I'm not sure about motivating athletes, but it's the quintessential way to sell newspapers.
If she did it'd still be close. If everything else stayed the same, her final score would be 178.95, still 1.8 points short. If we then add the +GOE the judges gave her 3z/2l in the FS, and the +GOE she got her her solo 3z in the FS (she didn't do a solo 3f there) as the +GOE she'd presumably get in the SP, she'd be .4 points short still. That she'd have to make up in the PCS. Probable, yes, but she'd only win for certain if she did a ratified 3z/3l in the SP.
But I am beginning to see it differently. If you have no chance of of winning the championship or of placing on the podium, then the idea of finishing high enough, along with your teammates, to secure an extra spot next year is a laudable goal. It provides motivation and something to shoot for, while still falling within the compass of your ability.
You are wrong on almost all the facts you cited, pangtongfan:
Miki Ando was the one who skated as well as she could in the FS at the GPF and still lost.
People who think judges still leave room in the scores, especially within a single flight of skaters, must've stopped watching figure skating in the mid-90's.
Alissa was the one who made multiple errors in the FS at the GPF: She stumbled on two jumps, but even worse, completely left out the 2t/2l on her 3t/2t/2l combo. Resulting in a massive loss of points from not doing the element and from getting a sequence discount on her second 3t. She still won the event.
I already did the number crunching elsewhere. But the only way Miki Ando could've beaten Alissa at the GPF is if she had skated her SP perfectly, including a 3lutz/3loop with no UR call, and that rarely happens. These are all numerical facts.
As for your bombastic speculations, I just plain don't care about them.
If Abbott and or Rippon skate lights out at 4CC is it possible that USFSA will remove one or both of the new boys from the World team?
If Abbott and or Rippon skate lights out at 4CC is it possible that USFSA will remove one or both of the new boys from the World team?
If we could just not hold onto our American hopes, Hersch was correct in his analysi:
One medal for Davis/White; no medals for Pairs; extremely iffy for Men. Bradley will be in a full top drawer field. Czisny has a chance if she skates her best. Mao showed some poor international skating in the GPs, but came back in her hometown comp. We haven't seen Yuna (her last Worlds wasn't special) and how well Oppegard has been training her. Not much else in Ladies and I think Czisny plus Flatt will be a dynamic duo in the comp.
Unlike Hersh, I think Alissa will medal at worlds.
One thing that I like about Hersh is that he treats figure skating as a genuine sport. If this includes making harsh comments about the athletes when they screw up and not mincing words when it comes to analysis and predictions, so be it.
If Abbott and or Rippon skate lights out at 4CC is it possible that USFSA will remove one or both of the new boys from the World team?
I think everybody in US is rooting for Alissa, including Hersh, and including a lot of fans from other countries. The thing is that nobody wants this bubble to break. So keep talking about Czisny's inconsistency, deep down, wishing the miracle.
But it will make a huge statement for Abbott and Rippon and give a loud ban on USFSA's way of selecting world team.