Frank Carroll says this team is weaker than SLC
- Thread starter Misplaced Gymnast
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An Opinon
Frank Carroll is absolutely spot on. He is as right as he can be. Michelle is indeed "iffy" and Kimmie is still a junior skater with no hopes of a medal, short of a triple axel and two triple-triple combinations. Sasha is the best shot we have for a medal of any color. I will be surprised if Michelle makes it to Torino with a full arsenal of jumps (triple-triples or triple-double-double), which she will defintiely need to get a medal of any kind. I agree that the judges will treat Michelle skeptically because she hasn't competed much in the last few years, and that she will have to be on fire to win a medal. I don't think she stands much of a chance at the gold. Irina will get the benefit of even a flawed performance because she has paid her dues in a major way this year. It will absolutely help her with the judges. I expect her to skate well. This is what I really think of everyone's prospects.
Frank Carroll is absolutely spot on. He is as right as he can be. Michelle is indeed "iffy" and Kimmie is still a junior skater with no hopes of a medal, short of a triple axel and two triple-triple combinations. Sasha is the best shot we have for a medal of any color. I will be surprised if Michelle makes it to Torino with a full arsenal of jumps (triple-triples or triple-double-double), which she will defintiely need to get a medal of any kind. I agree that the judges will treat Michelle skeptically because she hasn't competed much in the last few years, and that she will have to be on fire to win a medal. I don't think she stands much of a chance at the gold. Irina will get the benefit of even a flawed performance because she has paid her dues in a major way this year. It will absolutely help her with the judges. I expect her to skate well. This is what I really think of everyone's prospects.
I agree the Ladies team is weaker than in 2002, for sure.
I remember the 2002 Nationals Ladies competition, and the top 6 ladies all had dynamite skates. Not so this year. Not one lady--including the winner--had a clean skate. In fact, if Sasha had had a major splat, she would STILL have won the competition by a mile.
The interesting thing is the 2002 ladies were pretty much the same ages as this year's crop (Kwan 21, Sasha 17, Sarah 16, Angela 21, Ann Patrice 16, Jenny 16) but they were a much more seasoned group. The 2006 bronze medal winner--also a Hughes--has had exactly 3 international competitions to her credit (Jr Worlds 2005, and two GP events) as compared with Sarah's long list of GP and World appearances.
It is no wonder the committee decided an injured Kwan was a better bet for a medal than Emily.
Kimmie has had far more experience than Emily, if mostly at the Junior level, but the normally consistent Kimmie seems to be going through a slight growth spurt which has affected her skating to some extent. She doesn't have anywhere near the seasoning of the 2002 Sasha, who'd done a couple seasons in the GP as well as at the Goodwill Games.
However, I think the Men's team is just as strong as the 2002 Men's team, if not a bit stronger, and of course in 2002 we had no hope of medaling in Ice Dance, as we do now.
I remember the 2002 Nationals Ladies competition, and the top 6 ladies all had dynamite skates. Not so this year. Not one lady--including the winner--had a clean skate. In fact, if Sasha had had a major splat, she would STILL have won the competition by a mile.
The interesting thing is the 2002 ladies were pretty much the same ages as this year's crop (Kwan 21, Sasha 17, Sarah 16, Angela 21, Ann Patrice 16, Jenny 16) but they were a much more seasoned group. The 2006 bronze medal winner--also a Hughes--has had exactly 3 international competitions to her credit (Jr Worlds 2005, and two GP events) as compared with Sarah's long list of GP and World appearances.
It is no wonder the committee decided an injured Kwan was a better bet for a medal than Emily.
Kimmie has had far more experience than Emily, if mostly at the Junior level, but the normally consistent Kimmie seems to be going through a slight growth spurt which has affected her skating to some extent. She doesn't have anywhere near the seasoning of the 2002 Sasha, who'd done a couple seasons in the GP as well as at the Goodwill Games.
However, I think the Men's team is just as strong as the 2002 Men's team, if not a bit stronger, and of course in 2002 we had no hope of medaling in Ice Dance, as we do now.
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