Yes she did!!!! And thank goodness she didn't kill herself trying to limp through the GPs and JNats!!!!! I'm absolutely thrilled she sat the season out now in retrospect!!!!!I had to force myself to watch JNats after Rika withdrew. I was that disappointed as I wanted to see her at the Olympics. But now? Pfft, she dodged a bullet big time! She doesn’t want to be at this Charlie Foxtrot no way! On to 2026!
I love the enthusiasm of Kaori of learning more difficult jumps. If she got a 4 in the one spin she got a 3 in, in the free skate, she could have scored 234 instead of 233, like Japanese Nationals. So, there is a bit more room for improvement for her in the international sceneRe. Kaori vs. Wakaba
First of all, I'm absolutely satisfied and happy for Kaori's bronze medal, and Wakaba's 2 3As success in the competitions.
To be honest, I don't see the point to compare the two anymore, as both reached their goals in this Olympics. For me, the difference is only in their strategies and approach: yes, Kaori doesn't have more difficult jumps, she and her team are aware of that. So the only way to compensate for the shortage was to ensure every little details and levels could be achieved (including the flutz problem), plus the consistency and security in her jumps. On the other hand, Wakaba is more close to mastering the 3A. So she may choose to focus on that. But by putting the 3A jump and a cleanly skated program into priority, at the same time she let go the chances to hold other elements to a better level.
There's nothing wrong with either of the choices, just different outcomes for the moment.
I'm still thrilled that both girls also clearly state for continuation in the sport. I want to see Wakaba keeping her 3A, but refine her other jumps (such as pushing for difficult combinations in the later half of the program). And Kaori, she just said in the press conference what she still wants to master other more difficult jumps.
It felt like a long journey to follow both Kaori and Wakaba, as I was able to watch both live in competitions (different ones) since they were at the jr. level. And I'm really glad both achieved so much throughout the years.
My final words for @Joekaz, I really don't get why you insist on promoting Wakaba while demoting Kaori, instead of questioning, e.g. why Wakaba was getting lower PCS comparing to the Russian girls (Wakaba's 69.26 vs. Kamila's 70.62 or Sasha's 70.97?). [And yes, I know your potential answer...blame everything on JSF!]
What part of my statement demotes Kaori? I congratulated her and praised her. I just simply pointed out the fact that although Wakaba wasn't as clean as Kaori, her tougher programs provided her with enough points to beat Kaori if she wasn't judged so much harsher. I don't see anything outrageous in that.Re. Kaori vs. Wakaba
First of all, I'm absolutely satisfied and happy for Kaori's bronze medal, and Wakaba's 2 3As success in the competitions.
To be honest, I don't see the point to compare the two anymore, as both reached their goals in this Olympics. For me, the difference is only in their strategies and approach: yes, Kaori doesn't have more difficult jumps, she and her team are aware of that. So the only way to compensate for the shortage was to ensure every little details and levels could be achieved (including the flutz problem), plus the consistency and security in her jumps. On the other hand, Wakaba is more close to mastering the 3A. So she may choose to focus on that. But by putting the 3A jump and a cleanly skated program into priority, at the same time she let go the chances to hold other elements to a better level.
There's nothing wrong with either of the choices, just different outcomes for the moment.
I'm still thrilled that both girls also clearly state for continuation in the sport. I want to see Wakaba keeping her 3A, but refine her other jumps (such as pushing for difficult combinations in the later half of the program). And Kaori, she just said in the press conference what she still wants to master other more difficult jumps.
It felt like a long journey to follow both Kaori and Wakaba, as I was able to watch both live in competitions (different ones) since they were at the jr. level. And I'm really glad both achieved so much throughout the years.
My final words for @Joekaz, I really don't get why you insist on promoting Wakaba while demoting Kaori, instead of questioning, e.g. why Wakaba was getting lower PCS comparing to the Russian girls (Wakaba's 69.26 vs. Kamila's 70.62 or Sasha's 70.97?). [And yes, I know your potential answer...blame everything on JSF!]
Kaori doesn't rotate fast enough to do a 3A. And Kaori relies more on speed to jump out, instead of jumping ability to jump up like Wakaba or Midori. That extra speed would indeed make a 3A very dangerous for Kaori.Kaori did mention attempting quads and voiding 3A: she said 3A jump are still 'frightening'. I know ppl are wondering why. Kaori did attempt and trained hard for 3A during her Jr. years. Because of that, she was seriously injured, and most likely that experience has been keeping her away from the big jump (another saying I get is that it even delayed her moving from jr. to sr level for the whole year).
The problem with Wakaba's 3T in the combo is that her lutz is so high and vertical, while very impressive, makes it hard to carry speed into the 3T. She is a more traditional big jumper than Sakamoto, who jumps more out. That's why usually Kaori jumps longer, but Wakaba jumps a little higher, depending on the jump.I love the enthusiasm of Kaori of learning more difficult jumps. If she got a 4 in the one spin she got a 3 in, in the free skate, she could have scored 234 instead of 233, like Japanese Nationals. So, there is a bit more room for improvement for her in the international scene
I suggest Kaori needs to learn from Wakaba and Wakaba needs to learn from Kaori.
Kaori needs to try to go for the 3A, like Wakaba. I know when she tried, in the past she fell on a 3A at q in a practice video I saw. But, I saw potential. If she learns this jump and puts in a 3A in SP and one in LP, that jump alone could get her to 245 (not even allowing for increase of PCS due to increase of technical difficulty). Anna Scherbackova and Alexandra Trusova only surpassed this score once, internationally, in three years, at the Olympics. That is encouraging for skaters like Kaori. They can still be competitive. She just needs to learn and focus on one ultra-c jump. Her 2A is outstanding and I just see a 3A there.
On the other hand, Wakaba. Good job on mastering that 3A. Both were landed beautifully here. You have the hard jump Kaori is missing. You are in a good spot. But, then, the rest of program is lacking. She lacks height in the 3T after the 3Lz and she needs more speed and a bit higher jumps. But, she has the ultra-c jump. So, just look at Kaori for the rest of the jumps and try a similar layout. Good job Wakaba! So much potential.
With all this being said. I worry about Wakaba not landing her 3A’s at Worlds. I really want Japan to get three slots and I have no faith in Kawabe. I really hope Japanese federation will add Mai for Worlds, just to secure the three slots so I can see the maximum amount of Japanese skaters at Worlds next year. But, I know this is already set in stone. So, I hope Mana can have a redemption performance at Worlds.
Mai was supported all year, but made huge mistakes that cost her at Nats. Removing Mana would be the worst thing you could do for her now. She needs to get right back on that horse.I enjoyed Kaori's fast speed and flow and Wakaba's fabulous triple axel and impressive commitment to really go for all her elements, but I am heartbroken for Mana. I really have enjoyed a number of her performances and I sincerely hope she is able to make it back and become even better. I think the best way to nurture Mana's development and make Japan's three places for Worlds more secure is to send Mai Mihara to Worlds especially since Mana is 6 years younger than Mai and will probably benefit from some time to recover and hone her skills. What's more Mai has certainly earned the right to be there with an average of 215+ over three international competitions and a 4CC championship win this season. I can see no reason beyond blatant bias against Mai and the need to appease the powerful Coach Hamada for not sending Mai to Worlds, and as I said I don't think it helps Mana's future development either to have so much pressure on her to fill the scoring shoes of Mai at such a young age after what just happened at the Olympics. Even though Young You and Wakaba skated really well at the Olympics, to be honest they were two of my favorites, they still couldn't reach Mai's highest scores this season. The JSF is more biased against Mai than the ISU international scoring and that is an amazing realization since Mai was held down so she wouldn't medal at her two Grand Prix events.