LADIES FREE Skate

[Olympia]

Good to know there's an up-and-comer from Korea. I think that will take a lot of the pressure off YuNa to continue. I'm sure she feels she's past the grueling training regimen, but she might also feel an obligation to her country if she were the only viable Korean skater.

 

[hikki]

I was there last night and was so happy to see Carolina finally win! The crowd was acting like she's their own favourite daughter- how sweet. For me it was like "Carolina, don't fall, only doubled the second flip that's good. Now don't fall..." lol The program was absolutely beautiful!

Akiko was just so brilliant. I was actually nervous for the European crowd that she would win... She had the best command. And what a beautiful dress!

Leonova--- sorry you're so slow and the final spin looked like a fly could land on you and not move. The gap between the crowd's rather reserved response and hers was quite funny.

 

[Skater Boy]

And I think Akiko may be the oldest medalist ever?

Maria Butyrskaya was like 29 when she won bronze I think.

 

[kalle]

These were my second Worlds (after Torino in 2010) and what an emotional evening!

First, I got completely teared up by Alissa's skate, it was hard to watch but the audience were out of this world, trying to cheer her up and to get her through her program.
I did feel a bit like with Mirai in 2010, maybe she should have watered down the program slightly and at least taken out the 3Z of her program?I just wander if something particular is going on, even before the SP, she looked like she had been crying?

I was hoping for Helgesson to do a little bit better but she seemed very nervous!I have no idea why she tried to put in the 3Z (or was it 3F?), had the same feeling about Makarova...trying too much to increase the technical level?

One of my favourite skater this season was Elene Ge and I was looking forward to see her again. She has a phenomenal speed over the ice but she reminds me a bit about Kostner a few seasons ago, too much speed and not enough control.Hopefully, she will stay with Orser and work towards Sochi, she has such a potential and I like her a lot.

What to say about Ashley!Obviously, she had a different type of pressure on her shoulders comparing to the SP but still, what a fantastic program and she is a real fighter for sure!
It is going to be tough getting a new LP (?) after this master piece.
You could really feel the tension when the last group stepped on the ice, they were jumping triple jumps all over the place!

I do not have much to say about Leonova's skate, I loved her music and she was doing amazingly well with a lot of pressure on her shoulders. For me, she is a little bit like Ashley (do not get me wrong, Ashley probably have better technique and flow?) but without going close to clean, they are not extremely memorable?They do not have the presence on the ice like Kostner, Asada or Suzuki (when they are on).But that of course, is only my opinion.

Mao
Needless to say, what a beautiful skater but why is she throwing medals out of the window? I understand that the 3A is important for her but not in the case when it seems like this jump is more important than winning a medal? It has not been there the whole season and I for one, do not think it is her coach decision to put them in the competition. She has it all and sometimes she gives me the impression that she do not "want" to win if the 3A is not there? I would have loved to see her on the podium, she belongs there even without any 3A!
I got teary eyed for her too especially when you know everything she has been through, I hope she will find the right motivation for next season.
Kanako never stop to surprise me even with a wonky technique. She has great presence and her programs felt beautifully choreographed this year. I think she deserved a few points more in the LP but I have not read the protocols yet.

Oh Carolina, you finally did it!!
I have never seen so many people rooting for her, gave me goosebumps really. I had Valentina Marchei's parents sitting behind me and she came up to sit with them during Carolina's skate. It was very nice to see how happy they were for Carolina, Valentina jumped up and down!
Of course I got teary eyed again! She did so well and felt like she was in a world of her own between her fantastic choreographed program to her speed and the smooth jumps. As for the double Flip, It would not be Carolina if there were no little hitch, I guess it show us her fragile side that makes her the artist we love after all?
It was a big moment and I am happy to have been a part of it.

Extremely happy for Suzuki too!!Well deserved medal and I hope she continues to Sochi?I could watch her skating without any jumps, she really has a fantastic flow over the ice and know how to perform to the audience. It is always nice to see a skater that reaches out to you, even if you are sitting in the last row!There are not many skaters that have the sense of musicality that she has.

I liked Makarova's SP very well but when she was skating her LP, I thought that the EX had already started..I think she was very nervous too and I wish that she had been able to put down a cleaner program to finish the season on a high note..

It was a great competition after all and I hope to be able to attend Worlds at some point again, it is so different to watch the skaters "live"!

Have a good Sunday everyone.

 

[ordinary person]

I happened to watch Alissa's FS and that was horrible, why she wasn't in last place in the FS is beyond my comprehension but she was even worse than Alisa and Romy.

 

[Olympia]

Thanks so much for the live report! One day I'd love to be in the stands during a competition--and you got to be at a World Championship. I can see the downside of being there after your report, too; you can't go anywhere to get away when a skater has a meltdown. You have to stay and watch the whole thing. But I'm glad to hear that the audience tried to support Alissa while she skated.

Like you, I don't know what's going on with Mao. I hope she's able to sort out her thoughts and feelings by next season. What an exquisite skater she is, and if things go right, she's nowhere near the end of her career. Wasn't this the first year Suzuki had a triple-triple, and she's several years older than Mao. This gives me great hopes for Mao's future.

It sounds as if watching Carolina was a truly great moment for everyone there. How lovely that she was able to win in Europe; I'm sure a lot of her friends and family were there to see her.

 

[hurrah]

A longtime supporter of Mao on her fan forum suggested that Mao might have been injured during practice after the short program, and with this in mind, I just finished rewatching Mao on Japanese television and Shizuka commented that she had noticed that Mao 'seemed hesitant in a way that was not related to nerves'　even before she started her performance, and had been worried. So I think it's possible she was injured. If so, I hope it's not serious.

And now I'm rewatching Carolina's fabulous long program and I think Lori Nichol really knows how to work to skater's strength. Carolina is incredibly fast but she's got no musicality. Or rather, she probably has musicality but she can't skate to music and expect to successfully jump at the same time, so I see that Lori designed a 'modern' program that doesn't require Carolina to pay attention to nuances of music, and it really worked for her because the fact that she skates with complete disregard of Mozart showcases her speed and makes the program really interesting to watch.

 

[Aya]

About all these young Russian girls who will be entering seniors next year: Don't forget, they're all due to be hit with puberty pretty soon. It will be interesting to see who survives it.

Adelina has already growen a lot she may be done so know she will have the time to adjust to her new body.

 

[StellaCampo]

Some one might have already reported this here, but according to the Japanese newspaper Mainichi-on-line, since her arrival at Nice Mao tried 3A 48 times (all failed). Even on the afternoon of 31st she tried 6 times all U/R. The 1A in the FS was apparently meant to be 3A (...sigh...)

 

[sky_fly20]

Some one might have already reported this here, but according to the Japanese newspaper Mainichi-on-line, since her arrival at Nice Mao tried 3A 48 times (all failed). Even on the afternoon of 31st she tried 6 times all U/R. The 1A in the FS was apparently meant to be 3A (...sigh...)

48 times ? :disapp:
Mao needs to stop with the 3A obsession
its becoming her burden either her 3A she either falls, gets UR or downgraded
why not got for a 3-3 combo or easy triple jump layout with good base value which can rack +GOE
thats better than a popped 3A turning to 1A

 

[La Rhumba]

And now I'm rewatching Carolina's fabulous long program and I think Lori Nichol really knows how to work to skater's strength. Carolina is incredibly fast but she's got no musicality. Or rather, she probably has musicality but she can't skate to music and expect to successfully jump at the same time, so I see that Lori designed a 'modern' program that doesn't require Carolina to pay attention to nuances of music, and it really worked for her because the fact that she skates with complete disregard of Mozart showcases her speed and makes the program really interesting to watch.

This year Carolina's Coach has slowed her down a bit, and it's worked. Gedevanishvilli needs to do the same. She skates far too fast to maintain control of the Jumps. I disagree with you about Carolina's expression in the Mozart FP, I thought she interpreted the accents in the music with her body movements and choreography well. It was lovely to see her finally win a World title, and she gave such a sweet and thoughtful interview to Gwendal afterwards. Yes! At last she can put the disappointment and pain of Torino 2006 behind her for good, and enjoy her success. Hopefully this will lift the burden off her shoulders.

Can someone please explain to me how Czisny, Gedevanishvilli and Makarova all got higher PCS, having all had multiple falls and disastrous FPs, than skaters who did not fall, had better technical content and interpreted their music? I'm talking about Jenna McCorkell, who got 8 points lower on PCS than Makarova's awful FP - with that bizarre music selection and show choreography. This entire Worlds, the Judges have used the PCS to prop well known skaters up, or make their scores look more respectable after a bad skate, just like the old days when the second mark was used. I thought COP was supposed to prevent all of that nonsense?
I seriously wonder if some Judges even know what good choreography and interpretation is? :disapp:

 

[Hikaru]

does anyone know what type of blade is Carolina using? I just noticed it in a close-up to her skates, the mounting looks different. Is it a special type of a blade?

 

[Jaana]

I really loved the skating of Kostner, Suzuki and Wagner! Wagner has a fantastic choreography to great music, her skating and the programme were my favourites of the evening. She, Kostner and Suzuki all had different kinds of programmes, but all very enjoyable.

 

[ayayukiituka]

Some one might have already reported this here, but according to the Japanese newspaper Mainichi-on-line, since her arrival at Nice Mao tried 3A 48 times (all failed). Even on the afternoon of 31st she tried 6 times all U/R. The 1A in the FS was apparently meant to be 3A (...sigh...)

I don't know why you mentioned only this part without Mr.Sato's words. He answered her practice in Japan went well and 3As were nearly perfect then. So it's hard to say to avoid it. (Maybe it's a reason she hardly falls it when she fails at performance.) Mao said after-FP interview she had lost the feeling of rotate it.　Besides,Japanese TV shows her nosebleed during Leonova's skate. Not sure it was a reason of her luck of fucus though.
After seeing her practice video on YT including fine 2A-3T and 3F-3Lo,I had a feeling she could bounce back strong at FS. She was eager to attempt the 3-3. Practice went well in Nice,too except 3A. I understand why she went for it if her goal this season was to complete all triples in free program.

 

[StellaCampo]

I don't know why you mentioned only this part without Mr.Sato's words. He answered her practice in Japan went well and 3As were nearly perfect then. So it's hard to say to avoid it.

I wouldn't trust a surgeon who's most recent 50 patients have all died even if he previously saved 1000 lives.

 

[aftertherain]

I wouldn't trust a surgeon who's most recent 50 patients have all died even if he previously saved 1000 lives.

I honestly don't understand how this analogy applies to the Sato-Asada relationship.

 

[Phobiamaster856]

Honestly I'm sick of USFSA promoting Team USA and its all Team USA every skater is responsible for the "team". This is complete bull **** as figure skating is an individual sport and in the days of the Kwan dynasty it was every skater for him or herself. This added pressure of if you mess up you not only let yourself down but Team USA as well. USFSA's priorities need to shift....its not about Team building its about having U.S. skaters winning and competing against each other for the top spot

 

[Mathman]

^ I agree with that point of view.

 

[geoffil]

Was Alissa's hip injured? Look at her bielman's and spirals. She looks a little tentative like she had something physically wrong with her. I hope the team explains what happened to her and fixes the problem.

 

[Mathman]

Welcome, geoffil. Thanks for joining us. Post often post long!