re:
Hopefully the trend won't continue ;-) I want Mao at her best at Worlds, if only to motivate other skaters to do their best. If a top skater crashes, the rest often do less impressive programs.
Imagine if either Irina or Sasha were at their best in Torino? Then Arakawa would have pulled out her triple-triples and we would have all benefited from a set of strong programs from all the top ladies. But Arakawa played it safe and did what she needed to win. If Mao breaks down, Meissner will play it safe. Yuna though won't. She seems to always put her best in every competition, although this time her injuries may prevent it ;-(
I'll balance it out, though, by giving credit to her- making a mistake in her program REALLY seems to put the fight into her and she makes doubly sure that she doesn't make another one for the rest of the program. In other words, she doesn't let it break her, she lets it motivate her throughout the rest of the program.
Also, Asada hasn't been completely solid, either. She followed a mediocre SA with a strong NHK, and then followed with another mediocre GPF, falling TWICE. Didn't see her JN performance but heard it was strong. (See a trend here? Uh-oh.)
It may only take one bobble or misstep to put you out of WC contention- so not only Kimmie but Mao needs to watch it as well.
Hopefully the trend won't continue ;-) I want Mao at her best at Worlds, if only to motivate other skaters to do their best. If a top skater crashes, the rest often do less impressive programs.
Imagine if either Irina or Sasha were at their best in Torino? Then Arakawa would have pulled out her triple-triples and we would have all benefited from a set of strong programs from all the top ladies. But Arakawa played it safe and did what she needed to win. If Mao breaks down, Meissner will play it safe. Yuna though won't. She seems to always put her best in every competition, although this time her injuries may prevent it ;-(
)