If her speed really has improved, then won't she need to re-choreo her program since it'll take her much less time to go through her current moves? I haven't heard anything about this though but I really wish she'd do a couple sessions with Lori to make her program fit her supposed better speed and to make it more memorable in general.
Caroline Zhang's 2009-10 season
- Thread starter Spun Silver
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- Nov 12, 2009
That's a good point, and I have no idea if she will do that. She might have become faster, but I don't think she skates as fast as say Mirai or Yuna now. If her speed is just a little faster she might not have to change much
I don't think so. She's behind her music in parts right now, like the footwork in the SP, so she could do with skating faster.
Also, last year, she skated her LP a lot faster than at National's. If you play the two videos side by side, you can see that she skated in bigger lobes at 4CC than National's -- she skated bigger and covered more ice, it was very obvious. Also, she was actually more behind the music at 4CC than at National's, but it didn't matter, because with faster skating she managed to get through the footworks faster at the end, and also spin faster with the same number of rotations, so she ended on time.
It also made it apparent why she liked to skate to Ave Maria, though the judges and the audience were all tired of it -- the music was such that she didn't have to adhere to strict timing, whereas Sleeping Beauty's choreography was much more constraining, and it was obvious whenever she got behind.
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I haven't seen any specific reports that she has gotten faster. We just have her blog that says she is training in the gym to build up her strength. I take that as a very good sign.
By the way, with flaws and all (maybe in the area of edging and stroking), I have to say my breath was taken away by Caroline's LP at 4CC. She has never skated with such energy and emotional involvement either before, nor after. I think it is a memorable moment in her skating career, but she hasn't been able to replicate that magic since. (Actually, she may have at the WTT, but I missed that event, so can't say.)
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- Nov 12, 2009
I agree, and I think Caroline is the type of skater who will rise to the occasion. 4CC is a big competition for her, and she did well there. At SC she did a good short and they gave her a bad score. The judging was so messed up at SC and I think she knew this, so going into the LP she was pissed off and it showed. She knew that whatever she did, the judges were going to find a way to hold her down so that Joannie, Laura, Alissa, and any other Canadian if she was half decent would beat her, so she didn't try her best. Mirai did try her best and deserved to medal and then didn't because of the stupid judging and in that interview she seemed more upset than Caroline.
The difference? At 4CC she had something to prove, good placement there meant something. At SC, she knew she wasn't going to make the GPF after the results and bad judging of the short and so it didn't matter how she did in the LP and so she didn't attack it too much.
I actually think that might be the gist of what happened at SC and that nothing more serious (than usual) is going on. I bet she will do well at nationals, whether or not it is enough to get her on the Olympic team.
^ I really hope she doesn't get discouraged by USFSA judges at Nationals because they've been known to screw Caroline over more so than any other current US lady. Especially this year, when there probably is already a dream team picked out for Vancouver, I know that I definitely won't be expecting any favors for Caroline from USFSA.
Yes, but even if you are right, it shows that Caroline is capable of losing her nerve to the point where it severely affects her skating. That's not pretty. But so far we can't call it a tendency either, because it hasn't happened often enough to her. But it is a warning that she should keep her composure and skate her best, even when it looks like she won't get the score she wanted.
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Fair point, I just hope that judging will become more fair across the board so that a relapse of SC will not happen again. Even Frank Carol thought the judging at that competition was rediculous. If you watch Mirai's FS, after she gets her scores he says, "So Lepinska (Lepisto) beat you, by what, two points? We'll have to get a sheet and see why that is" in a sarcastic/laughing tone showing he thought the judging was bogus. People had reason to be mad at that competition. Caroline has never skated like that before.
Lepinska? Haha, what a convenient mistake. Sure sounds like he had another skater's name on the tip of his tongue. Lepinska, hmm, doesn't that sound familiar? Wasn't there a skater with that last name some time ago?
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Haha, why yes, I believe there was
. I see him messing up the name as meaning that that skater's performance at SC was easily forgettable, which it was - Lepisto was not near her best that day, which reinforces my point. Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKOHx2g8mTI , maybe other people see it differently, but I honestly understand the frustration - Mirai is so good, powerful, beautiful and had the jumps that night.really? have you got a pic? (I know in her Oly shoot photos I was really surprised to see how long her hair really was)
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- Nov 12, 2009
Have you seen recent pictures of her? I wonder if she will wear two dresses that aren't blue this year at nationals....she loves her blue dresses, ever since 07, at least one of her two dresses have been blue.
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- Dec 28, 2006
Well she has been wearing blue all season for her freeskate, and although I would like her to change, I hope she has been working on more important aspects of her skating than her dresses.
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- Nov 12, 2009
Yeah I would have to agree with you on that. I just think she'd look so lovely in pink. She wore it for her sleeping beauty program last year (which I loved) but then at nationals switched back to Ave Maria and the purple dress. I wonder if she'd ever change her LP again for nationals this year....that nutcracker program doesn't seem to be getting her great reactions from the judges.
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- Feb 17, 2007
On the Figure Skaters Online Twitter page, they are reporting that Caroline has an endorsement deal with AT&T, along with Evan and Rachael. There are no details.
http://twitter.com/fsonline/
http://twitter.com/fsonline/
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