2014 Olympics Ladies Free Skate | Page 6 | Golden Skate

2014 Olympics Ladies Free Skate

WeakAnkles

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
I think she'll choke and the gold will be between Kim and Sotnikova who seems to be in a fantastic shape lately. Given Sot's BV is higher and the judges are giving her huge marks, she might end up winning... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! :slink:

I think Lipnitskaia can still pull up to bronze, at the very least, with a clean FS.

3lutz was off-axis in the air and didn't have a lot of flow out (it's a miracle she did a fully rotated 3toe off the end so respect for her!).
3loop didn't have a lot of flow out either and there was a break between the steps and the jump.
2axel was off-axis in the air and had a scratchy landing.

A lot of speed, decent timing but the rest of her skating, presentation-wise still leaves a lot of to be desired. Of course so does Sotnikova's but the point is, it's not like Gold should have a big advantage on the PCS, there were small issues with her jumps and her spins aren't as impressive (although they were very good as well).


I agree pretty much with what you say, but you have to admit that Frank is already working miracles with her, both in keeping her focused (those miracle jump saves) and in softening her style. Give him another year or two to work with her, and I think we'll all be pleasantly surprised. She'll never be a Caro, but she's finally starting to look like more than a jump/spin machine. I actually think she has more potential style-wise than Sotnikova.

On the other hand, a scriptwriter couldn't have penned a better screenplay than what we saw in the Short and the potential for a superduper exciting LP. Only in this story, the villain is the audience...
 

Robeye

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
...and nothing to gain either. No chance of a medal. Hard to fight for no cause.
Except her pride, which Mao, champion that she is, has plenty of. She will not want to finish this competition in 16th place.

It calls to mind Yuna at the post-Olympics Worlds in 2010. Lying seventh after the SP, I would imagine that part of her wanted to phone the LP in and get herself out of Dodge. But the ingrained habits of champions are hard to suppress, and somehow she summoned enough to actually win the long. I am hoping for a rebound from Mao as well.
 

WeakAnkles

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
In Vancouver, the reigning World Champ won, the World Champ from 2 seasons ago won silver, the local darling bronze, and the Frank Carroll student 4th. The other US lady skated visibly clean but had some downgrades...

Where is a theremin when you need one? That is downright eery. Thank you for pointing it out.
 

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be
Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Country
France
There's always that extra Guinness World Record. :laugh: :slink:

Well that's true actually, but it doesn't seem like Mao cares enough about trying to become the first woman to get 8 Triples ratified in a LP. Why did she waste part of her season trying to train a 3Axel+2Toe, which is worth less than 3Flip+3Loop anyway? Ugh.

She also most definitely should have become the first woman to land 4 Triples in the SP, but for some reason she has insisted on not training a 3-3 in the SP for the past 4 years. It's insane how poorly handed Mao has been.
 

CarneAsada

Medalist
Joined
Sep 17, 2011
Well that's true actually, but it doesn't seem like Mao cares enough about trying to become the first woman to get 8 Triples ratified in a LP. Why did she waste part of her season trying to train a 3Axel+2Toe, which is worth less than 3Flip+3Loop anyway? Ugh.

She also most definitely should have become the first woman to land 4 Triples in the SP, but for some reason she has insisted on not training a 3-3 in the SP for the past 4 years. It's insane how poorly handed Mao has been.
What drives me up the wall the most is that last season, she could have attempted the 3F-3Lo in the SP along with her then-consistent flutz and attempted a 4-triple SP. Who cares about edge calls, a clean program like that could've broken 80 and a 3F-3Lo< would've still gotten her over 76. I love her to death but her career so far has been a slew of missed opportunities and often biting off more than she could chew.
 

bebevia

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
...and nothing to gain either. No chance of a medal. Hard to fight for no cause.
...But people seem to forget that her goal is to not only medal, but complete a program with clean 3A's. I am sorry to feel that's less likely, but she does have a cause :)

I know she yearned a gold, but I still applaud her for challenging something that only she can attempt - with all-or-nothing attitude in the corner. It's a very personal challenge - pride or not - that if one didn't try, will forever regret. I guess you can say she came too far to return, but that's beauty of life one can look back.
 

Selene

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
Gold was way underscored tonight. She deserved almost the same score as Sotnikova.

No way. Sotnikova destroyed her in all areas of the program - presentation, spins, jumps. etc. Sotnikova's jumps were twice the size of Gracie's and beautifully executed. Gracie's jumps were small and shaky, every single one of them. I'm not convinced that she is able to handle pressure. She is likely to implode tomorrow, skating right after Adelina with the pro-Russia crowd being in a frenzy. She is just so nervous and tight when she competes and it shows.

I agree pretty much with what you say, but you have to admit that Frank is already working miracles with her, both in keeping her focused (those miracle jump saves) and in softening her style. Give him another year or two to work with her, and I think we'll all be pleasantly surprised. She'll never be a Caro, but she's finally starting to look like more than a jump/spin machine. I actually think she has more potential style-wise than Sotnikova.

Except her jumps are all terrible and low-quality now. She will never get the positive GOE to compete with someone like Sotnikova, whose jumps are twice the size of hers.
 

hippomoomin

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 30, 2012
I just realized that none of the three Japanese ladies has reliable jumps. Even the 3-3 they got are the easiest 3-3. And let's face it, the 3A Mao got was lost almost 4 years ago, and she never really got it back.

Don't get me wrong though, I started to watch figure skating 4 years ago after watching Mao at Vancouver. I love her musicality and foot steps. But she has been loosing her jumps little by little, not just 3A, and other triples as well. Judges did her no good by overlooking her underrated jumps at some big competitions.

Mao's real strategy should have been improving the quality of her jumps, and get good GOE. How can you land a jump under pressure you barely landed in practice? And planned a 7 triple program?
I don't think nerve can be used to explain everything: you can have a good technique but under pressure you tilt your axe but still land it, like Gracie; But you have a bad technique, you fall.

I also don't think Mao should have competed in every competition. Caro and Yuna both took some time off and they got better after that. Mao basically runs from competition to competition in the past 4 years. Sigh… I think Mao will end up somewhere 8th place overall. She may well be 3rd or 4th if she just stayed with 2A.
 

hippomoomin

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 30, 2012
I agree pretty much with what you say, but you have to admit that Frank is already working miracles with her, both in keeping her focused (those miracle jump saves) and in softening her style. Give him another year or two to work with her, and I think we'll all be pleasantly surprised. She'll never be a Caro, but she's finally starting to look like more than a jump/spin machine. I actually think she has more potential style-wise than Sotnikova.

I also think Adelina has more style now, but her style is a bit one-dimensional: very modern and hard-edged poses, no matter what music she skates. That's why when she skates to classical music, it is odd. Gracie on the other hand, is pretty open to all directions. With the improvement she made in the past few months, and with her more difficult 3-3 combo, I bet my money on her more than Adelina.
 

amusedstranger

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
No way. Sotnikova destroyed her in all areas of the program - presentation, spins, jumps. etc. Sotnikova's jumps were twice the size of Gracie's and beautifully executed. Gracie's jumps were small and shaky, every single one of them. I'm not convinced that she is able to handle pressure. She is likely to implode tomorrow, skating right after Adelina with the pro-Russia crowd being in a frenzy. She is just so nervous and tight when she competes and it shows.

Gracie's also already done her LP once at these Olympics. Do you think that'll have some effect on how she skates?
 

tempus

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 19, 2014
Well, weren't the U.S. Championships Kwan's domain for a decade? I remember the death stare captured by the camera in 2001 when Sasha beat her in the SP. Lipinski also fell in her SP, so of course that put the momentum heavily on Kwan's side to emerge from Nationals with the narrative for the Olympics. Watching Tara's skate, the writing was on the wall for her Olympics victory.
Could not agree less. Watching Lipinski's long program, the writing was on the wall for the mature, graceful, sophisticated, subtle, esthetically pleasing Kwan to win over her polar opposite; instead, the midget who looked like a little girl in her mother's makeup, who did roller axels and jumps barely off the ice, whose music was laughable and choreography worse, won because she did triple loop-triple loop with no air, no grace, and no amplitude.
 

sk8in

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 15, 2014
No way. Sotnikova destroyed her in all areas of the program - presentation, spins, jumps. etc. Sotnikova's jumps were twice the size of Gracie's and beautifully executed. Gracie's jumps were small and shaky, every single one of them. I'm not convinced that she is able to handle pressure. She is likely to implode tomorrow, skating right after Adelina with the pro-Russia crowd being in a frenzy. She is just so nervous and tight when she competes and it shows.



Except her jumps are all terrible and low-quality now. She will never get the positive GOE to compete with someone like Sotnikova, whose jumps are twice the size of hers.
Height is only one of three criteria for jumps in the GOE. If height was the only thing the judges were looking for then Meite would be up on the podium. As we know from Yunas scores, ice coverage and speed are just as important. Leaping five feet into the air like an ogre is not a cute look, especially when you're just doing toe loops. When Gracie skates well she is a decently elegant skater, including on her jumping.
 

boo69

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 6, 2003
Me hoping the top 3 remains the same in any order. Maybe Yulia can sneak in there too.
 
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