Ladies FS as it happened
Oh boy, what has happened!?
In the short, absolutely wonderful and hardly any mistakes, in the Free it was quite a rollercoaster and at times a disaster, like for Ivett or Anna and Japan even lost their third spot, while Canada grabbed it it.
Let´s start with the survivors, our top three Ladies, Evgenia, Kaety and Gabby who delivered when it mattered and this takes guts, as they could only lose their medals after what had happened to Anna, Masha, Ashley & co., something that the yellow press and surely many haters would had loved to see.
Therefore, the pressure was high, you were supposed to bring the medals home, but also secure what was left from the Olympic spots and some crazy Canadians, even spoke of gold after the short, a totally stupid remark if I may say so, as in no world this could have happened, unless Medvedeva would have stayed out to play with Luna instead.
At times I wish, that my colleagues would actually show some grace and not rush out of the door with such stupid headlines, that only makes the ladies nervous and it was amazing to see how both of them, kept their cool and just showed everyone that they can stick it!
Personally, I am very happy for Osmond, as this "kid" has been through so much in her career, she was often the target of trolls and idiots and yet, she kept the sport alive while being blamed all the time, if the medals didn´t come. People never gave her credit for the Sochi team medal, never credit for her amazing presence and SS, it was quite shocking... :eeking:
Seriously, where would this sport be without her, I don´t know. She kept Canadian dreams alive during Sochi and she always came back, no matter what! I remember the days, when she crashed into someone and had to sit out a whole season, bombed at Skate Canada and again at 4 Continents, she was never gonna do it in the eyes of many and I bet those haters and trolls were already prepared for the next session of abuse and will now all of a sudden, start praising her and themselves, as if they had won the medal themselves....
Kaety absolutely nailed it on both days and you could see how much it meant for her and the team! She skates with so much grace and attitude, never making it look hard, but as if everyone could do it, such an effortless way of skating, like a maple leaf in the wind.
Ravi and Osmond, deserve this medal more than anyone else and it is their medal, not the medal of Canada or the Federation or the fans, it´s their achievement and theirs alone!
Gabby, faced similar demons as Kaetlyn in the past, one good skate yes, but two? She broke down in tears during one of her Grand Prix event´s and even the flowers, could not hide those sad eyes and she picked herself up again and came back strong at 4 CC, where the Free was less good and she lost the gold, but again, she stayed focused and now kept her cool at Worlds with two flawless performances and that huge attack, which someone must have seen live, it´s crazy what she can pull off on ice.
I do not know Gabby that well in person, but she always seemed to be a naughty lady with a big heart and together with Brian she has created two wonderful skates, that are unique and unlike of any other skater. She likes to play her role on ice, a very expressive and bubbly young lady she is.
Expression is of course also the trademark of our gold medalist from Russia and I have no idea how she did it, after what had happened to Masha and Anna. If you don´t show your respect to that Lady´s achievements, then I am sorry, but you know nothing about competing. How often did she face situations like that, where she had to skate clean, where she had to come out as the first or last of a top group and never did she show any sign of weakness.
Medvedeva has the best programs with the highest potential scores, she is as consistent as a swizz watch and a real star in the making, with the right manners too. Did you notice that she always does the interviews herself, she speaks some English and does not hide from these occasions! Her musicality and the depth of her programs never ceases to amaze me and it´s her second season now, where she did not leave any doubt, that her team knows something, about professional attitude and how to put someone in the spotlight! :thumbsup:
Of course, when there is light then there is also darkness and this time it has hit our beautiful
Anna! The bronze medalist from Boston, was however, still not a loser, but a lady who skated with all her grace, in the moment of defeat! I have no idea what had happened to this gorgeous lady in the Free, it was painful to watch and yet nothing alike what she must have felt.
I was happy that this happened in front of a crowd at Finland, they did the exact right thing, picked her up and cheered for the young Russian, who was probably in the worst moment of her career. You could see what it meant for her, when the crowd lifted her up, at times, when she was about to quit. Everyone in the crowd, did skate with Anna and shared her burden today, nothing but respect for everyone!
If you see a skater like that, then you must realize that these Ladies all have a heart and it can easily break, as we should all know from RL experiences. Therefore, I will never understand how some individuals, can be so rude to the Ladies, like that press guy on Wednesday when he called
Masha boring. Said 16 years old, did not have her best day either in the Free, dropping down to eight, but I stick to what I said before, this young lady has glamour and attitude, she is very elegant and graceful with those long arms and legs. She could easily be a rhythmic gymnast and would put a smile into everyone's face there too! Classy Russian skating at it´s best and she will go her way and her programs will only get better as the years come by, mark my words!
Words alone, can probably not describe what I think about
Carolina Kostner. I don´t care about any of the gossip, all I care about is what she did on ice. With 30 years of age, she was not too far away from a medal, at a time, when the depth is bigger than ever before. Alexei Mishin noted that her head was taking a nap and therefore an even better placement out of reach, ... but honestly, I don´t even think that Kostner thought about a medal at Worlds, she just wanted to be back on ice and as always, she has such a calm approach to this sport, she can slow down and speed up effortlessly, it´s a true Lady on ice, who deserves nothing but respect for this great achievement with again, 30 years of age!
10 years younger is
Laurine Lecavelier and again, she showed us what it´s all about, when she "pulled out" the black dress and every men in the crowd, had to be restrained by his wife or gf... I really like programs, where skaters play with their naughty side, do the unexpected and just rip their "clothes off" at times, after all, this is an artistic sport and we need that artistry back on ice, to make "TM"
figure skating, great again!
Because of this, I was also incredible happy to see our
Rika Hongo once more with her Riverdance. It is by far, one of the best FS of the past 10 years by an Asian based skater. She has so much talent for these type of programs and even though it was not free of mistakes, the idea and storyline, her interpretation and arrangement of music, are second to none. If you want to see this program in perfection, check out the Cup of China FS from last season!
At Helsinki, however, another skater from Japan, stole the show and it was the youngster,
Mai Mihara, who does that funny thing with her ears before every skate, which is smart coaching, a routine to relax the mind, that kind of did not do it´s job properly in the short, where she only came 15th!
In the Free, however, she was back where she belongs, a flawless skate, gaining an edge on the Canadians in TES, just about four points behind the Russian superstar, while just losing out on the components, which is to be expected at such young age.
When I met her at Oberstdorf a few months ago, I was delighted by her presence, she is funny and very kind to everyone, but also very determined, she want´s to win medals and even though she missed out this time, she kept the Nippon dreams alive going from 15 to 5, securing at least the second spot for the Olympics.
Similar could be said about
Karen Chen, who came 4th, becoming the best US American lady, keeping those Olympic dreams alive for a nation that is so desperate and at times cruel. What an athlete has to endure by competing for the star spangled banner is unbelievable and this kid here, is the reason why team USA, will have three spots! (of course not forgetting our wonderful Ashley on 7 here, but we must give credit to Karen, I am sure Ms. Wagner will understand :agree: )
While I know that it does not work that way, I wish that Mai and Karen would receive that Olympic spot, no matter what happens at Nationals, after all, they have won it and nobody else. That these young kids had to save the day, for those huge figure skating nations is unbelievable and deserves huge respect! Those at home, complaining about no medals should ask themselves, what did "YOU" actually contribute, to that Olympic dream?
Last but not least, we also had our funny mom again and her daughter
Elizabet, who can finally show what she is capable of and I am already looking forward to the day when she medals, as then her mom might pull off an even bigger stunt than these days!
Overall, while difficult at times, all of our Ladies gave their best and while some tears were shed, they can all be very proud of their achievements, including of course Ivett with those beautiful programs just like
Dabin Choi the young Korean with that expressive attitude, or
Nastia and Angelina with their grace and fighting spirit,
Lani who completely reworked her program on the fly and yet kept it wonderful,
Loena who had all those issues with the federation... it really takes a lot to be a competitor and they all have what it takes.
To skate at Worlds is something very special and out of hundreds of thousands, those 24 made it to the final. Be proud of everything you have done so far and there will always be another skate and please ladies, don´t stop in your mid 20´s and keep your heads up high
, Wow and wow. Way to step up, for yourself and for your country! I love that she skates big, and as a woman even though she's just 17. I adore the genuine joy of her gorgeous spiral. This was a great comp for her. Keep skating "dumb," girl .... turn your mind off and let your body do what it knows to do. As for Maria Sotskova, I think she always looks scared, in varying degrees, when she competes. Reminds me a little of Gracie. There was no way not to feel for her and Anna. Again, this competition is not easy.
