed American Sweetheart and not Wagner

Apparently winning GP events and being the highest placing American in every competition makes you "consistent" while having your biggest title be JGP Estonia makes you "golden". :rolleye:

Sorry, why is [Farris] not given at least as much billing as her? What makes her more of a superstar than him? Oh right, gender. Only ladies can be superstars in the US. :rolleye:

Maddening that media and marketers are giving Wagner short shrift in their rush to put a disproportionate number of eggs in GG's basket.

ETA:
To clarify re the marketing discrepancy: AFAIK, Wagner and GG have the same number of major sponsorship "eggs," Nike and Pandora Jewelry. But as many have noted in this thread, Gold's national and international resumes are well behind Wagner's. Even if Gold were to catch up later, the best-case scenario is that she would not win her second U.S. championship until January 2015, for example -- thus my opinion that marketers are getting ahead of themselves by giving her equal support at this point.​

If the media and marketers would think outside the box, I am increasingly convinced that among the U.S. skaters (from all disciplines), Max Aaron has the best storyline. His has something for everyone: a breakthrough season after almost abandoning the sport; jumps and artistry as dueling ambitions; overcoming major injury; deep hockey background; a family of elite skaters; etc. And he has the total package of personal qualities that appeal to both women and men, young and old: good people skills and communication skills; strong drive and work ethic; distinctive looks and voice; plus more. Hope that his momentum from last season continues to grow.

ETA:

Joshua Farris

2012-2013

Nationals 2nd

All respect to Farris for his solid record, but a typo here?​
 

minze

Medalist
Joined
Dec 22, 2012
To be the best, you have to beat the best.

Gracie's great (one of my favorites, actually), but she needs to beat Ashley in a competition before she can be considered US number one. Her first chance to do so next season is, appropriately, at Nationals. Will she step up? We won't know until she takes the ice.

Or GP finals if they both make to the final and she places above Wagner. I don't know who is the #1 US lady, but you can tell Ashley is intimidated by Gracie and her technical power. So, I agree with people who think Gracie is the future
 

chloepoco

Medalist
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
The Shibutani's have a really FUN video feature posted to the NBC Olympic site as well.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/shibutani-siblings-open-ballroom-bootcamp-and-more

Adorable clip of them as little kids, their work with Corky Ballas, and of course their YouTube channel.
Their break dancing at the end gets them applause from the NBC studio

I'm sure there will be more features coming in the weeks ahead involving the athletes who participated in the same media event last spring that generated a lot of the promotional portrait pictures which were posted. Looking forward to seeing more of these in the weeks ahead.

Thanks for posting that clip--love the Shibutani's!!!
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
I'm sure there will be more features coming in the weeks ahead involving the athletes who participated in the same media event last spring that generated a lot of the promotional portrait pictures which were posted. Looking forward to seeing more of these in the weeks ahead.

And another USOC media summit is coming up at the end of August so perhaps the spotlight will shine on a few more skaters. :)

Look forward to watching the NBC video of the Shibutanis.
 

gmyers

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
And yet Lysacek will always be the 2010 Olympic Gold medalist and Plushenko won't. :laugh:

This has nothing to do with the topic! A writer said that plushenko and lysacek were basically equal in post Vancouver competition which is not true. plushenko has 2 russian nationals 1.5 euros 2 Japan opens 1 with 2 quads and lysacek has nothing!! That's not equal! People have seen plushenko do in complete long programs quads and triple axels scored by judges and he won euros. The topic was not 2010 at all!! In any way! Like anyone had bashed Lysaceks ridiculous and always ridiculous victory in Vancouver before your post!
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Exactly how many Senior titles did Ashley have before 2012 when she almost 21? None. It took 5 years as a Senior skater for Ashley to even become relevant in US skating.

This !
Gracie is the No.1 US Lady and the highest chance to medal in Sochi not worn out Wagner
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2012
Country
Russia
Exactly how many Senior titles did Ashley have before 2012 when she almost 21? None. It took 5 years as a Senior skater for Ashley to even become relevant in US skating.
Yes.
But Ashley was better than Gracie at GP, won Gracie at Nats, Worlds and WTT.

I want to see Gracie winning Ashley at least once before telling that Gracie is US No 1.
 

ForeverFish

Medalist
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
Or GP finals if they both make to the final and she places above Wagner. I don't know who is the #1 US lady, but you can tell Ashley is intimidated by Gracie and her technical power. So, I agree with people who think Gracie is the future

Like I said, Gracie's one of my absolute favorites and I'm constantly championing her cause. I believe wholeheartedly that she's the future, but she has yet to beat Ashley either domestically or internationally. She came very, very close at WTT -- landing the triple salchow would have sealed the deal -- so I fully expect her to equal or surpass Ashley next season.

Until then, it's not fair or correct to snatch Ashley's title away. She IS the reigning US champion, an epithet which still commands a great deal of respect in the worldwide skating community.

If Gracie wins Nationals in a convincing fashion, which I think is a realistic goal, then she'll be the best in the US. No questions asked.
 

aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Like I said, Gracie's one of my absolute favorites and I'm constantly championing her cause. I believe wholeheartedly that she's the future, but she has yet to beat Ashley either domestically or internationally. She came very, very close at WTT -- landing the triple salchow would have sealed the deal -- so I fully expect her to equal or surpass Ashley next season.

Until then, it's not fair or correct to snatch Ashley's title away. She IS the reigning US champion, an epithet which still commands a great deal of respect in the worldwide skating community.

If Gracie wins Nationals in a convincing fashion, which I think is a realistic goal, then she'll be the best in the US. No questions asked.

No disagreements here.

Exactly how many Senior titles did Ashley have before 2012 when she almost 21? None. It took 5 years as a Senior skater for Ashley to even become relevant in US skating.

Serious question: Would most people be calling her a "golden girl" at this present moment if it wasn't for her last name? It seems like people are itching to go for some wordplay, really.

It's not about what you have relative what other had at a certain age. It's about what you have now. It's like saying Satoko Miyahara is more of a golden girl than Akiko Suzuki or Shizuka Arakawa because she's got more hardware than either of them did at that age. Lol, no. She just has more potential. Just like Mao Asada had more potential at 15 than Arakawa did at 15.

If Gracie wants to be the absolute 'muurican golden girl, she's going have to throw down this coming season and win win win! :biggrin: *insert pageant grin here*

Anyway, judging by this "article", NBC is going to be having so much fun with Gracie Gold's name in the headlines.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
As of right now, Ashley and Gracie are tied as far as winning individual segments of a competition. Ashley is undefeated against Gracie in face-to-face competition match ups.

Ashley has higher personal and season's best in the SP, FS and overall than Gracie.

Last I heard, you don't get a gold medal in Nationals or Olympics for potential....
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Serious question: Would most people be calling her a "golden girl" at this present moment if it wasn't for her last name? It seems like people are itching to go for some wordplay, really.

Probably so, but to contrast the "golden girl" label against "consistent" is a bit insulting IMO, given that the "consistent" skater has won all the head-to-head match-ups. It reminds me of the women tennis players who get to #1 without a major title by being "consistent", whereas Ashley has undisputedly been the best American woman for two years.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Um, WHAT?

Lysacek has not competed AT ALL since Vancouver.

Since Vancouver, Plushenko has won two Russian National titles, one European crown, and also competed at Euros this year. The only year he missed was his enforced layoff by the ISU. Even though he's had major surgery since, I'd say we know a LOT more about Plushenko's form than Lysacek's.

Agreed. A better way to phrase it is that Plushenko's surgery is leaving his form in question. Although comparing that to Lysacek not competing at all is ridiculous since he's achieved way more since Vancouver, seeing as how Plushenko has actually competed.

This piece is tripe for the most part, and riddled with inaccuracies as people pointed out.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
I also think people are being way too hard on Ashley. There are plenty of skaters who peaked later, like Slutskaya, Kostner... As much as I love Gold, haters are really quick to dismiss Wagner. Wagner came 2nd at the GPF, won two GP events, and has two US titles, and Gracie has yet to convincingly beat her. Wagner is still a really good shot at bronze in the Olympics, especially with her higher PCS advantage over Gold.
 
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