2021-2022 U.S. Men's Figure Skating | Page 31 | Golden Skate

2021-2022 U.S. Men's Figure Skating

I think Jason will do the SP, because 1. Sinnerman, 2. Sinnerman, 3. he will become a fan favorite. Nathan will probably do the LP, because the US needs a solid skater to place in the top 2/3 in both segments in order to get the silver medal in the Team Event. Although Nathan probably wants to do the SP, strategy-wise it's not a good idea. Jason can easily score 95 in the SP and be competitive with the other skaters, but in the free his advantage is greatly diminished because he's up against so many guys with multiple quads.

It's definitely a risk for Nathan to do the LP in the team event. There's kind of a push and pull here between what's best for the US and what's best for the individual skater. I would LOVE to see Sinnerman in the team competition and it's likely that Jason would score in the Top 3 if he's given the SP. However, Jason is not a favorite for gold or even a medal contender like Vincent and Nathan are -- and as a skater, if I was forced to decide between a team silver or bronze and an individual medal (likely gold in Nathan's case), I wouldn't want to potentially stunt my momentum with a just-ok free skate OR peak too early in the team even with a knockout performance.

If I were Nathan, I would be happy with my team bronze from 2018 and I would put all my marbles on the individual event. I would have Jason skate the SP and Vincent skate the LP.
 
It's definitely a risk for Nathan to do the LP in the team event. There's kind of a push and pull here between what's best for the US and what's best for the individual skater. I would LOVE to see Sinnerman in the team competition and it's likely that Jason would score in the Top 3 if he's given the SP. However, Jason is not a favorite for gold or even a medal contender like Vincent and Nathan are -- and as a skater, if I was forced to decide between a team silver or bronze and an individual medal (likely gold in Nathan's case), I wouldn't want to potentially stunt my momentum with a just-ok free skate OR peak too early in the team even with a knockout performance.

If I were Nathan, I would be happy with my team bronze from 2018 and I would put all my marbles on the individual event. I would have Jason skate the SP and Vincent skate the LP.
I agree. IMO, Nathan is like Elizaveta Tuk in this situation. The final Jewell in his crown is the OGM, Jason and Vincent have already shown that they can handle pressure and have been successful in their international events.
 
Nathan has already stated that he wants to do the team event. So, most likely he'll do the SP.
If I recall correctly, the team event is Before the Singles, Is that still the case? Yulia was spectacular in the team event and was not as good in the individual event. Was it from fatigue after doing so well in the team event?
 
If I recall correctly, the team event is Before the Singles, Is that still the case? Yulia was spectacular in the team event and was not as good in the individual event. Was it from fatigue after doing so well in the team event?
Yes, the men's individual is immediately following the Team Event. But the SP shouldn't be overly taxing, especially if Nathan waters down his jump content. A watered down layout would still beat anyone in the World except Hanyu at his best.
 
I think Jason will do the SP, because 1. Sinnerman, 2. Sinnerman, 3. he will become a fan favorite. Nathan will probably do the LP, because the US needs a solid skater to place in the top 2/3 in both segments in order to get the silver medal in the Team Event. Although Nathan probably wants to do the SP, strategy-wise it's not a good idea. Jason can easily score 95 in the SP and be competitive with the other skaters, but in the free his advantage is greatly diminished because he's up against so many guys with multiple quads.

I don’t think this would ever happen. Nathan is likely to be the first seed, and he has already he said he wants to do the team event. Vincent will almost certainly want to do the team event bc he’s never done it. Both Nathan and Vincent are likely medal contenders in the individual event. Because the men’s team event FS is scheduled just a couple of days before the men’s individual SP is scheduled, both Nathan and Vincent would probably prefer to do the SP in the team event (so they won’t be as tired for the individual event). So it’s most likely one of those two will do the SP (whichever one is the higher seeded skater) and the other one will have to decide if they want to compete the FS or just skip it and let the third team member (whether or not it’s Jason) skate the team FS.

Whichever guy is selected for the team FS will have to pace himself very carefully, because the schedule is terrible for the men.
 
Nathan has already stated that he wants to do the team event. So, most likely he'll do the SP.
He wants the medal and he wants the experience; the federation will give in to his whims. Jason is a gamble. If he misses say a jump in the sp then Japan, Russia, Canada, Italy, China, France could beat him and really cause havoc for the US team gold. or even silver. We are assuming Jason makes it to the olympics A lot will depend on how Jimmy Ma does this GP season
 
For me, it is a headline :) that *Taira Shinohara* ((y) yes, whose name is one to remember) had a strong SP in Fort Wayne.
Fifteen-year-old Shinohara is fun to follow on Instagram, and he had been understandably thrilled after Blaine, where it was his FS score that shone. Hope that he can keep up the good work with his FS in Fort Wayne. :pray:

It is very welcome news too that Joe Klein also had a strong SP in Fort Wayne. Hopefully a good sign that he is moving past injury earlier in the season. :pray: Best wishes to Joe with his FS as well.

Sorry to see that Daniel Martynov, who had been listed as an entry in Junior Men in the early Fort Wayne PDF, did not compete. :unsure:
He also had withdrawn from his JGP assignment this season.
He is on the early list for Alpharetta, and I hope that he will compete there.





Although it will be a tall order for Ilia to earn one of the three Olympic slots, I agree that it is premature to count him out entirely.

At the very least, USFS presumably would want Ilia to be available to serve as a viable Olympic alternate (especially if USFS were to name him as first alternate) -- which would be yet another important reason to send him to Austria to go after the senior minimums.





Per another annual ISU document, the ongoing "core group" of Challengers year after year includes: Nebelhorn, Finlandia, Nepela, Golden Spin, plus an event in Canada or USA.

p.s. I don't think it has been mentioned yet that scores that count toward ISU Season's Bests are another advantage of a Challenger (as opposed to just a "Senior B").

Oh my goodness. Taira looks so tiny, even for a skater. And a giant smile! I’m just now watching the Senior Men, none of whom I recognize. Do you know if Andrew Austin has entered any of these?
 
He wants the medal and he wants the experience; the federation will give in to his whims. Jason is a gamble. If he misses say a jump in the sp then Japan, Russia, Canada, Italy, China, France could beat him and really cause havoc for the US team gold. or even silver. We are assuming Jason makes it to the olympics A lot will depend on how Jimmy Ma does this GP season
Jimmy Ma's body of work is practically non-existent compared to Jason's, he never scores even close to WC21 top 10 and that's when he does better than usual. If he manages to be on the podium at Nationals he'll be another Ross Miner no doubt in my mind about it. The guy is adorable and fun to watch, but Jimmy Ma is not the one to put Jason in danger. If Jason fails they'll go with Ilia Malin most likely or with Jason even if he fails.
 
He wants the medal and he wants the experience; the federation will give in to his whims. Jason is a gamble. If he misses say a jump in the sp then Japan, Russia, Canada, Italy, China, France could beat him and really cause havoc for the US team gold. or even silver. We are assuming Jason makes it to the olympics A lot will depend on how Jimmy Ma does this GP season
Sadly Jimmy Ma has no other GP event. I’m less than thrilled myself. He was entered in the Asian Open bit the whole team withdrew. I’m not sure if he’s entered in any other Challenger or Senior B. I’m more looking at 4CCs or even Worlds for Jimmy if both Nathan and Vincent retire as they’ve said they would.
 
Jimmy Ma's body of work is practically non-existent compared to Jason's, he never scores even close to WC21 top 10 and that's when he does better than usual. If he manages to be on the podium at Nationals he'll be another Ross Miner no doubt in my mind about it. The guy is adorable and fun to watch, but Jimmy Ma is not the one to put Jason in danger. If Jason fails they'll go with Ilia Malin most likely or with Jason even if he fails.
Jimmy is improving very rapidly and I love it. He put that B envelope money to good use. I agree with you that his body of work is not that strong and he won’t be under consideration for this Olympic team but if he keeps improving he should do very well in the future.
 
I think Vincent will have a difficult decision if the Oly schedule stays the way that it is.

As Nathan wants to do the Team Event, and as defending World Champ, he will choose to do the SP because of the schedule. The Team LP is *one day* before the individual SP. Vincent would like to try for an individual medal, but of course an Olympic field is not the GP.:shrug:

I am risk averse and if I were Vincent, I would skate the Team LP because odds are I would get at least one Olympic medal. But I remember in Sochi they did not make the decision as to the men's LP until the day before. So there will be a lot of time to consider it. :)
 
I think Vincent will have a difficult decision if the Oly schedule stays the way that it is.

As Nathan wants to do the Team Event, and as defending World Champ, he will choose to do the SP because of the schedule. The Team LP is *one day* before the individual SP. Vincent would like to try for an individual medal, but of course an Olympic field is not the GP.:shrug:

I am risk averse and if I were Vincent, I would skate the Team LP because odds are I would get at least one Olympic medal. But I remember in Sochi they did not make the decision as to the men's LP until the day before. So there will be a lot of time to consider it. :)
I don’t think risk aversion is in the wheelhouse of most elite figure skaters. At 20 risk aversion isn’t in the wheelhouse of many (most?) people.
 
I don’t think risk aversion is in the wheelhouse of most elite figure skaters. At 20 risk aversion isn’t in the wheelhouse of many (most?) people.

I understand what you mean. I was risk averse at 10, but not everyone is an "old soul":biggrin:.

That may be the wrong terminology, but skating two days in a row is a calculated risk if you are aiming for an individual medal. And Vincent, of all people, knows the upside and downside of risk.

We will see when we see. :)
 
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