Ladies - Free Program

[Linny]

The whole thread

I didn't read this whole thread. Has anyone else mentioned feeling let down? Miki (and Shizuka before her) are about as exciting as watching cement dry. Shiz has gotten better at showing some kind of passion post-Olys in her pro performances. Let's hope Miki follows suit.

It's not a huge let down for me that Yu-Na or Mao didn't win - this will keep them hungry going foward. They are both genius skaters already. Imagine what another year will do - especially if another year means injury free for Yu-Na. One of the US commentators described Mao as "regal" on the ice. Great description, IFAIAC.

I never got the buzz re Miki, even back when she did her quad. To me, she always looks like she's got a grand case of indigestion.

Linny

 

[Mathman]

But look at this group shot of Midori with other skaters - I had to laugh. I wondered if she was a child, but nope - she had skated in at least 7 Worlds by then. Maybe she weighed about 85 pounds? Even iloveaxel couldn't call her heavy! (She's adorable!!!)
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...um=1&hl=en&rls=GGLJ,GGLJ:2006-48,GGLJ:en&sa=N

Look how that gigantic lady Ekaterina Gorgeeva towers over her.

 

[oraetlabora]

A comment on Emily's "weight" - has anyone notice the power and height that Emily gets in her jumps? They are huge! She has muscular thighs and is extremely strong. If her weight was a problem, she would not be getting such height on those jumps. People have different body types. As previous posters mentioned, t.v. camera adds a lot; people don't look the same in person. Also - if you were to see some of those "lean" skaters in person, you might be very frightened for them when you can see their skeletal bones.

 

[antmanb]

Lu Chen also had a tendency to gain extra pounds. She had a disastrous 1997 worldchampionships, and had to lose more than 20 lbs in order to be competitive at Olys.

She was injured ,you complete dunce :banging: , and had been training for all of two and a half weeks before the world championships and was only there because it was a qualifier into the Nagano Olympics.

And if you think she was 20 lbs over her competitive weight at the 1997 world championships then you are a pretty warped individual. see teh youtube of her progam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqiwm0GMwGc

Ant

 

[antmanb]

Also IMO, I think if you have not seen a skater up close in person on several occasions, one should be extremely hesitant to claim knowledge that a skater needs to gain or lose weight.

Exactly - i couldn't agree more.

Ant

 

[antmanb]

You could be right about Emily, I don't know. But I do find some people's concern about "these kind of comments" a bit odd. If there is so much worry about the "intense pressure on all these girls to be thin," why are there not more threads about how the thin girls should gain weight? There are a LOT more very thin, even a few skeletal, elite skaters than heavy ones. In fact the norm for elite skaters is to be very thin. Why is that not an issue?
.

I think it is a huge issue - i'm not sure if it was on here or another board but Pang (who's first name i'm forgetting) had many comments on her ultra thinness and how unhealthy it looked. Tanith Belbin has also ome under some criticism for her low weight and Sasha Cohen. A lot of these debates i'm sure were 3 or even 4 years ago and i think the conclusion was that it was just as rude to discuss someone's opinion of a skater on TV being under or over weight since you can't tell something like that accurately without a pair of scales.

Ant

 

[antmanb]

So is obesity.

BUt i've not really come across obesity being a problem for elite figure skaters.

Ant

 

[soogar]

Losing 20 pounds won't make her look all hungry and anorexic. As an elite skater, Emily needs to watch her weight, it seems to me her weight really has an impact on her jumps. Three jumps in the long program got downgraded. She might not have the energy to fully rotate her relatively big body.

.

My thought is that Emily needs to do more strength training for her arms. Her arms are kind of flabby and don't match her muscular legs. I think that if she had more upper body strength she could finish the rotations on her jumps (and get more height which would buy her a little more time to get in the 3 rotations). JMO.

 

[oraetlabora]

Losing 20 pounds won't make her look all hungry and anorexic. As an elite skater, Emily needs to watch her weight, it seems to me her weight really has an impact on her jumps. Three jumps in the long program got downgraded. She might not have the energy to fully rotate her relatively big body..

The logic of this statement is flawed when one considers that Alissa Czisny is certainly one of the more "lean" skaters out there and also has trouble executing and underrotating jumps.

 

[Tinymavy15]

I have a friend (Japanese) who really likes Emily's legs shape. She says the curve between butt and thigh is in exactly the right place whereas the Japanese girls (except MIki) curve lower.
A lot of good jumpers in the past who come to my mind didn't look that thin to me. (Midori for example) I think it's more of a muscle/fat ratio problem rather than simply a weight problem.

I just saw Miki's FP. I'm so glad for her. After all she has gone through it was inspiring to watch her win. The Yunas and Maos are great to watch but there is something special about seeing someone who has been writtern off as a hasbeen work so hard and make it to the top of the podium in spite of injury. (An article mentioned that Miki's acne is from all the painkillers she had to take.)I loved the moment before the straight line footwork when Miki looks at someone in the stands and smiles. (She was looking at Shizuka Arakawa.) She mentioned afterwards in an interview that she kind of needed a 'lift' before the most tiring part of the program and apparently she got it.
I really enjoyed Mao and Yuna too but I'm kind of glad that Mao and Yuna didn't get the gold. I don't think it would of been good for them in the long run. Probably way too much pressure next season considering all the media hype they have been getting this year.

on emily: I have seen her upper body and she looks great. if you look at her in the kiss and cry, you can easily see her collar bones and her arms look very good. I think her legs just look large because of muscle. I am not sure if she got those muscles from skating.. or maybe off-ice trainng. Most of the elite skater do weight training as part of thier trainging programs... sasha could press 300 pounds with those tiny legs. the trick is balancing the weight training with streching and knowing exactly how much to do so you strengthen yourself, but not bulk up. Emily does have very powerful legs, her spiral is very high and her jumps are huge. She just needs a personal trainer who can helo her build and keep the strength she has, while looking smaller.

 

[jenaj]

Perhaps, but I hate these kinds of comments. I really do. Look at the intense pressure on all these girls to be thin, and it drives them to all kinds of problems. I like the fact that Emily isn't a stick figure and that she actually has a shape to her body. She just needs to adopt the right kind of style...and I think for that it's a more forceful, uplifting piece of music.

I don't think Emily needs to lose weight. I think what she looks like now is her natural body shape. I do think she needs to do something with that stringy hair, however!

 

[Dee4707]

As for Emily maybe wanting to drop 10 pounds, hey, so do I. In common with 200,000,000 people in the United States. Easier said than done, LOL.

Awwwwww come on Math, I bet you're close to being PERFECT!!

Anyhow, my take on Emily is and I've said this before, she's like a bull in a china shop. She does not come across as being graceful at all. For some reason her style of skating is fast (at all cost), hit those jumps (at all costs). When I see her skate some day she is going to be going so fast that she's going to jump right into the boards and come crashing down........and get up and continue on.

Dee

 

[R.D.]

and not being "graceful" is bad how?

 

[mzheng]

This is in response to the poster who thought Midori Ito didn't look thin. It's true that she has a compact body build and NOTHING she could do could EVER make her look like Yu Na or Mao.

But Mao and Yu-Na are still only 16. Wait until they hit 20s. Kimmie has build up some musels in her leg these past couple seasons.

 

[yelyoh]

Joannie Rochette is hardly slim and she looks great!!!!. I think Emily looks fine. I think her problem was jet lag and maybe not enough practice when she got to Japan.
I used to live there and travelling back and forth between the US and Japan took a lot out of me. I was weary and sleepy for a couple of days. No strength, couldn't focus.
Of course, she could shed a lot of pounds if she cut off her left leg but where would that get her.

Regarding Kimmie's LP, I agree with Red Dog. I thought it was good and she interpreted it well. I was surprised to hear she didn't like it. I thought she came off strong, mature and sexy.

 

[Spun Silver]

I thought of jet lag too but it's kind of puzzling given that Em did so well in Cup of China. She knows what it takes to compete in Asia.

ITA re Joannie!

 

[rain]

I don't think weight has anything at all to do with Hughes not performing perhaps up to par at this competition. I doubt losing weight would do a thing for her, and I don't think she's at all overweight to begin with. I think this is an area where TV does a great disservice. If you ever see any of these skaters live you will know how not even remotely overweight any of them are. Someone suggested 20 pounds down wouldn't hurt Hughes — actually I'm pretty sure that would make her dangerously anorexic. Being overly twiggy can actually be a detriment to some skaters in terms of their power on the ice and ability to get big jumps with lots of height. Hughes did look slow to me at this comp. but that's really an anomoly that can't be related to weight, as she's been the same size and zipped around the ice at other events this season.

Personally, I thought Hughes' biggest problem was the absolutely dreadful, generic skating music she used for her LP. I actually turned to my mother during her skate and commented on how unbearable it would be to have to practice to that day in and day out. Her choreography was blah and did nothing for her. I think a new program suited to her strengths will do wonders. Not all skaters are long-limbed and balletic, and personally I enjoy having the variety.

 

[Spun Silver]

Poor Delibes. He's considered by many to be one of the greatest ballet composers. I love the music, but I don't think it suits Emily. I liked her Proud Mary style a LOT better.

 

[rain]

Poor Delibes. He's considered by many to be one of the greatest ballet composers. I love the music, but I don't think it suits Emily. I liked her Proud Mary style a LOT better.

Perhaps I was too hard on the music. What I meant was that it was really more of the combination of the cuts used, Hughes' style and the lackluster choreography (did it highlight anything at all in the music?) that did in the LP.

 

[Mathman]

and not being "graceful" is bad how?

? Graceful movement across the ice is sine qua non of figure skating. (Perhaps this has been a little obscurred in the CoP era. But still...)