2024 U.S. Nationals: Women's thoughts?

[gsk8]

Amber Glenn captures U.S. national title

2024 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships: Women In her ninth senior championship, Amber Glenn finally captured the U.S. title in the women’s event. Josephine Lee snagged silver, while defending champion […]

www.goldenskate.com

Wow, that was intense!

I was really mesmerized by Thorngren in the SP, but she just fizzled out in the FS. It was like watching a different skater! Everhardt, Seo and Lee really brought it!!

Happy for Glenn although I know this is not how she wanted to win.

What are your thoughts on the Women's event?

 

[Moxiejan]

I’m still too stunned by it all … but, yes, congratulations to Amber! And props to Isabeau for her great sportsmanship!

 

[Seven Sisters]

And to all those doubters who—not unreasonably— believed that 1. Amber would never land that triple axel she talked about for years and also 2. she would never be able to get herself together when it counted, well, look at her now.

Congratulations Amber!

 

[16Olympics]

I thought Amber sp was awesome. So strong. I also thought her FS was solid until near the end. It would have been worthy no matter if she won silver or gold but the stars align sometimes and this time it was in her favor. You just never know what will happen! Congratulations to her. I applaud her for remaining in the sport and if anyone gets a message from her success here at this competition, it's to stay with it and believe in yourself. Good things happen to good people. She's now a National champion and I see more great and better things for her.

 

[purplecat]

Congrats to Amber - just a shame it came without a triumphant clean skate. She will get the chance to finally put it all together at 4CC or better yet Worlds.

I'm gutted for Isabeau and for Lindsay. Really hoping that they come back stronger from this.

Over the moon though for Josephine! She struggled some early this year so I hope this gives her the confidence to skate stronger and stronger.
Sarah was the other evening's highlight - wow. I'm not sure I ever saw her skate a clean free before and with such sure jumps. What a nice surprise!

Even though they weren't perfect I'm pleased with how Clare, Starr and Audrey fought.

Disappointed for both Elyse and Soho in their senior debuts but both showed glimpses of their potential. And with Soho a few month ago she did a freeskate that was almost all single jumps so this is a step in the right direction.

Congrats to Mia on the quad - she's such a puzzlement as the quad toe seems so easy for her and yet she struggles with other jumps. Hope she can work on that as well as her artistry and then she'd be a force to reckon with.

And shout out to Alex Evans who skated first - what a great skate she had for herself - kudos!

 

[Skating91]

I'm concerned for Isabeau as I mentioned rotating the landings is a massive issue for her now. Very few are actually rotated. She's done well to get to this point with her jump technique, but hopefully it is just a case of adjusting to growth challenges that females skaters face at her age and that she will readjust when this growth stabilises.

Stunning win for Amber. Obviously she has flaws as well, but if she puts together two clean programs (extremely unlikely) at World's she will be on the podium if not challenging for the top step.

 

[Mathman]

I hope that Amber will continue to work on her moves in the field and basic skating between elements. She tries hard, but this aspect oif her skating does not have the impact that it could, especially in comparison to Isabeau who excels in this area.

Outstanding skate and result for Josephine.

 

[noskates]

Congratulations to Amber for finally putting 2 good skates together in the same competition. I just wish it had been a better skate. Her 3A was beautiful but 2 popped jumps - eh! Let's hope she can keep it going at 4 Cont.

 

[SmileHappy34]

Congratulations to Amber for win.
The U. s. Had lots of promising young skaters coming in senior ranks.
Some stated I took am still stun by last night skates.
Fantastic by Josephine Lee.
Impressed by Sarah Everhart.
Happy that Starr skated well.
Sadden and gutted by Isabeau skate.

A little sad that Clare Seo didn't stay in podium. She impress me in short.

Elyse Lynn Graceyso young such poise.
Mia wow your first official quad at senior nationals.
Audrey loved ur speed.
Lindsay keep it up love ur interpretation.

Actually the 2nd flight gave me hope of the U. S skating future.
They did well.
Propsto all.

 

[moonvine]

Yay Amber. I will never be able to watch Starr again without being terrified

 

[16Olympics]

Congrats to Amber - just a shame it came without a triumphant clean skate. She will get the chance to finally put it all together at 4CC or better yet Worlds.

I'm gutted for Isabeau and for Lindsay. Really hoping that they come back stronger from this.

Over the moon though for Josephine! She struggled some early this year so I hope this gives her the confidence to skate stronger and stronger.
Sarah was the other evening's highlight - wow. I'm not sure I ever saw her skate a clean free before and with such sure jumps. What a nice surprise!

Even though they weren't perfect I'm pleased with how Clare, Starr and Audrey fought.

Disappointed for both Elyse and Soho in their senior debuts but both showed glimpses of their potential. And with Soho a few month ago she did a freeskate that was almost all single jumps so this is a step in the right direction.

Congrats to Mia on the quad - she's such a puzzlement as the quad toe seems so easy for her and yet she struggles with other jumps. Hope she can work on that as well as her artistry and then she'd be a force to reckon with.

And shout out to Alex Evans who skated first - what a great skate she had for herself - kudos!

Yes, Josephine! How could I forget her? Phenomenal. I remember a year or two ago when she was so impressive. It's great to see her do so well.

 

[katymay]

Lindsay has improved her speed across the ice-yay! Mia has improved a great deal. A triple axel is a huge high risk element, and I would have liked to have seen it rewarded a bit more. I think actually it ought to have t he same BV as a quad. I hope Isabeau works with a personal trainer to strengthen her legs a bit, and work on skating with more speed. I hope we can drop the noisy 'podcast' type of commentary on Peacock-please just Jackie, and then add people to a podcast type event after the practice, ditto Ashely and Adam who got on my last nerve. Had to mute almost all the practices and competition on Peacock. By all means keep the special guests in another forum, but I like my skating without all the inane chit chat.

 

[SmileHappy34]

Question now.

Does the USFSA tell athletes their assignments before releasing to public and if so how far in advance does the skaters know?
Ava hinted at it when she is assign to NHK. She had no assignments until pull out
Did Amber WD from 4cc knowing she is named to world team that she doesn't need the points 4cc and not because it is close.?
Did Isabeau mess up program knowing had world team or another reason that no one mentioning but is visible in warm up
What did Amber tell Isabeau backstage is it help or I got world to or to apologize for the almost collision in warmup.
?
Amber clearly almost collide I warmup prior to last group taking the ice with a skater with a USFSa jacket on?
I didn't think it is Isabeau because they showed Isabeau skating and jumping without her jacket in her outfit.
The women team was a forgone conclusion before nationals. Isabeau was one and Amber next but Amber depended on how she placed . The title didn't play into it . She only needed 2 ND or third.
Did Ava wd knowing she isn't named world team before nationals.?
Amber congratulations on win that had help winning.
Josephine great skate and keep impressing.
Sarah Everhart keep impressing and great skate.
Clare third and Lindsay sixth. Did they skate according to bring non picked.

It seems the women and the US skaters as a whole isn't skating up to their potential. Why ? Some many reasons possibilities to name and discuss.

 

[TontoK]

Well, someone had to win, so someone did. I wasn't invested in anything I saw in the free from the pre-event favorites, so in the end I didn't care which one stood where on the podium, or if any of them were even on the podium.

On the plus side, for what little there is - good on Amber for her 3A. I liked Isabeau's new SP, although I wouldn't have placed it first. I think Lindsay's SP choreography is beautiful. I don't care that it looks "aloof."

Only two of the final free group provided entertaining and engaging programs. Congrats to Josephine and Sarah for holding your nerve.

 

[Mathman]

Did Isabeau mess up program knowing had world team...
The women team was a forgone conclusion before nationals. Isabeau was one and Amber next but Amber depended on how she placed . The title didn't play into it . She only needed 2 ND or third.

I think that winning the United States chamionship is a pretty big deal in itself. The world team -- OK, that's what comes next, but I have to believe that every athlete will go all out if possible with the national title on the line, regardless of other considerations.

Unfortunately, no matter how resolute and well-motivated you are, "stuff happens."

 

[Thrashergurl]

Could someone explain the harsh scoring for Lindsay? I understand she had been injured and just started jumping again a week before Nationals, but they sure saved Isabeau with her disastrous free skate with 3 falls. I don’t understand why people are giving Isabeau such grace, but glossing over Lindsay being injured. The narrative is that she fizzled or didn’t skate to potential. Ummmmm.
And it seems so fishy to me that Ava skipped Nationals. In reality, it’s too bad she did because she could’ve won if she skated to her potential.
That said, a well deserved win for Amber. A win is a win. Isabeau needs to fix those jumps. I see a lot of young potential in US skating.

 

[NaVi]

It was an entertaining event due to having a top level matchup to talk about but it's a kind of worrying event.

Christine Brennan has an article I want to use as a point of reference: U.S. women's figure skating at a crossroads amid Olympic medal drought of nearly 20 years

Since American Sasha Cohen won the silver medal at the 2006 Games, 12 Olympic medals have been handed out in women’s figure skating. Five have gone to Russians, including the last two gold and silver medals. Two each belong to South Korea, Japan and Canada. Italy accounts for the 12th.

What happened at the 2024 U.S. figure skating championships Friday night didn’t exactly instill confidence that Americans are about to right the ship.

...

“I do think that we are catching up for sure,” Glenn said when asked about the U.S. drought at the Olympics,

While I think the Olympic medal drought is remarkable and more understandable to the broader public, I don't think it's the best barometer to judge the success of a program in developing talent. I think the ability to earn spots for both the junior and senior world championships is a better metric. And US didn't earn 3 spots in either junior or senior women for these championships even without the Russians.

The US is definitely making incremental progress, but so are non-RU Europeans. Amber's FS would likely been 5th had it been skated at Europeans.

The question in my mind is: Will the US be able to catch up with Russia/Japan/Korea before some European countries and China catch up to the US?

Also, I think it's less productive to focus on Russia as this article does when there's a couple other countries doing better than the US. It would be better to look for structural advantages and practices they have in common.

 

[Mathman]

Could someone explain the harsh scoring for Lindsay?

I thought the scoring was OK. Linsay did well enough on PCS (60 points in the LP), and the TES is the TES -- she got credit for what she did and was oanalized for what she didn't do.

I think that the reason Isabeau was able to hold on to the podium is that her fluidity and grace gives her a PCS starting level that is higher than the competitoin (plus the SP, of course). She was properly hit with 4 points of fall dedcutions and lost base value and GOE, but she wasn't completely buried becasue she got 67 in PCSs (higher than Josephine and within 3 points of Amber). I have no quarrel with the judging on this account.

 

[noskates]

This was a pretty ho hum Ladies Free Skate but Josephine certainly shown brightly. Isabeau definitely had a night off. I hope she can put it behind her and skate up to her potential. I agree that there are some ladies that are coming up giving us some hope for the future. Christine Brennan wrote a pretty bad article about the state of lady's figure skating in America. Not even going to put in the link because I didn't agree with her! I think we have a lot to look forward to.

 

[katymay]

It was an entertaining event due to having a top level matchup to talk about but it's a kind of worrying event.

Christine Brennan has an article I want to use as a point of reference: U.S. women's figure skating at a crossroads amid Olympic medal drought of nearly 20 years



While I think the Olympic medal drought is remarkable and more understandable to the broader public, I don't think it's the best barometer to judge the success of a program in developing talent. I think the ability to earn spots for both the junior and senior world championships is a better metric. And US didn't earn 3 spots in either junior or senior women for these championships even without the Russians.

The US is definitely making incremental progress, but so are non-RU Europeans. Amber's FS would likely been 5th had it been skated at Europeans.

The question in my mind is: Will the US be able to catch up with Russia/Japan/Korea before some European countries and China catch up to the US?

Also, I think it's less productive to focus on Russia as this article does when there's a couple other countries doing better than the US. It would be better to look for structural advantages and practices they have in common.

USA women tend to be slow. Especially compared to Japan, Russia and even Korea. This is an issue at the lowest levels-juvenile, intermediate etc. If you have a slow entrance to the jump, it will be a small jump. If Kevin Amoyz is going to retire, I hope he starts some power skating clinics in the US. If everyone is doing the same jumps, (which will be the case without the Russians)the American women need to step it up with bigger jumps and more speed into the jumps.