Mini review and thoughts, love them all!
There is a lot to talk about and it makes me a little bit proud that my preview was actually very spot on and that Gracie is indeed on track to Gold. I remember how I once said, that Adelina will win the Olympics and nobody believed in her, except that foolish guy here.
The story with Gracie is very similar and I am sure, many of you thought I am nuts to call her a gold medalist at Boston, many months ago when she once again, faced a lot of negativity but not only her but also Frank. It was a personal pleasure to kick all these haters in their asses all season long with my comments and that now, our Gracie delivered what I once predicted and maybe even a bit more than expected.
While we still have the Free coming up, I am damn proud of this young lady, I always knew she had what it takes to be a winner and not just a super model. What I said after Sochi, also applies here, the judges were definately influenced by the home crowd, gave out a few more points than maybe necessary, but if I understood at Sochi, that judges are human, then I can hardly deny that now, can I?
The best two skaters are currently leading, while Ashley should be closer and it is a very difficult result, for skaters and fans, but also me.
If you see Gracie skate, then you see a woman, just like with Ashley, but much stronger linking and footwork.
To base, a part of the PC´s on that, is about right in my books and wanted by the ISU, but we also need to consider that both Russians, Elena and Evgenia did not have a clean performance today.
Evgenia had a weird Flip and couldnt add her triple Toe and while she recovered and really nailed a Loop – toe later, it is a little error in the performance and build, a build that is so dominant and in peoples heads, that a mistake can be very costly, regarding the overall rating of the performance. A performance that for me, from home, looked a bit tight in general, the softness in her motion was not as present, as seen before. Her body, has changed, visibly and you need to give her credit, for not letting this influence her more than what we saw today. She is a strong kid and proved this today and should be proud of her performance.
Would the scores still be higher outside of the US, I think so, to me a two point gap at PC´s is a bit harsh, but I also agree, that Anna was the best Russian on ice today and on par with Gracie and Ashley, regarding PC´s and not a point behind.
Her jumps are super huge, her expression very different to the smiles or acting of the other skaters and very in character, I am very pleased that the judges loved Anna more this time, as she usually gets the cold shoulder by them.
That being said, she paid for not being an American, as her program was totally flawless and should be higher in performance and execution, as Gracie´s, who had an edge issue on the Flip and if we are strict and you all know how I love Gracie, then this is a reason to give her less than Anna, also because of the step sequence, which Anna had the best of today, for me.
Her attack and power, was there, she had a super strong expression and without looking at protocols, it was a four for me and also adds to the overall expression. It is very tricky and I was not at the ice rink, I did only see what the camera showed us, we should always remember this if we judge.
Ashley, has a less complex arrangement compared to Anna and Gracie for me, again I would had liked to see this reflected in the scores too. That being said, Ashley was a super lady today and the judges always give skaters at home a bonus, it always happens and it is to be expected and love it or hate it, we must treat everyone equal so either we always complain, or always accept such things. Overall, the placement is either way ok for me, but I do not like the big distance in points. It should all be much tighter if you ask me.
As for Elena, I can´t help it, but feel she was really a bit left alone on the ice today. Where was that crowd, that I so praised before the event? What happened to the Americans who support everyone? The standing ovations and claps, for the Americans, but the Russians? I felt a bit like in a cold war, maybe I exaggerate here, but the support just wasn´t there. You saw this already at the introduction, Evgenia was not really cheered at, or Elena and these two are top skaters with titles! What happend, to you guys at Boston? This, personally, disappointed me most, especially after the hate that Russian crowds usually get by American fans. If you felt, Russians were not supportive enough, why act the same? I just don´t understand this, these skaters, Satoko, Elena, Rika, Evgenia or Anna – they performed on a super high level, and some people actually browsed their smartphone during their skates. This is a no go people! It was worth a standing ovation, teddy bears, cremlins, flowers or whatever you had, but nope, nothing came – poor skaters ... I want to point out, however, there was a couple who had Russian, Latvian, Australian flags, thank you for that you made my day, so supportive. If it would had been ice dance, I would have thought that was Doris!
Anyways, what came true, however, is my call of " "the best Ladies field since years" as the ladies did that call, justice today. It is a pity, that in the end only three can take the medals. But if we talk about medals today, then we also have to give medals to skaters, who will not end up on the podium. My first medal contender is Niki Wories and she is such a textbook athlete for me.
When you see her in practice, she is really more cold than hot, so many falls, but she always get´s back on her feet and goes again. She want´s to be a winner and you see this in everything she does. Going to Canada, practicing 30 hours a week, jetting back and forth between NA and Europe, she shows what you can achieve, if you believe in yourself and fight every day for your dreams! She qualified as 24th and deserves to be among the best ladies on day two!
I wish, more skaters would have her charisma and strong will, you can achieve a lot if you believe and I am sure, its not easy for a dutch to be a figure skater, if your whole country is about speed skating or windmills, but she did her thing and it should teach especially young skaters a lesson, that no matter which country you are from, no matter what god given body or talent you have, hard work pays off at the end.
Similar can be said about Amy Lin, who competed for TPE, while being born in the US. It was her dream to be a skater on international level and she found a way. A way also Ivett found, a way to still smile and accept what happened today. Too often, skaters look like the end of the world is coming, if they failed at one competition and it´s so wrong. As a skater, you will have hundreds of competitions in your life, one missed opportunity is not worth a sad face. Sad inside, Dasa Grm was for sure, she came last, but did you see how she was selling her program today? At no point you would have thought, that this was the program and attitude of someone coming last.
All these mentioned, can teach young skaters a lot, a lot about confidence, strong will and a never ending fight on the ice, a fight that you must have to become a winner.
Same can be said about Anna of course, she is now on two with a huge performance, maybe the best of her life and of the day. It must have been hard throughout the season, to always be so underscored, never receiving what you deserved, struggling with nerves and the scoring, just because you are not a tiny little girl anymore or a super star that automatically get´s a bonus, a bonus which Mao for instance, didnt get at all today, for me understandable, for her fans a disaster. It just didnt come together for her today, the Axel just a double, the problem on the loop – it must reflect somewhere, no matter how much of a lady she was again, today. Her reaction was all we need, she understood why the score was low and this is always the best argument to discuss scores, skaters know best about what they deserved.
All skaters today, deserve my respect and gratititude for what they do to entertain us while giving us something to cheer on. If we look back at todays competition, then I believe that a lot that I was afraid of, happened, that I feel a lot with the Russians today, no matter, how happy I am about Gracie, as the Russians obviously knew that they were fighting a very difficult battle on American ice. While the crowd was not rude, they were not sensitive either and the judges were just humans who can be driven by emotions at times, which I understand as mentioned.
Is the result understandable, yes it is. Was it fair, I think it was questionable, but not unfair or "cheated" and I also think that nothing is lost or won yet. What made me a bit sad is how different mistakes were rated today, but I appreciated the fact that maturity was considered in the scores.
Gracie is supposed to win, the judging, her strong performance and the crowd will make sure that she can win. In the end, however, a lot is still in the balance and I really hope, that we will get a result that reflects the performance on ice and that the crowd will cheer them all equally, as a good skate deserves applause and standing ovations, no matter from whom it came.
If I had scored today, this would have been my top three, all within one point of each other, followed by Evgenia, Elena, Satoko and Mirai in close distance of not more than 5-6 points to the leader.
1. Anna
2. Gracie
3. Ashley
Mirai for me, was really incredible today, I loved everything about her performance, she sold that program beautifully and it is hard for me to understand, how she can only be a sub with such performances like we saw today.
I hope my little "review" which is not as complex as it will be at the end of Boston (small warning), is not too harsh and that I did not offend anyone. As I always say, I love them all and was greatly entertained, but I wish that all these doubts and "questions" wouldnt be there.
Thanks ladies and congratulations to Anna, Gracie, Gabby, Mirai and Ashley who were my top skaters of the day and I hope Elena, Rika, Satoko and Evgenia can strike back tomorrow and give these judges, no doubt about their qualities on ice, so that whoever beats them, must deliver a clean performance, so that we will have a winner based on performance and not human emotions. Very happy for Gracie, just sad that there is now the controversy about her scores, just like with Adelina at Sochi - so sad for a skater who wins or might win gold, if mistakes by others are seen as your fault, while you did nothing wrong and only skated your programs. Hopefully she can enjoy being the leader, Adelina and her are my super favorites, but I feel for the other skaters - I am so between two chairs, damn why can´t I be a Cactus, life would be easier then...
Gabby was ace, I just want to mention this! Alaine, don't be sad girl! :thumbsup: The Chinese was awesome, too!
Beautiful! Simply stunning! 
