2014 Olympics Ladies Short Program

[wordsworthgirl]

I agree with that order bobbob/wordsworthgirl posted above but those scores are toooo highhh.

Kostner is the only one who should have cleared 70, IMO, and she shouldn't have gone far past 70 either. Her spins did not deserve high scores (I'd give +1 to the flying camel and 0 to the layback and combination spin).

Blades of Passion I'll agree with you on the actual numbers. Good thoughts.

 

[Mista Ekko]

I really only felt that Mao and Julia had a chance at gold since they both can hit well over 200 in total score but with them both of them out of the picture, it's hard to see Kostner or Sotnikova getting the gold medal barring a massive implosion on Kim's part and the skate of their life from Kostner/Sotnikova.

I can easily see Sotnikova winning, She just needs to be clean,
I find it hard to see her lower than Silver to be honest,
The only way i see her on Bronze is if Lipnitskaya is in Silver

Look at Gracie Gold, She goes lights out at the team event, But is still behind Sotnikovas score at Europeans, Where she missed her entire opening combo, So on Sochi ground with a 6 point lead ?
She can fall twice before Gold beats her .

 

[Skater Boy]

Do you guys notice how inconsistent Gracie's landings are?
I mean girl needs some serious work on her landings.....

They were just scratchy b ut she didn't seem to get penalized too much.

 

[gds102]

It is not the technique or artistry that matter right now. I don't see any reason why the rules even exist. What the heck are the judges doing? Seriously, most of the scores are sooo inflated. Many skaters are given huge scores just because of nationalities. Almost sick of ridiculous games going on in Sochi

 

[mirai4life]

I wonder what Adelina's marks would've been if she's Adelina Li
I wonder what Julia's marks would've been if she's Julia Asada

We can play this all day and it kinda show how out of control the judging is, isn't it.

oh noooo

 

[qazwsx]

It is not the technique or artistry that matter right now. I don't see any reason why the rules even exist.

The rules are needed as camouflage.

 

[HalfTriple]

I wonder what Adelina's marks would've been if she's Adelina Li
I wonder what Julia's marks would've been if she's Julia Asada

We can play this all day and it kinda show how out of control the judging is, isn't it.

An interesting point. I, never drawn to a possibility of that kind psyche of racial bend, tend to suspect it more and more these days, especially in regard to the recent judging pattern. It seems quite articulated in the protocols that the Euro judges share some kind of unspoken empathy among them to boost the Russian kids or Kostner. Of course their preference of Kostner had been apparent while Kim was not around, and it shifted to Julia as quickly as she faltered. Well, let us not jump into the conclusion though. It also has to do with each patriotic fervor-driven moral depletion as individual. It seems if everybody looks clean, then winner might be even picked randomly by judges according to their interest. We see the very open possibility at this point. Now they totally ignore common sense and cumulative infos in determining PCS as well as the prerequisite of GOE, only using the guideline for a pretext to justify inadequate application. Who knows we are heading to moratorium of figure skating, finally?

 

[Isabel_O'Reilly]

The Lutz Julia did in the SP wasn't a flutz. It was fine.

Julia got << on the 3F. Her PCS seems to have gone back to what it was before the Team Competition like I said it would when people were crying night and day in the Team Ladies FS thread...

Her PCS was 33, almost exactly what it was in the team SP, she got higher PCS for her FS, totally deserved as it it much better. The points that were left on the table were from the fall. She got 0.08 (1.08-1.00 deduction) when normally she gets 6.5X. Then the error impacted her last two spins because she was reeling from her only fall in competition in 3 years. She had what counted as a fall at COR, but if you watch it again you'll realize only her hands touched the ice, not her body. She has never fallen in three years of international competition. Anyone else think that it has something to do with her skating first after the warm-up? And she has the same spot tomorrow. I think she's very unlucky.

 

[Isabel_O'Reilly]

I agree. I hate to think what would've happened had Lipinskaya skated clean. She probably would've overtaken Yuna which would've been outrageous. She has a lot of potential, but she lacks the polish of the top skaters.

This event was actually pretty a great. I thought Yuna was spectacular. I don't think I've ever seen her skate with so much emotion. I feel just terrible for Mao. Her program is gorgeous. It hurts that she had such a horrible skate. I was really hoping to see her and Yuna battle it out in the free skate.

Kostner was wonderful as was Adelina, but I still wouldn't have put them as close to Yuna as they are.

Gracie did well enough. Though she skates with more maturity than Polina, I thought technically Polina had the better skate.

All in all it was a great competition. I hope the free program goes just as well.

No, if she had skated clean she would have received 71-ish (she lost 6.50 points for the triple flip), 72-ish if the spins were more stable. That fall really rattled her. Besides I think it's notable to note that this is the first time she's fallen to the ice in her three years of international competition.

 

[MaiKatze]

Carolina totally won my heart with that skate. After watching her horrible performances at Olympics past I wondered if she was cursed, but this SP made up for everything. So fast, so smooth, beautiful jumps, some of the best arms in the business. My sentimental favourite of the night. That's one I will watch again and again. It was everything ladies skating should be. She absolutely deserves to be right up there

For me it was the performance of the Night. I never was a Carolina Fan, but from this day on, I'm actually sad that she's retiring and I finally see what the german commentators have been telling me for years. That she is wonderful. Our commentator had talked to Carolina before and she told him in a serene voice that it didn't matter for her where she landed, if she gets a medal or 10th place, she is only skating for herself. Well done, I say. Keep that in mind for the Free as well.

 

[starrynight]

Dick Button, Kurt Browning, Dave Lease of TSL, and Michael Buckley all feel her artistry is a bit canned and that she is flat and cold.

A bit flat and cold Yuna compared to... Vancouver Yuna, I guess, since she missed the entire GP circuit and probably today's SP was the first watch for them. This is what I worry about repeating skaters. They have to compete with their former prime-time selves (unless they had an epic fail back then) as well as the real mix in the Games. Double trouble.

 

[Blades of Passion]

I just watched the performances again on another broadcast and, yeah, it's correct for these three ladies to be so close to each other. Sotnikova blew Yu-Na and Kostner away on the spins, which more than makes up for the easier jump combination. Her PCS should have been behind more, but since Yu-Na and Kostner were overscored on the spins in comparison and the results should have been so close anyway, there's really not much to complain about. They all should be within a point of each other and they are; it's mostly irrelevant that Sotnikova is in 2nd right now instead of 3rd.

As for the step sequences that people have been talking about, all three ladies could have performed them better. I saw the edge mistakes that Yu-Na and Kostner made to drop them down on the level and Sotnikova did successfully pack more content into the sequence to deserve the Level 4, although her execution was the lowest (she was overscored there, yes for sure).

Kostner was slightly less impressive on rewatch. None of these programs are great. The step sequence rules seriously, seriously hurt programs. It's nearly impossible to fit everything in while making it work seamlessly as part of the choreographic and interpretative whole. They MUST be modified in the future to improve the quality of programs.

Some modifications to the spin rules would really be beneficial as well; the "classic" positions in the camel/sit/layback should all count as difficult variations. They ARE difficult, but for some reason not rewarded. We are seeing too many catch-foot variations. Pretty much nobody actually does a fully extended and well-arched camel spin anymore, nor a sit spin where the free leg is held straight out and the back is perfectly straight. Those positions are actually MORE difficult than some of these catch-foot positions, but they don't count for points. That's wrong...and the judges need to stop rewarding lackluster positions with so much +GOE. As much as I praised Sotnikova's spins in this post, the sideways position on her Layback spin is NOT good.

 

[magicalwords]

Finally got to watch with NBC's primetime coverage!

Carolina was simply beautiful. This program does justice for her. Elegant and Mature. My favorite skate in the short. I hope she can continue to deliver in the free skate too. Hope for the best finish for her. Next favorite program was of course Yuna's. I'm glad to see her bring an emotional piece for her SP and deliver it. It was a nice contrast from many powerful, strong SP pieces she's done in the past. I can't wait for Yuna's free program as well, I just love Adios Nonino however much it may have been overdone Among the young skaters I was very impressed with Polina. If she could shorten her telegraphing a bit and approach the jumps faster that would be great. I hope for a wonderful future for her. Overall it was nice to see young and upcoming skaters, but THE ladies Caro and Yuna really had great flow, smoothness, and maturity that the younger skaters could not match!

 

[KwanIsALegend]

I have a feeling there will be some upset skaters tomorrow and some shock. It is going to be tense. I never would have thought Adelina would be second after the SP.
A real competition and fight for the gold. I'm already tense just thinking about it!

 

[Angryyew]

Behind on my Olympic viewing, so just finished watching on DVR. Not gonna read through all the wailing and gnashing of teeth lol.

Was nice to see Yuna & Kostner skate well. They were both beautiful. Loved the fire the Russian backup plan skated with. Her attitude reminded me of Sasha Cohen, though thankfully without the splats.

Kostner & Kim were the class of the field for artistic merit for me, while I thought Adelina's spins were great.

Bummed that Julia fell, but hopeful she'll skate a clean LP now that some of the pressure should be off. Super bummed, but not surprised about Mao. She just hasn't looked confident at all and the 3A has become like Hanyu's 4S. Almost always misses, but keeps trying.

Really proud of Polina. For where she is in her career, I thought she skated very well. She'll be fun to watch if she works on her SS & artistry and the puberty monster doesn't get her.

Ashley & Gracie had some shaky elements, but kept themselves in the mix to steal a medal if the top three falter.

It's almost a shame to me that everyone, both those who love & those who hate, got so worked up about Julia. I like her a lot, but I think she's someone that should be looking toward 2018 like Edmonds and I hope other people's inflated expectations don't get her too down on a very respectable 1st Olympics.

Unless she's injured or something, I'll be surprised if Yuna doesn't skate well enough to win the OGM, though Kostner & Adelina coukd make it interesting if the go clean. If any of them meltdown enough to fall off the podium, I think Julia & Gracie are the most likely to sneak in. Shoukd be interesting, just hoping it's a battle of great skating, rather than a contest of who flubs the least.

 

[tetana]

I just love all about Yuna. I love even her yellow costume.
Sad about Mao.
Happy for Caro.!!!
Gracie..Gracie..Gracie.. I love her pretty smile and beautiful skating. She was elegant as usual and underscored a little bit while Russians overscored too much. Usually I support for Julia. But, in this competition I don't want to do...I don't know whether Shochi's strange score system give a positive effects on Julia and Sotnikova or not.
Zijun! What a lovely girl. She showed her potential to everybody once again.

 

[loop9497]

It was hard to try and analyze the competition once Mao had a rough time. I agree with those who would have had it Kim, Kostner, and Sotnikova. Adelina had fire, and I like her, but I felt her skate was lacking a little bit of sharpness with her landings (hunched over a little with some of them) and didn't completely let the program flow (felt she was emphasizing some of the movements a bit harshly). I am happy for her having a good performance, though. Just for the reasons I mentioned, I would have had her behind Kostner. I would have had Ashley slightly ahead of Julia as well.

I am hoping for a Yuna and Carolina 1-2 finish now since Mao, Akiko, Kanako, and Julia have had mistakes. I don't really know who I'd like for bronze - I guess I could say Julia and maybe Akiko are still in the running for that, so I would be happy with one of them, but I would be happy for the U.S. to make the podium as well. I don't think Mao will be able to move up because I don't think all of the skaters before her will implode.

 

[yuki90]

As I see it, Kim didn't underscore. Her 75 is just about right. However, Kostner should score about 70-71, Adelina 68-69, Gold 65 with my bias points. But the judging today looks more intended to form a close competition.

Agreed.

 

[mcpatty1]

Love your analysis! so sad for Mao, she's done so much for figure skating, you just hate to see this. her Grand Prix performances were all so much better, I can't believe this happened. I hope she blows everyone else away tomorrow. I am happy most skated well. at this point I want Carol to win now, but really wanted Mao!

I've been wanting to post in this thread since watching the event live earlier today, but I was a bit shellshocked and didn't want to recklessly throw myself into the fray.

I know it's a horrible idea to personalize sport or anything that doesn't actually affect my own world and life, but I was absolutely wrecked by Mao Asada's performance in the short program. I've been watching her journey and career trajectory since Vancouver, and I've had the misfortune of viewing her experience unsatisfactory results, only then to see her pull herself up off the ice and build herself up again. She persevered through three tough years and found herself better for it: an elegant, lyrical artist, but also a more refined technician, capable of gorgeous triple axels while also able to perform jumps that were previously missing from her repertoire. Any other skater would've given up following the season she had in 2010-11, but she kept going, working hard and improving her skills through one more dicey season, only to emerge as a runaway engine in 2012-13, losing steam slightly at last years world championships but only to rev up to full throttle through this Grand Prix season.

But what I admire most about Mao, in addition to her artistry and skating skills, is that she seems like a very good person. Her dignified demeanor, throughout her wins and losses, never wavered, and her commitment to her sport through adversities both athletic and personal (I still feel for her for her mother's passing) never wavered either. Like some of our very best skaters (including Yuna Kim and Carolina Kostner, both in the running for Gold right now), she was always about the skating, and as an American, she is another fine example of eschewing public posturing in favor of actual skating, athletes of which our country surely needs more of (looking at you Ashley and Gracie). Even though we come from entirely different backgrounds, Mao has become a role model for me these past four years, an artist who has persevered through tough times only to come out better for it, results or otherwise.

With that said, I'm not sure what to make of her placement of 16th at this point. I think the overall rankings are very fair, especially the top 3. I think it's fair enough that Yulia is above Ashley, given the latter's 3-3 downgrade and the former's execution of a more difficult 3-3 (albeit a flutzy looking one, but her spins are much better than Ashley's). After letting my feelings gestate over Mao, I have finally settled on a sentiment to carry into tomorrow's free skate: though she is a longshot for a podium finish, I hope Mao skates a performance that she finds personal satisfaction in. After all, even though this is a sport, the journey is just as rewarding as the final outcome.

 

[seniorita]

Many discussions have been had about Suzuki's beauty, or lack thereof. Don't knock Dick for keeping it real. We all admire her perseverance and conquer over her struggles.

No that was insulting and the reason skating is going down as a sport. When skating turns into beauty contest, then we are in trouble for people to get it is a very hard sport. I find Akiko adorable and inspiring. But still it doesnt matter. We are dealing with athletes here. I think twitter is an excuse to say the meanest things, it is one thing if I write it and another if a known sports commentator with thousand followers does. His legendary status doesnt excuse it either.