Very insightful comments! I'm on board!You may as well ask, how would this event have suffered if Peng/Wang weren't there? Or Laurin/Ethier? Or Danilova/Tsiba? Their final placements were 16th, 15th, and 14th. And the US pairs, lest we forget, came in 11th, 12th, and 13th.
My answer to your questions and mine are the same: This event would have suffered ... A lot ... without those 6 teams. Cheng Peng has charmed me since her early days with Yang Jin. She and her new partner, Lei Wang, are working out challenges that come with a fairly new partnership. You might compare them with Kam/O'Shea. K/O have been skating together longer, but Peng and Wang each have many, many years of pairs skating under their belts. Wang skated pairs since 2007-8; Peng since 2012-13.
The team from Netherlands, Danilova/Tsiba, gave one of the most rousing performances of the FS. Skating clean and beautifully, performing better than some may have expected.
As for Laurin/Ethier, they are simply adorable and very accomplished. This is their first Worlds. Do you question why Canada needed to send 3 pairs, just because L/E came in 15th?
Figure skating isn't just about the numbers; it isn't just about the elements, or the wins/placements. In my humble opinion.
Emily and Spencer were 5th at 2023 World championships. Fifth!! I'm not going to disregard them. Even more importantly to me, they have gorgeous performance ability, having as their priority expression, connecting with their music and with the audiences, showing their love for skating. Many fans value those qualities. I want to keep seeing them skate, and let them shine at Worlds.
Ellie and Danny have great lifts, great programs, and the ability to shine through them. Plus, their throws are progressing. And Ellie's landing of the SBS jumps improved significantly this year, lest we forget. They have great potential.
Valentina and Maximilian earned their spot at this worlds, fair and square. At times, Valentina reminds me of Katia Gordeeva, in that she looks ethereal, like she can see heaven from those heights that Max gets her to. Max is a great lifter and you can see he loves skating.
All 3 pairs, but especially Emily & Spencer, showed such valiance. And if you look at a figure skating competition through the lens of what special qualities each pair expresses and possesses -- not just the Americans, but all the skaters -- there's so much to enjoy about them all.
Rant over. Apologize if my strong feelings caused offense; you can see I'm passionate about this.
thank you
I don't judge their characters either, but what I see on the ice. Even when I said I was "charmed" by Cheng Peng, I was only talking about what she shows with her skating.
Like you, I'm optimistic and looking forward to it.
The same goes for here, I think @moonvine may have been saying USFS doesn't often step in try to manage.I have no idea how the USFED deals with their skaters. There are Pairs "made" in Canada. Strongly suggested by coaches etc.. it's not just based on Hi ? What's your name? Wanna do pairs ?
), the same Mitch saw Deanna Stellato (who at that time intended to try single skating again, if her coach thought she could do it) skating in the rink in Florida. He suggested that coach Jim Peterson and skater Nathan Bartholomay approach Deanna to see if she might consider skating pairs. Deanna found she loved it, and the rest is history!
Mitch Moyer. I think he was USFS high performance director at the time. Now it's Justin Dillon.The same goes for here, I think @moonvine may have been saying USFS doesn't often step in try to manage.
Coaches do influence and recommend. The most recent one I read about was Olivia Flores and Luke Wang. Their coach, Drew Meekins, suggested that they try out more than once, but neither of them had even thought of doing pairs. They finally agreed and became a team in June 2022. Just last month, they won the silver medal at Junior World Championships. And they're special together. https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...roster/-nbsp--olivia-flores-and-luke-wang/858
here's their FS at Jr. Worlds you might enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=654C2SpVu-I
Another two examples: In 2016, a US official named Mitch (? last name) suggested that Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc try out together. They clicked, and the rest is history!
In the same few months in 2016, (this one should be close to your heart
I'm happy that Riku and Ryuichi got to have their moment on the podium after the issues they had this season once he was well enough. Hopefully they'll be joined by more Japanese teams next year at Worlds.
From their quotes after junior worlds, I do believe their plan is to compete senior domestically and junior internationally next year.
www.isuresults.com
Pereira/Michaud skated it best at IdF last year: https://youtu.be/RNH3DlrPOkE?feature=shared
Canada just won with a 40 year old American (and her Canadian partner).
Thank you so much!
Here's the Senior Pairs FS from Canadian nationals, definitely Laurin/Ethier's best of the season: fast forward to 1:41:02.Thank you so much!
It's an interesting material to compare. Even though they skated cleaner earlier in the season, there were also aspects that they improved and did better at Worlds.
I still like both programs very much. I hope they'll keep them for another year
