- Joined
- Aug 29, 2016
Karen posted a double axel on ig stories, implication is it was her first one since injury.
2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating
- Thread starter Spirals for Miles
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
She placed higher at nationals, though. I thought Ashley's PCS should have been a few points higher, but their TES looked like it was judged by two different teams. Any tech panel that was equally strict would have had Karen's TES higher than Ashley's, and by a wide enough margin to put Karen ahead. I think the judging panel overcompensated in PCS to balance out those bad calls.
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2016
Wessenberg is actually not bad. But the consistency is terrible. I’m thinking she’ll come in dead last or close to it.
Starr could really be something, but she looks very awkward skating to her lp, I mean, that program needs a dynamic performer and she looks like she’s thinking through it.
Bradie could win. Others are struggling. But will she? I think her scores in her home country will be very very high.
Starr could really be something, but she looks very awkward skating to her lp, I mean, that program needs a dynamic performer and she looks like she’s thinking through it.
Bradie could win. Others are struggling. But will she? I think her scores in her home country will be very very high.
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2015
That was just fan speculation, never confirmed by Ashley. She has had concussions and has said she has memeory problems because of it, but has never said it was a reason for reusing old programs. I think it’s more likely that she always had hectic and nerve wracking Olympic years and wanted use something that she was comfortable with and that had gotten her great results before. It’s still such a shame that she didn’t get to go the Olympics. I think it should be obvious to everyone know that it was a bad call by the fed to push Karen over her. I’m still confused as to how that happened, when Ashley was the only us woman besides Bradie to get an individual gp medal that season and Karen coming in as us champ had the worst gp performance out of basically all of the top us ladies. Would Ashley have gotten an individual Olympic model? No but she would have put on a more memorable performance then any of the us ladies there. Ivett Toth got the crowd more engaged then Mirai or Karen did.
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2016
Karen was the reason we had 3 three spots to the Olympics. Her fourth-place finish at Worlds is what allowed three of our ladies to have the chance to go. I don't know if we can say for sure Ashley would have done well at Olys. If she performed similarly to nats, I wouldn't find it very memorable tbh.
Karen and Ashley are the reasons we had three spots for the ladies at the Olympics.
You don't KNOW that Ashley would have put on a more memorable performance than the other US ladies (meaning Bradie and Mirai). She would have been debuting before ISU judges that same forgettable FS she debuted at US Nationals. Ashley hadn't been able to complete a clean 3/3 all season, and was getting URs even on her 2a. Her spins were deteriorating, too. Yes, she won a bronze medal at SC, but with a total score under 185.
The 2017-18 Ashley was nowhere near the 2016 Ashley performance-wise---had she been, yes she would have deserved an Olympic berth and certainly would have gotten one. But great costumes, bright smiles over-the-top gestures and head rolls can't make up for technical deficiencies. Apparently, that's how the USFS judges saw it.
The 2017-18 Ashley was nowhere near the 2016 Ashley performance-wise---had she been, yes she would have deserved an Olympic berth and certainly would have gotten one. But great costumes, bright smiles over-the-top gestures and head rolls can't make up for technical deficiencies. Apparently, that's how the USFS judges saw it.
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2014
Yeah, I believe that was the nail on the coffin.
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2015
I mean I was there at the Olympics and have seen Ashley skate in person may times. Even when she makes mistakes she still sells the program. That’s her strong point. She can draw the audience even in the very last rows into her performance and make you feel it. Mirai and Karen didn’t even come close to that at the Olympics. When they first came out on the ice all of the American fans around me were really excited but by the end just gave polite applause. It was really disappointing as an US ladies skating fan. There was zero spark in their performances. Bradie, who even on her best day I’m not a fan of, at least gave you a little something. And if we’re talking technical deficiencies Karen got what five ur calls at nationals and Olympics? So let’s not act like Ashley had deteriorated worse then that.
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2018
That's the thing about Ashley the past couple of seasons though and something her fans are going to hate me for saying but is the truth - every time she placed well it was never because she skated amazingly. It was because the other skaters skated badly. She skated fine but it's been a very long time since I've watched her skate and I walked away thinking yes, she unquestionably earned it. I've always walked away thinking what a shame x and y messed up but there's always next year but for now I suppose Ashley will have to do.
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2017
:agree:
Nationals calls and judging have never presented a clear conscience though. If Bradie hadn't presented somewhat strong performances earlier in the season, they would have even made up calls to hold her back, and had Mirai not shown she had the 3A potential, that could've been a buh-bye, too.
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2016
Completely agree!! I love Amber and she has more potential than Wessenberg.
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2018
Is that...did they take Gracie's Olympic season dress and re-dye it a horrible shade of purple?
Looks like a dress from Brad Griffies RTW line. I would imagine her family probably didn't have the budget for a custom dress at that stage. They might have even bought it unstoned and did that part themselves.
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2018
It's funny also that she stopped skating right at "leave all this to yesterday". I always thought that either she forgot where she was in the music or it was planned to be a special moment.
But honestly, other than maybe the 2 Russian tots (whomever they may be in the moment), your statement applies to every competitor. Why are we so hard on Ashley over the others? At the end of the day, after all that she did for USFS, to be dumped the way that she was for Karen Chen and her "boot" problems was deplorable.
USFS dumped 3rd-place Mirai for 4th-place Ashley four years previously. Back then, Ashley had the cred because she'd made the GPF two years in a row. Not so in 2018. Ashley had so-so 2106-17 season and an even worse 2017 fall season. Karen had won the 2017 US Championship and was 4th at 2017 Worlds to Ashley's 7th. In 2018, Karen's cred was better than Ashley's, just as Ashley's was better than Mirai's back in 2014.
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2014
I know someone who knows Ashley and knew how bad the infection on her foot was. They don’t know how she put a skate on, let alone did triples. I wish people (not you! This is just an observation of skating fans) would stop holding SA up as this great moral failing from Ashley. Certainly she was not in her 2016 form and reusing Moulin Rouge was not a good idea but she withdrew from Skate America because she was in too much pain to skate. End of story. And I say this as someone who doesn’t think she should have gone to the Olympics.
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2014
I have no doubt she didn't mean to embarrass herself and withdraw from an event in the middle of a free skate (like seriously who would do that) and anyone implying she was doing it so she wouldn't have to have a bad placement is just ... :disagree:
But in the end it was bad optics and life isn't fair and there was no other reason to push Ashley over Karen anyway. Karen's spins, jumps, and skating skills are far better than Ashley's even if you take into consideration both of their UR-prone jumps. Ashley's performance ability is much better than Karen's but that's just one aspect and Karen has youth and potential on her side. Anyway I'm sure there's no point in rehashing this debate (sorry I just did) but sometimes there are only three spots so someone has to be left out whether or not they did anything wrong.
